| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | |
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1 | Councilmember | Question Number | Department | Question | Answer | |||||||||||||||||||||
2 | Susan Sandberg | 1 | PLANNING | Regarding the architecture firm we have on retainer (Schmidt and Associates?) can we get examples of when this firm has been used for design review or advising and what the total costs are of having them on board? Can we point to their work as being helpful/influential in making sure new developments have better architectural merit? What line and in what departmental budget does this retainer appear? | The total contract is $141,000 consisting of three Purchase Orders (two in 2017 and one in 2018). The scope includes $112,500 for architectural reviews for 10 specific projects (Graduate Hotel, Annex, Trades District & Infrastructure Plan, Dimension Mill, Alleyworks, Urban Station II, Brahms, 7th Street Condos, CVS on Kirkwood, and LifeDesign - all projects are pre-UDO update) and $28,500 for vision plans (Sudbury/Mill Creek PUD, 3rs Street, and/or current Hospital Site). The remaining balance covers any on-call architectural reviews. The architectural reviews were helpful for when the UDO allowed the Plan Commission to waive standards, such as architectural standards. Staff is qualified and capable of reviewing petitions and permits for UDO compliance, including architectural standards. When the architectural standards are waived or when a PUD is being considered, this is when there was some added value for a 3rd-party review. Council as part of this approval process (PUD or Rezone) did review and approve Evolve, The Verve, and Brownstone/The Standard. With the new UDO adopted in 2020, the Plan Commission cannot waive standards, therefore the need for Schmid’s services are minimal. They were used for the following projects: Kmart/District at Latimer Square, The Annex, The Arch/Aspen Heights, 17th/Arlington Road/Monroe Street, Brennan Warehouse, Johnson Creamery, and Trinitas Atlas at 17th. Their reviews were consistent with staff level reviews, so the value of this 3rd-party review is negligible. The remaining balance of this contract will be used to predesign several ADU concepts. The budget line is Other Services and Charges in Planning & Transportation. | |||||||||||||||||||||
3 | Susan Sandberg | 2 | POLICE | Can we ask Chief Diekhoff to provide a summary of results from some of the incentives offered to recruit/retain police officers? These include take-home cars, housing subsidies, signing bonuses, etc., and would be useful to know if these have made a dent in the patrol officer shortages. Are these efforts ready to be expanded to include more officer beneficiaries? | We believe these incentives are helpful in a difficult hiring and retention market. To date, there are 10 take-home cars for officers living in the city, 7 rental subsidies, and no referral or signing bonuses. There may be a few signing bonuses soon at the conclusion of the current hiring process. Other incentives are being considered, but nothing has been decided at this time. | |||||||||||||||||||||
4 | Susan Sandberg | 3 | LEGAL/OOTM | What has been the due diligence in assessing the back half of the Showers building as a possible location for police and fire headquarters? What consultants are being used for the feasibility study, and have they been given adequate time to do a complete evaluation of the suitability for these specific purposes before this gets pushed ahead for purchase? What other locations have been identified that might be more cost-effective and built for these specific purposes? | Due diligence for the potential purchase of CFC Showers includes the following reviews, conducted by the consultants noted: ● Public Safety review conducted by Springpoint Architects and its engineering subcontractor, Kaestle Boos. This review is focused on what would be needed to meet the accreditation standards of the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). The review also includes analysis of the building’s structural ability to withstand seismic and high wind events so that essential police services can continue in an emergency. For this latter portion of the review, Springpoint has consulted with Craig Burgess, the state Building Commissioner, and is consulting with engineers from Fink Roberts and Petrie and Atlas (a continuation of ATEC, the firm that did an original analysis of the building in 1992). ● Review of existing tenant leases provided by CFC, to assess compatibility of lease obligations with planned Police/Fire HQ use. ● Safety/security assessment of the building, conducted by the Department of Homeland Security. ● Confirmation of the metes and bounds of the property, conducted by Bledsoe Riggert Cooper James. ● Architectural and building assessments, which include roofing (including ability to install solar), insulation, windows, plumbing, electrical, and HVAC, conducted by Tabor Bruce. ● Environmental level I assessment, conducted by BCA Environmental. Early in the due diligence period Springpoint alerted us to the need for further time to complete the public safety review, beyond the original due diligence period which was set to end on September 16. Accordingly, we obtained a 60-day extension of the original due diligence period to allow sufficient time to complete and evaluate the results of all reviews. The due diligence period now runs through November 15. Also, as part of our due diligence we are obtaining broker’s price opinions from Dave Harstad and Chris Cockerham on what it would cost to build a brand new public safety headquarters. | |||||||||||||||||||||
5 | Susan Sandberg | 4 | ESD/DPW/LEGAL | What efforts will the administration make in cutting down on the abuses of "scooter clutter" on downtown (and elsewhere) sidewalks? What combination of fines and enforcement will be used with the scooter companies to ensure sidewalks remain safe and accessible for pedestrians? | As noted in the August 26, 2022 memorandum from the Mayor to Council, the city administration’s scooter oversight working group will continue to monitor operations and has recommended taking the following actions, based on discussions among several departments (Public Works, Economic and Sustainable Development, Planning & Transportation, Controller, Public Engagement, and Legal): ● Public Works will conduct a pilot enforcement program through the 2022 fall by hiring through Parking Enforcement two temporary part-time workers to work up to 25 hours per week each focusing on documenting and addressing violations. The department will assess the results of the pilot at the end of Q4. ● Public Works will add scooter parking corrals at several locations in heavily-trafficked areas of downtown (between Indiana and Grant in the closed sections of Kirkwood) and assess other potential downtown locations. Public Works will create stickers to identify the corrals as scooter-specific parking, to help preserve existing bike parking. ● Economic and Sustainable Development will contact the scooter companies to discuss possible geo-fencing of sidewalks and other areas involving heavy pedestrian traffic, and other measures the companies may take to strengthen user compliance. ESD contacted the companies in December 2021 to alert them to City concerns about violations and to seek stronger company efforts to strengthen parking compliance. The companies have been very responsive to City requests thus far, for example by communicating regularly with their users about appropriate parking and addressing reported violations within two hours. For this reason, the City has not yet needed to employ various punitive measures available under the Bloomington Municipal Code (fines, impounding scooters, revoking or not renewing operating licenses). | |||||||||||||||||||||
6 | Susan Sandberg | 5 | HAND | Can the administration identify the various housing development companies they have consulted with or partnered with that specialize in building affordable (not just workforce) housing? These would be companies with the expertise to leverage Federal subsidies and other incentives to build homes/apartments for the elderly, the disabled, and families in low-income categories. Have any such companies been contacted to develop housing in Hopewell? | The City (mainly HAND Director Zody and our JS Held project manager, Deb Kunce) is meeting with potential Hopewell developers on an ongoing basis. We have spoken to approximately 10 developers through formal, introductory conversations, while maintaining and growing a contact list of developers nationwide with whom we will be sharing Requests for Inquiry/Proposals, etc. as the Hopewell project moves forward. The proposed redevelopment of the Kohr Building involves a partnership with an affordable housing developer (Brinshore) and includes a number of units set aside for clients of Centerstone. Most of the developers we have met with have done work in affordability, or have engaged an affordable partner to develop other properties. At the same time, we are conducting outreach activities (ex. Director Zody presented to the Builders Association of South Central Indiana earlier this summer). It is important to keep in mind here that we are talking to both multi-family and single-family developers, and “affordable” single-family developers are harder to come by. This is why we continue to engage developers and other ideas for developing Hopewell so that we can maximize affordability on site, while being anchored by the master plan. Most developers engaging in traditional affordable housing development (80% AMI and below) will work to access federal, state and local incentives to make the project’s financing work, as well as look at how housing for vulnerable populations can be included in a project (ex. developer Real America formed a partnership with Stone Belt to provide a set aside number of units in the Retreat @ Switchyard Project that broke ground on June 9). Here is a list (not all inclusive) of developers we have spoken with about housing at Hopewell through targeted, introductory conversations about the project. ● Brinshore ● Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) ● Flaherty & Collins ● Onyx & East ● David Weekly Homes ● The Annex Group ● TWG ● Woda Cooper ● Apollo ● Holladay ● Old Town Design Group | |||||||||||||||||||||
7 | Susan Sandberg | 6 | LEGAL | Can you provide more information on the outside counsel we use? | The Legal Department uses outside counsel to provide necessary expertise that we do not have in-house, and to supplement in-house resources in litigation matters as needed. In 2021-2022 we used outside counsel for the types of matters listed below. a. Annexation (Bose McKinney is representing us in the annexation appeal for Areas 1A and 1B filed by remonstrators, and we are consulting with them in the separate litigation filed by the City primarily challenging the constitutionality of a 2019 state law invalidating waivers of remonstrance). b. Bond counsel services and development/redevelopment/project finance advice (Barnes & Thornburg primarily assists with this; Ice Miller has been assisting with a proposed residential TIF). c. Telecommunications (throughout the negotiations with Meridiam, Dentons US/Dentons Bingham Greenebaum provided expert regulatory advice). d. Government relations (Dentons Global Advisors assists us at the federal level and Krieg Devault at the state level). e. ARPA funding (Bose McKinney provides regulatory advice on what ARPA funds may/may not be used for) f. General municipal advice (Barnes & Thornburg assists us with this) g. Litigation assistance involving a landlord with over $1M in Title 16 fines (Bauer & Densford has been assisting) | |||||||||||||||||||||
8 | Susan Sandberg | 7 | HAND | Can you provide a breakdown of the location and cost of units identified in the affordable housing total? | Please see the linked spreadsheet (Fourth Tab) with a breakdown of project, total affordable units and separated by income band. Incentive information is being collected and will be shared ASAP. Link: https://bton.in/zSw!9 | |||||||||||||||||||||
9 | Susan Sandberg | 8 | HAND | Would like information on the housing development fund dollar expenditures? | Please see the linked spreadsheet (Third Tab) with revenue and expense reports for the Housing Development Fund. Link: https://bton.in/zSw!9 | |||||||||||||||||||||
10 | Susan Sandberg | 9 | FIRE | Would like more information about the Mobile Health program. | BFD’s mobile integrated healthcare program was developed to address several unfulfilled needs within our community that result in people relying on 911 emergency services for non-emergencies. The program will initially focus on the top over-users of the 911 system where we will partner with existing entities such as the police social workers, crisis intervention teams, and the STRIDE center. Compared to other programs in place, our team will have the ability to provide medical care under a physician’s order to help before and after 911 calls for issues related to medication management, a lack of appropriate at-home care, and post overdose follow up. The program is being designed to adjust and adapt to the community’s needs but will generally follow the same process of working through which entity is best tooled to provide the care that someone needs in order to reduce the burden on the 911 system. | |||||||||||||||||||||
11 | Susan Sandberg | 10 | HAND | Would like more information about income distribution on what “affordable” means in affordable housing (page 4 table in the budget memo) – all things listed by year are a mix of affordable and workforce. Need a breakdown of units per development to get an idea of where affordable units are, the total number of units, and the number of affordable units in each category. | In terms of the 1,121 affordable and workforce units added or in progress since 2016, the income ranges will be up to 120% of Area Median Income (AMI). “Traditional” affordability references housing that serves those who are 80% of AMI and below, whereas “workforce housing” captures those in the 80-120% of AMI range. Please see the linked spreadsheet for a detailed breakdown. Link: https://bton.in/zSw!9 | |||||||||||||||||||||
12 | Susan Sandberg | 11 | ESD | Would like more details about the $100k in early childhood education. Where does the money go and what is its impact? | Early childhood education funding of $100K per year has been used in various ways since it was first introduced in 2018. In the first several years, the monies were granted directly to early childhood education providers to allow them to provide access for lower income families and grow their capacity. More recently, funding has been committed to Summit Hill for their early childhood expansion project and, in 2022, the funding will be used to support to the Community Foundation’s Monroe Smart Start Shared Services Hub. | |||||||||||||||||||||
13 | Susan Sandberg | 12 | ESD | What is our strategy to make sure scooter companies are good citizens of our downtown? Do we need legislation controlling where they can go if we can’t fix enforcement issues? | Please see answer to question #4 above. Regarding legislation, the administration proposes that the recommendations be implemented and results evaluated before additional actions, whether legislative or other, are taken. Of course Council could proceed on its own schedule. | |||||||||||||||||||||
14 | Susan Sandberg | 13 | CFRD | Would like more information about the guidelines of evidence-based prevention services and how they would be recommended to neighborhood associations. | The purpose of the grant program is to involve community members in violence prevention, reduction or intervention efforts in their communities, thereby giving them ownership through engagement as well as establishing or strengthening relationships and building trust between community members. The grants are intended to provide operational support to grassroots and neighborhood based organizations. Guiding principles to receive grant support will be that efforts are community-centered, equitable and inclusive and evidence informed. A list of the types of programs that are evidence informed will be provided however programs will not be limited to those on the list. The Bureau of Justice Assistance recommends a 6-point checklist (https://bton.in/IV_Ci) for these types of programs that will also be shared with groups interested in establishing a project/program. | |||||||||||||||||||||
15 | Susan Sandberg | 14 | PARKS | Would like a breakdown of costs for security services. | See Q14 Tab | |||||||||||||||||||||
16 | Susan Sandberg | 15 | PARKS | Was Miller-Showers a requirement for cleaning up water? Was the remediation effort driven by federal mandate? | From a Parks perspective, the Miller-Showers improvement project began from a desire to improve the park’s appearance, accessibility, and safety. Frequent stormwater events in the park made the nature of the streamflow unpredictable, caused downstream issues in Lower Cascades Park, and prevented park users from safely crossing the creek. Parks wanted to redesign the park to mitigate these, promote native species, and redesign conflicts between trees and utilities. In 1998, City Council established the Stormwater Utility through CBU based on failing storm infrastructure and upcoming unfunded state and federal regulations, including the city’s designation as a “MS4” and Indiana’s Phase II implementation of the Clean Water Act, which required urbanized areas to be permitted under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) in 1999. CBU was able to partner with parks to accomplish the original park goals while also taking a “macro” view towards mitigating the city’s stormwater needs during this time of change. The project was built in two parts in 2002-2003. A MOU now exists between CBU and Parks that dictates that Parks is responsible for park infrastructure and aquatic and terrestrial plants, CBU is responsible for the stormwater detention, and the two agencies share responsibility for the physical infrastructure (limestone walls, etc.) of the detention ponds. | |||||||||||||||||||||
17 | Susan Sandberg | 16 | OOTM | Can Council see the raw data from the Polco surveys already done and for the one that is forthcoming for the next quarter? If not, is there some summary of the findings that show trends in what the public is most concerned about? | Happy to share those results: https://bton.in/FeOzy – but we believe the every-other-year citywide survey is the best tool for tracking trends in what our residents are concerned about. Here is a link to all the reports created since 2017 bloomington.in.gov/communitysurvey. | |||||||||||||||||||||
18 | Susan Sandberg | 17 | HR | Is there data collected on staff turnovers and which departments are experiencing the most in personnel losses in the past year? | See Q17 Tab | |||||||||||||||||||||
19 | Susan Sandberg | 18 | DPW | How do large and small multi-family apartment complexes contract for trash removal services, are there several private trash pickup providers working in Bloomington or is there a main company doing that sanitation work? | Several private contractors offer services in waste management to commercial, and multi-family housing complexes, with two or three larger companies, as well as multiple smaller companies. | |||||||||||||||||||||
20 | Susan Sandberg | 19 | ESD | What are the processes and costs of geofencing related to better scooter parking regulations and enforcement? | There are no costs from the scooter licensees to administer geofencing to restrict parking and riding locations. However, providing signage and other visual cues to inform riders of the allowable parking zones will incur some amount of cost, to be determined by the number of corrals. The process to establish geofencing involves communicating the desired geofencing parameters to each licensee, who then implements the geofencing limits within their respective operational software. | |||||||||||||||||||||
21 | Susan Sandberg | 20 | ITS | Do we now know the ISP for Meridiam broadband service? | We understand the ISP’s board and leadership has fully executed its agreement with Meridiam as of Sept 7. There is planned to be an official announcement by Meridiam on Sept 12. | |||||||||||||||||||||
22 | Susan Sandberg | 21 | CFRD | Is there a shortlist of potential nonprofit social service organizations that can assist the city with the financial help for residents hard-pressed to pay higher income taxes? | See answer to Councilmember Sgambelluri question 24. | |||||||||||||||||||||
23 | Sue Sgambelluri | 22 | HR | Would like more information about the new positions being proposed. | See Q22 Tab | |||||||||||||||||||||
24 | Sue Sgambelluri | 23 | CFRD | Wants breakdown of support to Stride Center by all partners. | Stride is supported by a number of community partners which includes COB. ● IU Health Foundation (3 year grant) - $1mm ● Cook-Monroe Co gov’t-Community Foundation - $100,000 ● City of Bloomington - $50,000 Centerstone also has a grant to run the 988 line for our community which is housed in the Stride Center. This grant will be leveraged with other funding. | |||||||||||||||||||||
25 | Sue Sgambelluri | 24 | CFRD | Would like more information about how the ED-LIT Equity funds will be administered. Which nonprofits are helping inform those decisions? | An internal team is working on this and is seeking input from a number of non-profit organizations; it would not be appropriate to name them yet, as no formal agreements have been set. We continue to explore support options including cash assistance, Individual Development Accounts, child care support, public school fees support, and more. This team welcomes suggestions from Councilmembers, which have been previously sought. The process for administering the funds has not been finalized however Council will be informed as soon as they are. | |||||||||||||||||||||
26 | Sue Sgambelluri | 25 | OOTM/CONTROLLER | When we passed the ED-LIT, we produced a detailed spreadsheet that outlined the funding priorities in each of several categories (and their respective sub-categories): Public Safety (+ 5 sub-categories), Climate Change Preparedness and Mitigation (7 sub-categories), Equity and Quality of Life (5 sub-categories), and Essential City Services (4 sub-categories) Could the Administration please update that spreadsheet based on its 2023 budget proposal? (In other words, could you please fill in the yellow boxes on the attached spreadsheet?) Thanks. | Link to Spreadsheet: https://bton.in/!ELqS Spreadsheet has been updated. Link: https://bton.in/!ELqS | |||||||||||||||||||||
27 | Sue Sgambelluri | 26 | ESD | Please provide outcomes data on the various workforce development efforts that have been funded in past budgets. For example, how many participants of the Code School have secured employment upon graduation? How have participants in Workforce Reentry Programs fared? What indicators do we have that they have gone on to secure and maintain employment? | At this time and given the limited response time allocated to this memo, ESD can provide enrollment and engagement information regarding investments in workforce development initiatives and will follow up separately with additional information if available regarding outcomes: Bloomington Remote: In 2021, Bloomington Remote recruited 13 people, who produced an annual economic output in Monroe County of over $1 million, resulting in 6.88 new local jobs. The 2022 program will recruit 20 participants by the end of the year, resulting in an estimated $1.54 million in economic impact. 2023 recruitment goals are dependent on funding and will likely range from 20-40. Code/IT Academy: Launched in June 2020, by September 2022, approximately 141 people will have completed training in areas such as web development, IT administration, software development, and CompTIA certification. Of these, 42% are women, 27% BIPOC, 2% military veterans, and 2% differently abled. Reboot: Since 2021, 10 formerly incarcerated individuals and 6 veterans have completed Reboot. Of these, 4 were women, 2 were BIPOC, and 1 person was deaf. Additionally, 2 ReBoot graduates have participated in the Crossroads Pitch Competition, Crossroads Idea Competition, and applied for the gBETA Bloomington/Columbus cohort. A fall 2022 cohort will serve stay-at-home moms and other women seeking to re-enter the workforce through entrepreneurship. Diversity Scholarships to the Mill: Since June of 2020, The Mill has provided free or reduced membership (full and part-time) through the Black Lives Matter scholarship fund and through the Women and BIPOC scholarship fund. Free part-time memberships are also included in upskilling programs like Code/IT and ReBoot. In the past year, scholarships through these four programs alone have helped 88 people gain access to The Mill. Of these, 33% were from underrepresented populations and 41% were women. We are waiting on an update from a couple partners about a few other programs and will update the council when it becomes available. | |||||||||||||||||||||
28 | Sue Sgambelluri | 27 | ESD | Please provide outcomes data on COVID-related loan programs intended to provide relief to local small businesses. What was the final tally on dollars loaned? How much has been repaid? What percentage are in default? Anecdotally, what feedback have we gotten from specific businesses regarding the impact of receiving a loan? | The Rapid Response Fund loan program issued a total of $1,888,440 in loans to 65 borrowers, combining the Bloomington Urban Enterprise Association (approximately $350,000) and Food and Beverage (approximately $1.5 million) funding sources. To date, $587,774 in loan funds have been repaid. At this time, no loan recipients are in default. Anecdotally, the feedback the City has received regarding the loans has been overwhelmingly positive. Recipients have confirmed that they used the loans as originally intended, including to bridge the gap between the start of the pandemic and receipt of the SBA/PPP loan funds. Having said this, the City has received indications that some recipients are still struggling with the combination of revenue losses, inflationary pressures on expenses, and access to and cost of labor. | |||||||||||||||||||||
29 | Sue Sgambelluri | 28 | ENGINEERING | What is sum total of what we bring in in match dollars? How much federal/state money do we leverage with our own contributions? Is there anything else that would allow our city to compete more effectively for outside money? | This is an important question without a quick and easy answer. The following examples shed some light into how much federal/state money the City is accessing for transportation projects: the City recently secured $140,000 of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for the City Council’s Adams Street sidewalk project, the City received $129,311 of INDOT Community Crossing Match Grant (CCMG) funds for the Smith Road resurfacing project, and we have $4,531,260 of federal funding programmed in the 2023 fiscal year of the Bloomington-Monroe County Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (BMCMPO) 2022-2026 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) to assist with multiple city projects. The City will be eligible for USDOT’s new Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) discretionary grant program once the City has a Safety Action Plan in place so our first recommendation would be to develop that plan in order to be eligible for a significant new outside funding source. We believe several factors can help leverage match dollars: having local match (including specifically from ED-LIT), having good plans and community input, having a new grant coordinator, and continuing state and federal representation with consultants who help identify and attract sources. | |||||||||||||||||||||
30 | Sue Sgambelluri | 29 | ENGINEERING | Timetables for improvements planned – what is the timetable for the north dunn multiuse? | We tentatively plan to secure a contract for the preliminary engineering (design) phase of this 2022 Parks G.O. Bond project in the first half of 2023 and to initiate the work in the second half of 2023. No funding for construction of this project is programmed so the construction timetable is unknown. From Parliamentarian Dave Rollo | |||||||||||||||||||||
31 | Dave Rollo | 30 | CONTROLLER | Could the city deploy tiered wage increases? | It would be extremely difficult to do this as we would have to go into each employee’s record twice to make this happen. Employees are included in groups such as police union, fire union, AFSCME union, Elected Officials and non union. Pay increases are applied to a group rather than individually. | |||||||||||||||||||||
32 | Dave Rollo | 31 | HR | Data related to attrition? Do we have data related to departures? | See the answer provided to Councilmember Sandberg’s question 17. | |||||||||||||||||||||
33 | Dave Rollo | 32 | LEGAL/CONTROLLER/HR | How many AFSCME employees do we have? What would 5% raise be for all AFSCME employees? | a. 190 AFSCME positions were budgeted for in the 2022 salary ordinance. Currently we have 173 AFSCME employees on payroll. b. If all AFSCME employees received a 5% pay increase for 2023, that would cost the City in excess of $500,000. | |||||||||||||||||||||
34 | Dave Rollo | 33 | LEGAL | Can we get a breakdown of annexation-related expenses for outside counsel? What about in-house hours? | We estimate that City attorneys and support staff have spent about 585 hours so far in 2021-2022 on activities related to the annexation remonstrance period (research, checking petitions, witnessing signatures, communications with the Auditor, etc.) and litigation (research, strategy meetings, drafting pleadings, conducting/assisting with discovery, etc.). Annexation-related expenses for outside counsel activities in 2021-2022 (so far) involving the remonstrance and litigation have totaled $245,884. Steve Unger and Andrew McNeil of Bose McKinney have provided our outside counsel services regarding annexation, bringing extensive annexation and litigation experience. https://www.boselaw.com/people/stephen-c-unger/; https://www.boselaw.com/people/andrew-m-mcneil/ Defending the Council's and Administration's decision to annex the 7 areas will take some time and money, but annexation is important both for incorporating already urbanized areas on and inside our boundary and for responsibly managing the City's growth. The Legal Department is doing as much work in-house as reasonably possible to manage the outside counsel time and fees. | |||||||||||||||||||||
35 | Dave Rollo | 34 | BT | Could you provide any data on the potential use of solar at Transit for buses? | Solar panels installed on rooftops of the overhead canopies at the Grimes Lane bus depot paired with a battery storage system could potentially store 1-2 megawatt-hours of usable electricity. | |||||||||||||||||||||
36 | Dave Rollo | 35 | HAND | Would like to know more details about what the funds will be used for in the $3.5mm ED-LIT and the Housing Development fund. | Page 13 of HAND’s budget memo outlines suggested expenditure areas in three areas of housing: Housing Security, Rental, and Homeownership. In order to meet these needs, the Administration believes we must be intentional about having flexible incentives in place, such as the Housing Development Fund, in order to nimbly respond to housing projects that come through the Planning process, as well as to project long-term how a mix of incentives can be used at projects such as Hopewell. To this end, a lot of the requested ED-LIT funds would be dedicated to the Housing Development Fund to increase capital for projects. In addition, a large portion is recommended for use in the City Shared Appreciation Home Ownership Program to better position vulnerable buyers in purchasing a home. Moving forward, with a more robust Housing Development Fund, we would be able to create additional incentives to drive affordable housing, such as a revolving loan fund or other incentives to help support a project long-term (such as Hopewell or Arlington Park Drive). At any given time, there are a number of projects in the pipeline that could result in affordable housing, and our ability to be nimble with flexible incentives (as opposed to more rigid federal funds) puts us in a better position. | |||||||||||||||||||||
37 | Dave Rollo | 36 | ESD | Workforce & economic development-what are the outcomes of investments, which have been most promising in connecting people with new opportunities, do we have data on that? How do we measure their success and what have we measured so far? | Please see answer to question #26 above. | |||||||||||||||||||||
38 | Dave Rollo | 37 | ESD | Share details/update on covid relief loans provided to local businesses, what is the impact of those loans? | Please see answer to question #27 above. | |||||||||||||||||||||
39 | Dave Rollo | 38 | ESD | Scooter revenues go into the general fund. If we were to assess fines where would that money go? To the general fund? | Yes, absent a change to the current account receivables process, revenues from fines would be deposited to the general fund. | |||||||||||||||||||||
40 | Dave Rollo | 39 | ESD | Would like more information about what is meant by climate economy. | Impacts to the community’s overall carbon footprint are largely generated outside of City operations. While the City can make and is addressing its own emissions as aggressively as possible, it will require the private sector to further engage with climate change. Climate economy broadly represents investments the City proposes to make to help incentivize those private sector activities. | |||||||||||||||||||||
41 | Dave Rollo | 40 | ESD | Would like an update on the status/success at Farm Stop. | As noted during its budget presentation question/answer period, ESD believes that the Farm Stop has weathered early difficulties, including staff turnover. ESD received a final grant report from the Farm Stop in March 2022, providing several key data points covering the period from August 2021 through February 2022: Total revenues: $299,000 Total paid to vendors: $197,000 Total producer members: 37 Total employees: 9 Certified nonprofit status: Complete Qualification to accept SNAP: Complete Host institutional purchasing requirements training - Planned for 2022 Host consumer education engagements about local food production and consumption - Planned for 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||
42 | Dave Rollo | 41 | CFRD | What are the funds designated for local food used for? | We are seeking to collaborate with another organization or organizations to provide better access to food in areas where access is limited. For instance BHA has a program that provides transportation for residents of BHA. Community Voices for Health is considering a mobile Farmer’s Market. We are also in conversation with Parks and Recreation about their work in access to food in food deserts. We’ll evaluate where this funding will be most impactful, and continue to welcome suggestions. | |||||||||||||||||||||
43 | Dave Rollo | 42 | PARKS | Any talk about exploring the idea of restoration at Griffy to replace the understory that would assist with deer overpopulation? | We believe reducing the deer browse pressure will allow the natives that still survive in the Preserve to rebound and repopulate the property. We have tried native plantings four times at Griffy and three of them resulted in invasive plants becoming established in the areas we tried to replant. Relying on the native seedbed probably won't work for every species so we will consider carefully adding back some species that should be there if they don't rebound after another few years of the deer hunts. | |||||||||||||||||||||
44 | Dave Rollo | 43 | PARKS | How much money do we devote to invasives control? | There are some clear costs to report, but it’s also difficult to name an exact dollar amount on this because invasive management has become such an integrated part of all urban greenspace management efforts. In 2022, budget items in the Parks Landscaping area related to personnel, equipment rental, dumpsters and disposal, service contracts, and monitoring and surveying totaled more than $266,000. However, this total does not include other costs and adjacent management tools such as prescribed burns, portions of the Urban Forestry and the Street Department budgets that go towards tree mitigations driven by invasive species impacts (e.g. dead Ash trees, Callery Pear failures and removals), mitigations completed by CBU, and other unseen impacts. Volunteers are also a key part of Bloomington’s fight against invasives – as of September 1, volunteers had spent 1,154 hours on invasive removal at 16 different properties. By the end of the year this total will be around 2,000 volunteer hours. | |||||||||||||||||||||
45 | Dave Rollo | 44 | ENGINEERING | What do we have in the alternative transportation fund? What revenues do we accrue? | Alternative Transportation is funded by two sources. A transfer from the Cumulative Capital Development Fund and from parking revenues from permits and fines. The balance in the account at 6.30.22 was $734,441 and the projected 12.31.22 balance is $116,417 and projected 12.31.23 balance is $695. | |||||||||||||||||||||
46 | Dave Rollo | 45 | DPW ADMIN | Concerned that certain wavelengths are detrimental to certain insects. Please share the type of LED lighting you’re using. | Since this concern was initially raised during the bond hearings earlier this year, staff has been actively working with Duke Energy representatives on identifying the characteristics of the various LED roadway lighting products available for installation and what studies or data exists on their impact to insects. We’re continuing this effort and will report back to the council before the next round of LED installations are planned. | |||||||||||||||||||||
47 | Jim Sims | 46 | HR | How could we better implement an employee exit survey? And what are the current results? | When HR employs additional staff, we may be able to call employees after they leave employment to remind them to complete the survey. 42 have completed the Exit Survey this year. One of the questions to pay attention to is the reasons that employees leave employment with the City. Here’s a summary of those responses from those who have left this year. Please note that respondents could choose multiple reasons. What is your reason for leaving employment with the City of Bloomington? Count. New position is a higher salary 19 New position is a career advancement or has the potential for career advancement 13 Retirement 13 Type of work in new position is more suitable 10 Family circumstances 8 Work schedule (days/hours of work) 7 Poor supervision/management 7 New position has better health insurance benefits 5 Poor coworker relationships 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||
48 | Jim Sims | 47 | FIRE | What is the percentage of underrepresented populations in Btown? | We use two data sources for comparison, the US census and the City Survey. According to those sources the following percentages are used for comparison: ● American Indian / Alaskan Native - 0.6% to 2.0% ● Asian - 6.0% to 9.6% ● Black or African American - 2.0% to 4.3% ● Other - 4.0% to 7.5% | |||||||||||||||||||||
49 | Jim Sims | 48 | HR/OOTM | What is the administration’s plan for DEI training throughout the organization? | We will require a DEI online training for all staff in 2023 (the same one that they completed last year and will complete this year). We are exploring providing antiracism training to supervisors in 2024. | |||||||||||||||||||||
50 | Kate Rosenbarger | 49 | HR | What percentage of employees are women and people of color? In Management roles? | Between 7/1/21-6/30/22, the percent of females in regular positions was 31.2%. The percent of regular employees who identify as non-white during the same time period was 5%. If we look at regular employees who are on the Mayor's staff and department heads, along with the Utilities Service Board, Board of Public Safety, and Public Works Board, 46% are females and 14% identify as non-white. (We only collect the race and gender of paid boards and commission members.) | |||||||||||||||||||||
51 | Kate Rosenbarger | 50 | HAND | Are there any ordinances or state laws preventing the city from addressing retaliatory rent increases? | Title 16 (16.10.020, g and h) of City code prohibits acts of retaliation (in that it is a violation of Title 16) from an owner to the resident if the occupant (either of a residential rental unit or a hotel/lodging room) requests an inspection of the unit. Indiana state law (IC 32-31-8.5-5) also lays out prohibitions on acts of retaliation by an owner of a rental property for a variety of reasons. It should be noted here that HAND has no authority outside of Title 16 to adjudicate retaliatory disputes, other than providing information that would be requested in a legal dispute. If a tenant were to allege a retaliatory action by an owner/landlord/property manager, HAND would advise they engage legal assistance, such as Indiana/Student Legal Services. | |||||||||||||||||||||
52 | Kate Rosenbarger | 51 | HAND | Would like to know what more can be done about obstructions in sidewalks. This includes scooters, trash bins, tree roots, etc. | A cross-departmental Innovation Training Team is currently exploring the broad category of “sidewalk maintenance”. Their ultimate deliverable will be a portfolio of ideas that they believe merit further exploration. As part of the training, the team will prototype and pilot ONE of the ideas in the portfolio. The idea being prototyped in September and October is to mark an optimal location for trash/recycling/yard waste bins for each household. The Team wants to see if the markers would help both residents and sanitation workers place bins in locations that do not block the sidewalk while still being acceptable to both residents and sanitation workers. For more information on the project, see https://bloomington.in.gov/innovate/2022-sidewalks. As detailed in a memo to Council on August 26, the City is implementing a plan regarding scooters. Regarding other obstructions, the department involved will vary. Sidewalk obstruction “enforcement” generally falls under Title 12, which is handled by Engineering. If a City tree is obstructing the sidewalk (roots, etc.), Public Works could also be involved. If a trash bin is obstructing the sidewalk, this could be a Title 6 violation, whereby HAND becomes involved. Trash bins may not be placed for pickup more than 24 hours ahead of the scheduled pick up day, and must be removed “the same day” as pickup occurring (see Code cite below). 6.04.110 - Removal of solid waste and recycling carts and yard waste containers. Carts, containers and other articles to be picked up shall not be placed upon the street or sidewalk so as to be visible from the street more than twenty-four hours prior to the time when such solid waste, recycling or yard waste is to be collected. Carts and containers shall be removed from the street or sidewalk on the same day as the collection is made. | |||||||||||||||||||||
53 | Kate Rosenbarger | 52 | PLANNING | What’s in the budget for 2023 to decrease crashes over years? 2015-2019 crash report, looks like going down over years but it stops in 2019, so do we know trends from 2020-2022? | The Annual Budget includes software tools (MS2 - https://www.ms2soft.com/) and staff time to analyze traffic and crash data for annual reports. These reports can be used to leverage support for safety and roadway improvements. It is difficult to specify exactly what budget dollars decrease crashes, in that so many factors can influence this: road design, numbers and design of non-auto facilities like bike lanes; signaling at intersections; curb ramps; police patrols and enforcement; neighborhood greenways; street signage; education campaigns; transportation demand management; and more. The annual 2020 and 2021 reports for Monroe County are on schedule to be completed by the end of this year. Preliminary 2020 and 2021 trends: See Q52 Tab | |||||||||||||||||||||
54 | Kate Rosenbarger | 53 | PLANNING | Any budget initiatives to make streets safer for all modes of transportation? | The 2023 Budget includes an update to the Transportation Plan to incorporate more safety focused strategies. These changes would enable the City to pursue future Federal funding through Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program. | |||||||||||||||||||||
55 | Kate Rosenbarger | 54 | PLANNING | Thinking about the new software you’re getting, will that help us be able to look at types of crashes more clearly to see what type of vehicle was involved in everything reported? | No. The new EPL (Enterprise Permitting and Licensing) software will focus on permits, development approvals, inspections, and code enforcement. The charts shown during the budget presentation represent an example of data analysis for permits. We currently have software (MS2) to assist with data analysis on annual crash data obtained from the state ARIES crash data system. (https://www.in.gov/cji/research/crash-statistics/) | |||||||||||||||||||||
56 | Kate Rosenbarger | 55 | ENGINEERING | Could you speak to the plan to replace traffic signals, and what new technologies are we looking at? | The City should aim to replace an average of at least two existing signalized intersections a year. Some intersections will be upgraded as a part of large corridor capital projects and others as independent intersection modernization projects. These projects will include technology items such as accessible pedestrian signals (APS), new controllers, and communications to the intersection. The new technology will enable programming that includes functionality such as leading pedestrian intervals. We continue to explore additional options as well. | |||||||||||||||||||||
57 | Kate Rosenbarger | 56 | ESD/DPW | Refresher on Parklet program – do businesses pay for their parklets? Does it work the same on Kirkwood for businesses? Fee structure for outdoor dining and parklet program. | Yes, participants in the Parklet and Kirkwood outdoor dining programs pay fees to use the outdoor infrastructure. Those are as follows: All: ● All extended outdoor dining will be subject to the $50 permitting fee to the Engineering Department. ● Businesses are responsible for any direct costs associated with utilizing a parklet or outdoor dining on Kirkwood, such as furniture or heaters. Parklets: ● Cost to businesses will be $1,250 per parking space for the 2022 season, payable to Parking Services. A two-space parklet will cost $2,500, plus the permitting fee(s).. Kirkwood conversion outdoor dining permit: ● For businesses with a capacity of under 20, the cost will be $500 for utilization of the extended outdoor space on Kirkwood during the 2022 season. ● For businesses with a capacity between 20 and 100, the cost will be $1,250 for utilization of the extended outdoor space on Kirkwood during the 2022 season. ● For businesses with a capacity 100 and above, the cost will be $3,500 for utilization of the extended outdoor space on Kirkwood during the 2022 season. | |||||||||||||||||||||
58 | Kate Rosenbarger | 57 | DPW PARKING | Who is being paid for parking functions out of the general fund? | There are no such positions being paid for out of the general fund in the 2023 budget. | |||||||||||||||||||||
59 | Kate Rosenbarger | 58 | DPW PARKING | Wants more info on neighborhood parking programs re multifamily & UDO changing, are those market rate permits, and are we working on bringing them up to market rate permits? | Staff would need more information regarding this question and is happy to work with the Councilmember and the Parking Commission on a discussion of this topic. | |||||||||||||||||||||
60 | 59 | ESD/DPW | Can you provide more details about the composting pilot program? | Following is data related to the “Compost Up, Downtown” restaurant composting pilot program currently underway: ESD completed cohort 1 of the program in July, is currently in the trial period of cohort 2, and is performing outreach to prospective businesses for cohorts 3 & 4. Cohort 1 participants included: Nicks, Osteria Rago, Southern Stone, Monroe convention Center. Cohort 2 participants include: Uptown Cafe, Farm, Buffalouies, Soul Juice. Nicks and Osteria Rago have fully commit to continuing their service following the end of the free trial, Southern Stone and the Monroe Convention Center have both indicated they are interested in continuing as well, with the convention center expressing interest in allowing those who rent the space and have food catered the option to opt-in to using compost bins for the event. So cohort 1 is expected to retain all restaurants that participated. Estimated waste diversion from the program thus far: as of July 31, the program had diverted 26,483lbs or 13.24 tons of food waste, with more anticipated by the end of August. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
61 | Matt Flaherty | 60 | HR/DPW | Do parking permit sales for employee lot ever exceed available space? | To date, no, we have not oversold the employee parking lot. | |||||||||||||||||||||
62 | Matt Flaherty | 61 | HAND | Wants detail/clarity on revenue sources going into the housing development fund. And the year-to-year comparisons. | Please see linked spreadsheet for revenue and expense reports for the Housing Development Fund. There is a scheduled HAND Housing Report for the Council on November 16 that will provide more detail on activities related to the Housing Development Fund and use of ARPA funds for housing during 2022. Link: https://bton.in/zSw!9 | |||||||||||||||||||||
63 | Matt Flaherty | 62 | PLANNING | UDO update is meant to eliminate arbitrariness as much as possible so we don’t have negotiations over each building but clear guides and standards. Is there a policy view on that? Are there other tools that might be code based rather than architectural review? What types of changes in standards (instead of changes in process) would be available to us? | The 2018 Comprehensive Plan is the policy guide to consider. This provides the basis for UDO standards and zoning districts (Chapter 7 Land Use - provides architectural guidance for each land use under the Site Design subheading). The Comprehensive Plan also identifies for the Downtown (Chapter 4) a program to “Create a design or architectural review committee with representatives from the Common Council for Downtown approvals.” Historic preservation also provides another level of architectural review depending on the specific site location and the respective historic status. Tools for code based or UDO amendments should focus on section 20.040.70(d) Building Design. There are architectural standards that apply to residential, mixed use and nonresidential projects within the City. | |||||||||||||||||||||
64 | Stephen Volan | 63 | CONTROLLER | What was the breakdown of revenue sources for previous budgets? How does that compare to the new breakdown with the new LIT? | 2022 Breakdown: Property Taxes 40.2%, LIT (Certified Shares & Public Safety)-20.3%, & Miscellaneous-39.5% 2023 Breakdown: Property Taxes 33.6%, LIT (CS, PS & ED) - 31.7% & Miscellaneous - 34.8% | |||||||||||||||||||||
65 | Stephen Volan | 64 | LEGAL | Would like more information on the migration of human rights to CFRD? How many hours would be transferred? | Currently by ordinance the Human Rights Commission is located within the Legal Department (BMC 2.21.010). One of our Assistant City Attorneys, Barbara McKinney, also serves as the Human Rights Director, and one of our administrative assistants (Nicole DeCriscio Bowe) also serves as the Bloomington Human Rights Commission administrative assistant. 50% of Barbara’s time and 65% of Nicole’s time was budgeted in 2022 for Human Rights activities. While some of the 50% of Barbara’s Human Rights time has included providing legal advice, about 40% of it has involved investigation and education activities that do not need to be performed by an attorney (though they have certainly benefited from Barbara's many years of experience and expertise in this area). Education activities include the publication of a human rights newsletter, development and maintenance of the Commission’s website, community talks, human rights essay and art contests, and the Commission’s participation in the City’s Fourth of July parade. Investigating claims of human rights violations include receiving communications from residents claiming a violation, getting further information as needed to file a formal complaint under the ordinance, investigating that complaint, consulting with legal counsel, and making a recommendation to the Human Rights Commission on whether probable cause exists to believe a violation has occurred. Legal and CFRD met earlier this year and agreed that the more natural fit for the Human Rights Commission, the Human Rights Director, and the City’s nonlegal human rights activities, is CFRD, with an Assistant City Attorney continuing to provide human rights-related legal advice and support to the Commission and Human Rights Director and other CFRD personnel involved in human rights functions. This would be accomplished by some minor proposed revisions to the existing ordinance, that moves the substance from BMC 2.21, Department of Law, to BMC 2.23, Community and Family Resources Department. A draft ordinance has been shared with counsel to the Common Council, and Legal and CFRD hope to put the ordinance revisions before the Common Council in November 2022 so that changes may be approved and the shift can occur following Barbara’s retirement on December 31, 2022. The proposed revisions to the current ordinance also reflect the fact that the County has approached the City to create a join Bloomington/Monroe County Human Rights Commission, through which effectively the City would handle human rights issues arising in the unincorporated areas of the County, and the County would contribute substantially to the salary of the Human Rights Director. Under the proposed ordinance, the joint commission would have 9 members (instead of the 7 it has now); the two new members would be appointed by the county commissioners. We are awaiting a draft interlocal agreement from the County reflecting these terms, and would include and present that in November as part of the overall shift of nonlegal human rights functions to be housed in CFRD. | |||||||||||||||||||||
66 | Stephen Volan | 65 | PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT | Have we reached out to IU on census undercount? | Yes. We have been working with the Intergovernmental Affairs Office at IU as well as our Dentons Global Engagement team in D.C. | |||||||||||||||||||||
67 | Stephen Volan | 66 | OOTM | Innovation training cohort info? How have the first two cohorts panned out? | Cohort 1 in 2020 explored a variety of ways that we might optimize leaf management in the City. They worked with multiple resident households to prototype four different methods. The most successful prototype was piloted with 22 households for three months. Their recommendation to the Administration and to Council was to expand the pilot in the next year to a maximum of 1,000 households. You can access the project website for their work at https://bloomington.in.gov/innovate/2020-leaves. The work of the first cohort was carried forward in 2021 by an Innovation Steering Team (loosely referred to as the second cohort) who implemented the “1,000 Households Who Mulch” program that extended the 22-household pilot to 493 households. You can access the project website for their work at https://bloomington.in.gov/innovate/2021-leaves. Based on the findings from these two cohorts, this budget advocates for a discontinuation of the free vacuum leaf collection service (a projected savings of at least $400K/year) and for some resources to help promote, train, and support residents in mulching and composting their leaves in their own yards as much as possible. | |||||||||||||||||||||
68 | Stephen Volan | 67 | BT | What were the prior year’s actual expenditures? | 2019-2023 revenue and expenses can be found at https://bton.in/PDBeY . | |||||||||||||||||||||
69 | Stephen Volan | 68 | HAND | How many total housing units are in the city? And how many of those are rental units? | Approximate range of housing units in the city based on data from HAND and the County Assessor: 39,198 - 48,208, NOT counting IU dorms or Greek houses (as of September 7, 2022). This data is very dynamic, and depending on the data source, it varies. HAND compiled our own rental registration data, along with data sets from the County Assessor based on property class code and general categorization of housing type. As per subsequent conversations with Councilmember Volan and HAND, we will continue to follow up as we get more requested data from the Assessor and IU. Please see the linked spreadsheet for how the range was calculated. Link: https://bton.in/zSw!9 Total rental units registered with the City of Bloomington (from HAND data): ● 6,599 registered permits, totaling 28,295 rental units. Please note that this unit number is dynamic as more rental units come online. Total number of rental units owned and operated by Indiana University (not within HAND’s jurisdiction): ● 141 units (houses) ● HAND has a question into IU regarding the total number of dorm and Greek house units (September 7). Total number of housing units by category in the City of Bloomington (from County Assessor data in January 2022): ● Single-family homes: 15,992 ○ Owner-occupied: 11,784 ○ HAND rental estimate number: 4,208 ● Duplexes, Triplexes, 4-6 units (includes condos): 2,792 properties (totaling 7,988 bedrooms). HAND is awaiting a more granular breakdown of actual units per property) ● Commercial apartments: 17,957 units ● Section 42 (affordable tax credit properties/apartments): 2,316 units | |||||||||||||||||||||
70 | Stephen Volan | 69 | HAND | Why haven’t we pursued a housing trust before? | The Administration has been pursuing a land trust model since 2016, and is glad to have a partner in Summit Hill Community Development Corporation (SHCDC), a non-profit development arm of the Bloomington Housing Authority. The Council appropriated $250,000 in 2021 ARPA funds to be granted to Summit Hill, and the first staff person was hired this summer to oversee development efforts overall, with a large focus on the community land trust. A consultant is also being engaged to assist in the structural development of the community land trust, and the Administration is in close contact with Summit Hill for upcoming partnerships that could take place at Hopewell and at the Arlington Park Drive development. | |||||||||||||||||||||
71 | Stephen Volan | 70 | HAND | How are the bulk of affordable housing units being created? What mechanism is the City using to manage that and is it working? | The bulk of housing units created prior to the adoption of UDO changes were done largely through negotiated agreements involving a variety of incentives. These included Housing Development Funds, tax abatements and federal incentives such as HOME. In addition, outside incentives played a role in projects like the Retreat @ Switchyard, which is a 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) project. This project also received a tax abatement and land value incentives. Projects currently in the pipeline continue to strive for a mix of incentives in addition to utilizing UDO incentives for affordability and payments-in-lieu (which go into the Housing Development Fund). For a snapshot of some examples of incentives used: ● Union @ Crescent: Housing Development Funds ● Arlington Park Drive: PUD agreement with Trinitas Ventures ● BHA RAD project: HOME and Housing Development Fund dollars ● Kinser Flats and B-Line Heights: HOME dollars | |||||||||||||||||||||
72 | Stephen Volan | 71 | HAND | Would like clarification on the 2900 more units of housing by the 2030 goal. Since 2020, nearly 3,000 more units of rental housing have been created, with more than 450 units being affordable. | The 2020 Housing Study breaks down the goal for 2,592 additional units of housing by 2030 in the following way: ● 1,555 owner-occupied units (970 “affordable” - under $200,000) ● 1,037 rental units (808 “affordable” - less than $700 month) These numbers work together, but don’t exactly align with when the study was done versus what is in the pipeline for production. Additionally, projects such as Hopewell and Arlington Park Drive were not yet well defined. However, while more rental units come online in bulk numbers, affordable owner-occupied units take more time and investment. Increasing home ownership is our main challenge with meeting the numbers outlined by the Housing Study. | |||||||||||||||||||||
73 | Stephen Volan | 72 | HAND | Unclear why there is not a staff increase request for inspections as the number continues to increase. | The HAND inspection staff (Neighborhood Compliance Officers) are meeting their annual inspection goals for cycle (permit expiration) inspections, and manage very well all other inspections that come up through complaints, reinspections, etc. in order to provide the standard of safe housing in Bloomington, regardless of rent amount paid. The request for an Affordable Housing Program Manager is the priority for additional FTE requests this year. | |||||||||||||||||||||
74 | Stephen Volan | 73 | ESD | Would like revenue breakdown coming in from scooters. | For the period November 2018 through July 2022, the City billed revenues total $224,975, of which $80,000 are from annual license fees and $144,974 are from per ride fees. | |||||||||||||||||||||
75 | Stephen Volan | 74 | ESD/CONTROLLER | Trades Garage: How much are we spending while we are waiting on it to get to full capacity? What is the real-world cost of 3-5y of useful garage life wasted because no one is there to use it? | Using current 2022 revenues and 2023 projected expenses: Estimated Expenses Totals Staffing = $102,300 200 Line = $15,980 300 Line = $64,350 Total = $182,630 Revenues (Current Year) Current Annual Revenues from monthly income current use (est) = $ 75,600 Current Annual Revenues from transient income current use (est) =$ 5,500 Total Projected for Current year = $ 81,000 Current Net = ($101,630) The Trades District Garage currently has 100 monthly parkers and averaging $500 per month in transient revenue. The garage is not operating at full capacity and has plenty of room to accept new parkers as the area expands. There are no large capital expenses anticipated for this location for the next several years. Staff is expecting monthly revenues to increase gradually as the garage becomes more popular. While we have no historical data save for early opening of the facility, we are expecting increases of monthly parkers by 20-30 per year as population in the downtown increases. We are expecting a net loss of $100k per year until parking reaches a net equilibrium. To attain net zero, the garage would need to add - currently - 75 24/7, or 141 12 hour passes monthly parkers excluding transient income. | |||||||||||||||||||||
76 | Stephen Volan | 75 | HAND | What does municipal code say about allowing sanitation bins on sidewalks? | BMC 6.04.110 says the following: Removal of solid waste and recycling carts and yard waste containers. Carts, containers and other articles to be picked up shall not be placed upon the street or sidewalk so as to be visible from the street more than twenty-four hours prior to the time when such solid waste, recycling or yard waste is to be collected. Carts and containers shall be removed from the street or sidewalk on the same day as the collection is made. | |||||||||||||||||||||
77 | Stephen Volan | 76 | PARKS | Would like more history on how the Miller Showers project collaboration came about. | See answer to Councilmember Sandberg’s question #15. | |||||||||||||||||||||
78 | Stephen Volan | 77 | PARKS | How do you think about trails as transportation? | Trails are diverse facilities that allow for movement for short or long distances, and can be composed of asphalt, wood chips, dirt, or gravel. Trails are built to connect neighbors, traverse cities, connect to or through parks, navigate around lakes, commute to school or walk through the woods. Communities are diverse, as are the users and modes of transportation used on trails. We build trails to encourage maximum usage by all members of the community to meet their needs, whether it be for recreation or transportation. Parks works in coordination with Engineering, Planning, and Public Works under the direction of the Mayor’s Office. | |||||||||||||||||||||
79 | Ron Smith | 78 | HR | Can you further explain the big percent increases? | As noted during the budget presentations due to the way we have to budget and spend out of the ED LIT fund we minimized the number of departments budgeted from this fund: HR, Controller, IT and PW-Facilities. The budgeted amounts for IT and Facilities match up with the sheet. As noted by Director Shaw, ED-LIT was used to support the 5% COLA, one time payment of $1,000, retention and recruitment incentives, salary & pay adjustments, parental leave and new incentives for the Fire department. In addition, the funds went to offset increases in fuel, insurance and other material & supply costs. | |||||||||||||||||||||
80 | Ron Smith | 79 | HAND | Would like to know more about the Housing Security Group’s plan for the $1.5mm. | As noted in HAND’s budget hearing, Heading Home Initiative Director of Housing Security has a scheduled update for the Council at its September 21 meeting. Here are some highlights provided on September 7: Built for Zero: Heading Home of South Central Indiana has joined Built for Zero, a national network of more than 100 communities working to end homelessness through a strategic, data-driven approach. With a focus on Monroe and five surrounding counties, this region is the first in Indiana to join Built for Zero. The partnership with Built for Zero will help improve the regional homelessness response system to achieve measurable reductions in how many people are experiencing, and coming into, homelessness. The goal to reduce homelessness for all populations will begin by reaching functional zero for veterans. Our work with Built for Zero will also result in a public data dashboard to track our region’s progress. Read more about our Built for Zero partnership at https://bton.in/CirQ1. Housing Navigation Resource: When looking for available and affordable housing in South Central Indiana, tenants struggle to find up-to-date listings. To resolve this issue we have partnered with Myerson Consulting to build a housing navigation resource that provides an accurate, up-to-date guide for people searching for low-income housing. Housing Choice voucher holders also struggle with finding landlords who will accept their vouchers. This housing navigation resource guide will also include a list of landlords who are willing to accept vouchers and help mitigate this issue. Our estimated launch is early 2023. Rental Renovation Pilot Project: The rental renovation pilot project, still in development, aims to increase regional housing units that are accessible to low-income and homeless individuals, specifically residents with health issues, or mental health and substance abuse challenges. We plan to do this by funding renovations of landlord-owned housing units in exchange for long-term master lease agreements with local agencies that provide housing vouchers for their clients. In partnership with the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County, Heading Home has applied for a $1.5 million grant from the IU Health Community Impact Investment program to fund this initiative. Our long-term goal is to replicate this program in surrounding counties, forming a regional network of landlords who will offer additional housing units in exchange for access to renovation funds. Communications: Heading Home has launched a website (headinghomeindiana.org), social media (Facebook and Instagram) and a monthly newsletter as part of our communications strategy to highlight the housing security work being done in this region. Our communications efforts will continue as we work to inform and educate residents about the needs and strategies underway to strengthen housing security. South Central Housing Network: Heading Home provides logistical support to the South Central Housing Network, the regional planning council for the area that covers Monroe, Morgan, Lawrence, Owen, Greene and Martin counties. SCHN partners are required to join the network as a condition of receiving federal Housing & Urban Development (HUD) funding. Heading Home support includes providing minutes for both the SCHN board and general membership meetings, as well as the group’s advocacy committee. Mary Morgan, Heading Home’s director of housing security, is an SCHN board member. Cross-Agency Training: In the summer of 2022, Heading Home partnered with the South Central Housing Network to create a cross-agency training committee. This committee was formed to identify and address shared training and professional development needs across multiple agencies that are working on housing security. Heading Home is working with the committee to launch our first training event in September 2022. Regional Outreach: Because housing security is a regional issue, Heading Home staff are working on community outreach in south Central Indiana, meeting with leaders in the six-county region of Monroe, Morgan, Lawrence, Owen, Greene and Martin. These discussions center on building collaborations to best address regional housing security. To date, Heading Home has held regional meetings in Lawrence County, partnering with United Way of South Central Indiana, and in Owen County, partnering with the Owen County Community Foundation. We also are meeting regularly with a group of Morgan County leaders who convene to discuss low-income housing issues. We are making a presentation at the Greene County Nonprofit Alliance in September. Community Loan Center:With help from Prosperity Indiana, Heading Home is exploring the possibility of launching a Community Loan Center (https://www.prosperityindiana.org/CLC) in south central Indiana, as an alternative to predatory payday lending. We’ve had initial discussions with CDFI Friendly Bloomington as a possible partner, and will continue to facilitate efforts to pursue a CLC in this region. IU Interns & Class Projects:Two interns have joined Heading Home this fall, through the Cox Scholar program and the Bloomington Press Club internship. We are also working on class projects facilitated by clinical associate professors Laura Littlepage (grant-writing) and Mark Levin (public policy) at the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and are exploring a partnership with the Kelley Institute for Social Impact (KISI) in their annual case competition. | |||||||||||||||||||||
81 | Ron Smith | 80 | PARKS | What’s a new initiative we need to know about in the next year or so? | A new initiative in the Operations Division is the modernizing and improving the asset management, work tracking, and other data management for Parks in 2023. The Recreation Division is excited to offer nutritious cooking classes at the Banneker Community Center as part of creating a nutritional hub for the surrounding community. | |||||||||||||||||||||
82 | Isabel Piedmont-Smith | 81 | HR | What is the rate of resignations last year compared to previous years? | See answer to Councilmember Sandberg’s question 17. | |||||||||||||||||||||
83 | Isabel Piedmont-Smith | 82 | HR/CONTROLLER | Can you share the breakdown for how the Parking Cash Out amount was set for 2023? | An analysis of the annual cost for the Showers lot was completed by the Controller. The result of this analysis showed a cost of $100 per employee. This amount was doubled to $200 and was presented to the Council for their review at the first budget retreat meeting. During that discussion the Council requested we review the amount in comparison to other parking permits and consider a higher amount. In reviewing the various parking permit and garage rates we found they ranged from just over $100 per year for an all zone permit to over $700 per year for reserved parking in a garage. At the next budget retreat we proposed a rate of $500. The result of this discussion was an agreement on the amount. The policy was revised and submitted to the Council and was implemented in July of this year with the $500 being prorated for 2022 to $250 and $500 for 2023. | |||||||||||||||||||||
84 | Isabel Piedmont-Smith | 83 | LEGAL/PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT | What are our options to address the 2020 census undercount? | Our options are very limited. We submitted a written comment supporting the Census Bureau conducting a Post-Census Group Quarters Review, and we are working with IU to obtain the data to submit a PCGQR case. However, it is important to note that the Census Bureau will not use the data submitted under this process (or other processes like the Count Question Resolution and Population Estimates program) to review or change the 2020 Census count, or to alter 2020 Census data products such as apportionment results or redistricting data. Corrected data may be helpful in determining some Federal grant eligibility. We are exploring litigation options. See also answer to Councilmember Volan’s question #65. | |||||||||||||||||||||
85 | Isabel Piedmont-Smith | 84 | CBU | Can you provide the bond amortization schedule breakdown? | Graphic in original. See Tab Q 84 | |||||||||||||||||||||
86 | Isabel Piedmont-Smith | 85 | HR/CBU | Would like information about the positions being proposed at CBU. JH: | JH: see above where gave full list of new positions proposed. See answer to Councilmember Sgambelluri question 22. | |||||||||||||||||||||
87 | Isabel Piedmont-Smith | 86 | POLICE | Can you provide the latest data on the CIRT vehicle? | The CIRT vehicle has been used 3 times since the first of the year. The incidents include a warrant for a weapons-related call, an attempted homicide warrant and a homicide warrant. CIRT activations are all publicly reported monthly to the Public Safety Board. | |||||||||||||||||||||
88 | Isabel Piedmont-Smith | 87 | HAND | Any other cooperative organization city could encourage? Are there other groups catering to other maybe older folks that we could encourage through financial support? | Bloomington Cooperative Living (BCL) is an active partner with the City on expanding its provision of affordable housing. We are glad to partner with any housing organization that can help meet the City’s goals of achieving permanent affordability at a variety of income ranges and in different models. It is also worth noting here that the development of a Community Land Trust (CLT) with Summit Hill CDC provides an additional model of housing that can drive permanent affordability. Thus far, BCL is the only cooperative housing organization that we are aware of that is formally organized in Bloomington. | |||||||||||||||||||||
89 | Isabel Piedmont-Smith | 88 | ESD/HR | Would like more clarification on the $28k in employee benefit costs as was presented. How does this compare to other departments? It wasn’t broken down in other presentations. | As presented by ESD, the following breakdown of 2023 vs. 2022 year-over-year increases applies to ESD’s budget: FICA: $6,276 PERF: $11,650 Health & Life Insurance: $14,274 Other Personnel Services: -$10,000 Other Personnel Services DC Match: $6,240 Total variance: $28,439 | |||||||||||||||||||||
90 | Isabel Piedmont-Smith | 89 | ESD | Would also like more information about the fees collected by scooter companies and how the money is and can be spent. | Please seen answers to questions #4 and #52 above. | |||||||||||||||||||||
91 | Isabel Piedmont-Smith | 90 | CFRD | Would like more information about the proposed program specialist position and what they would do. | The proposed position will coordinate with numerous community organizations on several issues including those related to individuals experiencing homelessness in the City. | |||||||||||||||||||||
92 | Isabel Piedmont-Smith | 91 | HR | In Employee Relations, one of your goals is 80% completion of diversity and inclusion training and preventing sexual harassment training for all supervisors. Why not 100%? | Ideally, we would like all of our supervisors to complete the training, but for various reasons this may not happen. The goal of 80% completion is what we have identified as a practical, impactful goal to achieve. | |||||||||||||||||||||
93 | Isabel Piedmont-Smith | 92 | HR | In regard to the potential employee health clinic, please provide examples of other Indiana cities have created an employee health clinic. If there are no other Indiana examples, please provide some examples from comparable cities in other states. | We have not researched whether or not other cities in Indiana or elsewhere have implemented or utilized employee health clinics. | |||||||||||||||||||||
94 | Isabel Piedmont-Smith | 93 | HR | How many position vacancies does the City currently have that have lasted more than 3 months? (asked during the meeting) | We do not regularly track this specific information. Some positions are purposely not filled right away. Also, hiring for some positions takes longer than 3 months due to factors not related to our ability to recruit qualified candidates. We have recently reviewed the vacancies for which we had to advertise more than one time this year. We believe that between 12-14 vacancies were re-posted due to our inability to find qualified candidates at the posted requirements and salary. | |||||||||||||||||||||
95 | Isabel Piedmont-Smith | 94 | HR | What has been the rate of voluntary resignations in the last 2 years (July 2020 through June 2022) compared to the 2 years before that? (asked during the meeting) | See answer to Councilmember Sandberg’s question 17. | |||||||||||||||||||||
96 | Isabel Piedmont-Smith | 95 | HR | How was it determined that the parking cash out has a value of $500? (asked during the meeting) | See answer to Councilmember Piedmont-Smith’s question #82. | |||||||||||||||||||||
97 | Isabel Piedmont-Smith | 96 | HR | What sorts of classes and training taken by employees will be eligible for tuition reimbursement under the pilot program? | We have yet to determine the details of this program. | |||||||||||||||||||||
98 | Isabel Piedmont-Smith | 97 | HR | Why are 100% of regular salaries and benefits for HR coming from the new ED-LIT funds? Overall, a further explanation of the funding in Category 1 for HR is needed. For example, I don’t know why there is $590,013 in “Other personal services” in the General Fund. | As noted during the budget presentations due to the way we have to budget and spend out of the ED LIT fund we minimized the number of departments budgeted from this fund. HR, Controller, IT and PW-Facilities. The budgeted amounts for IT and Facilities match up with the sheet. As noted by Director Shaw, ED-LIT was used to support the 5% COLA, one time payment of $1,000, retention and recruitment incentives, salary & pay adjustments, parental leave and new incentives for the Fire department. In addition, the funds went to offset increases in fuel, insurance and other material & supply costs. | |||||||||||||||||||||
99 | Isabel Piedmont-Smith | 98 | ITS | What is the Leadership Security Culture Survey? | The Leadership Security Culture Survey is a survey ITS conducts annually with City Department Heads and other organizational leaders to determine awareness of cybersecurity threats and awareness of the responsibility of City leaders in protecting the City’s digital assets. We conduct other security surveys and a comprehensive annual customer satisfaction survey with broader City staff, but this particular survey is targeted to departmental leaders on cybersecurity. | |||||||||||||||||||||
100 | Isabel Piedmont-Smith | 99 | ITS | What is a Smart City Strategic Plan? | The purpose of a Smart City Strategic Plan is to provide an organizational framework to support anticipated future service delivery needs, drive operational efficiencies and improvements, achieve cost savings, and promote innovation. A successful plan should guide and direct staff when the city replaces, upgrades, or remediates key city infrastructure and systems, such as roads, water and sewer pipes, lighting, conduit and fiber, asset tracking, etc. |