OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Bloomington Interview Committee Meeting – April 9, 2026

City Council — Thursday, April 9, 2026
BodyBloomington, Indiana
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, April 9, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 51:56

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

I'll call this meeting to order.

0:02

And I guess we'll do attendance first.

0:05

This is interview committee student.

0:06

I am council member Sydney Zulu, District 6.

0:10

And I'm going to put my phone on segment.

0:12

Yeah.

0:13

Councilmember Isabel Pete Mont Smith, District 1.

0:17

Senator Crossley, Deputy Clerk.

0:20

Davor Allo District 4 Council.

0:24

Great.

0:25

So real quick, you have an interview that's coming up at 6.

0:30

I almost said two.

0:32

There were supposed to be two people, Sarah and Rebecca.

0:35

Sarah Brinkman emailed back after going back and forth with me a couple of different times and has decided to not attend tonight's meeting.

0:45

I wanted to clarify.

0:47

Does that mean she's withdrawing her application?

0:51

And I'm still waiting to hear back.

0:54

So okay.

0:58

In person.

1:00

Yes.

1:01

Great.

1:03

Um okay.

1:05

And we only have one with appointment.

1:09

Correct.

1:11

And is that the seat?

1:13

Who currently holds that?

1:15

That's his seat that's currently occupied by Matt Os.

1:18

Okay, thank you.

1:23

Oh, uh well, I was just um I don't have it in front of me, but there was a uh at the last weekos meeting there was um a list of count of because members and Matt Austin was on it, and it seems that he was reappointed, and I remember otherwise, but I do see that his term runs from 4-8.

1:51

Wait a minute.

1:52

His term runs from April 8th, 2026 to April 8th, 2026.

1:58

Well, everybody's dead.

1:59

Well, is that meaningful?

2:02

That's probably just that he had 90 days to well, that's today's date.

2:08

Yes, it is.

2:08

So was it me?

2:12

Well, I'm looking actually at the site of commissioners simulator.

2:17

And on board it says he has an interim appointment.

2:22

2126 to 131 28.

2:29

Yeah, okay.

2:31

Interim appointment until when.

2:32

Well, that's weird.

2:34

Or that on that it's all like that, because technically his term was up at the end of January of this year.

2:41

And so on board does this weird automatic thing where it if you haven't been appointed by that date, it does it used to say carryover.

2:51

And so IT switch of the term says show that this technically is basically saying that they've not been reappointed yet.

3:00

And so it looks like if he were to be reappointed, that would be his new term, which would be 2-1 of this year and goes through 131 of 2028.

3:11

Right.

3:12

And we have 30 days from January 31st to or 99th 90.

3:17

So that would be April 30th.

3:19

Correct.

3:19

Okay.

3:20

So he has that like 90-day buffer day.

3:24

Okay.

3:26

Yeah.

3:26

Um, I have a couple other things that we need to talk about in the 10 minutes before.

3:32

Um, one, um, Reynard Cross, who previously served on the Historic Preservation Commission as a mayoral appointment, in addition to Sam DeSolar, they were not reappointed by uh Mayor Thompson.

3:49

And I reached out to both of them because I've worked with both of them just because of the planning that I've done with the deliberation sessions and I'm there in the liaison.

3:58

And so I I knew both of them.

4:00

I asked both of them if if they would be interested in serving in a council role, even in spite of the fact that it's a non-voting seat just to continue on the board and continue giving their perspective.

4:13

Sam turned me down and said that he did not want to do it if he didn't have a vote, which I completely understand.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Sustainable Development█████████████████████████████████33%
Historic Preservation██████████████████18%
Community Engagement███████████11%
Procedural█████████9%
Public Transportation███████7%
Equity in Transportation███████7%
Senior Services██████6%
Zoning Regulations████4%
Public Engagement███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Bloomington Interview Committee Meeting – April 9, 2026

The Interview Committee of the Bloomington City Council met on April 9, 2026, to conduct interviews for appointments to the Historic Preservation Commission and the Commission on Sustainability and Resilience. The committee also discussed concerns regarding a Bloomington Transit board member's residency and received liaison updates.

Historic Preservation Commission Appointments

  • The committee learned that applicant Sarah Brinkman had declined to attend, effectively withdrawing from consideration. Council members clarified the term status of incumbent Matt Austin, noting an interim appointment that expired January 31, 2026, with a 90-day buffer until April 30, 2026.
  • Council member Zulu reported that former mayoral appointees Reynard Cross and Sam DeSolar were not reappointed by Mayor Thompson. DeSolar declined a council non‑voting seat, but Cross expressed interest.
  • The committee voted unanimously to invite Cassie Shelton (after confirming she lives within city limits) and James Hutchison (a new applicant with a background in history and park interpretation) to interview for the Historic Preservation Commission.
  • The committee also voted unanimously to appoint Reynard Cross to seat C2 of the Historic Preservation Commission, filling a vacancy when his previous mayor‑appointed term ended.

Concerns Regarding Bloomington Transit Board Member

  • Council member Zulu raised a concern that James McLeary, President of the Bloomington Transit Board, may reside in Florida and declared Florida residency for tax purposes while receiving a stipend from BT. McLeary was described as anti‑transit and focused on microtransit. Council members agreed the mayor should investigate where McLeary declares his primary residence, noting the contrast with a county resident recently denied representation on another board.

Liaison Updates

  • Council members reported on their liaison roles: one member needed to contact the new chair of the Blue Arts Commission; another noted the RDC (Redevelopment Commission?) is holding frequent executive sessions, limiting visibility into their activities.

Interview and Recommendation for Commission on Sustainability and Resilience

  • The committee interviewed Rebecca Payne for seat C3 of the Commission on Sustainability and Resilience. Payne shared her background in urban planning and public health, her current role as a health educator with Purdue Extension in Lawrence County, and her motivation to serve based on civic engagement and concern for her children’s future. She identified climate denial and political polarity as major threats to sustainability, and suggested Bloomington could focus on electric vehicle incentives and solar panel adoption. She emphasized equity and inclusion, noting that the most vulnerable populations (including the elderly) are often left behind.
  • Council member Roller, who serves on the commission, explained that the commission meets the second Tuesday of the month from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., has active subcommittees on waste reduction, transportation, and housing, and has recently worked on topics like toxic chemicals, local food, and chicken ordinances.
  • The committee voted unanimously to recommend Rebecca Payne’s appointment to the full council for seat C3.

Key Outcomes

  • Cassie Shelton and James Hutchison invited to interview for the Historic Preservation Commission on April 15, 2026 (before the council’s deliberation session).
  • Reynard Cross appointed to Historic Preservation Commission seat C2 (voice vote: unanimous).
  • Rebecca Payne recommended for appointment to Commission on Sustainability and Resilience seat C3 (voice vote: unanimous).
  • The committee will raise the Bloomington Transit board member residency issue with Mayor Thompson.
  • The next regularly scheduled committee meeting is April 22, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

I'll call this meeting to order. And I guess we'll do attendance first. This is interview committee student. I am council member Sydney Zulu, District 6. And I'm going to put my phone on segment. Yeah. Councilmember Isabel Pete Mont Smith, District 1. Senator Crossley, Deputy Clerk. Davor Allo District 4 Council. Great. So real quick, you have an interview that's coming up at 6. I almost said two. There were supposed to be two people, Sarah and Rebecca. Sarah Brinkman emailed back after going back and forth with me a couple of different times and has decided to not attend tonight's meeting. I wanted to clarify. Does that mean she's withdrawing her application? And I'm still waiting to hear back. So okay. In person. Yes. Great. Um okay. And we only have one with appointment. Correct. And is that the seat? Who currently holds that? That's his seat that's currently occupied by Matt Os. Okay, thank you. Oh, uh well, I was just um I don't have it in front of me, but there was a uh at the last weekos meeting there was um a list of count of because members and Matt Austin was on it, and it seems that he was reappointed, and I remember otherwise, but I do see that his term runs from 4-8. Wait a minute. His term runs from April 8th, 2026 to April 8th, 2026. Well, everybody's dead. Well, is that meaningful? That's probably just that he had 90 days to well, that's today's date. Yes, it is. So was it me? Well, I'm looking actually at the site of commissioners simulator. And on board it says he has an interim appointment. 2126 to 131 28. Yeah, okay. Interim appointment until when. Well, that's weird. Or that on that it's all like that, because technically his term was up at the end of January of this year. And so on board does this weird automatic thing where it if you haven't been appointed by that date, it does it used to say carryover. And so IT switch of the term says show that this technically is basically saying that they've not been reappointed yet. And so it looks like if he were to be reappointed, that would be his new term, which would be 2-1 of this year and goes through 131 of 2028. Right. And we have 30 days from January 31st to or 99th 90. So that would be April 30th. Correct.

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