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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Committee on Council Processes Meeting - August 7, 2026: Public Transportation Transit Board Reappointment Discussion

City Council — Friday, August 7, 2026

BodyBloomington, Indiana

SessionCity Council

DateFriday, August 7, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 29:25

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0:00

All right.

0:00

Well, let's be in order then.

0:02

What's on our agenda, Clerk?

0:04

Uh Clerk.

0:07

So hello, y'all.

0:08

Um you only have the um public transportation transit board to discuss.

0:20

There are there's one um person to be considered for reappointment, uh, Kent McDaniel, and he applied for reappointment.

0:30

And um there are other two applicants that have also applied.

0:38

I did end up talking to Kent um well after the public transportation board and um because I know it was an interesting meeting.

0:51

And so um he still won because there was a comment that was made and an article that basically said like he wasn't sure if he wanted to continue, and I was like, I just want to talk to you after you know the dust has settled.

1:06

Are you still wanting to do that?

1:09

Um I think he is still wanting to consider it to be reappointed.

1:14

I think he was just upset at the situation um that transpired.

1:22

Um I have a question about the archived applications, because I guess I looked at those in one of the archived applications, like just barely got archived.

1:34

Oh, today, literally today.

1:36

Um so is that still something that we can consider as well, the archived applications or not so much, because then there would be like a total of four potential applicants.

1:50

As long as it's not been a calendar year since they um apply.

1:57

Okay.

2:05

So you know what what are thoughts here?

2:07

Because um, I mean so Ken wants to continue now, you're saying kind of and the general feedback from board and the and the um staff members and everything.

2:21

Yeah, John Connell um had reached out and said that he highly recommended him, and that was before the vote that took place.

2:29

Um and so yeah.

2:34

Oh, I would say timeline two is that our next session is September 2nd.

2:40

So I think if we could just get a recommendation, and I think that's totally possible.

2:44

We have plenty of time if we want to do interviews and figure that out still.

2:49

Um yeah, it feels like we have time to do that.

2:54

So my feeling is that Perry like Perry's very interesting applicant, but I don't think they bring anything that Kent doesn't bring.

3:00

It would be my would be my take.

3:03

Um sorry so if there then I don't I don't think that Zach is I don't think it would be enough great over Kent or Perry.

3:12

So to me it would be between Kent and Perry and so that would be the question about whether whether we feel like there'd be some value in considering um somebody else.

3:29

I think that's uh given some situation right now with BT, I think that it would certainly be worth interviewing.

3:37

I think um and I almost I mean honestly I kind of want to interview all four, including Hank Duncan whose application just archived, yeah.

3:46

Um to yeah, I mean I I just especially since we had it until September to make.

3:54

Yeah, I'm mostly think there are a lot of qualified candidates where I think I it'll be hard for me to choose maybe the one I think it would do the best right now, but I think they would all be great, you know.

4:15

So um and so maybe there would be some more clarity and some interviewing.

4:20

Um yeah, I'm okay with that if you want to yeah, I mean that's I think that that's part of why I feel that way is that you know that there's been some shake up.

4:33

Um and I I think that all four of those applications look interesting in different ways.

4:42

Um, and that all four of them might uh be good choices for service, and so I yeah.

4:53

Um and then I'm just just stating to be clear, I'd be very happy to reappoint Ken.

5:00

And then it sounds like that's that the board would like that.

5:01

I mean, he voted the way that I would have hoped he voted for the change.

5:06

I think that he's a bit of a great advocate.

5:08

I think, and I do think there's an argument to be made, which is with this change.

5:13

Let's assuming that this it has that there's nothing else that can be done here.

5:18

Um you know, having having folks who have some understanding about how we got to where we are, it might be very necessary factor.

5:30

Yeah, yeah.

5:31

And I I mean I I agree that might I still think it's worth talking to him about.

5:39

Yeah.

5:41

And then when do and I mean also just thinking in the broader sense because might the mayor want to um change some of her people.

5:59

She has two, right?

6:00

Is it three?

6:00

It's three and two.

6:03

I I have a question about that actually, but Crosley is right now on Kent's um seat has that that term is actually from 8126 to 731 2030.

6:14

So that like so in terms of the computer system that sort of automatically rolls over, but then he's labeled as interim, and that's how the system like does it right now.

6:24

Exactly, because uh he has up to 90 days after his term expires um to still serve until a new appointment or reappointment has been made.

6:37

So he could still do it while you all are still um deliberating on the seat.

6:44

Okay.

6:46

Yeah, the mayor's two appointments, one expires next July and the other July 28.

6:52

Um yeah, but I'm um if we want to do interviews, happy to happy to interview them.

6:59

I I don't like I I um what's uh I am I love Zach Amorman generally.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Public Transportation█████████████████████████████████████████████49%

Procedural███████████████████21%

Personnel Matters██████████████15%

Pending Litigation██████████████15%

Summary of Proceedings

Committee on Council Processes Meeting - August 7, 2026

The committee met to discuss the reappointment of Kent McDaniel to the Public Transportation Transit Board (BT board) and to consider other applicants. The discussion revealed significant discrepancies between current board appointments and state law requirements. The committee voted to interview all four candidates individually and referred the legal issues to city legal.

Public Comments & Testimony

Nancy Obermeyer, a board member of Movement in Bloomington, asked whether the candidate interviews would be open to the public. The committee confirmed that the interviews would be posted publicly and open.

Discussion Items

Reappointment of Kent McDaniel: The clerk reported that McDaniel remained interested in reappointment despite recent controversy. Several committee members expressed support for McDaniel, citing his advocacy and understanding of the board's history. Other applicants included Perry, Zach, and Hank Duncan (whose application had just archived). The committee debated whether to interview only McDaniel and Perry or all four candidates. Concerns were raised about Hank Duncan being a city employee, which could create conflicts of interest, but also noted potential value in integration with city planning.
Legal Concerns about Board Terms: A committee member discovered that state law (Indiana Code 36-9-4-17) specifies staggered terms for board directors (two, three, and four years) and political party balance (no more than three of the same party on a five-member board). The committee noted that current appointments may not comply: the mayor's appointments (two seats) appear to have expired terms, and the board's composition may violate party balance requirements. The committee decided to refer the matter to city legal for clarification and potential code updates.
Motion to Interview Candidates: A motion was made and seconded to interview all four candidates (Kent McDaniel, Perry, Zach, and Hank Duncan) individually, with 15–20 minutes per interview. The motion passed unanimously (Stasberg, Rosenberger, and others). The committee discussed scheduling, tentatively setting August 13 and 14, 2026, for the interviews.

Key Outcomes

Motion passed: To interview all four candidates for the Public Transportation Transit Board seat individually, with scheduling to be coordinated by the clerk.
Referral to city legal: The committee will ask city legal to review the board's compliance with state law regarding term lengths, party balance, and residency requirements, and to consider whether to expand the board from five to seven members.
Next steps: The clerk will contact Hank Duncan to confirm his continued interest and will send a scheduling poll to candidates for the interview dates.

Meeting Transcript

All right. Well, let's be in order then. What's on our agenda, Clerk? Uh Clerk. So hello, y'all. Um you only have the um public transportation transit board to discuss. There are there's one um person to be considered for reappointment, uh, Kent McDaniel, and he applied for reappointment. And um there are other two applicants that have also applied. I did end up talking to Kent um well after the public transportation board and um because I know it was an interesting meeting. And so um he still won because there was a comment that was made and an article that basically said like he wasn't sure if he wanted to continue, and I was like, I just want to talk to you after you know the dust has settled. Are you still wanting to do that? Um I think he is still wanting to consider it to be reappointed. I think he was just upset at the situation um that transpired. Um I have a question about the archived applications, because I guess I looked at those in one of the archived applications, like just barely got archived. Oh, today, literally today. Um so is that still something that we can consider as well, the archived applications or not so much, because then there would be like a total of four potential applicants. As long as it's not been a calendar year since they um apply. Okay. So you know what what are thoughts here? Because um, I mean so Ken wants to continue now, you're saying kind of and the general feedback from board and the and the um staff members and everything. Yeah, John Connell um had reached out and said that he highly recommended him, and that was before the vote that took place. Um and so yeah. Oh, I would say timeline two is that our next session is September 2nd. So I think if we could just get a recommendation, and I think that's totally possible. We have plenty of time if we want to do interviews and figure that out still. Um yeah, it feels like we have time to do that. So my feeling is that Perry like Perry's very interesting applicant, but I don't think they bring anything that Kent doesn't bring. It would be my would be my take. Um sorry so if there then I don't I don't think that Zach is I don't think it would be enough great over Kent or Perry. So to me it would be between Kent and Perry and so that would be the question about whether whether we feel like there'd be some value in considering um somebody else. I think that's uh given some situation right now with BT, I think that it would certainly be worth interviewing. I think um and I almost I mean honestly I kind of want to interview all four, including Hank Duncan whose application just archived, yeah. Um to yeah, I mean I I just especially since we had it until September to make. Yeah, I'm mostly think there are a lot of qualified candidates where I think I it'll be hard for me to choose maybe the one I think it would do the best right now, but I think they would all be great, you know. So um and so maybe there would be some more clarity and some interviewing. Um yeah, I'm okay with that if you want to yeah, I mean that's I think that that's part of why I feel that way is that you know that there's been some shake up. Um and I I think that all four of those applications look interesting in different ways. Um, and that all four of them might uh be good choices for service, and so I yeah. Um and then I'm just just stating to be clear, I'd be very happy to reappoint Ken. And then it sounds like that's that the board would like that. I mean, he voted the way that I would have hoped he voted for the change. I think that he's a bit of a great advocate. I think, and I do think there's an argument to be made, which is with this change. Let's assuming that this it has that there's nothing else that can be done here. Um you know, having having folks who have some understanding about how we got to where we are, it might be very necessary factor. Yeah, yeah. And I I mean I I agree that might I still think it's worth talking to him about. Yeah. And then when do and I mean also just thinking in the broader sense because might the mayor want to um change some of her people. She has two, right?

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