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Record of Proceedings

Bloomington City Council Regular Session - October 16, 2026

City Council — Friday, October 16, 2026
BodyBloomington, Indiana
SessionCity Council
DateFriday, October 16, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 5:32:17

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:00

All right, good evening, everybody, and welcome to this regular session of the Bloomington City Council.

0:10

Today is Wednesday, October 14th.

Unassigned speaker

0:14

I

Speaker 1

0:15

don't have my eyes on, but I don't think we have a clerk.

0:18

So never mind on all of that.

0:21

Someone get the clerk.

0:22

Clerk, clerk, clerk,

Speaker 2

0:25

clerk.

Speaker 1

0:26

This is actually it really highlights how funny what about what is about to happen is.

0:34

I mean, I could just ask you all if you're here, you know, which is I will wait.

0:41

Not because I want to, but because I must.

0:49

Dear clerk, thank you so much.

0:51

Glorious entrance.

0:52

Will you please?

0:53

Yes.

0:58

Beloved clerk, will you please call the roll?

Unassigned speaker

1:02

Yes,

Speaker 3

1:02

Councilmember Stasberg.

1:04

Here.

1:04

Piedmont Smith.

1:05

Here.

1:07

Zulik.

1:08

Here.

1:08

Sorry.

Speaker 1

1:09

Here.

Speaker 3

1:09

Daly.

1:10

Here.

1:11

Rallo?

Speaker 1

1:12

Here.

Speaker 3

1:12

And Raf.

Speaker 4

1:13

Here.

Speaker 3

1:14

Thank you.

Speaker 1

1:15

Thank you very much.

1:15

And I motion that we always begin council meetings with applause for the clerk.

1:20

Just before, also on another noteworthy moment.

1:23

I'd like everybody to acknowledge our brand new uh council attorney, Mr.

1:30

Rossman.

1:31

Yay.

1:34

We're so grateful for your service to the city.

1:36

Thank you for being a part of this team.

1:39

Really much looking forward to working with you.

1:42

Okay, with that, um agendas.

1:44

They are posted there.

1:45

There are some copies there if you are online or if you are seeing impaired.

1:51

Um there are um uh digital copies um that should be accessible online as well.

1:58

Um today, our meeting, we have a handful of minutes to approve.

2:03

I think these there was some amendments sent out.

2:05

Um we'll have reports from the office of the mayor, from council committees, um, and then there will be a time of public comment.

2:14

There are two times of public comment, which is best part of the council meeting.

2:19

Of course, there are also times of public comment for every item on the agenda, but there's two times of public comment for things that are not on the agenda.

2:27

I'll remind you now so that we don't have to remind you later that those times of public comment are for things that are not on the agenda.

2:35

There'll be one at the beginning and one at the end.

2:37

Um we have some appointments to boards and commissions.

2:40

We'll also be um um uh discussing uh potentially discussing a um proposed removal from a board and commission.

2:49

Um, and we'll allow um some some uh uh a brief uh comment there.

2:55

Um we have uh legislation for first reading, quite a bit of it, three things um and legislation for second reading.

3:02

We have one, two, three, four, five, six things.

3:05

So um I like to go home at some point, and so we will try our best to do exactly that.

3:10

Are there any motions before we get going?

3:13

Any uh Councilmember Piedmont Smith?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety█████████████████████████████29%
Miscellaneous███████████████████19%
Technology and Innovation███████████████15%
Procedural████████████12%
Public Engagement██████6%
Zoning Regulations████4%
Accessibility███3%
Debt Management██2%
Transportation Safety██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Bloomington City Council Regular Session - October 16, 2026

The Bloomington City Council held its regular session on October 16, 2026, at City Hall. The meeting covered approval of minutes, reports from council and the mayor, a transportation commission report, first readings of three ordinances, second readings and adoption of several key items, and public comment on multiple topics. The most significant action was the unanimous passage of Ordinance 2026-22, permanently banning automated license plate readers (ALPRs) and restricting certain surveillance camera technologies within the city. The council also adopted the 2027 civil city and water/wastewater budgets, updated membership on the transportation and environmental commissions, and approved the ADA Transition Plan. Several first-reading items were advanced to November 4 for second reading.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes: Approved as amended from April 15, April 22, May 6, May 13, May 20, and June 3, 2026.
  • Appointment: Justice Belton appointed to seat C2 on the Commission on the Status of Black Males (voice vote, unanimous).

Reports

  • Councilmember Stasberg: Recognized Domestic Violence Awareness Month (wearing purple). Reported on Plan Commission actions: UDO amendments (higher density housing, ADUs, duplexes) forwarded with positive recommendation; two voluntary annexation cases coming to council in 1-2 months. Also noted fall high school cross-country season limits weekend availability for constituent meetings.
  • Councilmember Piedmont Smith: Also recognized Domestic Violence Awareness Month and promoted the Alzheimer's Walk at Switchyard Park on Sunday.
  • Mayor Thompson: Updated on SNAP cuts (effective October 1) impacting local service agencies. Provided updates on 714 South Rogers (future police station, still in due diligence, RFP for architects, no anticipated police force growth), Showers West (lease negotiations concluded, only Bloomington Board of Realtors remaining until June 2027; $621,000 in high-priority repairs needed; city to assume utilities and maintenance in 2028 budget). Thanked Councilmember Piedmont Smith for outreach on last-minute amendments.
  • Transportation Commission Chair Steve Woland: Presented commission findings on Walker parking study. Commission endorsed 8 of 12 recommendations. Disagreements included: not transferring citation appeals to parking services (0-5), not reducing on-street hours to 8 PM (4-1, failed endorsement), not using license plate recognition for enforcement (0-5), and not creating separate brand identity for parking (0-5). Endorsed data-driven approach, rate changes (zone system and off-street), multi-space meters, gated equipment updates, and marketing/signage improvements.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Non-Agenda Items: Noah Thompson (IU student, Young Americans for Liberty) advocated for lower parking ticket fines.
  • Ordinance 2026-29 (Superintelligence): Thomas Westgard urged caution based on historical technology risks. Barry dismissed the ordinance as a distraction, arguing artificial superintelligence is not real and resources should focus on actual AI harms. Jesse Edwards questioned enforceability. Elijah asked for definitions of AGI and ASI. Jamie Scholl supported the ordinance, recounting personal AI manipulation and citing infrastructure vulnerabilities. Paul Rousseau supported, emphasizing the concept of "beyond human control."
  • Ordinance 2026-30 (General Obligation Bonds): Oliver Hinshaw expressed concern about funding priorities, asking whether bonds could support social services rather than capital projects.
  • Ordinance 2026-23 (UDO Amendments): Doug Hazen (Hazen Insurance) described unexpected $36,000 in compliance costs after purchasing a building. Jason Bell (Bell's Vacuum) recounted a five-month permitting delay costing over $350,000. Chris Hernie (Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce) supported the changes, citing reputation for being hard to do business and specific examples. Sarah Wolford (Habitat for Humanity) supported as a good start.
  • Ordinance 2026-22 (ALPR Ban): Over 20 speakers, including students, community members, and representatives from Exodus Refugee Immigration, expressed strong support for the ordinance, citing privacy concerns, documented abuse by law enforcement (e.g., stalking, immigration enforcement), and distrust of corporate vendors. Scott Tibbs opposed, arguing the technology helps solve crimes and rescues children. Many speakers urged the council to pass the ordinance without weakening amendments, particularly opposing Amendment 5. Others called for independent audits of data use.
  • ADA Transition Plan: Paul Rousseau argued the city is "wildly out of compliance" with ADA. Eric Oost called for restoration of unified PDF meeting packets and more resources for the ADA coordinator.

First Reading Items

  • Ordinance 2026-29 (Prohibiting Superintelligence): Councilmember Rallo presented the ordinance as a companion to Resolution 2026-10, banning deployment of autonomous artificial superintelligence (ASI) in Bloomington. He argued it is an interim public safety measure due to lack of state/federal regulation. A video compilation of expert warnings was shown. Council discussion raised concerns about enforceability and language (e.g., dissolution requires 95% voter approval). Public comment was mixed. Moved to second reading on November 4 (voice vote, unanimous).
  • Ordinance 2026-30 (General Obligation Bonds, $6.868M): Controller Jeff McKim, Deputy Fire Chief Max Litwin, City Engineer Andrew Sebor, and financial advisor Justin Chang presented. Projects include: replacement of an aerial platform fire truck (current truck down 4+ months, repair over $100k), 10th Street corridor improvements (design funded, construction targeted 2028), 3rd Street signal modernization (part of Rogers-Kinser-Madison study), crosswalk safety projects (Phase 3 & 4), and sidewalk/bikeway/lighting improvements. Bonds are first in a planned three-year cycle. Councilmember Stasberg explained the rationale for debt financing. Oliver Hinshaw questioned funding for social services vs. capital projects. Moved to second reading on November 4 (voice vote, unanimous).
  • Ordinance 2026-23 (UDO Amendments): Development Services Manager Eric Gruulick presented amendments to streamline the "change in use" process. Changes include: removing full compliance requirement for subdivisions (as long as no new noncompliance), increasing thresholds for building/parking/ dwelling unit additions to 25%, removing triggers for changes between use subcategories, and extending vacancy abandonment from one to two years. Plan Commission voted 7-0 to recommend. Public speakers supported. Moved to second reading on November 4 (voice vote, unanimous).

Historic Preservation Commission Removal

  • Councilmember Zulick reported that the interview committee had met but could not give a verbal report under council rules. A motion to suspend rules for a verbal report failed (4-3, needing 2/3). The item was continued to November 4. Councilmember Piedmont Smith requested more specific notice be given to the commissioner regarding the conduct, code of conduct violations, and fitness to serve.

Second Reading Items

  • Ordinance 2026-22 (Prohibiting ALPRs and Surveillance Cameras): Councilmember Piedmont Smith presented the ordinance, co-sponsored by Zulick and Asari. Extensive debate on amendments: Amendment 1 (strike "Flock" from title) passed 7-0. Amendment 2 (narrow definition of surveillance camera to include automatic detection, recognition, classification, or tracking) passed 7-0. Amendment 3 (align prohibitions with amended definition, allow repair access, ban facial recognition/biometric tracking without council authorization) passed 7-0. Amendment 5 (allowed body-worn cameras, dash cams, and evidence sharing with a case number; also defined city agency to include central dispatch) passed 5-2 (Zulick and Asari opposed). After public comment, the ordinance as amended was adopted 7-0.
  • Appropriation Ordinance 2026-02 (2027 Civil City Budget): Controller McKim addressed questions about self-insurance changes (reduction due to eliminated telemetry devices) and police TDM manager position. Adopted 7-0.
  • Appropriation Ordinance 2026-04 (Water/Wastewater Budget): Utilities Director Catherine Zegler explained the depreciation fund. Adopted 7-0.
  • Ordinance 2026-21 (Transportation and Environmental Commissions): Councilmember Stasberg moved Amendment 1 to change the Environmental Commission reduction from 9 to 11 members, following feedback from commission members. The amendment passed 7-0. The ordinance as amended was adopted 7-0, creating a dedicated seat for Monroe County Community School Corporation on the Transportation Commission and reducing the Environmental Commission from 12 to 11.
  • Resolution 2026-22 (ADA Transition Plan): Presented by ADA Coordinator Michael Shermis. The plan documents the city's progress on accessibility. Council discussion raised concerns about underinvestment and incomplete coverage. Councilmember Asari voted no, arguing the plan lacks ambitious implementation. The resolution was adopted 6-1.

Key Outcomes

  • Ordinance 2026-22 passed, permanently banning ALPRs and restricting surveillance camera technologies with third-party data access. (7-0)
  • 2027 budgets adopted (civil city and water/wastewater).
  • Transportation Commission membership updated to include MCCSC; Environmental Commission reduced from 12 seats to 11.
  • ADA Transition Plan approved as an advisory document, with further work expected.
  • First-reading items (Superintelligence ban, GO bonds, UDO amendments) advanced to November 4 for second reading.
  • HPC removal item continued to November 4 with specific notice requirements.
  • Public safety deliberation series continues with next session on October 21.

Meeting Transcript

All right, good evening, everybody, and welcome to this regular session of the Bloomington City Council. Today is Wednesday, October 14th. I don't have my eyes on, but I don't think we have a clerk. So never mind on all of that. Someone get the clerk. Clerk, clerk, clerk, clerk. This is actually it really highlights how funny what about what is about to happen is. I mean, I could just ask you all if you're here, you know, which is I will wait. Not because I want to, but because I must. Dear clerk, thank you so much. Glorious entrance. Will you please? Yes. Beloved clerk, will you please call the roll? Yes, Councilmember Stasberg. Here. Piedmont Smith. Here. Zulik. Here. Sorry. Here. Daly. Here. Rallo? Here. And Raf. Here. Thank you. Thank you very much. And I motion that we always begin council meetings with applause for the clerk. Just before, also on another noteworthy moment. I'd like everybody to acknowledge our brand new uh council attorney, Mr. Rossman. Yay. We're so grateful for your service to the city. Thank you for being a part of this team. Really much looking forward to working with you. Okay, with that, um agendas. They are posted there. There are some copies there if you are online or if you are seeing impaired. Um there are um uh digital copies um that should be accessible online as well. Um today, our meeting, we have a handful of minutes to approve. I think these there was some amendments sent out. Um we'll have reports from the office of the mayor, from council committees, um, and then there will be a time of public comment. There are two times of public comment, which is best part of the council meeting. Of course, there are also times of public comment for every item on the agenda, but there's two times of public comment for things that are not on the agenda.

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