OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Bloomington City Council Meeting - October 20, 2025: New City Manager Oath, Bond Sales, Missing Middle Housing, Reserve Study, CIP, and Budget Discussions

City Council — Monday, October 20, 2025
BodyBloomington, Minnesota
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, October 20, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:12

Good evening, everyone, and welcome.

0:14

I will call this Bloomington City Council meeting to order.

0:17

Tonight is Monday, October 20th, 2025.

0:19

Thanks to everybody joining us here in the chambers and everyone watching online.

0:23

We will start our meeting as we always do.

0:25

If you are able, please stand, remove any head covering and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:31

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

0:36

And to the Republic for which it stands.

0:38

One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

0:52

Once again, welcome to everyone and thanks for joining us tonight.

0:54

Thanks, Council, for being here.

0:56

I'll start by saying we are down to four council members tonight.

0:59

This is, I think, as low as we can go and still have a meeting.

1:02

Missing council members for a variety of reasons of family events and travel and so on.

1:06

So, but uh I appreciate your being here tonight and making this meeting happen.

1:09

Thank you so very much.

1:11

First order of business council is to talk through our uh our agenda for tonight.

1:16

And our agenda includes uh in introductory item, item two is the oath of office for our new city manager.

1:23

Under item three, our consent business.

1:25

Councilmember Nelson has our consent agenda tonight.

1:27

We have three items under consent business.

1:29

Item four hearings resolutions and ordinances.

1:31

We have two resolutions that we'll be talking about.

1:34

Resolution awarding the sale of taxable community improvement bonds or uh series two 2025 D and a resolution awarding the sale of general obligation permanent improvement revolution fund bonds of 2025 series 57.

1:49

Under our organizational business and item five, uh a couple of study items.

1:53

A study item uh one on the missing meetle housing phase two, uh that'll be item 5.1, and then item 5.2, uh uh the results of a study that we've done about our financial reserves.

2:05

Uh Kyrie Carlson will be leading us in that.

2:08

Then we've got two discussions, uh, the 2026 through 2035 capital improvement plan draft.

2:13

And item 5.4, we're going to continue our ongoing budget discussions.

2:18

We're going to hear from our external services team that includes community development, parks and rec, public health, and public works.

2:25

And our we'll also have a good conversation about our utility rates, and we'll be hearing from folks from our utility team.

2:31

We will finish up with council policy issue and update and then adjourn, hopefully, well in advance of uh nine o'clock this evening, council.

2:38

Unless there are any changes or additions or anything, uh I would move approval of tonight's agenda as stated.

2:43

Second.

2:44

Motion and a second by council member Carter for approving tonight's agenda as stated.

2:48

No further council discussion on this.

2:50

All those in favor, please signify by saying aye.

2:51

Aye.

2:53

Motion carries 4-0, and we have an agenda.

2:55

Our first item on our agenda this evening is the oath of office for our new city manager, Mr.

3:01

Zach Walker.

3:02

So I'm going to invite you down to the podium and uh to take the oath of office.

3:12

Go ahead.

3:16

All right.

3:17

You want to raise your right hand and repeat after me.

3:20

I, Zach Walker.

3:21

I, Zach Walker.

3:22

Do solemnly swear.

3:23

Do solemnly swear.

3:25

That I will support the Constitution.

3:26

That I will support the Constitution.

3:28

Of the United States.

3:30

Of the United States.

3:31

And of the state of Minnesota.

3:33

And of the state of Minnesota.

3:34

And faithfully discharge the duties of the office.

3:37

And faithfully discharge the duties of the office.

3:40

Of city manager of the city of Bloomington.

3:43

Of the city manager of the city of Bloomington.

3:45

In the County of Hennepin.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Fiscal Sustainability████████████████████20%
Zoning Regulations████████████12%
Procedural██████████10%
Solid Waste Management█████████9%
Housing and Zoning███████7%
Parks and Recreation███████7%
Urban Planning█████5%
Budget Equity Analysis█████5%
Water And Wastewater Management█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Bloomington City Council Meeting - October 20, 2025

The Bloomington City Council met on Monday, October 20, 2025, at 5:00 PM (UTC) with four council members present (Mayor, Councilmembers Nelson, Carter, Lohman) due to absences. The meeting included the oath of office for new City Manager Zach Walker, consent agenda approval, two bond sales, a study on missing middle housing, a reserve analysis from GFOA, the 2026-2035 Capital Improvement Plan draft, and budget discussions for external services and utility rates. The meeting was extended to 9:20 PM and adjourned at 9:20 PM.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved items 3.1 through 3.3 via consent agenda (motion by Councilmember Nelson, second by Carter), passed 4-0.

Discussion Items

  • Oath of Office for City Manager Zach Walker: Zach Walker was sworn in as the new city manager, joining from Independence, Missouri. He expressed gratitude and excitement to lead Bloomington.

  • Resolution 4.1 – Award of Sale of Taxable CIP Bonds Series 2025 D: Staff presented the sale of $3,210,000 in bonds at a true interest cost of 4.66% for the acquisition of land for the public works fleet garage. The city maintained its triple-A bond rating. Approved 4-0.

  • Resolution 4.2 – Award of Sale of G.O. PIR Bonds Series 57: Staff presented the sale of $2,900,000 in tax-exempt bonds at a 2.8% interest rate for the pavement management program. Approved 4-0.

  • Study Item 5.1 – Missing Middle Housing Phase 2: Staff presented definitions and performance standards for triplexes, fourplexes, townhomes, cottage courts, and multiplexes. Council discussed parking standards, zoning districts (including R1), lot sizes, and setbacks. Councilmember Carter preferred option B (1 space/unit, no garage for most types). Councilmember Lohman emphasized context-sensitive parking and strategic zoning near transit. Councilmember Nelson sought clarity on townhome garage requirements. No final action taken; further discussion expected.

  • Study Item 5.2 – Reserve Study Results: Shane Kavanaugh (GFOA) presented a risk-based analysis using Monte Carlo simulation across 10,000 parallel universes. The city’s current General Fund reserve ($53 million) is at the ceiling of the recommended “Goldilocks” range (46–53 million), providing about 90% confidence in maintaining triple-A bond rating. Staff plans to bring similar analysis for other funds in November. Council discussed climate risk, infrastructure investment, and application of results.

  • Item 5.3 – 2026-2035 Capital Improvement Plan Draft: Staff presented the draft CIP, a planning tool with projects over $50,000. Highlights included the $75 million police station (2035), $75 million water park parking ramp (South Loop), and $30 million in cash plus $45 million in TIF bonds for the ramp. Council emphasized the document is a planning tool, not a final commitment. Councilmember Carter requested more info on Civic Plaza Lunchroom and 84th Street Pedestrian Bridge. Councilmember Lohman inquired about Fire Station 2 rebuild and sanitary sewer projects.

  • Item 5.4 – Budget Discussions:

    • External Services Team: Community Development (11.6M ops, flat revenue, reduced 0.5 FTE), Parks & Rec (staffing increases, fee adjustments, Center for Arts study), Public Health (6.5M revenue, 72% grants, stable), Public Works (20M general fund, fleet and facilities funds, savings from training).
    • Utility Rates: Proposed rates for 2026: Water and Stormwater – no increase; Wastewater – 6% increase (due to MCES charges); Solid Waste – rate restructuring with new cart sizes and every-other-week service option. Average household may see slight decrease. Public hearing set for November 17.

  • Council Policy and Issue Update: Mayor reported a successful listening session with two residents (Dennis Ordal and Jody Chanan). Councilmember Lohman clarified the role of contractors in city projects.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda approved 4-0.
  • Resolution 4.1 (CIP bonds) approved 4-0.
  • Resolution 4.2 (PIR bonds) approved 4-0.
  • Meeting extended to 9:20 PM by motion, approved 4-0.
  • Meeting adjourned at 9:20 PM, motion passed 4-0.
  • No formal votes on missing middle housing, reserve study, CIP, or budget; these items are for discussion and will return in future meetings.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everyone, and welcome. I will call this Bloomington City Council meeting to order. Tonight is Monday, October 20th, 2025. Thanks to everybody joining us here in the chambers and everyone watching online. We will start our meeting as we always do. If you are able, please stand, remove any head covering and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Once again, welcome to everyone and thanks for joining us tonight. Thanks, Council, for being here. I'll start by saying we are down to four council members tonight. This is, I think, as low as we can go and still have a meeting. Missing council members for a variety of reasons of family events and travel and so on. So, but uh I appreciate your being here tonight and making this meeting happen. Thank you so very much. First order of business council is to talk through our uh our agenda for tonight. And our agenda includes uh in introductory item, item two is the oath of office for our new city manager. Under item three, our consent business. Councilmember Nelson has our consent agenda tonight. We have three items under consent business. Item four hearings resolutions and ordinances. We have two resolutions that we'll be talking about. Resolution awarding the sale of taxable community improvement bonds or uh series two 2025 D and a resolution awarding the sale of general obligation permanent improvement revolution fund bonds of 2025 series 57. Under our organizational business and item five, uh a couple of study items. A study item uh one on the missing meetle housing phase two, uh that'll be item 5.1, and then item 5.2, uh uh the results of a study that we've done about our financial reserves. Uh Kyrie Carlson will be leading us in that. Then we've got two discussions, uh, the 2026 through 2035 capital improvement plan draft. And item 5.4, we're going to continue our ongoing budget discussions. We're going to hear from our external services team that includes community development, parks and rec, public health, and public works. And our we'll also have a good conversation about our utility rates, and we'll be hearing from folks from our utility team. We will finish up with council policy issue and update and then adjourn, hopefully, well in advance of uh nine o'clock this evening, council. Unless there are any changes or additions or anything, uh I would move approval of tonight's agenda as stated. Second. Motion and a second by council member Carter for approving tonight's agenda as stated. No further council discussion on this. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries 4-0, and we have an agenda. Our first item on our agenda this evening is the oath of office for our new city manager, Mr. Zach Walker. So I'm going to invite you down to the podium and uh to take the oath of office. Go ahead. All right. You want to raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, Zach Walker. I, Zach Walker. Do solemnly swear. Do solemnly swear. That I will support the Constitution.

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