Bloomington City Council Meeting - November 17, 2025
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Bloomington City Council Meeting - November 17, 2025
The Bloomington City Council met on November 17, 2025, at 6:00 PM, with Council Member Victor Rivas serving as Mayor Pro Tem. The meeting included presentations on the Police Explorer program and the swearing-in of four new police officers, a proclamation for Small Business Saturday, and multiple public hearings on utility rates, the pavement management program, and a parking ramp licensing ordinance. The council also discussed and voted on the 2026 meeting calendar, listening session procedures, and several miscellaneous ordinances.
Consent Calendar
- Items 3.1 through 3.11 and 3.13 through 3.25 were approved unanimously (6-0).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Several residents spoke during the public hearings:
- Richard Heller (Xylon Circle) questioned the need for full reconstruction of his street, suggesting resurfacing instead. He also expressed confusion about the assessment process.
- Ann Heller (Xylon Circle) stated the road is smooth and does not need reconstruction.
- Dick Johnson (Xylon Circle) opposed reconstruction, citing low traffic and no safety issues.
- Matt Larson (Logan Avenue) spoke against the 38% increase for large garbage carts, argued that the city should look for cost reductions, and opposed adding curb and gutter on his street, stating it would increase costs unnecessarily.
- Michelle Henkles (Fremont Avenue) opposed the addition of curb and gutter, noting she has lived without it for 47 years.
- Several residents also spoke on the solid waste rate changes, expressing concern about the impact on large families.
Discussion Items
- Item 3.12 – 2026 Meeting Calendar and Listening Session Procedures: Councilmember Nelson proposed amending the listening session guidelines to allow video recording (instead of audio only) and to remove the call-in option. Councilmember Dalessandro expressed surprise that video was already being used without formal council decision. A motion to adopt the amendment failed 3-3. The council then approved the meeting calendar portion (6-0) and postponed the rules portion to the next meeting.
- Item 4.3 – Wastewater Rate Increase: Staff presented a 6% rate increase for 2026, supported by a 30-day reverse referendum and credit rating calls. The public hearing was held, and the ordinance was adopted 6-0.
- Item 4.4 – Solid Waste and Refuse Collection Fees: A new rate structure was introduced, including a 38% increase for large garbage carts and a new every-other-week service option. Councilmembers debated the impact on families versus environmental benefits. The ordinance was adopted 6-0.
- Item 4.5 – Stormwater Charges: A resolution establishing stormwater drainage charges was adopted 6-0.
- Item 4.6 – 2026 Utility Fund Budgets: The council adopted the water, wastewater, stormwater, and solid waste enterprise budgets 6-0.
- Item 4.7 – Miscellaneous Ordinances: The council adopted a series of cleanup ordinances (A-O, Q-Z) and policy items (AA-FF), except ordinance EE (architectural matching requirements), which was pulled out and passed 5-1 (Councilmember Lowman dissenting).
- Item 4.8 – Pavement Management Program (PMP): Staff presented the 2026-101 street reconstruction project, including assessments for surfacing and curb and gutter. Residents from Xylon Circle and Fremont Avenue opposed reconstruction, questioning the need for full reconstruction and curb and gutter. After discussion, the council ordered the project 6-0.
- Item 4.9 – Parking Ramp Operational License Ordinance: Staff presented the ordinance requiring bi-annual inspections and licensing for parking ramps. The public hearing was held, and the ordinance was adopted 6-0.
- Item 5.10 – Official Building Height Limits Map (Study Session): Staff presented proposed adjustments to height limits in medium and high-density residential areas and commercial nodes. Councilmembers discussed the balance between density and neighborhood protection. No formal action was taken; staff will prepare an ordinance for future consideration.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar: Approved 6-0.
- Item 3.12 (Calendar & Listening Session): Calendar approved 6-0; rules portion postponed.
- Item 4.3 (Wastewater Rates): Ordinance adopted 6-0.
- Item 4.4 (Solid Waste Fees): Ordinance adopted 6-0.
- Item 4.5 (Stormwater Charges): Resolution adopted 6-0.
- Item 4.6 (Utility Budgets): Budgets adopted 6-0.
- Item 4.7 (Miscellaneous Ordinances): Most ordinances adopted 6-0; ordinance EE passed 5-1.
- Item 4.8 (Pavement Management Program): Project ordered 6-0.
- Item 4.9 (Parking Ramp Licensing): Ordinance adopted 6-0.
- Item 5.10 (Height Limits): No action; study session only.
- Council Comments: Councilmember Lowman apologized for earlier frustration and praised Councilmember Saw's service. Councilmember Nelson raised train crossing noise; staff already working on grant applications.
- Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 9:45 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everyone. I hear my call to order this meeting of the Bloomington City Council at 63 PM. I am uh council member Victor Rivas serving as mayor of Proterm. Uh we will begin by presenting the calls and reciting the place of the allegiance. Chief Hodges. Order. Maybe see it. Yes, uh the free the first item is uh approval of the agenda. All members should have received a copy of the agenda. Are there any changes or additions to the agenda? If there are no changes, then I will look for a motion to approve the agenda as stated. So moved. Motion by uh Councilmember Carter, second by uh Councilmember Dialessandro. All those in favor. Oh motion plus it's six zero. All right. Uh we will move now to the introduct introductory uh section. Uh Chief Hodges, please step up to the podium and lead us to items two point one and two point two. Good afternoon, uh Mayor Pro Temp, Council of City Managers. Uh first up, we're gonna do an overview of our police explorer program. So I will bring up Officer Sam Davern and some of our police explorers, which are kids. Um yeah, my kid's one of them too, but he's at home playing his guitar right now. So I get to take over right away. Oh boy, a lot of pressure. Uh good evening, acting mayor, city council, city uh manager. Thank you for having us tonight. Uh we got a quick PowerPoint. We'll kind of skim through. Uh we'll do a little introduction after. Uh but behind me real quick are four of our explorers. We have twenty-five in Bloomington total. Uh and they compete twice a year in uh competition throughout the state. One more. All right. Um so the Explorer program is designed for anyone fourteen through twenty years old. Uh we have sponsored it since nineteen seventy-two, so we have a very long polls that we've had. Uh they get hands-on training every Thursday from uh about eight Bloomington police officers for a couple hours each Thursday. Uh this is from our state competition last year in Rochester. Uh we were very fortunate to place in three different things. We took first in suspicious activity, second in crime prevention, and five and first aid or fifth and first aid. That is from people explorers all around the state. Except just a quick numbers there. So we have 11 new explorers this year, totaling at 25. That is our cap that we're able to take into the polls just based off how many we were able to train each year. So unfortunately, we didn't have to turn some people away. We're very grateful to have that ROM in Bloomington. And once again, the couple things they placed for there is from Duluth of this year, which we took the group on the right there too. Next slide. So August and September. We're always looking for uh new explorers.
openpublica.com