New council president Stosberg discusses agenda materials for Jan. 8, 2025
(Hopi Stosberg, Bloomington City Council)
The Bloomington City Council has named new officers for this year.
Hopi Stosberg is the new council president, Isabel Piedmont-Smith is vice-president and Courtney Daily is parliamentarian. They were nominated by Councilmember Andy Ruff, who previously served as vice-president. The nominations were unanimously accepted by the full council, with no one else offering their name as a potential officer candidate.
Vice-President Piedmont-Smith said it’s unfortunate that there was so little enthusiasm from other councilmembers to fill those officer roles.
She believes it ties directly to the contentious debate over city council salaries.
“It appears that many in the community and perhaps even one or two on the council do not feel that our work is worthwhile or that we are doing good work. It’s very discouraging,” said Piedmont-Smith.
Councilmember Ruff believes some councilmembers may have felt that they weren’t suited for officer roles.
“I think several council members were concerned that they would be able to dedicate the time to giving the positions what they need,” said Ruff.
The meeting lasted just over one hour with brief comments from the public. A few members of the public expressed frustration with the city’s efforts to remove snow from streets, sidewalks, and alleyways.
Two ordinances received first reading Wednesday night.
The first was Ordinance 25-01. This is the synopsis provided by the city council’s agenda: “Ordinance 25-01 would amend the District Ordinance and Preliminary Plan for the Curry PUD to allow the workforce housing commitment to be met through a payment to the Housing Development Fund, instead of through the inclusion of workforce housing units on site.”
The second was Ordinance 25-02. This is the synopsis provided by the city council’s agenda: “Ordinance 2025-02 establishes the Outdoor Dining Program for the use of parklets (also known as streateries) as additional seating space and suspends certain portion of the Bloomington Municipal Code in order to facilitate the Program. The Program is authorized to continue through December 31, 2028.”
Both ordinances will receive a second reading on Jan. 22.
