In his first State of the City speech, Bloomington Mayor Dan Brady said the city has accomplished a lot in his first year.
A year ago, Brady entered office as the city's 54th mayor. Elected mayors date back to 1850 when the city was first incorporated. The city was founded in 1830.
On his first anniversary as mayor, Brady on Friday counted down the year's accomplishments and the challenges that lie ahead.
He started the public address at the Bloomington Public Library with housing. It was a major issue a year ago, with growing numbers of homeless people occupying tent cities, and it's still at the forefront. Brady said there's been improvement.
He praised Home Sweet Home Ministries and CEO Matt Burgess for starting The Bridge project, providing 45 unhoused people with shelter in non-congregate mini cabins.
“Is it perfect? Of course not, but it's a work in progress that the city has been partnering with, through permitting and other avenues with Matt Burgess and his staff at Home Sweet Home, and we thank them and look forward to continued work on the issue of homelessness in the City of Bloomington,” said Brady.
Brady also recounted actions the city has taken to bump up housing construction and address a broader housing shortage.
Recent zoning changes will lead to more affordable housing and help builders control costs, he said, and whether you buy into all parts of the missing middle or not, Brady said the challenge is real, and the city has taken action.
“Such as allowing the ADUs, or accessory dwelling units, the minimum lot size requirements to expand housing options was done last fall, increase the multifamily height limits in apartments from 2.5 to four stories, making projects financially feasible, done last fall, enables ... a lot attached homes to be owned individually, not just as condos, and expanding the missing middle housing across multiple zones, not just one district,” said Brady.
Brady said the city has created a standardized incentive program with fee reductions up to 100%. He said he's in the process of assembling a Mayoral Advisory Committee of residential and commercial Realtors who can help the city do more new development.
Brady said some already are moving forward, including a 110-unit project on Beich Road. He said close to 27 housing projects are either in the works or have been completed in the last year, and there are numerous projects yet to come.
Water
Perhaps the most important and basic city service is water. When Brady took office, there were pronounced taste and odor issues in city water. Those have receded as the city invested in new equipment and beefed up its testing and monitoring schedules.
There are other water challenges, though. Brady referenced the end of recent water restrictions caused by drought that reduced levels in the city reservoirs. He said Mother Nature reversed course with rain that now has water flowing over the spillways of Lake Bloomington and Evergreen Lake. He said the city is “very lucky” it did not have to begin mandatory water conservation measures.
“Counting on luck to provide our 10 million gallons a day is not the way I or the city council or the city administration wants to operate,” he said, calling on members of the city council to participate in an ad hoc committee on water strategy.
Bloomington is evaluating dredging the lakes, drilling into the Mahomet Aquifer, or even building a pipeline to the Illinois River and sucking water through that long straw.
“The city needs to move to a water supply resiliency during drought periods, with planning phases and improvements. And the water department is advancing with over $82 million in capital improvements as part of this year's city budget,” said Brady.
Recognition
A common feature of State of the City addresses is recognition when city workers go above and beyond ordinary duty and service.
The mayor gave a shout-out to the fire and police departments for their service, and touted city investments in new technology and shift changes they hope will enhance police and fire employee retention. Together, fire and police take up about half the general fund budget.
He also gave a couple of mayor's awards to people who responded to the April 17 tornadoes that tracked through the community. These included not just the Public Works and street departments, but Fire and Forestry during an incident in the hard-hit Holiday Knolls area.
“An individual towards the very end of the storm, early wee morning hours…needed to go to the hospital. The power was lost, his oxygen supply. Not only did the Bloomington Fire Department arrive through the heart of what was the storm, but with the homeowner's help, remove some debris so a path could be made to get ... the gentleman to the hospital,” said Brady.
He said a tree had landed on the roof of the man's home and on the vehicles of family members.
“Forestry Division, the Parks and Rec Department, had a major role in not only removing the tree and making the area safer, but in a timely fashion, to be able to have the gentleman who had to be brought back home from the hospital in a safe fashion,” said Brady.
He said the fire department and the Forestry Division “exemplify the best of Bloomington.”
Coming up
What's next for the city?
“One of those is going to be continuing to be the best business partner we can,” said Brady. “We will be partnering with our companies like State Farm, through the challenges that they're going through, Country Financial and our McLean County Chamber of Commerce, and our health care industry. All those have projects that are very, very important to this community.”
Brady said a couple prospective projects have great potential. One is a standalone water tower to improve water pressure on the west side. The other is an attempt by the city to get federal funding for the Gridley Street sewer project.
In the end, Brady said the state of Bloomington is “strong.”
“When you bring people together for a common purpose, it's amazing what can be accomplished. The work never ends, and there's always room for improvement….Everyone has their ideas....I don't pretend to have all the answers, but I do promise this, my door will always be open. If you have an idea to help move Bloomington forward, I want to hear it,” said Brady.
And with communication, cooperation and common sense, Brady said everyone can focus on customer service.
