The Bloomington city council approved a hazard mitigation plan and introduced changes to the city’s parking and firearm policies Wednesday night.
Addressing the KKK rally in Madison, Indiana last weekend, council member Jim Sims noted his pride in the strong showing of Bloomington counter protesters.
“I am so proud of my community members who went out to fight that injustice,” Sims said.
Here’s a roundup of the meeting’s key topics.
Parking changes
The council discussed an ordinance that would make significant changes to city parking operations.
Reports from the city’s parking commission and Desman Design Management, a consulting firm, found key challenges with the way the city manages parking. Many of the city’s parking systems have operation costs higher than their revenues.
The council will discuss the proposed legislation, which includes several changes to parking fees, zones, hours and administration, in the coming weeks.
The ordinance would reduce free parking in garages from a three hour limit to one hour. It would also increase the base cost of a parking violation to $30 and reconfigure parking zones, among other changes.
Firearms at Griffy Lake
In the coming weeks, the council will discuss whether to amend the city’s municipal code to allow firearms for deer hunting at Griffy Lake, according to the legislative packet.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources gave the Parks and Recreation Department a $32,500 grant to organize deer hunting for population control at Griffy Lake.
Bloomington Parks and Recreation would use the funds to hire White Buffalo Inc. to organize a public white-tailed deer hunt in November and December.
Hazard Mitigation Plan
The council unanimously passed resolution 18-15 to adopt the Monroe County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan.
The plan assesses risks from certain hazards, and proposes strategies to address them. The hazards of highest risk are flash flooding, tornadoes and summer storms.
The document must be updated through the Federal Emergency Management Agency every five years. Due to a delay from FEMA, Monroe County’s current plan hasn’t been updated since 2010, said Allison Moore, director of Monroe County Emergency Management.
The plan will help individuals obtain funding for recurring issues as they arise in the next five years. If a certain area suffers from recurring flash floods, Moore said. The plan provides a guide for allocating funding to fix it.
During a natural disaster, the city would move to an emergency management plan.
