by: Diane Benjamin
Transparency doesn’t exist at the City of Bloomington
Mayor Renner: We are sick of hearing you say Bloomington is transparent, it’s in name only.
On March 10th, I sent this to the City of Bloomington:
I am requesting the following information under the Freedom of Information Act:
1) status of the parking garage built in 2005, by the Pepsi Ice Center
2) plans under consideration for repairs or demolition
3) complete explanation of the problem and who is responsible for causing it
4) alternative parking locations provided for patrons, including costs incurred by the City
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Guess what? Citizens have no right to know what is happening! You spent millions and millions of dollars on a crumbling parking deck, but it’s a secret – they won’t tell you anything. Maybe there is a secret court case, or maybe the Mayor is negotiating a settlement without anyone’s knowledge. Maybe City Manager David Hales is making repairs in his off hours. Maybe the deck is being turned into an outdoor hotel to anchor downtown! Or, maybe they haven’t done ANYTHING! What proof is there to support what they say? Anybody seen a lawsuit?
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All of the above is no more ridiculous than the response I received: (notice who is copied)
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I can understand the denial, with a pending lawsuit, which is what I believe they are saying.
What pending lawsuit? Do you have secret information? There has been nothing discussed in the media or at Council meetings! How do we know there is a lawsuit?
I’m not sure, but I took the “litigation” to mean lawsuit.
You could say that, but they have produced no proof they are even talking to a lawyer about the situation. Some of my sources tell me the fault is the City’s, for reason I can’t talk about yet.
Up until about two years ago the city didn’t even have a designated person to oversee any preventive maintenance issues for all the buildings they own. What a farce! It is no wonder that we face so many issues. Ignoring the basics is absolute ignorance.