By: Diane Benjamin
Council meetings are pretty boring now that no one is looking out for citizens. It is fun to see big government types spin their wheels trying to justify their overreach to control the people, especially if you don’t live in Bloomington. The Transportation Committee, supposedly to increase transparency, will get approved at the next Council meeting. Much of the meeting was spent arguing over the wording. Tari is trying to turn the City into the County where all work is done in committees. Nobody knows what is happening because very few, if any, people are going to attend every committee meeting. Tari can stack the committees with people who think like him. Then the people elected can justify their actions by saying a committee recommended it. Yes Tari, your plan is transparent.
Tari made an offhand comment late in the meeting about killing the right turn lane off Towanda-Barnes on to Ireland Grove. The City’s share is in the current budget, but construction (according to Jim Karch) wouldn’t happen until next year. The County is leading the project. Maybe Tari isn’t aware of how dangerous that intersection is now and how many accidents happen there. If the intersection was downtown . . . . . .
Tari’s comment is about 1 minute before the clip below. (see 1:00:30)
The most interesting part was Tari’s shock at the end of the meeting. There were no speakers at public comment and every vote was unanimous. He shouldn’t have been shocked, nobody else was. Just hit play below.
Tari was wrong about every vote being unanimous. Alderman Mwilambwe pulled an item from the consent agenda. It was approval of the final plat for a project on Ekstam Drive he had previously voted against. It was a mere formality.
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Yeah, we’re screwed. 😬
Yep, the nerds are in charge and they’re going to torture the rest of us as long as they can get away with it.
I think Tari really believes that “wow, unanimous votes and no public comment” are signs that he’s right and has a mandate to do whatever he wants. Doesn’t matter to him that only 6k people, out of 78k, voted for him. He really thinks he’s superior and that most of Bloomington agrees and supports him. And of course, those of us who oppose him are just backwards nut jobs.
There were no controversial agenda items last night. Why would anyone want to waste their time and energy to speak during public comment when the decisions are made behind closed doors. If an item is on the agenda, it already has enough votes to pass. Sometimes the documents are even pre-dated. Renner’s comment shows what an a## he is.
Just a reminder if anyone wishes to voice their opinion, tonight there is an open house at Washington School for feedback as to whether bike lanes should be put on Washington Street. Check the City website. I believe the meeting is 7-9 pm.
People had plenty to say on Facebook. I bet they don’t show
What Facebook page? People comment in the Pantagraph too and don’t show up to speak in public.
News happening now in Bloomington normal
The open house is actually from 5 to 7. http://www.cityblm.org/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/6146/17?backlist=%2f
Im curious, were the Facebook comments for or against bike lanes?
Mostly against except for Renner’s campaign manager
The meeting at Washington School is 5-7 pm.
There has been a lot of opposition to bike lanes but it falls on deaf ears, it falls on the Renner Regime that has been advised to ignore anyone who doesn’t agree with the agenda Renner puppets forth. The manipulative facilitators will be there and of course they will write the summary which again will forward a pre-set agenda. The meeting is just another dog and pony show. Traffic counts are relative to automobile traffic which will be in the thousands to one bicycle. It is the victors that write history.
The meeting was an open house without a set agenda. Graphics of the options were displayed on poster board. Half in attendance were from bike BloNo the other half had conerns if not down right opposed to the idea. Michael Gorman was overheard telling a person in attendance that he thought the Council was beginning to “sign on” to the change(s). Apparently, Public Works was against the amendment but politics took over.