By: Diane Benjamin
There was a long list of emailed Public Comments, a FOIA would be needed to find out what position they were taking. There was also a long line of in-person and phone Public Comments.
A few people spoke about IDOT’s plan to add a sidewalk to the north side of Route 9 across the street from BHS/BJHS. Evidently they just discovered the plan and are opposed for safety reasons and the fact their yards must be radically changed to make room for it. City Manager Jurgens claimed he would meet with the residents but he wasn’t sure the plans could be changed.
REALLY JEFF?
Normal people have to adjust course constantly.
If government can’t change the plan, the problem has been identified. Keep doing what doesn’t work because that’s the plan.
Most of the comments were about Kratom, both for and against. The Council voted to ban the sale and possession starting 10 days from now. Since this is mostly sold at gas stations and is completely unregulated, there is no way of knowing what is being bought. Sold mostly in gas stations should have been a clue to its efficacy. Violations aren’t criminal, you might get dragged into Administrative Court however. (Unlike aldermen who have no penalty for violating City Code)
If you want to watch the discussion, go to 40:00. Alderman Mosley has been studying the issue. He is followed by other experts the City brought in.
The Finance Director gave a report showing how Revenues are going. Sheila Montney had a comment based on this:
Sorry for the fuzzy screenshot—the written report isn’t posted yet, so I grabbed it from the video. Sales tax receipts are way higher than the City’s budget. Montney notes it’s roughly the same amount the Council voted to hike property taxes by. We saw this trend coming before the Council (except Sheila Montney and Kent Lee) approved the increase: https://blnnews.com/2025/11/25/bloomington-🤦♀️
Just hit PLAY, then watch John Danenberger on the right side of the screen. Watching the meeting on my big screen TV, I thought he was going to bite her!
I’m hoping there are some contingency plans in place for the traffic flow around BJHS and BHS when Rt. 9 gets resurfaced. The best idea would be for it to be done over the summer, instead of during the school year….
Finally in 2026 a sidewalk. Why? Has foot traffic increased so much that it is needed? Just one more reason why for several years I’ve referred to Jergens and Hales as the shitty manager.
Montney gets an I told you so moment with the tax and spenders on the board.
I’ll say it again, when they roll out those conveniently undefined, endlessly elastic buzzwords — “sustainability,” “equity and inclusion,” “green” — that’s not policy, that’s a shopping pass. It’s the equivalent of handing themselves a gift card to our bank account and calling it virtue. Every time they say it, they’re already halfway down the aisle with our tax dollars in their back pocket.
Sheila again shows everyone who she’s looking out for while the tax and spenders are trying to hide their faces and hoping nobody is looking at them. It’s almost comical to see them biting their tongues after Sheila speaks.