Response mailed.

Dear Mr. Muldoon, Thank you for sharing your concern about the payment of laborers for the Taste of Bloomington festival. Residents and visitors to Bloomington make many happy memories at that event every year. Naturally we want it to be a good experience for all concerned. My office reached out to Southside Rental and received assurance that all the temporary staff members who filed a W-4 and documented and submitted their hours would have been paid promptly. Mr. Chris Hoke, President of Southside Rentals, has offered to reach out to anyone who feels they have not received fair treatment in order to address those complaints. If you would like to follow up with Mr. Hoke directly, his phone number is 812.322.4020 or via email at southrents@aol.com. Your information was not shared with Mr. Hoke, but he is aware that he may receive a call regarding this concern and he is happy to discuss it. Again, thank you for writing. Best, John Hamilton, Mayor City of Bloomington

Mr. Hoke, I appreciate your forthrightness is addressing this complaint. As I do not have any specifics, would it be okay with you for me to supply your contact information to the gentleman who wrote in expressing these concerns? Regards, Matthew Wolf

Mr. Wolf, My name is Chris Hoke and I am President of Southside Rental. We are a family owned, local company that has served the Bloomington area successfully for over 48 years. I am deeply troubled by the accusation that has been lodged against our company. I am contacting you to follow up on a complaint you received that all or some of our employees at Southside Rental did not receive payment for their work preformed at this years Taste of Bloomington. Due to the scope of work and the time frame that the work must be preformed, we hire additional staff to assist with the Taste. It is an opportunity for us to offer temporary positions to currently unemployed individuals or those that may be between jobs. Honestly, many of our temporary staff members are down on their luck and some are homeless. It is my hope that the short term position we offer can be a kick start to a better life. Some work only the night and others continue with us through our busy summers. This year we hired somewhere around 25 to 30 additional staff members. Although keeping track of all temporary employees can be difficult, I assure you that we do pay all employees that work for us during the Taste of Bloomington. If someone did not receive proper compensation, I can only assume that they did not file a W-4 , document their hours and provide them to us or they left prior to the completion of the job and did not return. If they did leave early, they are still entitled to pay for the hours they worked. It is their responsibility to contact us, file a W-4 and request payment. However, please forward the name or names of those, along with contact information, that feel that they have not received fair treatment and I will see that their complaints are addressed immediately. Upon resolution of the situation and with the complainants permission, I will provide you with the results of our findings. Sincerely, Chris Hoke President Southside Rental dba Perfect Parties Tents & Events