Case Date:

11/29/2017

Hello, I'm a part-time employee (SPEA fellow) at the City, in the Dept. of Planning & Transportation, and I have a few concerns about the part-time parking spots at Showers. First, is the part-time spots are incredibly far away from the main entrance to City Hall, adjacent to the Showers Red lot (in fact, as far away as you can possibly get while still staying in the Showers parking lot). Now, this isn't a problem for an able-bodied person like myself, but I had a friend who worked as an intern for the Controller's office this summer who has knee problems, making this walk excruciating for him. So bad was it that he usually parked at a meter, for an entire four hour shift, which meant that he essentially had to pay $4 to come to work everyday. My other issue with the part-time parking spaces is the incredible lack of them: there are only 5. Very rarely are less than 5 part-time workers working at one time, so it's really a crap shoot when I come to work (MWF) as to whether I can actually find a space. Many times I've also had to park at a meter. And today (11/29) the PT employee parking signs that designate which spaces are available to PT employees were removed, so some employees at the business end of Showers were parked in what should be PT spots, so there were even less spaces available than usual. I understand wanting to encourage walking/biking and public transit, but this isn't feasible for everyone, because rent is astronomical near Showers, especially to PT workers who don't get paid very much. I live pretty far out, so walking/biking is pretty much impossible, and public transit is highly inconvenient. I just wish the City was a little more inclusive of its part-time workers (especially those with disabilities), and the fact that only 5 parking spaces are available to us (a 5 minute walk from the entrance to City Hall, no doubt) is really disappointing and, in fact, a little insulting. I hope, in the renovation of parking happening in the FT section of the lot, that the City will consider adding some more PT spaces.

Case Date:

5/20/2018

Dear Mayor Hamilton and the city of Bloomington, I am contacting you and your office regarding the problem with the deer in our neighborhood. Once again, the deer are a problem for us and they are outright dangerous. I am not sure what the city is planning on doing with the problem, but I almost feel like I want to hire a sniper (and I am an animal lover) to get them off of our property or now purchase a BB gun. I am not a violent person, but I am at my wits end regarding this issue. Will the city only do something once a deer kills a child? I have heard of stories of dogs being killed by deer as well as homes being trashed by deer who have somehow gotten into somebody's home. The latest is that my wife got a broken ankle because of a deer and it required a trip to the ER at Bloomington hospital along with missed work for both of us. Luckily we have health insurance, but for those who don't...it is a very expensive endeavor that could have been avoided if the city would do something to cull these animals. Lately we have seen a herd of 8 deer roaming around Somax. I would like your opinion on how you plan to fix this problem because I do see this as a problem in our city and especially our neighborhood. Also, I heard that the city has a 2 million dollar surplus this year and wondered if that meant we would finally get the sidewalk and repair of the dangerous culvert that has been promised to the former owners of our house as well as to us. Our taxes go up every year (Judy Sharp just assessed another increas of $50,000 to our home value which raised our taxes again quite drastically). We can't seem to ever get a break from her with her assessments every year and it is quite frustrating. Every year we pay more and more taxes and get absolutely nothing for it. Again, I would appreciate your thoughts on this matter. Thanks. Best, Ingrid Faber 1104 S. Covenanter Drive Bloomington, IN 47401

Case Date:

10/11/2018

10/11/2018 Extraordinarily loud concert going on over here on the eastside, apparently permitted by mayor's office? If so, unconscionable. This is a residential neighborhood, young children, people up early for work. I'm at least a half mile from the site and can easily hear it in my house. Will be contacting councilperson about this as well.