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Page last updated on July 13, 2017 at 12:16 pm

To Members of the Common Council:

I am returning Ordinance 16-22 without my signature.

The proposal's author did extensive research on the important issue of parking in our community and particularly in our downtown core area. I appreciate and agree that this issue merits attention and additional study and review.

In earlier discussions with the proposal's author, the administration indicated an interest in considering combining existing commissions, such as the traffic and bicycle/pedestrian commissions, with the proposed parking commission, or in creating a time-defined task force. From my perspective, the topic of parking management is inherently linked to other mobility options and all related issues should be considered collectively in order to review and present the best options for our community.

As the Council is aware, there are approximately 37 current boards, commissions and committees. Each of these groups requires staff support. While adding one more commission may not itself seem a significant drain on staff resources, collectively the total number of hours committed to staffing these groups is very substantial. The administration would suggest that it may be time to assess together how and whether all the current boards, commissions and committees are fulfilling their intended purposes. I would encourage a joint effort in reviewing the value of these bodies prior to adding a 38th to the list.

I understand that a sufficient number of votes were cast for the ordinance as proposed to overturn the veto. I respectfully request that the Council consider either creating a Mobility Management Commission that would replace the Traffic and Bicycle/Pedestrian commissions and add parking as a topic of review, or join in an overall review of each of our existing boards, commissions and committees in an effort better to utilize both citizen and staff time in the most efficient and effective way for our community.

Respectfully,

John Hamilton, Mayor

City of Bloomington

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