I am currently working on the following initiatives for Bloomington:

Limiting the spread of chain stores/restaurants downtown: I am on the mayor's working group to look into whether we can limit chains on Kirkwood Avenue and around the courthouse square. San Francisco and Sanibel Island have accomplished such restrictions, which have ensured that their neighborhoods maintain a local flavor.

Inclusionary zoning for affordable housing: I am on the mayor's working group on this topic as well. We are looking into ways the city could require residential real estate developers to include a certain percentage of low-income housing in each new multi-unit development project, or alternately to pay funds to support housing for low-income individuals and families elsewhere.

I have recently sponsored or co-sponsored the following legislation:

Resolution 10-10: To Create a task force to recommend how the City can achieve a platinum designation from the League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly Communities Program by 2016. This resolution also declared May 17-21 “Bikes Week” in the City, a designation which recognizes the importance and benefits of bicycle transportation. Since 2003, Bloomington has been recognized as a “bronze” community in the Bicycle Friendly Communities program. The program assesses five areas related to bicycling in the city: education, enforcement, engineering, evaluation, and encouragement. The task force would evaluate how we are doing in these areas and make a plan of how we can improve to move from bronze to platinum in the ratings. The Council voted unanimously in favor on May 12, 2010.

Ordinance 09-18: Defining what the city means by “responsible bidder” for construction projects over $150,000. State law requires that all public entities accept the lowest responsible, responsive bid on construction projects, but “responsible” is not defined. This ordinance defines responsible as meeting a list of criteria including

• Compliance with the Equal Opportunity Employment act

• Compliance with the city’s Affirmative Action plan, including sexual orientation and gender identity

• Proof of insurance for general liability, workers’ compensation, hazardous occupation, etc.

• Compliance with the Indiana Common Construction Wage Act

• Disclosure of the name and address of each subcontractor and the amount of their bid

• Adherene to proper employee classification (employee or independent contractor) and certified payroll

Also, the contractor’s past success or failure on other projects may be taken into account when awarding bids.

This ordinance was co-sponsored by Andy Ruff and myself. The purpose of the legislation is to protect the taxpayer funds invested in a project by assuring a responsible contractor is used, and to protect the rights of the workers who are employed to complete the project.

The ordinance was adopted by a vote of 7-0 on Oct. 21, 2009.

Ordinance 09-04: Requiring all new City of Bloomington buildings, as well as major renovation to city buildings, to meet green building standards following the LEED system. It also requires that current city buildings be evaluated for possible refurbishment to bring them up to LEED standards. This ordinance was co-sponsored by Councilmember Dave Rollo. Please see the city council's legislative packet of March 4, 2009 for details.

Ordinance 08-19, Amendment 1: To create a stop sign at the intersection of Henderson St. and Allen St. at the west entrance to Bryan Park.

Ordinance 08-03 To Amend Title 2 of the Bloomington Municipal Code Entitled “Administration And Personnel” - Re: Amending Section 2.23.060 Entitled “Commission on the Status of Women – Establishment” to Increase Its Size from Seven to Nine Commissioners. Co-sponsored with Council President Susan Sandberg.

Resolution 08-06 Recognizing the Special Value of the Backcountry Area of Morgan-Monroe and Yellowwood State Forests and Urging that it be Permanently Protected from Commercial Logging. Co-sponsored with Councilmember Dave Rollo.

If you have opinions you would like to share on these issues or others, please contact me!

Paid for by Isabel Piedmont-Smith