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Kevin
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« on: December 30, 2009, 11:16:30 am » |
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Water, housing, growth likely top issues of 2010
Expansion of Bloomington’s water plant, affordable housing and sustainable economic growth are just a few issues Bloomington’s elected officials say will dominate the 2010 agenda.
What remains to be seen is how Bloomington’s elected officials will address these issues, but they’re preparing for them.
Bloomington City Council member Tim Mayer said the long-term need, distribution and storage capacity of the city’s water system require expansion.
“The (Utilities Service Board) has called for increasing water treatment capacity, building redundancy into the transmission system and increasing the storage for fresh water,” Mayer said. “The current plan calls for instituting conservation measures, increasing treatment plant capacity, adding a second distribution line from the treatment plant to town and adding an additional storage tank capacity.”
Council member Susan Sandberg said she hopes increased attention being paid to affordable housing by the inclusionary zoning task force will allow residents to have more money to spend elsewhere.
“We’ll discuss best practices in other communities, innovations and incentives that can lead to reasonable public policy regarding fair market and affordable housing options to benefit our most vulnerable citizens and developers alike,” Sandberg said. “Household budgets are strained, causing a number of related social ills from hunger and inadequate child care to transportation deficits and inability to maintain good health.”
Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan said economic growth and diversification will be the No. 1 issue for the city next year by serving as a catalyst.
“We’re working on new traditional economic development tools to foster a creative climate that makes this community a place where locally owned enterprises excel,” Kruzan said.
“All the while, we’re investing in physical and human infrastructure to keep ours a community where people want to live, work and visit.”
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