Sabbagh criticizes Kruzan for new downtown specialist position

At last week's meeting, the Bloomington City Council discussed the proposed $2.l million public safety and community improvement plan, with general approval of the multi-faceted appropriation. However, debate and opposition ensued concerning the creation of a new downtown specialist position, due to the objection by city councilman and Republican mayoral candidate David Sabbagh.\nDirector of Employee Services Daniel Grundmann said in his address to the council that the new position would focus on the downtown area in hopes of creating a more customer-friendly environment by improving cleanliness, controlling graffiti, power-washing alleys and monitoring People’s Park. Additionally, the position would be charged with communicating with businesses and residents so that City Hall could have a better understanding of their wants and needs. Grundman made clear that it would not be a policy-making or authoritative position.\n“The position would be a downtown ambassador of sorts,” Grundmann said. “The person would be its eyes and ears.”\nThis was not the first time Sabbagh questioned the addition of a City Hall employee. Sabbagh had similar complaints in May regarding new positions created in the area of economic development. In both cases, he said there were already city employees in place to fulfill the duties in question, and the new jobs were not an efficient use of resources.\n“(Downtown Specialist) is a political appointment,” Sabbagh said. “A trend I have seen with this administration.”\nCouncilman Sabbagh further argued that the new downtown position should be taken out of the appropriation and examined separately since all the other parts of the proposal are one-time expenses, while a new job is ongoing. He said the appropriation is one proposal in that it must be approved or opposed in its entirety.\n“Since the appropriation is all or nothing, it can be a way to seek something in,” Sabbagh said in an interview. “It is a political trick, and I do not like it.”\nMayor Mark Kruzan is encouraged by the new position and the improvements it could bring downtown. In an e-mail response to Sabbagh’s comments, Kruzan said he was disappointed to hear the councilman’s distrust in the proposal.\n“(Sabbagh) almost always points out negatives instead of offering solutions,” Kruzan said in an e-mail. “After 12 years of voting against his colleagues, it might be time for him to consider that it is not the other city council members who are wrong.”\nCouncilman Stephen Volan said that, with downtown Bloomington emerging as a mixed-use area – no longer just for work and leisure but now also for residential living – the city must focus on its improvement. \n“Bloomington finally has an area where people live, work and play,” Volan said. “Now hundreds of people live downtown."\nVolan said the city needs someone readily available and visible who business owners, residents and shoppers can approach with questions, comments and concerns. He questioned whether Sabbagh noticed the growing economy and population and the city’s need to invest in downtown.\n“Councilman Sabbagh frequently makes sweeping accusations and rarely has agreement from fellow council members,” Volan said. “Because he is running for mayor, it makes his objections more significant, but I have found them to be generally baseless.”