Capital board as governance for Monroe Convention Center expansion to be on July 5 county agenda7/5/2023 NOTE: This article that features The Chamber's President & CEO, Eric Spoonmore, was published on June 28, 2023 in the B Square Bulletin by Dave Askins. Photos are provided by B Square Bulletin. The long-planned expansion of the Monroe Convention Center, which has been stalled since March 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, could take a small step forward next week. At their regular meeting next Wednesday (July 5), Monroe County commissioners are likely to consider and approve an ordinance that will establish a seven-member capital improvement board (CIB) to provide the governance structure for the expansion. [2023-06-28 draft ordinance] Expectations about next week’s action are based on the discussion at a Wednesday work session, which was held by commissioners following their regular meeting. The previous night, at a county council work session, attended by commissioner Penny Githens, the council passed a motion made by councilor Geoff McKim, which supported the path that the commissioners are now taking.
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NOTE: This interview with the President & CEO, Eric Spoonmore, was originally aired by Bloomington's Voice Glass in the Afternoon on Monday, June 26th, 2023.
NOTE: This interview with the President & CEO, Eric Spoonmore, was originally aired by Bloomington's Voice Glass in the Afternoon on Monday, June 5th, 2023.
NOTE: This interview with the Director of Advocacy & Public Policy, Christopher Emge was originally aired by Bloomington's Voice Glass in the Afternoon on Monday, June 5th, 2023.
NOTE: This interview with the President & CEO, Eric Spoonmore was originally aired by Bloomington's Voice Glass in the Afternoon on Monday, April 24th, 2023.
NOTE: This interview with the President & CEO, Eric Spoonmore was originally aired by Bloomington's Voice Glass in the Afternoon on Monday, April 10th, 2023.
NOTE: This article that highlights The Chamber's Elect Connect: Mayoral Forum on Business event was published on April 11, 2023 in the B Square Bulletin by Dave Askins. Photos are provided by B Square Bulletin. At a forum for mayoral candidates hosted on Monday night by the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, not a lot of new, additional daylight emerged between the three candidates as far as their known policy positions.
But a sharp difference in perspective emerged in response to a couple of the questions—one involving public safety and another involving the working relationship between city and county governments. Moderating the forum was Paul Helmke, who was a three-term mayor of Fort Wayne, and is a professor of practice at Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. NOTE: This article with featuring a Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce event was originally published on April 6, 2023 in the IU Bloomington Today newsletter. Voters who are interested in Bloomington’s mayoral race have two upcoming opportunities through Indiana University to learn more about the three Democratic candidates, Don Griffin, Susan Sandberg and Kerry Thomson.
The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce’s mayoral forum will take place April 10 in Presidents Hall inside Franklin Hall. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the forum start at 6:20. Issues of focus will include public safety concerns, collaboration with the county and university, infrastructure, and accountability. WFIU/WTIU News is hosting a live debate from 8 to 9 p.m. April 13, with Indiana Newsdesk anchor Joe Hren moderating. A livestream of the debate will be available at indianapublicmedia.org. The candidates will take questions, and people can submit them now on the Indiana Public Media website, or through WTIU’s or WFIU’s Facebook pages. Debate updates will be posted on Twitter with the hashtag #IPMDebate. The primary election is May 2; no Republican candidate is on the ballot. The elected mayor will be dealing with issues such as annexation, the convention center expansion project, housing, homelessness, jobs and infrastructure. Griffin, the former deputy mayor under current Mayor John Hamilton, is president of the Monroe County Black Democratic Caucus and owns Griffin Realty. Sandberg is president of the Bloomington City Council. Thomson is executive director of the IU Center for Rural Engagement and the former CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County. Learn more about the candidates and get more election information from the 2023 Bloomington municipal election guide on the IU Political and Civic Engagement website. NOTE: This interview with the President & CEO, Eric Spoonmore was originally aired by Bloomington's Voice Glass in the Afternoon on Monday, March 28th, 2023.
NOTE: This article with featuring Government Relations Manager, Jim Shelton, was originally published on March 6, 2023 in the Indiana Daily Student by Marissa Meador. Amid continued opposition from members of the public, the Community Justice Response Committee for Monroe County met again on Monday to move forward with plans for a new county jail. The committee was initially formed in May 2021 to review reports that described poor conditions in the jail and currently meets two times per month.
Built in 1986, the jail was described as having “far exceeded its structural and functional life cycle” in one of the consultant reports. Since then, there has been little movement on the push for a new jail, with the previous plan of building a jail in the southwest corner of the city failing to receive approval from the Bloomington City Council. A key player in the opposition movement is local advocacy group Care Not Cages, which hosted a block party in front of the courthouse in advance of the meeting. The event recognized this week as the Week Against Mass Incarceration and hosted Jauston Huerta, the director of Forever On Course United in Solidarity Initiatives, as a speaker. FOCUS Initiatives is an Indiana-based organization that aims to help people transition out of prison life and re-enter society. |
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