Four meetings are scheduled to review a consultant's report that Monroe County commissioned regarding proposed City of Bloomington annexation.

The consultant, Baker Tilly, will make an initial presentation of its report to the Monroe County Council on Tuesday, July 27. That meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. via this Zoom link. In addition, the report will be presented at three public forums: 

• July 28 at 6 p.m. at the Old State Road 37 Fire Station (5081 N Old State Road 37)
• Aug. 1 at 1 p.m. at the Fairgrounds (5700 W Airport Rd)
• Aug. 2 at 6 p.m. at the Kennedy Drive Fire Station (3953 S. Kennedy Dr.)

The Bloomington Council will hold a public hearing on annexation at their Aug. 4 meeting starting at 3 p.m. The council is expected to vote on Sept. 15. More about the city's annexation process here.

Monroe County is forming a small task force to start discussing and reviewing recommendations in the recent Criminal Justice & Incarceration Study.

At the June 30, 2021 meeting of the Monroe County Commissioners, county attorney Margie Rice asked for feedback on creating a task force of elected officials. The group would include members of the Monroe County Commissioners, Monroe County Council, the Health Department, prosecutor, public defender and Board of Judges. 

Another public meeting is set for July 7 at 5:30 p.m. via this Zoom link.

Click here to listen to the criminal justice study discussion on CATS. Read the Criminal Justice & Incarceration Study here.

At its June 8 meeting, the Monroe County Council approved issuance of two series of bonds to pay for the construction of a new Monroe County Public Library branch and renovations at other facilities.

Series A bonds were approved to be issued in an amount not to exceed $2 million and will be payable over a period ending not later than Jan. 15, 2030. Those bond proceeds will be used for the renovation of and improvements to existing library facilities and purchase of equipment. The Series B bonds, together with the Series A bonds, will be issued in an amount not to exceed $6 million and will be payable over a period ending not later than Jan. 15, 2041. Proceeds of the Series B bonds will  pay costs of the design, acquisition, site development, construction, equipping and furnishing of a new library branch.

Read the meeting packet materials related to the bond approval here.

Southern Meadows, a project to add 190 residential units on 37 acres in the Clear Creek area, was rejected by Monroe County Commissioners at their June 9 meeting. Commissioners Julie Thomas and Penny Githens voted against it. Commissioner Lee Jones was absent.

Builder Tom Wininger is already approved to build 90 single-family homes on that lot, but wanted to increase density in order to make each unit more affordable. Among other things, commissioners objected to density in that part of the county.

​Watch the project discussion on CATS here. Click here for meeting materials related to Southern Meadows.

At their June 2 meeting, Monroe County Commissioners approved an agreement with Baker Tilly for consultants to review and analyze the City's of Bloomington's annexation fiscal plan. The contract is for an amount not to exceed $50,000.

Commissioners previously released a statement on annexation here.

The City of Bloomington has relaunched an annexation effort that began in 2017 but was halted by state legislative action. The city successfully sued the state and resumed a process that is expected to conclude this fall. More information about the city's annexation initiative is here.

A public forum is planned for Wednesday, June 2 focused on  a digital inclusion plan to improve infrastructure, internet speed, connectivity, access to devices, and digital literacy in Monroe County. 

The June 2 forum, which starts at 5:30 via Zoom, is hosted by ​the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County, along with members of the County Digital Advisory Team. The event will review and seek feedback on initial findings of a digital inclusion survey. To receive the Zoom link, RSVP by emailing Meagan Niese at [email protected].

​More information about this initiative is available here.