Convention Center Alert: Advocacy Action Needed Soon

Dec. 3 meeting of the Food & Beverage Tax Advisory Commission.

The fate of the Monroe County Convention Center expansion will likely be decided within the next 48 hours. We need your help in ensuring our elected officials work together to agree on a governance structure so that this important project can move forward.

The Monroe County Council is poised to consider possibly repealing the Food & Beverage Tax, which funds the expansion, if no concrete progress is made by Friday afternoon.

The Chamber supports the creation of a Capital Improvement Board (CIB) as the governance structure for an expanded convention center. We support equal representation between the City of Bloomington and Monroe County, which has been agreed upon by both sides. The county commissioners have begun the process of creating a CIB and could make that final decision at their Dec. 11 meeting.

We are concerned that the palpable bitterness and distrust between the county commissioners and city administration could ultimately derail this project.

Please contact our Bloomington/Monroe County elected representatives to urge all parties to move forward with this project. Click here for contact information. See below for additional background, as well as information about upcoming public meetings where you can speak in person. Questions? Contact Mary Morgan, the Chamber's Director of Advocacy & Public Policy, at mmorgan@chamberbloomington.org or 812-336-6381. 

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Timeline of Upcoming Meetings

Here's a timeline of upcoming meetings and possible actions. For additional background on recent actions, read this article from the B Square Beacon.

• Wednesday, Dec. 4: 10 a.m. Monroe County Board of Commissioners meeting. Commissioners gave a positive response to Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton’s Dec. 3 letter committing to equal representation on a governing entity. They also gave a first reading for an ordinance to create a CIB. They will likely make a decision about creating the CIB at their Dec. 11 meeting.

 

• Wednesday, Dec. 4: 6:30 p.m. Bloomington City Council meeting. They’re expected to vote on a resolution making a specific dollar-amount request of the Food & Beverage Tax Advisory Commission for tax expenditures for the expansion.

 

• Wednesday–Friday, Dec. 4-6 During this time, the hope is that the mayor and commissioners will work out an agreement on governance. This is what county councilors are hoping will happen.

 

• Friday, Dec. 6 at noon. Deadline set by county commissioners to reach agreement with the city on a timeline for next steps.

 

• Friday, Dec. 6 at 3 p.m. Monroe County Council meeting. Depending on what the mayor and commissioners have done, the county council might decide to set a deadline for specific action – which, if not met, could lead councilors to consider a repeal of the food and beverage tax.

 

• Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 9 a.m. Food and Beverage Tax Advisory Commission meeting. The FBTAC is expected to consider the city council’s new resolution that makes a request for a total $6 million expenditure for architectural fees.

 

• Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 10 a.m. Monroe County Board of Commissioners meeting. Commissioners might take action on creating a CIB or an interlocal agreement about signing a contract with the architect.

 

• Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 6:30 p.m. Bloomington City Council meeting. The council is expected to hold a hearing on the appropriation ordinance for a total of $6 million in food and beverage tax money, and vote to pass it.