On Friday, Oct. 8, official public notices from the City of Bloomington were published in the Bloomington Herald-Times, marking the next step in the city's annexation process. 

Property owners who oppose annexation now have 90 days to file remonstrances with the Monroe County Auditor. Forms will be available at the courthouse square rotunda from 8-4 weekdays. Cathy Smith, the county auditor, will be offering informational classes on the remonstrance process at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. from Oct. 11-15, also at the courthouse square rotunda.

Read more about the city's annexation process here.

At an Oct. 6 working session, the Monroe County Board of Commissioners and Monroe County Affordable Housing Advisory Commission members discussed the county's approach to increasing the supply of housing. 

Two of the three county commissioners – Penny Githens and Lee Jones – attended. Commission Julie Thomas was absent. AHAC members included Cathi Crabtree (chair), Will Smith (vice chair) and Deborah Myerson.

​Watch the Oct. 6 discussion on CATS here. It will continue at the next Board of Commissioners' working session on Wednesday, Oct. 13. The working session immediately follows their regular meeting, which starts at 10 a.m. via this Zoom link.

At its Sept. 22 meeting, the Monroe County Board of Health unanimously voted to extend the county's mask mandate until Oct. 31. The county Board of Commissioners is expected to authorize the health order at its Sept. 29 meeting.

A provision in the health order would end the mandate earlier if Monroe County’s community spread decreases. Watched the Sept. 22 Board of Health meeting here. 

At the Sept. 21 meeting of the Monroe County Convention Visitors Commission, the group got positive news about the hospitality sector and discussed the possible restart of the convention center expansion project.

Mike McAfee, executive director of Visit Bloomington, reported that hotel occupancy reached 70% in August 2021, on par with the industry's pre-pandemic rate in 2019. Short-term rentals, such as Airbnb, are also growing significantly.

McAfee also asked whether it's time to start talking again about the convention center expansion, a project that was halted when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Kate Wiltz, a Monroe County Council member who serves on the CVC, said she supported restarting the conversation. She noted that the county continues to collect the Food & Beverage Tax, which is intended to help fund the project.

​Watch the Sept. 21 CVC meeting here. The issue of the convention center expansion was also raised as part of the Monroe County Council budget presentations on Sept. 15. Watch that discussion here.

Monroe County Health Department will open a testing site next week for drive-thru testing of COVID-19. The site will be open weekly from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday at 500 Profile Parkway, on property owned by Cook Medical. 

Penny Caudill, Monroe County's health administrator, made the announcement at the Sept. 17 Chamber Health & Business Conference. 

More information is available on the Monroe County Health Department website here.

Monroe County and the City of Bloomington are accepting applications for their respective advisory committees related to upcoming redistricting.

Monroe County will be redrawing precinct boundaries for the county, and possibly district boundaries for the Monroe County Board of Commissioners and Monroe County Council. Redistricting occurs every 10 years, following the U.S. Census results. Results of the 2020 U.S. Census were released in mid-August. To apply for the Monroe County redistricting advisory committee, click here.

Bloomington Council will be redrawing its six districts. More information about the council's Citizens' Redistricting Advisory Commission, including an application, is here.

Local redistricting work can’t be finished until the state-level districts are drawn. If an existing precinct is split by a state legislative or congressional district, it has to be redrawn so that it is not split. Indiana’s state legislators are expected to complete that work in mid-to-late September.

Lee Marchant, a local businessman who has served on the Monroe County Convention Center Building Corporation Board of Directors and was president since its inception 30 years ago, resigned in August. The announcement was made at the board's Sept. 7 meeting.

​"We just really are deeply moved by Lee's leadership and we thank him so very much for that," said Jim Murphy, the board's vice president. The Building Corporation Board oversees the Convention Center facilities and operations. 

At the Sept. 7 meeting, the group also elected new officers. They are: Cindy Kinnarney, president; Jim Murphy, vice president; Jerry Neely, treasurer; and Joyce Poling, secretary.

The Monroe County Affordable Housing Advisory Commission has three vacancies. The AHAC makes recommendations to the county Board of Commissioners, which appoints the members.

The commission meets on the third Friday of each month from 8-9 a.m. Meetings are currently held via Zoom. 

Learn more about the AHAC here. Find the application form here.

At their Aug. 11 meeting, Monroe County Commissioners voted to officially oppose the City of Bloomington's proposed annexation. The vote on the 3-person board was unanimous. Watch their comments on CATS here.

The commissioners previously hired Baker Tilly, a consulting firm, to do an independent fiscal analysis of the City of Bloomington's financial plan, to help gauge the impact on Monroe County government. The county also held three informational forums in late July and early August to discuss the plan and hear from residents.

On Aug. 10, Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton recommended removing Area 7 from his original annexation proposal. That area covers much of the northern gateway into the city. Read his press release here.

Bloomington City Council will continue a public hearing annexation on Wednesday, Aug. 11 at 6 p.m. via this Zoom link. Learn more about the city's annexation process here. They are expected to vote on adopting annexation ordinances at their Sept. 15 meeting.