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.

Aligning Monroe County with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recent guidance, the county's health officer has rescinded the previous health order as of Monday, May 17. The City of Bloomington also rescinded its health order, effective May 17.

This means that people who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear a mask or stay socially distant from others in most instances, whether inside or out.

Masks may still be advised for people with certain health conditions, such as being immunocompromised, so those with concerns should check with their doctor. The CDC says that people who are not vaccinated should still wear a face covering and remain socially distant from others, except where required by federal, state or local rules and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance. Businesses and organizations can continue to require face coverings and physical distancing if they choose.

The Monroe County Board of Health will meet on Wednesday, May 19 to assess data and consider further updates or changes. That meeting starts at 4:30 p.m. via this Zoom link.
 
For more information, visit the City of Bloomington's COVID-19 site at https://bloomington.in.gov/covid-19, or the Monroe County Health Department COVID-19 site here.

In a unanimous vote at their May 12 meeting, Monroe County Commissioners rejected a proposal for housing and retail on South Rogers, known as Clear Creek Urban. The three commissioners objected to the density of the development and possible traffic congestion, and felt there wasn't enough parking.

"We are the county. We are not the city," Commissioner Julie Thomas said. She wants the developer, Tamby Wikle-Cassady, to bring back a scaled-down version of the project, which included townhomes, apartments and commercial/retail space.

Several people spoke in support of the project, including County Councilor Geoff McKim, County Surveyor Trohn Enright-Randolph, and Cathi Crabtree, chair of the Monroe County Affordable Housing Advisory Commission. Representatives of the Chamber and the Bloomington Economic Development Corp. spoke about the need for more housing. One person spoke against it.

Click here to watch the Commissioners' discussion on CATS. Click here to view the project packet.

The annexation process that was halted by state legislative action in 2017 will resume in May, according to an announcement this week by Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton.

The city will be distributing revised and updated fiscal plans for the potential annexation areas in early May. City Council is set to review the updated fiscal plans on May 12. After adoption, the public process would continue with re-sending formal notice to current property owners, additional public hearings to review and evaluate potential boundaries, and a City Council vote to approve and/or amend the annexation ordinances, anticipated in September.  

Read the city's press release here. More information is also available on the city's annexation website.

The Monroe County Health Department is distributing signs reminding the public that a mask mandate is still in effect at least through May 28. 

Face coverings are required in public, as is maintaining 6 feet of social distancing. Private gatherings are limited to 50 people in Monroe County outside of Bloomington, and limited to 15 people in the City of Bloomington.

​The current public health order, which took effect on April 7, remains in place until May 28. Confusion has arisen because some other parts of the state have lifted these regulations.

Monroe County officials hope that businesses and other organizations will place the signs prominently. Click here and here to download the signs. The signs are also available in Spanish here and here.

Friends of Lake Monroe's Maggie Sullivan briefed Monroe County Council on the development of a watershed management plan at ​the council's March 23 work session.

The project is creating a plan of action for addressing water quality goals by identifying problems and solutions with the watershed, a 440-square-mile area around Lake Monroe. Built in 1964 as a reservoir, Lake Monroe is the largest lake in Indiana and the primary water source for this region.

​Click here to watch the presentation on CATS.

Clear Creek Urban, a proposed five-building mixed-use project on South Rogers in Perry Township, was approved by Monroe County Plan Commission on March 23.

The vote was 6-3. It will now move to the three-member Monroe County Commissioners for final approval. Commissioner Julie Thomas, who also serves on the Plan Commission, voted against it.

Click here to watch the Plan Commission's deliberations on CATS.

The Indiana University Environmental Resilience Institute presented a report to Monroe County Commissioners about this area's climate resilience.

The Hoosier Resilience Index is a survey to help local governments understand how prepared they are for the impacts of climate change. The main impacts are increases in extreme heat and extreme precipitation. The most vulnerable populations, including low-income and minority residents, will be the first to feel the impacts, according to researchers Andrea Webster and Zach Richardson.

Watch the presentation at the commissioners' March 24 working session here. A written report is forthcoming.

The Monroe County Board of Health has approved increasing the size limits of gatherings to 50 people, as long as the county stays in the "yellow" COVID-19 status. That status is determined by the State of Indiana's Guidelines by Color. Previously, the county limited gathering size to 25.

The local rules, approved by the Board of Health on Feb. 2, are still stricter than the state guidelines. Under state rules, counties that are in the "yellow" status can have gatherings up to 100 people.

Monroe County differs from state guidelines in several other ways as well. Click here to read the latest Monroe County health order.