The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce and Ellettsville Chamber of Commerce issued a joint statement to the Monroe County Commissioners and Monroe County Council this week to urge consideration of a new, more accessible, and cost-effective site option for construction of the new jail.

Bloomington Chamber President & CEO Eric Spoonmore and Board President of the Ellettsville Chamber Christa Curtis addressed the Monroe County Council on August 13 and the Monroe County Board of Commissioner’s meeting on August 14.

The two Chamber leaders presented to County Officials a new site option that is closer to the City of Bloomington. Spoonmore and Curtis also emphasized the fiscal impacts of land acquisition for the new jail. “I think it’s safe to say that these 100 or so acres of vacant land would come at a fraction of the cost of any of the other site options currently under consideration,” Spoonmore said at the County Commissioners meeting.

Spoonmore and Curtis told County Officials that the property located at 3241 W. Woodyard Road in Bloomington would meet the acreage requirements for the new justice center. The property owners expressed interest in selling the land to Monroe County Government and indicated that all necessary infrastructure including water and sewer are available to serve a new jail facility. In addition, owners of a separate property connected to 3421 W. Woodyard Road told County officials they have over 50 more acres of land to assist with jail construction. In total, over 100 acres of vacant land are available at the new site option proposed to County officials.

“We are aware that the County is considering the North Park site as the preferred option for the new justice center at a considerably higher price, and we believe that locating the justice center on that property would not only have negative fiscal impacts for taxpayers, but would be an underutilization of that important location in our community,” Curtis said. “As a gateway to Bloomington and Ellettsville, the North Park property could be incredibly valuable from an economic development standpoint.”

In light of the new site option at Woodyard Road, the Chamber leaders urged continued collaboration among the various property owners involved, elected officials, and local communities to identify and support the most strategic and cost-effective use of land for the new justice facility.
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The full joint statement by the two Chambers of Commerce can be located on the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce's’ website at www.chamberbloomington.org/advocacy

The League of Women Voters of Bloomington-Monroe County has invited state legislators representing any parts of Monroe, Brown, and Johnson counties to provide the public with an online legislative update.

The event, co-sponsored by the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, the League of Women Voters of Brown County, and the League of Women Voters of Johnson County, will be 9:30-11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 27, on Zoom.

State legislators will report on their work and priorities for the current session of the Indiana General Assembly. They will first give brief updates on the workings of the Indiana legislative session to date and will then take questions from attendees.

To sign up for the Zoom meeting, go to https://lwv-bmc.org/legis-updates.

This is the first of three planned legislative updates sponsored by the Leagues and the Chamber on Zoom. Subsequent updates are set for Feb. 17 and March 2. All legislative updates are free and open to the public. Community Access Television Services through the Monroe County Public Library has been invited to record the events, with the video available on the CATS website shortly after each update.
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​The work of the Indiana General Assembly can be followed on its website, http://iga.in.gov, which provides a wealth of information and offers the possibility to track the progress of individual bills.

At the helm of a city with an unhoused population mired in mental health and substance abuse issues, Kerry Thomson asked a panel of state lawmakers last week what they will do about the statewide crisis.

“It cannot be addressed just at the local level,” the Bloomington mayor's written query stated.

There was discussion of the challenges, but no answers offered when Thomson suggested the state lead the way toward healthcare and recovery instead of the criminal justice system for vulnerable people not receiving care.
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Last year, state lawmakers passed bills to boost funding for mental health services across the state. One increases funding to local mental health centers and another directs $100 million to mental health services.

More than 100 people were assembled at The Mill at midday on Friday for the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce Legislative Preview.

This year’s session of the Indiana legislature started on Jan. 8 and will wrap up by mid-March.
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Friday’s crowd got to hear four Indiana state legislators answer a question posed by Bloomington’s new mayor Kerry Thomson—about mental health.

​Thomson’s question, which she had written out on one of the cards distributed for that purpose, was read aloud by the Bloomington Chamber’s CEO, Eric Spoonmore: