Nov. 13, 2025: Ellettsville merger, football, affordable housing, new jail, voluntary annexation

Weather Talk

Based on the National Weather Service forecast in text and charts here’s some advice.

Thursday: Wear a warm jacket to start the day, because the overnight low will be around 37F°, but it will warm up to a high of 60F°. Skies will be mostly sunny. It’s not going to rain.

Friday: Friday will be a repeat of Thursday, but a smidgen warmer with a high of 63F°. Gametime temperature for the Bloomington South football game should be around 55F° and will not drop much from there through the evening.

Sign up for weather alerts: Monroe County emergency alert system.

Roundup of recent articles

• Regional football clash: Bloomington South looks to slow Floyd Central’s high-octane attack.  Bloomington South heads into Friday’s 5A Regional after two straight last-minute playoff wins. The 10-1 Panthers host 10-1 Floyd Central, whose high-powered offense will be the toughest South has faced as both teams chase a berth in the state semifinals.
• Joint Ellettsville–Richland Township government could be on November 2026 ballot.  A proposal to merge Richland Township and the Town of Ellettsville into a single government could appear on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot. The move, prompted partly by state tax changes and talk of eliminating township government, will be discussed Friday in a joint public meeting.
• Bloomington plan commission splits on payment-in-lieu rule, backs lower income thresholds for affordable units.  Bloomington’s plan commission was split Monday on two proposed changes to affordable housing rules. A revision tightening the payment-in-lieu option advanced to the city council with no recommendation, while a proposal lowering qualifying income thresholds won unanimous support.
• Veterans Day 2025 notebook: ‘Relationships matter.’.  At Indiana University’s annual Veterans Day flag raising, held under freezing temperatures and a dusting of snow, Ivy Tech chancellor and retired Air Force colonel Erik Coyne urged cadets to value relationships, teamwork, and trust. “Get out, meet others, get known...” he said.
• Monroe County councilors, commissioners try to regroup on question of next steps for new jail.  Two weeks after the county council rejected funds for a new jail site, Monroe County officials met to discuss next steps. Councilors may draft a “risk tolerance” resolution as commissioners are pressing for answers on questions about the council’s position on location and one-story jail design.
• Owner wants land annexed into Bloomington: Zoning recommendation OK’d by city plan commission.  Bloomington’s plan commission voted unanimously Monday to recommend R2 zoning for 2005 W. Cory Drive, a 0.39-acre lot that could be annexed voluntarily. The property lies in an unincorporated “island” where forced annexation has failed, at least for now.

On the calendar

Interlocal agreement: Bridge. On the 10 a.m. Thursday (Nov. 13) meeting agenda for the Monroe County board of commissioners is the approval of an interlocal agreement with Owen County for the repair of a bridge at the boundary between the two counties. Monroe County’s share is $46,500.

Interlocal agreement: Edward Byrne JAG grant. Also on the 10 a.m. Thursday (Nov. 13) meeting agenda for the Monroe County board of commissioners is an interlocal agreement between the city of Bloomington and Monroe County for the 2024 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG). 

The state of Indiana awards the money, which comes from the federal government, and the city and the county agree to share it under an arrangement that assigns each government a percentage based on violent crime statistics. For the year covered in the grant, it works out to $3,093 for county government and $41,086 for the city government.

For more than a decade an interlocal agreement for the Byrne grants has appeared on the agendas for city and county governmental entities. For the county government, this year is no different. But Bloomington’s city council won’t see the interlocal agreement this time around. That’s because one option under state law for getting approval of an interlocal agreement is to submit it to the state attorney general’s office—and that’s the option the city of Bloomington is using this year.

Responding to a question from The B Square about why mayor Kerry Thomson’s administration is sending the agreement to the attorney general instead of the city council, city attorney Audrey Brittingham wrote: “Essentially, it is administratively easier. This is particularly true at the moment—we want the JAG interlocal turned around before the end of the year, and Council has very limited availability left in 2025.”

Bloomington South versus Floyd Central: Friday night football. The Panthers of Bloomington South are chasing a semi-final berth on Friday night against the Highlanders of Floyd Central. Covering the action, as he has all season for The B Square will be Sean McAvoy. If you want close to real-time updates on the game, and you can’t make it to South’s Huff Field to cheer on the Panthers in person, Sean posts timely updates to his X (formerly Twitter) account.

Dec. 1: Online auction for “Batman House” ends. The big old mansion at Kirkwood Avenue and Madison Street is up for auction for a minimum bid of $750,000. The high bid so far is $760,000. The auction is being conducted online.

Meet Zeus!

This very, very good boy is a mix of Corgi and Australian Shepherd. He is, according to Greek mythology, the king of the dogs. Here’s what the shelter staff have written about Zeus:

Zeus is a bit nervous to be here at the shelter, but once he gets outside he becomes a fun, goofy guy! With some time and love, he will grow into a confident boy and show off his goofy side! He enjoys partaking in zoomies and sniffing every fallen leaf.

Photo Finish: Kirkwood Avenue & Walnut Street

The Photo Finish items are drawn from the B There section of the B Square website.

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a great weekend!

Dave Askins
734-645-2633
dave@bsquarebulletin.com

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