Tag: Catalent

Monroe County sheriff on racist graffiti in jail cells: “When I see that word…I cannot move slow.”

Monroe County jail intake. An inmate uses a cup as a pillow.
One of two toilets for 20 inmate workers.
Ceiling under an area underneath of the shower and toilet facility in the inmate worker dorm that drips constantly.
Graffiti on a cell wall.
Detritus accumulated between a metal screen and the window.
Ceiling under an area underneath of the shower and toilet facility in the inmate worker dorm that drips constantly.
Monroe County councilor Jennifer Crossley.
From left: Monroe County circuit court judges Catherine Stafford, Darcie Fawcett, Kara Krothe, and Mary Ellen Diekhoff.
Ashley Pirani reads a statement from Monroe County Party chair David Henry at the Jan. 23, 2023 CJRC meeting.
After cleaning: Each person in the intake is now give a pad and a blanket.
After the intake area was cleaned up.
After the intake area was cleaned up.
Monroe County Sheriff Ruben Marté (Jan. 23, 2023)
Monroe County chief deputy sheriff Phil Parker holds a bog of detritus cleaned out from a window ledge that was sandwiched behind a metal grating.

“It looks like that’s not even the United States of America.”

That was Monroe County’s new jail commander Kyle Gibbons talking about a photograph he had displayed for Monday’s meeting of the community justice response committee (CJRC). It was from a slide deck he’d prepared, in order to show committee members conditions inside the jail when he took over at the start of the year.

In the photo, a pitcher of water had been placed on the floor outside a cell door. Jail staff were using it as a stop gap to give inmates water on request—because the water wasn’t working in the cell at the time.

Gibbons told committee members, “The staff was just trying to make sure people had water. …They were trying to ensure that everybody had access to basic human rights.”

But the color of the water inside the pitcher looked sketchy enough that county councilor Peter Iversen asked Gibbons, “That’s drinkable water?!” The glum reply from Gibbons: “That’s drinkable water.”

Monday’s slide deck was a visual followup to oral presentations that Gibbons has given to county commissioners and county councilors in the last couple of weeks.

The visuals he presented on Monday appeared to have a sobering impact on committee members. Continue reading “Monroe County sheriff on racist graffiti in jail cells: “When I see that word…I cannot move slow.”” →

Committee on jail’s future gets tweaks, commander says: “We have an obligation to people here now.”

Monroe County jail commander Kyle Gibbons addresses the county council on Jan. 10, 2023.
Monroe County’s jail is located on the top floors of the Charlotte Zietlow justice center.

In December, Bloomington’s city council unanimously rejected a rezone request for some land in the southwestern tip of the city, where county commissioners had proposed building a new jail.

But planning for the possible construction of a new Monroe County jail continues—as a response to the reports from two consultants delivered to county government 18 months ago. As one of the reports puts it: “The jail facility is failing…”

Still set for Monday (Jan. 23) is the next meeting of the community justice response committee (CJRC). That’s the group that was established by county commissioners to address the problems highlighted in the consultants’ reports.

Even as work continues on planning for the future of Monroe County’s jail, sheriff Ruben Marté’s jail commander, Kyle Gibbons, has addressed both the county council and county commissioners at recent meetings of those elected bodies. His basic message: “We have an obligation to people here now.” Continue reading “Committee on jail’s future gets tweaks, commander says: “We have an obligation to people here now.”” →

Advisory committee on Monroe County jail hits rough road trying to find common ground

The group “Care Not Cages” held a block party on the lawn outside the courthouse before the meeting of the CJRC on Monday Community justice reform committee (Jan. 9, 2023).
Monroe County sheriff Ruben Marté (Jan. 9, 2023)
Monroe County deputy prosecutor April Wilson (Jan. 9, 2023).
Bloomington city councilmember Isabel Piedmont-Smith (Jan. 9, 2023).
Monroe County councilor Kate Wiltz (Jan. 9, 2023).
Monroe County councilor Jennifer Crossley puts air quotes around the word “progressive.” (Jan. 9, 2023).
Monroe County circuit judge Catherine Stafford (Jan. 9, 2023)
County commissioner Lee Jones (Jan. 9, 2023).
City of Bloomington public engagement director Kaisa Goodman (Jan. 9, 2023).
Former Bloomington deputy mayor and mayoral candidate Don Griffin (Jan. 9, 2023).
Community justice reform committee (Jan. 9, 2023).

Outside on the Monroe County courthouse lawn, before Monday’s meeting of the community justice reform committee (CJRC), members of a group called “Care Not Cages” held what they described as a block party—in opposition to construction of a new jail.

At the CJRC meeting itself, members were frank in airing their disappointment about the way the two representatives from the board of county commissioners have approached the work of making recommendations on addressing problems at the jail.

The facility has been described in a consultant’s report as “failing.”

The 14-member CJRC includes county councilors, judges, the sheriff, representatives from the prosecutor’s office, public defenders office, and the county health administrator, among others.

Drawing specific criticism on Monday was the lack of advance information given by commissioners to CJRC members about a trip they took last week to Arizona, to visit correctional facilities there.

Continue reading “Advisory committee on Monroe County jail hits rough road trying to find common ground” →

Rezone for new county jail denied by Bloomington city council, with calls to include city in planning

Bloomington city council (Dec. 21, 2022)
Parcel requested to be rezoned for jail.
Bloomington councilmember Jim SIms.
Monroe County commissioner Julie Thomas.
Monroe County attorney Jeff Cockerill.
Michael Carmin.
Sydney Foreman.

This past Wednesday (Dec. 21), Bloomington’s city council denied a request from the county government to rezone an 87-acre parcel in the southwestern tip of the city, so that it could be used for a new county jail.

That city council’s denial came on a unanimous vote. The outcome matched the recommendation from the city plan commission, which had voted 6–3 in mid-November against the rezone.

The city council’s representative to the plan commission, Ron Smith, voted in favor of the rezone as a plan commissioner, but against it as a city councilmember.

The specific request was to change the zoning of the land on Fullerton Pike from mixed-use employment (ME) to mixed-use institutional (MI). Use of the property as a jail would not be allowed under ME, but could be allowed under MI. A jail is a “conditional use” under MI zoning.

The council’s vote came a few minutes before midnight, after about three hours of deliberation, which included about a dozen public commenters, who spoke against the rezone, and generally against the idea of building a new jail.

A couple of public comments were made in favor of the rezone.

For councilmembers, their main land use concern appeared to be the distance from the center of the city to the site and the lack of transportation access. The road that is to be built is not yet completed, and there is not currently any public bus service to the location.

But at least as big a question as land use was the dissatisfaction that councilmembers expressed about the failure to include city officials in the community justice response committee (CJRC).

That’s the group that is making recommendations on how to respond to the work of two consultants, who delivered two studies of Monroe County’s criminal justice system, which were delivered 18 months ago, in June 2021. Continue reading “Rezone for new county jail denied by Bloomington city council, with calls to include city in planning” →

Crossley breaks with other Monroe County officials on new jail choice

County councilor Jennifer Crossley (Dec. 12, 2022)
From left: Circuit court judges Kara Krothe and Catherine Stafford; public defender Mike Hunt; deputy public defender Karen Wrenbeck; deputy prosecutor April Wilson; and prosecutor Erika Oliphant.
From left: County councilor Peter Iversen; and County commissioner Lee Jones (Dec. 12, 2022)

The site of a proposed new county jail was revealed at the end of July, when Monroe County commissioners gave approval of a $10-million real estate deal, for about 87 acres off Fullerton Pike in the southwest corner of Bloomington.

But Monday night’s meeting of Monroe County’s community justice reform committee (CJRC) seemed to dissipate a bit of the momentum for the decision to try to build a new jail at that location.

County councilor Jennifer Crossley stated: “I no longer feel comfortable with the Fullerton Pike property.”

In August, Crossley had joined the other six county councilors in voting to approve the terms and conditions for the purchase of the Fullerton Pike land. The deal required approval from county commissioners and county councilors.

Crossley’s statement on Monday is the second recent snag that the new jail proposal has hit.

In mid-November, Bloomington’s plan commission voted to send a rezone request for the Fullerton Pike property to the city council with a recommendation not to approve it. The purchase of the property is contingent on the rezone, because under the parcel’s current zoning, a jail can’t be built there. Continue reading “Crossley breaks with other Monroe County officials on new jail choice” →

Company email: Catalent’s Bloomington operation to cut 400 jobs

In a Wednesday morning email sent site-wide on behalf of Andrew Espejo, who is general manager of Catalent’s manufacturing facility in Bloomington, the pharmaceutical manufacturing company has announced a reduction of its Bloomington workforce by 400 jobs.

The email indicates that employees—which include full-time and temporary employees, mostly within the operations team—will be notified between Wednesday and Friday to “discuss the next steps, review available support, and address any questions the impacted employees may have.”

Wednesday’s email message states: “Those who are not contacted by Human Resources should report to work as scheduled.”

The message also says, “[W]e’re committed to operating in a transparent manner to ensure every employee impacted by these changes has the information and support they need, severance pay, benefits continuation, and outplacement assistance.”

The email states that “every colleague on this team has performed admirably,” and adds that the workforce reduction is in “no way a reflection of the quality of the work we’ve done.” Continue reading “Company email: Catalent’s Bloomington operation to cut 400 jobs” →

Negative stamp on rezone for jail by Bloomington plan commission, could still win city council’s OK

Parcel requested to be rezoned for jail.
Parcel requested to be rezoned for jail.
Bloomington plan commissioner Brad Wisler (Nov. 14, 2022).
Bloomington plan commissioner Brad Wisler (Nov. 14, 2022).
Monroe County commissioner Julie Thomas (Nov. 14, 2022)
Monroe County commissioner Julie Thomas (Nov. 14, 2022)
Bloomington plan commissioner (Nov. 14, 2022).
Bloomington plan commissioner (Nov. 14, 2022).
Monroe County attorney Jeff Cockerill (Nov. 14, 2022)
Monroe County attorney Jeff Cockerill (Nov. 14, 2022)

The Monroe County government’s planned construction of a new jail on an 87-acre parcel in the southwest corner of Bloomington hit a snag on Monday night.

By a 6–3 vote, Bloomington’s plan commission supported the planning staff’s recommendation to send a negative recommendation to the city council about Monroe County government’s request for a rezone of the 87 acres, so that a jail could be built there.

The county government’s request would change the zoning of the land from mixed-use employment (ME) to mixed-use institutional (MI). Use of the property as a jail would not be allowed under ME, but could be allowed under MI.

A jail is a “conditional use” under MI zoning.

That means even if the city council were to approve the rezone, Monroe County government would still have to go through the conditional use approval process in front of the city’s board of zoning appeals.

On Monday, a staff attorney for the county, Jeff Cockerill, told the plan commission that Monroe County had a purchase agreement for the land, contingent on approval of a rezone—but that agreement expires at the end of the year.

After this Wednesday, the city council’s calendar for the rest of the year has two more regular meetings.

There’s now a 10-day timeframe for planning director Scott Robinson to certify the outcome of the plan commission’s Monday recommendation to the city clerk. That would set up Monroe County government with enough time to hit the deadline for submission of the materials to the city council office for the council’s Dec. 7 meeting, when the rezone could get a first reading.

That could set the table for the city council to approve the rezone, when it would get a second reading at the council’s final meeting of the year on Dec. 21. Continue reading “Negative stamp on rezone for jail by Bloomington plan commission, could still win city council’s OK” →

Catalent tax break gets just a 6-vote majority from 9-member Bloomington city council, but it’s enough

A six-vote majority on Bloomington’s nine-member city council was enough Wednesday night to grant pharmaceutical company Catalent a tax abatement in exchange for a capital investment of $350 million and 1,000 new jobs.

The additional jobs would grow the pharmaceutical company’s local workforce by about one-third.

[Updated April 21, 2022: In a news release Catalent has announced it has chosen Bloomington as the location where it will be making a $350 million investment.]

Catalent is looking to spend about $10 million on development of real property, possibly by buying more land. The other $340 million would be invested in personal property, which includes all the non-permanent fixtures inside a building, like manufacturing equipment.

The investment by the pharmaceutical company would be contingent on a tax abatement on the additional value for both real and personal property. Real property would be abated at a rate of 50 percent a year for 10 years, making a total of $826,760 in additional paid property taxes and $826,760 in abatement.

The bigger break comes for the personal property, which is 90 percent for 20 years, and totals an estimated $43,450,785 in abated taxes, which is calculated to have a net present value of about $28.4 million.

Speaking in support of the tax abatement was Bloomington’s director of economic and sustainable development, Alex Crowley, who allowed that the cumulative figure for the abatement  is an “eye-popping number.”

Public comment in favor of the abatement came from current and former elected officials, including former mayor John Fernandez (1995–2003) who also served as assistant secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Administration in the Obama administration.

Fernandez said, “This decision isn’t so much about Catalent—it’s about creating economic opportunities for our community, for people in our community who are at risk of being left behind in an ever changing dynamic economy.”

Speaking against the abatement during the public hearing was Ariana Gunderson, who said, “Being a company town is a really good situation for a company, but not for a town.” She added, “I am astonished that the city would invest so much money into the profits of a company instead of into its people.” Continue reading “Catalent tax break gets just a 6-vote majority from 9-member Bloomington city council, but it’s enough” →

Catalent tax abatement OK’d in first of two Bloomington city council votes: 9–0

Bloomington’s city council voted 9–0 on Wednesday night to approve a tax abatement for Catalent in exchange for a capital investment of $350 million and 1,000 new jobs.

Final approval will require a confirmatory vote on March 2, after a public hearing.

The additional jobs would grow the pharmaceutical company’s local workforce by about one-third.

Catalent is looking to spend about $10 million on development of real property, possibly by buying more land. The other $340 million would be invested in personal property, which includes all the non-permanent fixtures inside a building, like manufacturing equipment.

The investment by the pharmaceutical company would be contingent on a tax abatement on the additional value for both real and personal property. Real property would be abated at a rate of 50 percent a year for 10 years, making a total of $826,760 in additional paid property taxes and $826,760 in abatement.

The bigger break comes for the personal property, which is 90 percent for 20 years, and totals an estimated $43,450,785 in abated taxes, which is calculated to have a net present value of about $28.4 million.

Because tax increment finance (TIF) capture is calculated on real property but not personal property, the impact of the abatement on TIF revenue would not be significant.

In the state of Indiana, the tax abatements don’t have an impact on the tax levy, that is, the amount of taxes collected by local governments. But an abatement does have an impact on how the tax burden is distributed across different taxpayers.

Councilmember Ron Smith was sanguine about the tax abatement. “I just think this is a fantastic opportunity,” Smith said.

Some councilmembers said they were voting yes Wednesday night, but seemed to leave open the possibility of voting no two weeks from now. Their concerns included: some skepticism about the “but for” criterion for tax abatements; the ability of Bloomington’s market to absorb the demand for additional housing; and the diminished income tax benefit of the new jobs due to out-of-county location of workers. Continue reading “Catalent tax abatement OK’d in first of two Bloomington city council votes: 9–0” →

Bloomington to woo Catalent with tax break as pharma company might invest $350M, add 1K jobs

By the end of 2026, Catalent might spend $350 million, in order to expand its Bloomington operation at South Patterson Drive in the southwestern part of town.

The project would add 1,000 new jobs, growing its local workforce by about one-third.

The pharmaceutical company is looking to spend about $10 million on development of real property, possibly by buying more land. The other $340 would be invested in personal property, which includes all the non-permanent fixtures inside a building, like manufacturing equipment.

The investment by the pharmaceutical company would be contingent on a tax abatement on the additional value for both real and personal property. Real property would be abated at a rate of 50 percent a year for 10 years, making a total of $826,760 in additional paid property taxes and $826,760 in abatement.

The bigger break comes for the personal property, which is 90 percent for 20 years, and totals an estimated $43,450,785 in abated taxes, with $4,827,865 in additional taxes to be paid.

It’s not a done deal, even if Bloomington’s city council grants the abatement, in a series of steps that will start at its meeting next Wednesday, Feb. 16.

That’s because Bloomington is just one of a number of other places in the country that are in the running for Catalent’s potential expansion in production capacity.

At the city council’s Feb. 4 work session, Bloomington director of economic development Alex Crowley put it like this: “[Catalent has] not made a decision—we are competing for this investment with other areas in the nation. They have biologics plants—as you’ll hear as part of their presentation, around different parts of the country.”

Crowley added, “Bloomington, I think, stacks up pretty well, from a talent perspective, from a quality of life perspective, the site, and the adjacent land availability.” Continue reading “Bloomington to woo Catalent with tax break as pharma company might invest $350M, add 1K jobs” →