Tag: Catalent

Monroe County commissioners keen to curb expectations for Thomson site as new jail location

Not a proposed specific site. The building footprint of the Hamilton County jail is superimposed on the map to give a rough idea of the size of a potential jail compared to the overall site.
Overview of vicinity map for potential new jail site.
Inset for Locator map of Thomson PUD
The current Monroe County jail stands at 7th Street and College Avenue.
Map of boring locations from Patriot Engineering and Environmental, Inc. report.
Photograph of Thomson site boring from report by Patriot Engineering and Environmental, Inc.

On Thursday, Monroe County commissioners were eager to establish that no decision has yet been reached on a choice of location for a new county jail.

About a minute into a meeting of county elected officials on Thursday afternoon, commissioner Penny Githens said, “I want to state emphatically: No decision has been made yet on the location.”

One idea that might find some traction for an eventual decision about the choice of site came from Bloomington city council president Sue Sgambelluri, who gave public comment at Thursday’s meeting.

Sgambelluri noted that the city council has made it a priority for the new jail to be located inside the city limits, but not for the sake of being inside the city limits. Instead, Sgambelluri said, it is “for the sake of having access to transit.”

Now that the city council has authorized Bloomington  Transit to operate anywhere in Monroe County, Sgambelluri said,  the issue should framed not in terms of inside-versus-outside the city limits, but rather in terms of access to public transit. Continue reading “Monroe County commissioners keen to curb expectations for Thomson site as new jail location” →

$40K for required study of new jail feasibility OK’d by Monroe County commissioners

Not a proposed specific site. The building footprint of the Hamilton County jail is superimposed on the map to give a rough idea of the size of a potential jail compared to the overall site.
Overview of vicinity map for potential new jail site.
Inset for Locator map of Thomson PUD
The current Monroe County jail stands at 7th Street and College Avenue.

A $40,000 feasibility study for the construction of a new jail was approved by Monroe County commissioners at their regular Wednesday morning meeting.

The work will be done by the RQAW Corporation.

Such a study is required under Indiana state law, before a new jail can be constructed or reconstructed. Also required under state law is a public hearing on the study’s results.

Based on Wednesday morning’s deliberations, RQAW’s work is not expected to be completed before the end of the year. It’s supposed to take at least “eight work weeks” to complete the study.

The move toward constructing a new jail is the county government’s response to the work of consultants,  which was delivered nearly two and a half years ago.  The reports from the consultants concluded that the current county jail facility, at 7th Street and College Avenue, is failing to provide constitutional levels of care. Continue reading “$40K for required study of new jail feasibility OK’d by Monroe County commissioners” →

Next steps taken for Thomson PUD as potential site of new Monroe County jail

The building footprint of the Hamilton County jail is superimposed on the map to give a rough idea of the size of a potential jail compared to the overall site.
The building footprint of the Hamilton County jail is superimposed on the map to give a rough idea of the size of a potential jail compared to the overall site.
The building footprint of the Hamilton County jail is superimposed on the map to give a rough idea of the size of a potential jail compared to the overall site.
Not a proposed specific site. The building footprint of the Hamilton County jail is superimposed on the map to give a rough idea of the size of a potential jail compared to the overall site.
Aug. 29, 2023 review of jail sites
From front to back: Julie Thomas, Jeff Cockerill, Angie Purdie, Mary Ellen Diekhoff (Aug. 29, 2023)
Monroe County councilors, from left, Kate Wiltz, and Jennifer Crossley (Aug. 29, 2023)
Across the corner of the table are Monroe County sheriff Ruben Marté and Monroe County commissioner Penny Githens (Aug. 29, 2023)
Overview of vicinity map for potential new jail site.
Inset for Locator map of Thomson PUD

The consensus was pretty clear among county officials who met on Tuesday at the county courthouse: They want to take steps towards making the Thomson PUD the site of the county’s new correctional facility.

The Thomson PUD is the county-owned property west of Rogers Street and south of Catalent.

Those next steps include doing a geotechnical analysis of the property, starting conversations with Bloomington’s planning department about zoning requirements, and talking to immediate neighbors.

Next steps also include getting an appraisal done on some land that the county does not own.

The land not yet owned by the county government is wedged between the Thomson PUD and Catalent along Strong Drive, which would be one of the access points to the new jail.

Tuesday’s gathering was a publicly noticed meeting of the county council and the county commissioners, but no formal votes were taken on a decision about the Thomson PUD property. Several other officials had been invited. Continue reading “Next steps taken for Thomson PUD as potential site of new Monroe County jail” →

Bloomington’s econ development commish OKs tax abatement report, city council review next

From upper left counter clockwise: ESD staff Andrea “De” de la Rosa and Alex Crowley; EDC members Malcolm Webb, Kurt Zorn, Vanessa McClary, Geoff McKim, Matt Flaherty; and assistant city attorney Larry Allen.

On Friday, Bloomington’s five-member economic development commission (EDC) approved a report from city staff  on about a dozen tax abatements  that have been granted to companies over the years, as well as a couple of tax abatements that have been approved, but not yet claimed.

The pending abatements are for Real America, the affordable housing developer of the former Night Moves site on South Walnut Street, and for Catalent, the pharmaceutical company. Continue reading “Bloomington’s econ development commish OKs tax abatement report, city council review next” →

Bloomington econ dev commission to ‘re-Zoom’ meeting efforts in time for review of tax abatements

Screenshot of the message that popped up for the Zoom access to Bloomington’s economic development commission meeting for May 30, 2023.
Gathered for the BEDC meeting on May 30, 2023 were, clockwise from the bottom corner of the table: Alex Crowley, Larry Allen, Andrea de la Rosa (city staff); and BEDC members Matt Flaherty, Vanessa McClary, and Kurt Zorn.

On Tuesday, Bloomington’s five-member economic development commission (BEDC) tried to meet for the first time since October of last year.

All the pieces for a meeting appeared to be in place. Three of the five BEDC members were physically present in the McCloskey Room at city hall.

The majority attendance meant the group had the required minimum number to meet—a quorum. That number also satisfied Indiana’s Open Door Law which has a 50-percent in-person requirement for electronic meetings—in case any BEDC members had wished to attend by using the Zoom video conferencing platform.

But the Zoom link that had been provided in the official public notice of the meeting did not work. When an attempt was made to launch the Zoom interface for the meeting, an error message was delivered, which read: “This meeting ID is not valid.”

Assistant city attorney Larry Allen told those who had assembled for the meeting that because Zoom access had been advertised to the public under a specific link, but could not, in fact, be made available, his advice was to not hold the meeting. Continue reading “Bloomington econ dev commission to ‘re-Zoom’ meeting efforts in time for review of tax abatements” →

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” →