Tag: CIB

Convention center expansion: Bloomington city council looking to make CIB pick by early September

Panorama of convention center looking to the southwest.
B Square plot based on county data
Results of 2023 Bloomington community survey

The Bloomington city council’s one appointment to a new seven-member capital improvement board (CIB) could be made at the council’s Sept. 6 meeting.

That’s the timeframe that city council president Sue Sgambelluri announced on Wednesday.

The CIB, which was created under state law by Monroe County commissioners on July 5 , is supposed to provide the governance structure for an expansion of the Monroe Convention Center.

The city of Bloomington has an online application for all board and commissions,  which now includes a box that can be checked for the capital improvement board. Continue reading “Convention center expansion: Bloomington city council looking to make CIB pick by early September” →

Capital improvement board created, convention center expansion takes small step forward

A seven-member capital improvement board (CIB) has finally been created to provide the governance for a long-planned expansion of the Monroe Convention Center.

The unanimous vote by the three county commissioners to create the CIB came at their regular Wednesday meeting. Their vote was greeted with a rare round of applause in the Nat U. Hill room at the county courthouse.

Clapping enthusiastically in the audience for the vote were county councilors Geoff McKim, and Peter Iversen, as well as Eric Spoonmore, who is a former county councilor and now CEO of the Great Bloomington Chamber of Commerce.

That appears to end the wrangling between the county commissioners and Bloomington mayor John Hamilton, over the governance of the expansion project, which has stalled the joint city-county effort since early March 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Hamilton’s preferred way of handling the tasks that the CIB will oversee would have been through a nonprofit. A CIB is a public body, which the county commissioners can create under state law.

Still to be negotiated are the details of an interlocal agreement between the city and the county governments, which would lay out, among other things, the way that any land now owned by the city or the county will be incorporated into the expansion project. Continue reading “Capital improvement board created, convention center expansion takes small step forward” →

Capital board as governance for Monroe Convention Center expansion to be on July 5 county agenda

The long-planned expansion of the Monroe Convention Center, which has been stalled since March 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, could take a small step forward next week.

Monroe County commissioners, from left: Lee Jones, Penny Githens, and Julie Thomas. (June 28, 2023)

At their regular meeting next Wednesday (July 5), Monroe County commissioners are likely to consider and approve an ordinance that will establish a seven-member capital improvement board (CIB) to provide the governance structure for the expansion. [2023-06-28 draft ordinance]

Expectations about next week’s action are based on the discussion at a Wednesday work session, which was held by commissioners following their regular meeting.

The previous night, at a county council work session, attended by commissioner Penny Githens, the council passed a motion made by councilor Geoff McKim, which supported the path that the commissioners are now taking.

When Githens asked for the county council’s thoughts on the idea of proceeding with the creation of a CIB, McKim responded by saying, “I move we express strong support for the commissioners moving forward and creating a CIB.” That motion got unanimous support from the seven county councilors. Continue reading “Capital board as governance for Monroe Convention Center expansion to be on July 5 county agenda” →

Bloomington, Monroe County restart convention center talks, threat of lost tax revenue looms

Bloomington city council work session (June 12, 2023)

Before Monday, it had been nearly six months since Bloomington and Monroe County officials last appeared in a public setting, to talk about the proposed expansion of the Monroe Convention Center.

The city council’s first meeting of the year, in early January, was the occasion when the city council voted to override  Bloomington mayor John Hamilton’s veto, of a city council resolution related to the convention center expansion. The mid-December 2022  city council resolution expressed support for a capital improvement board (CIB) as the governance structure for a convention center expansion.

On Monday at noon, the Bloomington city council convened a work session on the topic of the planned expansion of the Monroe Convention Center.

Providing a wake-up call to move the project forward was the Indiana General Assembly, which has now concluded this year’s session. Before wrapping up its work for the year, the state legislature passed HB 1454, which uses the local food and beverage tax as a prod, to require Bloomington and Monroe County to show some progress on the convention center project.

The center of Monday’s discussion was a draft of an interlocal agreement that is supposed to iron out some of the persistent wrinkles in discussions between the city and the county about the convention center. Continue reading “Bloomington, Monroe County restart convention center talks, threat of lost tax revenue looms” →

Convention, visitors notebook: Innkeeper’s tax revenue up, Monroe County preps for 2024 eclipse

The first meeting of the year for the Monroe County convention and visitors commission (CVC) was relatively upbeat.

It was held on Wednesday at the Monroe Convention Center.

The revenue report for the county’s five-percent innkeeper’s tax showed a a 55-percent increase for the first two months of 2023 compared to the first two months of last year.

Mike McAfee, who’s executive director of Visit Bloomington, described the current state of planning for the solar eclipse next year. The narrow band of the full solar eclipse will pass right over Bloomington just a little over a year from now, on April 8, 2024.

One glumly received point of information was the status of the convention center expansion project, which still has not moved forward as hoped.

The CVC is the five-member public entity that controls expenditures of the innkeeper’s tax revenues. The CVC’s purpose is to promote the development and growth of the convention and visitor industry in Monroe County. Continue reading “Convention, visitors notebook: Innkeeper’s tax revenue up, Monroe County preps for 2024 eclipse” →

Bloomington city council overrides mayoral veto on convention center governance, path forward unclear

Newly elected Bloomington city council president Sue Sgambelluri (Jan. 11, 2023).
From left: Bloomington city councilmembers Matt Flaherty, Kate Rosenbarger, and Susan Sandberg (Jan. 11, 2023).
From left: Bloomington city councilmembers Isabel Piedmont-Smith, Sue Sgambelluri, and Dave Rollo (Jan. 11, 2023).
From left: Bloomington city councilmembers Jim Sims, Ron Smith, and Steve Volan (Jan. 11, 2023).
Monroe County commissioner Julie Thomas (Jan. 11, 2023).
Bloomington deputy mayor Mary Catherine Carmichael (Jan. 11, 2023).

A mayoral veto of a Bloomington city council resolution supporting a capital improvement board (CIB) as the governance method for a convention center expansion, has been overridden by the city council.

It was at 3:15 p.m. Friday, the day before Christmas Eve, when Bloomington mayor John Hamilton issued his veto of the council’s Dec. 14 resolution.

In December the council had approved the resolution by an 8–1 vote, with Kate Rosenbarger as the sole voice of dissent.

At this Wednesday’s city council meeting, the outcome of the vote was the same, satisfying the two-thirds majority required under city code to override the mayor’s veto.

On Wednesday as in December, Rosenbarger’s dissent was not based on any support for Bloomington mayor John Hamilton’s preferred convention center expansion governance structure, which is a 501(c)(3). Instead, Rosenbarger is skeptical that a convention center expansion should be built at all.

Continue reading “Bloomington city council overrides mayoral veto on convention center governance, path forward unclear” →

Ice storm: Bloomington mayor vetoes city council resolution on CIB for convention center expansion

A Bloomington city council resolution in support of a capital improvement board (CIB) as the governance method for a convention center expansion, has been vetoed by mayor John Hamilton.

The announcement of the veto came at 3:15 p.m. Friday, the day before Christmas Eve, when local overnight temperatures had dipped as low as –8 F.

The council had approved the resolution by an 8–1 vote at its Dec. 14 meeting. The sole dissenter was Kate Rosenbarger.

Hamilton’s veto statement recites the reasons that the administration has previously given against the use of a CIB, and for a 501(c)(3). Those reasons include the idea that the only way to make a CIB palatable to the city would also make it too “cumbersome.” Continue reading “Ice storm: Bloomington mayor vetoes city council resolution on CIB for convention center expansion” →

Bloomington city council supports CIB for convention center, but county ordinance likely needs redoing

Participating in Bloomington’s city council meeting on Dec. 14, 2022 by Zoom were public engagement director Mary Catherine Carmichael, and councilmembers Kate Rosenbarger and Dave Rollo.
Bloomington city councilmember Ron Smith. (Dec. 14, 2022)
Bloomington city councilmember Jim Sims. (Dec. 14, 2022)
Bloomington city councilmember Susan Sandberg. (Dec. 14, 2022)
Bloomington city councilmember Matt Flaherty. (Dec. 14, 2022)
Bloomington city councilmember Isabel Piedmont-Smith. (Dec. 14, 2022) (B Square)
Bloomington city councilmember Sue Sgambelluri. (Dec. 14, 2022)
Bloomington city councilmember Steve Volan. (Dec. 14, 2022)
Bloomington corporation counsel Beth Cate. (Dec. 14, 2022)
Monroe county attorney Jeff Cockerill. (Dec. 14, 2022)
Monroe County commissioner Julie Thomas. (Dec. 14, 2022)

By a vote of 8-1 at its Wednesday meeting, Bloomington’s city council passed a resolution of support for establishing a capital improvement board (CIB) to serve as the governance structure for an expansion of the Monroe Convention Center.

Dissenting on the vote was Kate Rosenbarger, who expressed frustration with the amount of time the council was given to consider the issue, as well as some skepticism about the need for additional convention space.

A CIB is a seven-member group that under state law can be established by county commissioners as a public body,  which makes it subject to Indiana’s laws on public meetings and access to records.

Under state law, a CIB can acquire real estate, build improvements, collect money and hire employees, among other things.

Instead of a CIB, mayor John Hamilton’s administration favors a 501(c)(3) nonprofit as the governance structure for a convention center expansion.

In a public statement released on Tuesday before the council’s Wednesday meeting, Hamilton restated that position.  Hamilton is quoted in the statement saying about a CIB “I will not endorse launching a process that I don’t believe will bring the result our community wants and deserves…”

At the city council’s Wednesday meeting, Bloomington public engagement director Mary Catherine Carmichael repeated the administration’s preference for a 501(c)(3) model. The following day, the administration announced Carmichael’s appointment as deputy mayor, to succeed Don Griffin, who has resigned effective at the end of the year in order to run for mayor.

The mayor’s current opposition to a CIB means the ordinance approved by county commissioners on Nov. 9, which established a CIB, will likely be void, unless there’s a dramatic reversal before the end of the year.

The ordinance establishes a CIB only if the city council and mayor agree to the terms in the ordinance. Continue reading “Bloomington city council supports CIB for convention center, but county ordinance likely needs redoing” →

Bloomington’s city council to consider backing CIB model for convention center expansion

Panorama of convention center looking to the southwest.

At its Wednesday meeting, Bloomington’s city council will consider a resolution of support for a capital improvement board (CIB) as the governance structure for an expansion of the Monroe Convention Center.

The existing convention center is located at the corner of College Avenue and 3rd Street.

The council’s resolution is a response to an ordinance approved by Monroe County commissioners a month ago, on Nov. 9, which establishes a CIB for the convention center expansion, but makes its enactment conditional.

In the ordinance passed by county commissioners, the establishment of a CIB for governance of a convention center expansion is contingent on the “city of Bloomington mayor and common council’s agreement with the terms of this ordinance.”

If by Jan. 1, 2023, the mayor and the city council don’t send the county commissioners an indication that they agree with the terms of the county ordinance, the ordinance is void.

The backdrop to the city council’s consideration of CIB resolution is Bloomington mayor John Hamilton’s strong preference not to use a CIB, but rather a nonprofit, specifically a 501(c)(3), to have jurisdiction over a convention center expansion. It’s an approach that would give the city more control.

In August of this year, Hamilton announced that he wanted the city to handle the convention center expansion on its own, without the kind of ongoing collaboration that had been previously  envisioned by

Also a part of the backdrop for the city-county back-and-forth over the convention center expansion is a sense of urgency, because of the possible sunsetting of food and beverage taxes in Indiana, as part of the General Assembly’s legislative agenda during its 2023 session.

Monroe County’s 1-percent food and beverage tax was enacted by the county council in 2017, specifically in order to fund a convention center expansion. Continue reading “Bloomington’s city council to consider backing CIB model for convention center expansion” →

Column: For convention center governance, it’s a clear choice—the one subject to the Open Door Law

Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022. City and county officials gathered in the Nat U. Hill Room at Monroe County courthouse. From right: county commissioners Penny Githens, Julie Thomas, and Lee Jones; county councilors Peter Iversen and Geoff McKim; city councilmember Sue Sgambelluri, Bloomington public engagement director Mary Catherine Carmichael, and city councilmember Susan Sandberg. On screen is Bloomington mayor John Hamilton.

City and county officials met on Wednesday at the county courthouse to discuss a possible path forward towards expansion of the Monroe Convention Center.

In his public commentary at the meeting, Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce president Eric Spoonmore called the meeting “some of the most substantive progress that we’ve made on this expansion in six years.”

Spoonmore added, “Whether the final outcome is through [a CIB (capital improvement board)], or whether it’s through a 501(c)(3), either option is fine with us.” Continue reading “Column: For convention center governance, it’s a clear choice—the one subject to the Open Door Law” →