Tag: Eric Spoonmore

Six now to pick a seventh: Appointments to CIB for Monroe Convention Center expansion nearly done

In a news release issued at the end of the day on Friday,  Mick Renneisen and Adam Thies were announced as Bloomington mayor John Hamilton’s two appointments to the seven-member capital improvement board (CIB).

The image links to the text of the ordinance approved by county commissioners establishing the CIB.

The CIB will govern the expansion of the Monroe Convention Center.

The CIB was created on July 5 under state law by the Monroe County commissioners .

Hamilton’s appointments round out the six members of the CIB who are to be appointed by four governmental entities—mayor (2); city council (1); county commissioners (2); and county council (1).

It’s up to those six to make the seventh appointment.

Still to be worked out are details of an interlocal agreement between the city and the county.

Continue reading “Six now to pick a seventh: Appointments to CIB for Monroe Convention Center expansion nearly done” →

Bloomington boards act on tents, belongings in parks, public right-of-way

Board of public works

Board of public works from left: Jennifer Lloyd, Elizabeth Karon, and Kyla Cox Deckard (Aug. 15, 2023)
District 6 Democratic Party nominee for city council Sydney Zulich (Aug. 15, 2023)
Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce president Eric Spoonmore (Aug. 15, 2023)

Board of park commissioners

Bloomington resident Nick Angelos (Aug. 16, 2023)
Board of park commissioners from left: Israel Herrera, Kathleen Mills, and Ellen Rodkey. (Aug. 16, 2023)
Christopher Emge with the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce (Aug. 16, 2023)

On Tuesday, Bloomington’s board of public works passed a resolution asking that the city council enact an ordinance that will keep the public right-of-way clear of tents or belongings.

It’s not clear when or if the city council will follow the board’s recommendation.

The following day, the board of park commissioners took action, to enact a new policy that essentially prohibits tents in parks. The new policy takes effect on Aug. 23—that’s next Wednesday.

Action by the two boards on successive days is part of a general effort by Bloomington mayor John Hamilton’s administration, to regulate the way Bloomington’s unhoused population is able to use public space.

Director of public works Adam Wason described to the three-member board of public how the draft ordinance would make clear that the police have the legal authority, to immediately clear the right-of-way of someone’s belongings, if they do not respond to a request to move.

Parks and recreation director Paula McDevitt told the board that the intent of the new policy against tents and other makeshift enclosures is to ensure that parks areas can be used and enjoyed “by the whole community.” The way tents are now used in parts has created serious public health and safety risks, due in part to illegal activity, McDevitt said.

McDevitt said the policy does not prohibit unenclosed shade structures, if they don’t shield from public view what is happening under them.

At both meetings, commentary from the public mic in favor of the administration’s position came from business owners, and business advocacy groups—the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, and Downtown Bloomington, Inc.

Public comment against the administration’s approach came from social service workers, members of mutual aid groups like Help Ourselves, and other advocates for the unhoused. Continue reading “Bloomington boards act on tents, belongings in parks, public right-of-way” →

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” →

Bloomington puts first installment of opioid settlement money toward downtown outreach, matching grant for substance abuse treatment

At its Tuesday meeting, Bloomington’s city council approved the appropriation of $391,906—to address substance abuse, outreach to the houseless community, and other programs to be determined by the city’s community and family resources department (CFRD).

The money came from the proceeds of a global settlement in a class action lawsuit that was filed against several pharmaceutical companies. More than 2,000 federal lawsuits, including the joint action filed in February 2018 by Monroe County and Bloomington,  were consolidated in the Northern District of Ohio.

The amount appropriated on Monday ($391,906) was the total paid to the city of Bloomington in 2022 through the opioid settlement. That total was made up of $315,334 in restricted funds and $76,572 in unrestricted funds.

The restricted funds have to be spent on treatment, prevention, and care for substance use disorder.

As a part of the opioid settlement agreement, Bloomington is supposed to receive a total of about $1.95 million over a period of 18 years.

On Tuesday, the presentation of the appropriation request was made to the city council by CFRD head Beverly Calender-Anderson. Continue reading “Bloomington puts first installment of opioid settlement money toward downtown outreach, matching grant for substance abuse treatment” →

Holcomb visits Bloomington, Cook Group president tells locals: “We can’t sit around and wait for the governor…to solve our problems.”

Eric Holcomb.
Pamela Whitten.
Pete Yonkman.
It’s a sign. (Feb. 16, 2023)

On Thursday, the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce hosted a luncheon at the Monroe Convention Center featuring Indiana governor Eric Holcomb.

The main event highlighted Holcomb as he fielded questions from Indiana University president Pamela Whitten, as the two sat in easy chairs in front of an audience of about 450 people.

But for many in attendance, it was the remarks delivered by Cook Group president Pete Yonkman, towards the start of the program, that might have left a more lasting impression. Cook is Bloomington’s second largest employer behind Indiana University.

Yonkman said at the start that he did not have prepared speech to deliver, as he does on most occasions.

But the impromptu remarks that Yonkman did make were organized around one basic theme: Bloomington’s local leaders need to overcome their differences to make progress on important issues.

Specific issues that Yonkman highlighted included housing, conditions at the county jail, and the lack of progress on the convention center expansion. Continue reading “Holcomb visits Bloomington, Cook Group president tells locals: “We can’t sit around and wait for the governor…to solve our problems.”” →

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” →

“We’ve gotta get moving on that,” says state rep on convention center project, given threat of tax sunset

The Monroe Convention Center expansion project needs to make some progress, state representative Democrat Rep. Matt Pierce (District 61) said at a Friday luncheon hosted by the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce at The Mill.

Looming during this year’s legislative session is a threat to the project’s planned funding source, which is the county’s 1-percent food and beverage tax. The threat cited by Pierce is Senate Bill 37,  which has already been filed by Republican Sen. Mike Gaskill (District 25).

If SB 37 is passed, it would end food and beverage taxes across all counties in the state 20 years from now, on Jan. 1, 2043, or the date on which all bonds or lease agreements that are outstanding on May 7, 2023, are completely paid—whichever is later.

Pierce summed up the stalled effort of Bloomington and Monroe County government to collaborate on the convention center expansion like this: “We gotta get moving on that.”

Pierce was joined at the event by three other area state legislators: Sen. Eric Koch (District 44); Sen. Shelli Yoder (District 40); and Rep. Dave Hall (District 62).

Pierce’s comment on the convention center expansion came in response to a question from chamber CEO and president Eric Spoonmore.

The other three legislators didn’t comment on Spoonmore’s food and beverage tax question. Continue reading ““We’ve gotta get moving on that,” says state rep on convention center project, given threat of tax sunset” →