Photos: Harrodsburg Heritage Days 2024 parade, pedal tractor pull

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Harrodsburg Heritage Days 2024

Harrodsburg is an incorporated community of 656 people, about 12 miles south of Bloomington.

It was because of the fireworks at this year’s edition of Harrodsburg Heritage Days that the B Square headed southward on Saturday.

But the actual fireworks display was not the big draw for The B Square. The parade was plenty fun, and the fireworks display was likely spectacular, but The B Square was in Harrodsburg for a different reason—to watch the firefighters with the Monroe County Fire Protection District compete in the discipline of pedal tractor pulling.

How did fireworks factor into the equation? It was through a twist of civic affairs. Continue reading “Photos: Harrodsburg Heritage Days 2024 parade, pedal tractor pull” →

Monroe Convention Center expansion: Bloomington city council work session set for April 5

Panorama of convention center looking to the southwest as seen in August of 2022.

Total food and beverage tax revenues by month since the 1-percent tax started getting collected.

Bloomington’s city council has set a work session for this Friday (April 5) at noon, to discuss a project that has been in the works for a few years—the renovation and expansion of the Monroe Convention Center.

The current convention center stands on the southwest corner of 3rd Street and College Avenue.

The work session will likely be closely watched by other elected and appointed officials, because the city council is not necessarily unanimous in its support of every aspect of the planned expansion.

At the end of February, councilmember Kate Rosenbarger voted against the interlocal agreement that lays out the working relationship between city government, county government, and the Monroe County capital improvement board (CIB). Continue reading “Monroe Convention Center expansion: Bloomington city council work session set for April 5” →

Convention center capital board picks JS Held as owner’s rep, issues RFQ for hotel

John Whikehart (March 20, 2024)

From left: Eric Spoonmore, John Whikehart (March 20, 2024)

JS Held interview team (March 5, 2024)

From near to far: Joyce Poling, Adam Thies, Jim Silberstein, and Jay Baer (March 20, 2024)

JS Held will be the owner’s representative for the Monroe Convention Center expansion project.

At its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, the seven-member Monroe County capital improvement board approved a motion for selection of JS Held as owner’s rep, after a three-member board committee interviewed the firm and a second company, The Veridus Group, in the first week of March.

The motion approved by the board authorized CIB president John Whikehart to hammer out the details of the arrangement between the CIB and JS Held.

JS Held will be a familiar name locally as the project manager for the Hopewell redevelopment project and the consultant on the Showers West renovation project, among others.

In order to pay JS Held for its work, the CIB will need approval of a budget from the city council, which last year appropriated $250,000 of food and beverage tax revenue for the 2024 fiscal year.

For the CIB to have access to the money, a request will need to be run through a statutorily-required approval process that includes a request by the city council for consideration by the food and beverage tax advisory commission (FABTAC). Continue reading “Convention center capital board picks JS Held as owner’s rep, issues RFQ for hotel” →