- Hello, and welcome to Cats Week. I'm Annaliese Poorman. The Monroe County Board of Commissioners met
- on February 12th. Health Department Director Lori Kelly explained that COVID-19 wastewater concentrations
- have recently increased. According to the Indiana Department of Health, we have not seen changes in
- the number of emergency department visits for COVID-like illness or hospital admissions, but wastewater
- concentrations have increased.
- According to data provided by WastewaterScan for Monroe County, we are seeing high levels of COVID flu,
- RSV, and norovirus. The Health Department now has combo flu and COVID tests for free. The public can
- walk in Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to receive free tests.
- and the health department is still transitioning our vaccination services from IU Health Community Health.
- Our aim is to begin providing these services in mid-March. At this time, the Morgan County Health Department
- has vaccines available. You can call 765-342-6621 for an appointment.
- Building and fleet manager Richard Kreider updated the commissioners on buying and installing a new
- generator at the highway department. Kreider said that they will install the existing generator at the
- Youth Services Bureau. Recently we requested bids to install
- or purchase and install a new generator at the highway department. Take the existing generator at the
- highway department and install it at the Youth Services Bureau. Those bids were due at 9 a.m. this morning
- and we received two. Next, the board heard a memorandum of understanding with the Bloomington Fire Department
- for blood pressure monitoring distribution. Kelly walked the commissioners through the MOU.
- So this is similar to the agreement that we recently had with center stones. So essentially the health
- department has a stock of blood pressure monitors that we are able to provide for free for individuals
- who have been diagnosed or who are being treated for high blood pressure, who do not have access to
- a monitor to use at home. So this is just providing stock.
- The commissioners ratified the agreement with a three to zero vote. The board went on to discuss amendments
- to the Unified Development Ordinance. The amendments would add exceptions for accessory structures and
- housing additions to the environmental constraints overlay. Planning Director Jackie Nestor-Gellin
- highlighted some of the changes. So this is an amendment to the County Development Ordinance 2026-05.
- And a big portion of this text amendment is to add
- exceptions for accessory structures and housing additions to the environmental constraints overlay with
- some parameters set around that. We also have had various state code changes and we've also been identifying
- further Scrivener's errors with this being a 500 plus page document.
- So try to avoid them. The board approved the changes to the UDO by a unanimous vote. The county commissioners
- will meet again on February 26th. The Monroe County Council met on February 10th and discussed additional
- appropriations for the Monroe County Election Board at the request of the clerk's office. County Clerk
- Nicole Brown requested more than $242,000 for this year's elections.
- As it stands at this time, we do not have enough in the election budget to meet the statutory minimum
- hours of early voting in election day for the 2026 non-presidential primary in the general election.
- Also to be clear, all members of the election board were provided with the numbers that were not only
- requested, but an explanation of the shortfall. Brown said a concerned resident sent her office a card
- asking if the public could help cover the shortfall.
- I've never met this person, but her heartfelt correspondence resonated with me and reinforces the message
- that free and fair elections are not free. The more you want from elections, the more you have to be
- willing to pay. I absolutely have regrets that I did not request the same budget I did for the presidential
- elections as my clerk siblings throughout
- the state did, and their councils approved their budget request. Had I done so, we would not only have
- the operational budget we need, but we would likely return money back into the election budget. I know
- that at least one member of the council is cognizant that we will have to prepare as though there will
- be a 100% turnout for both elections.
- At this point, I'm not prepared to grovel for election dollars. My staff and I stand ready to give you
- the elections you paid for within the parameter you provided. Councilmember Marty Hawk said departments
- are asked to spend out of their budget allotments. Brown responded that the election budget was cut
- after budget hearings concluded back in the fall. I've always asked for a budget that reflected the
- two elections that we would be having and
- I believe the auditor told you at that time that I typically return money. I'm not out spending money
- willy-nilly I do what needs to be done to cover those two elections and The cuts that were made to the
- budget after I left the budget table Leave me as I indicated with not enough to meet the bare minimum
- the statute minimum for
- the two elections. Hawk explained that most departments are not given everything that they need for
- the year, which is why they come back for appropriations when they need more money. She said that the
- clerk should ask for an appropriation when the election fund is empty. Brown compared the funding of
- elections to that of the police and highway departments. I asked for $25,000 for two elections to take
- care of the 10 to 20 people depending on
- the turnout and how busy we are. I asked for that money because otherwise they're going home at four
- o'clock. Nobody is going to leave their dinner table, leave homework time, bedtime, bedtime for evenings
- and weekends to do the poll worker training, help with all of the things that we need to do after four
- o'clock for less than one hour of compensatory time per day. And you don't ask that of any other
- infrastructure person like the sheriff or the highway. You don't ask them to work for 40 hours
- of compensatory time. I certainly don't believe that that's what they got for this disrespectful weather
- that we just had a few weeks ago. But we're prepared again to give you the election you paid for. Council
- member Jennifer Crossley said that the council wants to ensure every Monroe County resident can vote.
- All we're saying here as council is use what you have because we're in a new era.
- And I hope that folks can understand that as dismay as folks might be that's fine, but use what you
- have and then come back. Council member David Henry asked Brown if the current allocations could fund
- the primary election and Brown responded that they could. Henry said that the council needs to be careful
- with its appropriations to save for the 2028 presidential election following Senate Bill 1. Council
- member Kate Wilts agreed.
- We are not saying back off of the quality. What we are saying is we have to be watching every penny.
- And if we can give you enough to get by for the primary so that we can look at how that money was spent
- and really take a close look at what's needed, that will help us be more accountable to the public
- as well as ourselves. Brown asked if the council could give some appropriation to make her more comfortable
- with the outlook for election funding. She said that there is not enough money in the fund to cover
- overtime for election workers. Wilts moved to amend the motion to appropriate $5,000 for overtime. I
- fully expect that comp time will be utilized and then
- We can talk about that. Our meeting in June, I believe is June 9th. So let's plan to hear maybe even
- just a debrief from you. You can come in a department update as we then, you know, talk about what's
- happening. And if you need an agenda item where you make a request, that's fine too. But this allows
- you to have some leeway with the overtime line.
- During public comment, Monroe County resident Gretchen Clearwater said the council should start thinking
- about contingencies that could require additional appropriations. We could have ICE at these elections
- and we have to prepare for that kind of, what are we going to do if ICE comes to the election polls
- and tries to stop people from voting? And what I think is the November election starts the day after
- the primary.
- because everybody's going to be thinking about it. And I think the election board and everybody's going
- to have to really start thinking about what we are going to do. Next county resident Susan Brackney
- said that the coming election is not business as usual. This goes well beyond just making sure folks
- in Monroe County have access to early voting and extended polling hours. The U.S. is now in a full-fledged
- authoritarian slide.
- Historians, political scientists, and even the NGO Human Rights Watch all agree our upcoming elections
- are going to be one of the only opportunities we have left to shore up democracy itself. The next Monroe
- County Council meeting will be February 24th.
- On February 11th, the Bloomington Arts Commission met and provided updates on city projects and also
- discussed a path forward after the loss of two board members, Holly Warren and Chaz Mottinger.
- As commissioners know, I sent an email message this afternoon that delivered a personnel update that
- is not welcome news for anyone to let you know that Holly Warren and Chaz Mottinger are no longer
- with the city and I notified you that I would be helping host your meeting this evening. Unfortunately,
- I cannot comment on personnel matters in any kind of detail. I know that's really frustrating. So I
- just wanted to acknowledge that, but that's just so that we're following HR policy. Following
- the acknowledgement of the staffing change, the floor was opened for questions and comments regarding
- Warren and Mottinger.
- Um, I think that with this loss and it's a really big loss for the city. Um, most artists, you know,
- really have come to trust Holly and as an organizer here, like I come to trust her and I know stuff
- is going to happen and work because of her project management and because of all the outreach that they
- do with people on the ground. Um, I'm really worried about what.
- direction the city is going to go into with this. And I think it is bad for public trust. One local
- resident acknowledged Warren and Mottinger's roles in empowering queer artists in Bloomington. I just
- wanted to also state kind of bounce off of what Dev and Hannah had said and say what our houses, Chaz
- and Holly, have been for the queer community in Bloomington and how
- the intersection of artists be queer and the two great things that make voting what it is truly will
- be affected by this decision. I know we can't speak on it further, but I do think in the interest of
- public trust that, and also the trust of all of us, that we will want to know more and we will want
- to stand behind them.
- Other community members echoed the confusion and disappointment in the decision, including local artist,
- Alan Bowley. I've said publicly a number of times that the Bloomington Arts Commission is a force that
- makes Bloomington feel really livable for me. The work that Holly and John has done has been exponentially
- helpful for me and made me feel welcomed here. And I am really worried given the
- political nature of the rumors that are being widely discussed in discourse online that this is a really
- dark day for the city of Bloomington and I'm afraid that it's no longer going to feel very safe to be
- here. The next Bloomington Arts Commission meeting is stated to take place on Wednesday, March 11th.
- The Bloomington Board of Public Works met on February 10th. The board heard an appeal from Beacon Builders
- for a notice of violation for failing to open the roadway on Acuff Road. Engineering Field Specialist
- Kyle Baw said staff recommends upholding the notice of violation. So we had a permit that was issued
- on August 18th of 2025 through September 1st of 2025. So we had worked through all those nuances
- And on September 10th of 2025, we did contact the permit holder via email to notify them that the roadway
- was required to be reopened no later than September 17th, 2025. And then that enforcement action was
- possible after that date. They did respond the same day and indicated that on September 18th, that asphalt
- would be laid to reopen that roadway.
- So on the September 25th staff was able to confirm that the roadway still remained closed beyond that
- additional approved permit date and Communicated that we needed a compliance deadline Which ended up?
- Sorry ended a in a NOV being issued or notice of violation on September 29th of 2025 for failure to
- reopen that roadway
- said that the city received complaints from the public since Bloomington North High School is nearby
- in addition to Meadows Hospital. During that period we had a couple a few complaints that had come in
- from public some VA you report some phone calls just to note that you know they were unsettled by the
- closure extension you know with the nature the location rather being adjacent to the school there and
- also Meadows Hospital.
- As part of that NOV enforcement action an administrative extension was granted Through October 3rd of
- 2025 at the permit holders request This timeline also was delayed in reaching an opening of that roadway
- He said the permit holder submitted an additional request for extension in October of 2025 This request
- was not approved at that point
- The closure had already been in place for roughly 53 days You know based on that 14 day original request
- So staff determined that further extensions were not reasonable or consistent with good right-of-way
- management practices Despite that approved extension which began or sorry which expired on October 3rd and
- The roadway did remain closed until October 6th of 2025. So that was the period that the second notice
- of violation was issued for. That is on the docket tonight. Beacon Builders Attorney Jim Bohr said the
- company acted in good faith and worked to reopen the road as soon as possible. Bohr maintained that
- crews encountered unforeseen problems in construction. Did they just not work when they should have
- worked? Did they slow to work this thing? Did they not pay attention?
- No, what happened was they encountered a lot of unforeseen problems in the construction. Here's what
- happened. They found a fiber optic line. It wasn't mapped on any of the city's maps. Then when they
- did the locate, locate didn't know it was there, didn't find it either. They started digging and there
- was a fiber optic line.
- Nobody knew who owned it. They had to figure out who even owned it to contact the owner and see if they
- could move it. Then they found a water valve. It wasn't on the locate. It wasn't on the map either.
- Then they had to move that. So they had to redraw the plans. They had to go back to engineering, ask
- if they could move that to a different location, and then
- Redo their construction based on that water valve Then when they did the sub base the sub base compaction
- Failed and they had to go back and redo that Then they found a second water valve the second water valve
- Had to be relocated in the plans as well. They had to redraw the plans go back to engineering get approval
- for that and
- redraw the plans, move some things around, and do some things differently. After discussion, Public
- Works Director Adam Wason suggested that the board table that appeal. I'm not sure on these appeals.
- We don't have too many of these come to the board. So in terms of logistically, is it possible to table
- this decision for the time being to have some further negotiations and conversations with
- The developer about this specific NOV and or is it one where the board is with it being publicly noticed?
- Is there a decision required today? Board member Elizabeth Karen made a motion to table the appeal and
- revisit it at a later date. The motion passed three to zero. The next Bloomington Board of Public Works
- meeting will take place on February 24th.
- On February 9th, the Monroe County Council met in a joint session with the Monroe County Board
- of Commissioners. The joint session addressed a number of topics, but the primary concern was the jail
- and potential issues associated with both cost and location, as well as care for the inmates. Judge
- Catherine Stafford spoke against the proposal. I certainly can't speak for the entire
- board of judges, but the last time the board of judges discussed the issue of whether some courtrooms
- could be located at a separate jail, we were firmly against it. And the reason for that is that all
- of our support staff are located in one location and we can't have some courts in a different location
- and some courts at the original location because we don't have our court administration there. We don't
- have our court reporters there. We don't have our recording equipment there. The cost of duplicating
- all of that would be extremely expensive.
- Until I'm told otherwise by the Board of Judges, I don't believe that having some courtrooms in one
- place and some courtrooms in another place is feasible. Board members advocated for making the jail
- meet a constitutional standard of care. I certainly am not here to comment on the Council's position
- on raising taxes or not. I have no vote on that, but I would say that it's
- not just to build a big jail. What we need is a jail that meets the constitutional standard of care.
- And that's what we currently do not have. We have a jail that is unsafe for the inmates and unsafe for
- the jail staff. And that is unacceptable.
- Once again, the largest concern is the cost of the overall project. Board members held strong opinions
- on both ends of the spectrum. Some members support a tax increase while others remain opposed. The opposition
- stems from the impact this may have on the residents who simply cannot afford more bills and taxes.
- The joint session also addressed the lawsuit that the county is facing over the jail due to unconstitutional
- living conditions.
- For a long, long, long time, the people in that jail, their concerns and their cries to how that jail
- is, they've been ignored. They've been dismissed. They've been disregarded. But on January 29th at 830
- in the morning, this letter was distributed. That's exactly when we did it, folks. And let me tell you
- something. Now they have a voice. And they're not going to be ignored. And they're not going to be disregarded.
- I don't think we're going to hear a whimper from them. I'm going to hear a real loud distinctive roar.
- And it's not going to come in a meeting like this. It's going to come in a federal lawsuit where most
- of the people sitting at this table are defendants. The next Monroe County Council meeting is scheduled
- for February 24th and the next Monroe County Board of Commissioners meeting is on February 19th.
- And that is all for Cats Week. Thank you for joining us. For Cats and WFHB, I'm Annalise Poorman.