WEBVTT 00:00:07.362 --> 00:00:14.248 - Hello and welcome to Cats Week. I'm Annalise Poorman. The Monroe County Council met on May 26 and rejected 00:00:14.248 --> 00:00:20.684 - a purchase agreement to buy the North Park property for a new jail. According to Commissioner Julie 00:00:20.684 --> 00:00:27.184 - Thomas, the North Park property was the only option for the county to meet deadlines for a 2008 ACLU 00:00:27.184 --> 00:00:33.620 - lawsuit. I just want to quickly remind everyone that we have two deadlines facing us. The first one 00:00:33.620 --> 00:00:35.358 - is Friday's ACLU deadline. 00:00:35.650 --> 00:00:41.952 - The other is the bond council's deadline to initiate a bond in July. Anything other than North Park 00:00:41.952 --> 00:00:48.255 - at this moment means we miss both deadlines. Commissioner Jody Madeira said failing to purchase the 00:00:48.255 --> 00:00:54.998 - property will result in the ACLU filing for summary judgment. Summary judgment isn't a request for further 00:00:54.998 --> 00:01:01.301 - negotiation or dialogue. It's a request for a court to decide the ultimate legal question without a 00:01:01.301 --> 00:01:04.830 - trial because the facts aren't meaningfully in dispute. 00:01:04.930 --> 00:01:11.284 - The question here will be, did Monroe County have an unconstitutional jail? I don't know that any elected 00:01:11.284 --> 00:01:17.397 - official in this room would say that it's not unconstitutional. In recent days, our population was as 00:01:17.397 --> 00:01:23.871 - high as 272. This jail has a functional capacity of 235. This is a structural problem. All the new services 00:01:23.871 --> 00:01:28.606 - in the world won't create new ADA cells, rec space, or alleviate overcrowding. 00:01:29.026 --> 00:01:35.127 - So if summary judgment is granted, the only remaining question is what remedy a federal court will impose 00:01:35.127 --> 00:01:40.884 - on Monroe County. Once we stop acting as one county and start acting as separate legal adversaries, 00:01:40.884 --> 00:01:46.927 - the commissioners, the sheriff and the council will each retain separate attorneys, file separate briefs 00:01:46.927 --> 00:01:52.856 - and present separate arguments. And from what I've seen of the record from the past 17 years, the ACLU 00:01:52.856 --> 00:01:53.662 - will prevail. 00:01:54.402 --> 00:02:02.513 - County Sheriff Ruben Marte urged the council to approve the purchase agreement saying that the current 00:02:02.513 --> 00:02:10.389 - facility is not safe for his staff or inmates. Not to move forward at the present time is literally 00:02:10.389 --> 00:02:18.815 - putting a tremendous amount of more stress on the staff that are already stressed to a point that concerns 00:02:18.815 --> 00:02:23.934 - me. It really does. So we all agree that we want to treat people 00:02:24.642 --> 00:02:31.315 - We agreed upon that. We also agreed that we want to have public safety to the utmost. This is a public 00:02:31.315 --> 00:02:38.182 - safety issue because we try to do is when they come in and provide specifically residents now I'm talking 00:02:38.182 --> 00:02:44.660 - about is provided with with all the help that we can. So when they leave the facility they don't go 00:02:44.660 --> 00:02:51.139 - back to the same pattern or habits that cause them to be in there. We're trying to be proactive but 00:02:51.139 --> 00:02:53.406 - here again it keeps coming back to 00:02:53.698 --> 00:03:00.132 - facility and the staff number. The council rejected a North Park proposal in October because the county 00:03:00.132 --> 00:03:06.689 - lacked funding following the passage of 2025 Senate Enrolled Act 1. The council again rejected a proposal 00:03:06.689 --> 00:03:12.442 - to buy the property at their May 12th meeting. Council President Jennifer Crossley said that 00:03:12.442 --> 00:03:18.938 - the commissioners need to propose a different location. She suggested the county try to use the Thompson 00:03:18.938 --> 00:03:21.598 - property since the county already owns it. 00:03:23.842 --> 00:03:30.366 - That's where we are. And I don't have any notes or anything like that that I have. I'm just kind of 00:03:30.366 --> 00:03:37.347 - going off the cliff of my head here. So let me go ahead and spell it out for people. If you didn't already 00:03:37.347 --> 00:03:44.132 - know, now you know, because you're hearing it from me. I think we need to look at what we already have. 00:03:44.132 --> 00:03:50.526 - The public has made comments about what we already have. Use what we already have. And years ago, 00:03:50.850 --> 00:03:58.339 - That was a Thompson site. And I looked at all things considered way back when, when studies were done, 00:03:58.339 --> 00:04:05.682 - that that was supposed to be a juvenile justice facility. And back then, in the term of the economic 00:04:05.682 --> 00:04:12.953 - crisis that we were facing then, my times have changed, that we needed to do something then because 00:04:12.953 --> 00:04:16.734 - costs will continue to skyrocket and will increase. 00:04:17.122 --> 00:04:24.647 - And here we are yet again those costs are skyrocketing increase with building and all of the above. 00:04:24.647 --> 00:04:27.582 - I think with this whole fight of SB 1. 00:04:28.034 --> 00:04:33.900 - where we are kind of taking a look back and some of us have continued to say that SB1 is the part where 00:04:33.900 --> 00:04:39.653 - we've kind of, you know, we can't do certain things and we're restricted with our funding and our lit 00:04:39.653 --> 00:04:45.520 - rates and all of those different things. I think that was the moment where we collaboratively, not just 00:04:45.520 --> 00:04:51.217 - talking it, but just actually doing it, could have said, let's take a step back here, let's see what 00:04:51.217 --> 00:04:54.206 - we are really doing and let us do with what we have. 00:04:54.658 --> 00:05:00.838 - During public comment, over 30 people spoke in opposition to purchasing the land. Many were concerned 00:05:00.838 --> 00:05:07.261 - about the distance between the North Park property and other services for people in the jail. Bloomington 00:05:07.261 --> 00:05:13.745 - City Councilmember Isabel Piedmont-Smith said that she thinks the county should spend money on alternative 00:05:13.745 --> 00:05:16.350 - services to prevent future incarcerations. 00:05:17.730 --> 00:05:23.790 - The jail proposal at the North Park site is a poor use of taxpayer money. We're not only burdening future 00:05:23.790 --> 00:05:29.507 - generations with debt, but we're also burdening them with a status quo criminal justice system that 00:05:29.507 --> 00:05:35.453 - is focused on punishment and where it should be focused on prevention. This is an opportunity to change 00:05:35.453 --> 00:05:41.628 - this system, which I've been saying for years, but due to the non-collaborative nature of the commissioners 00:05:41.628 --> 00:05:46.430 - on this, it was ignored. And many in the community have been saying the same thing. 00:05:47.362 --> 00:05:55.614 - Any facility, as the current proposal is, that has a significantly higher number of beds will be, could 00:05:55.614 --> 00:06:03.946 - very well be used by ICE, could be used by the federal government, which is repressing American citizens 00:06:03.946 --> 00:06:12.278 - and legal immigrants to this country across the board. Public safety is not arresting people and putting 00:06:12.278 --> 00:06:17.118 - them in jail. Public safety rests on the principle that true 00:06:17.378 --> 00:06:24.000 - Safety comes only from racial and economic justice, where residents have the resources and stability 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:31.147 - they need to survive and hopefully to thrive. Other public commenters blamed the Monroe County commissioners 00:06:31.147 --> 00:06:37.834 - for the county facing such urgency on the jail project. Former City Council member Steve Volin called 00:06:37.834 --> 00:06:39.998 - for the commissioners to resign. 00:06:40.354 --> 00:06:45.650 - If you approve this, you'll show that if the commissioners drag their feet long enough, they'll get 00:06:45.650 --> 00:06:51.105 - their druthers in the face of all evidence that shows it's a bad idea. You'll reward their negligence, 00:06:51.105 --> 00:06:56.401 - their intransigence, even their contempt for you, for the city of Bloomington, the people of Monroe 00:06:56.401 --> 00:07:01.909 - County, and most of all, the incarcerated, whom the commissioners could have spared an unconstitutional 00:07:01.909 --> 00:07:05.246 - jail years ago if only they had applied an ounce of diplomacy. 00:07:06.338 --> 00:07:11.649 - Whatever your vote tonight, do not take responsibility for a failure that rests solely with 00:07:11.649 --> 00:07:17.479 - the commissioners. Send the message that the county must not be subjected to a reorganization of its 00:07:17.479 --> 00:07:23.309 - physical plant that will be permanent, catastrophic, and avoidable. If this was the best they had to 00:07:23.309 --> 00:07:29.081 - offer, let their next act be to send a message that might get the ACLU to back off. Let them do the 00:07:29.081 --> 00:07:31.390 - honorable thing and resign their seats. 00:07:31.618 --> 00:07:38.736 - Councilmember Pete Iverson was the only vote in favor of the purchase agreement. He said while the proposal 00:07:38.736 --> 00:07:45.591 - was unpopular, he believed delaying the decision would be unwise. And let me repeat, there are no ideal 00:07:45.591 --> 00:07:52.314 - choices here. This is a terrible decision to be making right now. A vote for the litigation option is 00:07:52.314 --> 00:07:57.982 - kicking the can down the road at least three years. A vote for the affirmative option 00:07:58.210 --> 00:08:07.575 - presents a solution that perpetuates a system that jails too many people. There are no ideal solutions 00:08:07.575 --> 00:08:16.757 - to us tonight, but there is a marginally optimal one. This evening, we have a viable path forward to 00:08:16.757 --> 00:08:21.758 - end 17 years of stalemate. Sit with that for a second. 00:08:22.594 --> 00:08:29.321 - On the other hand, several council members said that they could not support moving forward with the 00:08:29.321 --> 00:08:36.047 - proposal after considerable public opposition. Council member Jennifer Crossley said that the North 00:08:36.047 --> 00:08:42.841 - Park property had become too divisive for the county to move forward. But this is the part right now 00:08:42.841 --> 00:08:49.635 - where I feel like this is a moment where we can either do well or we can screw it over. And I was in 00:08:49.635 --> 00:08:50.846 - Novak in October. 00:08:51.266 --> 00:08:57.800 - I was a no back in a couple of weeks ago, and I'm still a no. But again, here's where I can say yes. 00:08:57.800 --> 00:09:04.141 - I can say yes to true active collaboration. I can say yes to really getting down in the trenches. 00:09:04.141 --> 00:09:10.740 - Like today, like after this is all, well, maybe not today, because I literally want to spend a little 00:09:10.740 --> 00:09:17.662 - bit of time with my son. Or the next day, where we can come back in a room and say, let's figure this out. 00:09:17.858 --> 00:09:23.616 - Mr. Richardson back there has continued to say, let's talk about this. Let's talk about this. 00:09:23.616 --> 00:09:29.926 - I can tell you, we are trying to talk about it. Whether or not other people really want to come to the 00:09:29.926 --> 00:09:36.174 - table and really want to talk to us about it, that's a whole other subject. But again, I think about, 00:09:36.174 --> 00:09:42.668 - as Council Member Henry has said before, Charlotte's last conversations were, you all can do hard things. 00:09:42.668 --> 00:09:47.262 - You just need to know how to do it and go do it. And since we are quoting, 00:09:47.586 --> 00:09:55.520 - songs. I really like to think of songs as well to get me through hard times. And a great lyricist by 00:09:55.520 --> 00:10:03.612 - the name of Tupac said, remember one thing, for every dark night, there's a bright day and after that, 00:10:03.612 --> 00:10:11.861 - so no matter how hard it gets, stick your chest out, keep your head up and handle it. Colleagues, that's 00:10:11.861 --> 00:10:15.710 - what we got to keep doing. County commissioners, 00:10:15.938 --> 00:10:22.602 - That's what we have to keep doing. City colleagues, sheriff here, that's what we have to keep doing. 00:10:22.602 --> 00:10:29.464 - Yes, I understand the repercussions. I come from people who understand consequences of many things that 00:10:29.464 --> 00:10:36.195 - have come up against them. But this right here, this is where we are. So with that being said, may we 00:10:36.195 --> 00:10:38.174 - please have a roll call vote? 00:10:39.202 --> 00:10:45.486 - The council rejected the purchase agreement six to one with Iverson being the only supporting vote. 00:10:45.486 --> 00:10:52.209 - He said the North Park proposal has been the only path forward presented in the 17 years since the lawsuit 00:10:52.209 --> 00:10:58.681 - was filed. Ahead of this vote, I have done what I feel is my due diligence. I have discussed this vote 00:10:58.681 --> 00:11:04.965 - with as many constituents as I can from as many diverse backgrounds as I can. This includes clergy, 00:11:04.965 --> 00:11:08.798 - first responders, mental health professionals, public safety 00:11:08.898 --> 00:11:15.883 - presuppressionals, county employees, former and current elected officials, attorneys and more. What 00:11:15.883 --> 00:11:22.937 - I'm hearing from folks out in the first district is they want us to end 17 years of indecision. What 00:11:22.937 --> 00:11:29.992 - I'm hearing is that they want action. The council followed with a motion to deny the purchase of the 00:11:29.992 --> 00:11:33.694 - North Park property. That motion passed six to zero. 00:11:34.050 --> 00:11:40.695 - Commissioner David Henry was unable to vote because he was attending online and his connection failed. 00:11:40.695 --> 00:11:47.404 - The Monroe County Council will meet again on June 9th. The Richland Township Board and Ellitsville Town 00:11:47.404 --> 00:11:53.404 - Council met on May 27th to continue discussions on a proposed government reorganization that 00:11:53.404 --> 00:11:57.726 - would consolidate the two into one unified governmental structure. 00:11:57.954 --> 00:12:04.632 - Richland Township Trustee Susan Brown opened the meeting by recapping months-long studies on the potential 00:12:04.632 --> 00:12:10.873 - impacts to finance, public safety, planning and zoning, parks and utilities if the proposal passes. 00:12:10.873 --> 00:12:17.176 - I know I said this at a previous meeting, but I'd like to reiterate that I thought the subcommittees 00:12:17.176 --> 00:12:23.479 - did an excellent job on the reports. I thought they were very thorough, and I liked everything about 00:12:23.479 --> 00:12:26.974 - them, the language, the graphics, the maps, everything. 00:12:27.330 --> 00:12:33.643 - And I like the history that was put in some of those reports. So in any event, the subcommittees present 00:12:33.643 --> 00:12:39.656 - their report to the reorganization committee. The reorganization committee approved a draft plan of 00:12:39.656 --> 00:12:45.729 - reorganization on April 9th, and that has been on the Ellsville Richlandinfo.org website since about 00:12:45.729 --> 00:12:51.742 - that time. And as you're aware, that's a recommendation to both boards as to how the reorganization 00:12:52.066 --> 00:12:58.872 - forward because ultimately the obligation to draft the reorganization plan rests with both the governmental 00:12:58.872 --> 00:13:05.236 - boards. A representative from Baker-Tilley then outlined what the proposed governing structure would 00:13:05.236 --> 00:13:11.664 - look like. The proposed governance structure includes a seven-member town council. This would include 00:13:11.664 --> 00:13:18.155 - five district seats and two at-large seats during the transition period. The township government would 00:13:18.155 --> 00:13:18.974 - be dissolved 00:13:19.074 --> 00:13:25.683 - but representation for both the urban and rural areas would continue through the district structure. 00:13:25.683 --> 00:13:32.488 - The goal is to maintain local representation while improving coordination across the consolidated area. 00:13:32.488 --> 00:13:39.358 - The presentation also explained the difference between the proposals, urban and rural service districts. 00:13:40.514 --> 00:13:49.624 - This framework is again intended to align taxes more closely with the services that are currently provided. 00:13:49.624 --> 00:13:58.397 - So why two districts? The two district structure serves several important purposes that I've reiterated 00:13:58.397 --> 00:14:07.085 - and I'm going to reiterate here. It matches the taxes with the service levels. It allows phased growth 00:14:07.085 --> 00:14:08.350 - and expansion. 00:14:08.674 --> 00:14:15.837 - It preserves the rural character and expectations, and it supports long-term infrastructure planning. 00:14:15.837 --> 00:14:23.070 - Both entities voted to preliminarily approve the fiscal impact analysis, allowing the proposal to move 00:14:23.070 --> 00:14:30.654 - forward. This will allow for additional public hearings and possible placement on the November 2026 ballot. 00:14:31.714 --> 00:14:38.595 - The Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission met on May 28th and discussed possible historic designation 00:14:38.595 --> 00:14:45.035 - for a property on North Prow Avenue. The home was built in 1945. However, Commissioner Jeremy Hackard 00:14:45.035 --> 00:14:51.664 - said that alone is not enough to qualify the building as a historic marker. Yeah, I'm sad to see a small 00:14:51.664 --> 00:14:58.166 - house, especially with a story like this one, just a unique story and tear down a small house to build 00:14:58.166 --> 00:14:59.934 - a small house feels ironic. 00:15:02.242 --> 00:15:08.640 - But I don't think there's much we can do, unfortunately, that are either or options. The commission 00:15:08.640 --> 00:15:13.822 - approved the demolition. A new house will be built on the soon to be vacant lot. 00:15:13.986 --> 00:15:22.166 - In February of 2024, the Historic Preservation Commission approved the expansion of a small 1920s garage 00:15:22.166 --> 00:15:30.112 - driveway, including modifications to connect the garage to the residence. The cost of appropriateness 00:15:30.112 --> 00:15:37.981 - had expired after two years. The property owner came to the commission to request a new COA. Hackard 00:15:37.981 --> 00:15:40.318 - said he supports the request. 00:15:41.090 --> 00:15:47.319 - Basically, the only thing that's changing is the timeframe. Asking for more time is already approved 00:15:47.319 --> 00:15:53.548 - once. I see no reason to re-litigate this, so I am in favor. The motion passed unanimously. Historic 00:15:53.548 --> 00:15:59.777 - Preservation Program Manager Noah Sandweiss updated the Commission on the Code of Conduct. Sandweiss 00:15:59.777 --> 00:16:06.006 - then acknowledged the accomplishments of Commissioner Melody Dusner. I'd like to give a shout out to 00:16:06.006 --> 00:16:10.878 - Melody Dusner in her class, which won an IU Center for Rural Engagement Award. 00:16:11.010 --> 00:16:21.492 - for very relevant to us research on a stone carver in Odon, Indiana named Ira Correll, which culminated 00:16:21.492 --> 00:16:30.462 - in the installation of an Indiana historic marker. The BHPC will meet again on June 4th. 00:16:31.426 --> 00:16:38.728 - The Monroe County Stormwater Management Board met on May 27th. The board reviewed funding requests from 00:16:38.728 --> 00:16:46.029 - projects under its Memorandum of Understanding with Monroe County Soil and Water Conservation District. 00:16:46.029 --> 00:16:53.682 - Stormwater Program Manager Erica Penna explained the first request, which sought water management solutions. 00:16:53.682 --> 00:17:01.054 - This first one, the issue, if I'm understanding correctly, there's a culvert that drains under the road. 00:17:01.218 --> 00:17:12.262 - from the hillside into their field. And so this project would help direct that drainage into a specific 00:17:12.262 --> 00:17:23.518 - channel and help their pasture and their cattle. They're not impacting the direct flow into bean blossom. 00:17:24.226 --> 00:17:31.305 - SWCD representative Erica Myers confirmed that this project falls under the guidelines of the joint 00:17:31.305 --> 00:17:37.818 - small grants program. However, Monroe County surveyor Tron Enright Randolph raised concerns 00:17:37.818 --> 00:17:45.251 - about transparency, pointing to redacted collaborators in the meeting agenda packet. Being a right payer 00:17:45.251 --> 00:17:52.331 - fund, I think it should be very transparent that people know where these dollars are coming from or 00:17:52.331 --> 00:17:53.534 - going to, sorry. 00:17:54.786 --> 00:18:03.439 - So I understand that these redactions of the name and where the project's going is not SWCD. I understand 00:18:03.439 --> 00:18:11.930 - that. But I think this information needs to be public and should not be redacted. Meyers responded that 00:18:11.930 --> 00:18:20.093 - a majority of the redactions were due to policies of the Natural Resources Conservation Service and 00:18:20.093 --> 00:18:21.726 - not the landowners. 00:18:22.210 --> 00:18:28.795 - Ben Myers referred to the Conservation District's discussions around mandating transparency in the small 00:18:28.795 --> 00:18:35.380 - grants program. And Wright Randolph also tied these transparency concerns to larger considerations about 00:18:35.380 --> 00:18:41.902 - budget allocation. And then furthermore, we need to establish a method to support more ratepayers while 00:18:41.902 --> 00:18:48.174 - remaining fair to all residents of Monroe County. And that's what I think the mini grant program is 00:18:48.174 --> 00:18:52.062 - all about. It creates these guidelines and it has these caps. 00:18:52.674 --> 00:18:59.442 - Monroe County Commissioner Julie Thomas moved to approve the additional funding under the condition 00:18:59.442 --> 00:19:06.413 - that the client and landowner make their names publicly known upon approval. Commissioner Jodi Madeira 00:19:06.413 --> 00:19:13.249 - supported the requirement. The Stormwater Management Board will meet again on June 24th. And that is 00:19:13.249 --> 00:19:19.070 - all for Cats Week. Thank you for joining us. For Cats and WFHB, I'm Annalise Poorman. 00:27:10.626 --> 00:27:18.794 - for hurting families in Monroe County. A contribution to children who are vulnerable and in need of 00:27:18.794 --> 00:27:27.452 - an advocate. A staff that goes above and beyond to support and advocate for children in need of services. 00:27:27.452 --> 00:27:35.783 - The web of remarkable people who are dealing with difficult situations. So many young people that are 00:27:35.783 --> 00:27:40.030 - in need of help and trying to find a stable family. 00:27:40.610 --> 00:27:47.233 - stable place to live. Without the CASAs, to make that happen, many of them would be unable to find a 00:27:47.233 --> 00:27:53.922 - good home. I love being that voice for the child who can't speak for themselves in court. It takes me 00:27:53.922 --> 00:28:00.611 - out of my comfort zone and it also helps others. CASA means supporting our community. Being a CASA is 00:28:00.611 --> 00:28:07.300 - making sure that your village is healthy and whole and that the children in your village will someday 00:28:07.300 --> 00:28:09.726 - be able to help the village as well. 00:28:10.370 --> 00:28:16.741 - A child who doesn't have a voice maybe in their family situation or school situation now has a voice 00:28:16.741 --> 00:28:23.300 - that can advocate for them. I really enjoy working with children that are going through difficult times 00:28:23.300 --> 00:28:29.860 - and letting them know that I care about their future. We are privileged with our charge of representing 00:28:29.860 --> 00:28:35.600 - the best interest of children. And so therefore we can advocate for exactly what they need 00:28:35.600 --> 00:28:39.006 - without restriction, focusing on their best interest. 00:28:39.554 --> 00:28:42.654 - I want to repair the world one child at a time.