- Good morning. I'm going to call to order this meeting of the Monroe County Board of Commissioners. It
- is Thursday, February 12th. I will note for the record that Commissioner Madeira and myself are here
- and present in that new Hill Room. And Commissioner Lee Jones is joining us via Teams. Welcome Commissioner
- Jones. We will begin with our public statement. We, the Monroe County Board of Commissioners,
- Renew our commitment to welcome and protect the rights of all people, regardless of age, race, color,
- creed, disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, marital status, economic status, and
- national origin. And we affirm the right of every person to live peacefully and without fear. And we
- will fight and resist at every step discrimination and harmful policies, whatever their source. We believe
- in diversity, equity,
- inclusion and belonging we stand in support of our county public school systems both rbb and mccsc and
- with that we will move on to our department updates it looks like we have miss kelly joining us from
- the health department good morning good morning commissioners just a few updates 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 wastewater scan
- 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 AM to 4 PM 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.
- All right, thank you so much. Comments or questions? Commissioner Medeo? No, I know that several varieties
- of what we technically call the IC is going around. And so that confirms it. Thank you. And those combination
- tests are available at the Health Department on the corner 7th and College, correct? Yes, that is correct.
- Great. Thank you so much. Appreciate you. Thank you for being here. Do you have any questions, Commissioner
- Jones? No, I don't.
- Okay thank you. All right next we have Mr. Kreider. Good morning commissioners. Richard Kreider, Monroe
- County Building and Fleet Department. 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. I'm going to hand them over to Jeff Cockrell. We'll open them. And the bid is for
- installing
- a new generator, purchase of a new generator, installing it, and also moving, relocating the other current
- generator. Okay, thank you. I just want to clarify that for the public. First is from Crown Electric,
- at Aterre Haute, Indiana.
- a it looks like a base bid of four hundred and twenty thousand dollars and then they also responded
- to the two alternatives. The second bid is from Cassie Electric from Elksville, Indiana.
- have a base bid of $382,000, and they also had a cost for both alternatives. So I guess with that, we'd
- like to go through these, take these under advisement, and bring you a recommendation. OK. Sounds good.
- Commissioner Jones, are you good with taking this under advisement? Yes, I am. All right. Commissioner
- Madera? Yes. Thank you. Excellent.
- Thank you, Mr. Crider. All right, sit back for a minute. Any other departments have updates for us?
- You can raise your hand on Teams or come to the podium.
- Being done, we will now move on to public comment. This is time reserved for items that are not on our
- agenda. We ask commenters to limit their time to three minutes per person and to provide your name and
- county of residence before you speak. You can raise your hand in teams or come on up to the podium.
- Being done, we will move on to our next agenda item, please.
- I would like to move approval of the minutes for February 5th, 2026. I will second that. Any comments,
- corrections, or edits? Commissioner Jones, Commissioner Madeira? No. OK. With that, Mr. Cockrell, will
- you please call the roll on the approval of minutes for February 5th, 2026? Commissioner Thomas? Yes.
- Commissioner Madeira? Yes. Commissioner Jones? Yes.
- Motion is approved, three to zero. Thank you so much. Next item, please. I would like to move approval
- of the claims docket for accounts payable for February 12th, 2026. I will second that. Ms. Moser, please.
- Good morning. The accounts payable claims docket for February 12th, 2026 totals $2,943,359.08. This
- includes all emergency claims and adjustments.
- Thank you so much. Comments or questions? Commissioner Jones? No, I don't. Commissioner Madeira? No,
- thank you. I don't either. Let's see if there's any public comment on this. You raise your hand on teams
- or come to the podium.
- being none, Mr. Cockrell, will you please call the roll on approval to claim stock and accounts payable
- February 12th, 2026. Commissioner Thomas. Yes. Commissioner Madeira. Yes. Commissioner Jones. Yes. Motion
- is approved three to zero. Thank you so much. Next item please.
- have any reports. Sorry, we don't have any reports. I should have said that quiet part out loud. We
- don't have any reports today. Oh, right. Thank you. Then I would like to move approval to ratify the
- memorandum of understanding with the city of Bloomington Fire Department for blood pressure monitor
- distribution. I will second that. I believe Ms. Kelly. Oh yeah, there she is. Ms. Kelly is still joining
- us. Sorry about that.
- 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.
- Excellent. Thank you so much, Ms. Bernie. I want to explain why it's a ratification. Because that is
- my fault. It was coming. It came through the DocuSign process and I looked at it and
- thought, oh, I remember hearing about this during a meeting, and the commissioners approved it. So I
- signed it for you. So that's why it's now a ratification. That's OK. It's OK. Comments or questions,
- Commissioner Medura? Nope. Commissioner Jones? Nope. All right. OK, so yeah, it's fine. It's fine.
- I'll see if there's any public comment on this item. Raise your hand on teams or come to the podium.
- Seeing none, Mr. Cockrell, will you please call the roll on ratification of the MLU City Bloomington
- Fire Department for blood pressure monitor distribution? Commissioner Thomas? Yes. Commissioner Madeira?
- Yes. Commissioner Jones?
- yes motion is approved three to zero all right thank you thank you thank you miss kelly uh yes i would
- like to move to approve harrell fish incorporated preventative maintenance services agreement fund name
- county general fund number one thousand in a in a sum not to exceed two hundred and five thousand dollars
- i will second that and i i just want to note that what i did
- for the totals is I took their maximum increase. The 3% added it into the three years for each contract
- and came to that number just because it's clear. Because these numbers are for the first year that are
- presented in the packet. All right. What was that total number? It's a not to exceed of $205,000, which
- will more than cover the 3% potential.
- increase each year. I see what you did there. Yeah, thank you. This is something I discovered last night,
- so I wasn't going to text you at, you know, like love and at night to tell you. Well, OK, this request
- is entering into a preventative maintenance service agreement with HFI covering both mechanical systems
- and county owned buildings and kitchen equipment located at the Jail and Youth Services Bureau.
- The mechanical systems portion of the agreement provides scheduled PM for building mechanical equipment
- and establishes labor rates for service and repair work as needed. The kitchen equipment portion of
- the agreement provides scheduled PM maintenance for food service equipment at the Jail and Youth Services
- Bureau and labor rates for service and repair work as needed. The contract term is three years with
- an annual price increase not to exceed 3%.
- I think I need to just add here total term not to exceed $205,000. Perfect. Thank you. Comments or questions?
- Commissioner Jones? No, I don't. Commissioner Madeira? No. All right. I have a question, which is, if
- you decide to get repair work done, does this lock you into only using HFI? No. Thank you. And that's a thing.
- Yeah. Yeah. We look at things like that. That's why I asked. All right. Thank you. All right. Very good.
- Let's see if there's any public comment on this item. You raise your hand on teams or come to the podium.
- Mr. Cockrell, will you please call the roll on the Herald Fish Inc. Preventative Maintenance Services
- Agreements? Commissioner Thomas? Yes. Commissioner Madeira? Yes. Commissioner Jones? Yes. Motion is
- approved, three to zero. Thank you so much. Next item, please. Yes, I would like to move to approve
- Clark Truck Equipment Company, Incorporated, Funds Name 2025 Geobond.
- fund number 4820 in the amount of $5,584. I will second that. Mr. Crider. Okay, recently we received
- two new maintenance trucks and we found it was extremely beneficial to have a lift gate on one of those
- vehicles. This request is to approve purchase and install of a lift gate on one of the county's new
- maintenance trucks. The lift gate will be supplied and installed by Clark Equipment at a total cost
- of $5,584.
- This equipment will improve safety and efficiency for maintenance staff by reducing manual lifting and
- allowing for safer loading and unloading of tools, equipment, and materials. Thank you so much. Comments
- or questions, Commissioner Madeira? Well, it's rare that government work is uplifting, but I think this
- is one of those items. Commissioner Jones, comments or questions? No, I don't. Hopefully the price doesn't
- escalate as well.
- Any public comment on this item around our puns? We'd be here all day if that was the case. It would.
- It would, for sure. A lot of boos, like, all right, a little groans here and there. See, no public comment.
- Mr. Cockrell, will you please call the roll on the agreement with Clark Truck Equipment Company, Inc.?
- Commissioner Thomas? Yes. Commissioner Madeira? Yes. Commissioner Jones? Yes.
- Motion is approved, three to zero. Thank you so much. We got one more for Mr. Kreider, please. Yes,
- I would like to move approve resolution 2026-01, surplus property for voters registration and the health
- department. I will second that, Mr. Kreider. All right, this request is to accept the declaration of
- items for surplus from the voters registration office and health department.
- that are no longer needed for their intended purpose. These items are damaged, obsolete, or beyond their
- service life, including tables, desks, chairs, file cabinets, and miscellaneous election equipment and
- supplies. These items will be recycled, sold as scrap metal, or disposed of as trash as appropriate.
- Thank you so much. Comments or questions? Commissioner Jones? No, I don't. Commissioner Deer? Nope.
- like recycling our puns you know you can only at some point they become surplus yes um let's see if
- there's a see if there's any public comment on this item you raise your hand in teams or come to the
- podium i know the health department is going to be especially eager to get rid of this stuff because
- i've seen the pile yeah and i don't see any public comment
- Mr. Cockrell, will you please call the roll on resolution 2026-01? Commissioner Thomas? Yes. Commissioner
- Madeira? Yes. Commissioner Jones? Yes. Motion is approved, three to zero. Thank you. Thank you.
- All right, next item, please. Yes, I'd like to move approve, move to approve in dot change order number
- eight, number 11 for Sample Road, phase one and phase two.
- I will second that, Ms. Ridge. Good morning. So we have been working on negotiations, not really, yeah,
- negotiations, clarifying dates and such for utility delays on this sample road phase one and two. We
- did decrease the original amount that was requested by $58,370. So I'm just asking for approval for
- change order eight and 11 to
- to try and finish out this portion of the project. Thank you so much. Comments or questions? Commissioner
- Medeira? No, I always like to see the words decrease the cost. Yes, that's a nice phrase. Commissioner
- Jones? No, I don't. This was a great project, although I know that what it looks like now is nothing
- compared to the stress that you went through trying to get it done. Still trying to close it out. Still
- trying to close out the books. Hopefully this is the end of it, but I bet it's not. No, it's not.
- I knew it. All right. But thank you for all the hard work because it's not just about getting this road
- in, which was already a lot. It's about making sure all the fund balances and accounts are tied up.
- So let's see if there's any public comment on this item. You can raise your hand on Teams or come to
- the podium.
- I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm
- not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure.
- So this is for bituminous materials. What we would go and pick up at the plants for one year for one
- year. The first bit is from milestone contractors. Old and hot or just be ugly. Okay, so both were on
- the bit. Okay, okay, well, we'll see.
- There's a bid for item number one, two, three, four, and five. Item one would be a unit is a ton.
- Break to me, but it says HMA surface type B 9.5, I assume millimeter. And that's $65, $653 a unit. And
- the next one's 12.5 mm, which is 58.5 unit price.
- Third one is a HMM intermediate type B 12.5, which is 58.5, and a HMA based type B 25 mm, which is 58.50,
- and then a cold mix asphalt pothole patching material, which is 140 a ton. Second is from Ian B. Paving.
- Lisa knew exactly what all this was. She's like, yep, yep, yep.
- Me, I'm like, hot or cold? I like the basics. These are the same item numbers, one through five, so
- I will not repeat those. The unit price for item one is $56.25. For item two is $52.5. Item three is
- $52.5. Item four is $51.5. And the cold mix as well. Item five is $135. Those are all per ton.
- this. We'll take that under advisement. Correct me if I'm wrong, when we review these, we typically
- will review them not only for the cost of the material, but the cost of collecting material and delivering
- so there might be different bits per different parts of the county. That's true, we could do multiple
- approvals. Okay, so we'll take this under advisement. Do you agree with that, Commissioner Jones? Yes,
- I do. Commissioner Madera? Yes.
- by two minutes under advisement. All right. Thank you so much. And now we will move on to our next item,
- please. I'd like to move approval for Ordinance 2026-05, Amendment to the County Development Ordinance,
- or CDO, to add environmental constraints overlay exceptions for development and other changes. I will
- second that. And we have Director of Planning, Ms. Nestergellen, joining us.
- Good morning. Good morning, commissioners. Okay, I'm going to share my screen here with the packet and
- just go through some of these text amendments for you. As I go through, I do have two outside examples
- that I'll share just for the public's education. 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. So this was
- sent to the board of commissioners.
- from the plan commission with the vote of seven to zero to one on January 20th of this year. And we
- do have a revisions page in here that can help people just track the amendments over time. So we try
- to keep this updated with every text amendment that comes before you. So the first change you'll note
- in the packet in blue, it's just a scrivener's error correcting the table numbers for the sign chapter.
- The second change is under the chapter for environmental constraints overlay. So we're changing some
- wording here from parcels to lots to be reflective of the definitions.
- And then we also made it clear we currently do have standards for approving an exception similar to
- what we'll be talking about today, but only for a single family residence. Once you have a single family
- residence on the lot and you'd like to add any accessory structures or add onto the home, then those
- exceptions currently do not apply. But under the blue text that we are proposing to add here that has
- gone through the ordinance review committee and the plan commission,
- We're proposing that for an existing lot of record, which currently contains a single family residence
- and does not comply with these codes above which states basically one acre of contiguous buildable area,
- as well as lake frontage, a certain amount of width of lake frontage for a lot.
- And then also it's stating that you have to basically be on buildable area still. So an exception to
- the foregoing eco requirements shall be granted to allow the construction of an accessory structure
- or additions to the residence if proposed, if the structure complies with basically being locating on
- flat area and not disturbing natural vegetation and steep slope.
- So the following criteria are parameters for allowing an exception of an accessory structure. The total
- footprint of the proposed accessory structure permitted under this exception shall not exceed 1,000
- square feet. And or in the case of an addition, the total footprint of the addition to the home shall
- not exceed 1,000 square feet. And the lot must still have 0.25 acres of contiguous buildable area around
- the single family residence.
- In the event another development standard is not met, this exception would not apply and the exception
- does not apply to accessory dwelling units. Just a point of clarification, the reason we're still asking
- for at least a quarter of an acre of contiguous buildable is many of these lots are located in a place
- where they have septic systems. Should that septic system fail, we want there to be enough area to locate
- a new septic system.
- We were asked to look at some 2025 BZA examples to see how many of these would qualify for the exception.
- The first, it needed a side setback variance. As you can tell, the house is very close to the northern
- lot line. It also had 0.24 acres instead of 0.25 acres of buildable and also
- But the addition itself was not overly large. It would have otherwise qualified had they met their side
- setback from the north and had a little bit more buildable area it could have qualified. And then here's
- an example where the lot is completely flat. It was only a half acre. So they did not meet the residential
- density requirement of two and a half acres. But the development that they were proposing was very minimal.
- It was less than 200 square feet.
- And so we were able to see that if this were to go through, we would be able to allow them to do an
- exception and not require the variance process. And this was approved by the BZA. Another example where
- they had 0.78 acres of buildable in an Eco2 area, they wanted to put in a 555 square foot in-ground
- pool, which was determined to be on flat ground.
- This again would qualify for an exception, but was approved for a variance in 2025. And then lastly,
- there was an example whereby a homeowner wanted to do both a housing addition and also a pole barn that
- was 3,456 square feet.
- This would not qualify for the exception because of the size of the accessory structure being over a
- thousand. So this was an instance where I believe they ultimately redesigned the project after the BZA
- continued this case and they dramatically lowered the size of the accessory structure and they were
- able to come to an agreement and get approval but not for this exact proposal. But this would not apply
- for that exception.
- So in doing that addition of information for the exception, we added a definition for footprint, which
- is here on the screen. And this will help us in determining how to measure that footprint. We really
- just care about the ground disturbance. So second story would not count against a person.
- And then under chapter 841 with the passage of a recent house bill, and now it's codified, we are separating
- our permitting requirements from the building department and making sure that it's clear that before
- they can apply for the planning permit that they must file for a pre-design. This has been working out
- well to streamline them to have a complete application and make the rest of the process more smooth.
- And then we're also adding in Chapter 841 for wireless communication facilities. If there's going to
- be a modification within a fenced lease area, that includes the addition of structures, they do not
- have to apply for a site plan.
- as long as they otherwise could get an improvement location permit or planning permit waiver. And I
- have an example here where if there's an existing cell tower, we'll often get like 120 square foot generator
- request. And so in that case, if it's within the fenced in area and otherwise a built out wireless
- communication facility for which we've previously approved a site plan, we would not require another
- site plan amendment to look at that generator.
- And then a Scrivener error here, we're just changing design to development. And with that, that is all
- I have. Great. Thank you so much. Before I move on to comments and questions from my colleagues, we were
- very pleased to have Commissioner Jones here today. And I was wondering if it's possible to go back
- and do the sliding scale if my colleagues agree to put it on the agenda. Would that be something we
- could do today? Would that be amenable? Thank you so much. I'm so glad you're here. Thank you. All right.
- With that, Commissioner Jones, do you have any questions? Not at this time. I don't either.
- We've seen this a lot and it is kind of the stuff that has to get done. And I know we're going to have
- more coming with as a result of state legislation, state legislative changes. And that's going to have
- an impact on what we do. But let's go to the public and see if
- There's anyone who wishes to speak in favor of these changes? Is there anyone who wishes to speak in
- opposition to these revisions to the county development ordinance?
- any other public comment on this item you raise your hand and teams are come to the podium. Thank you
- for that. Are we any other comments from my colleagues question Jones comments no no. All right. Mister
- copper we please call the roll ordinance 2026 dash 05.
- Commissioner Thomas. Yes. Commissioner Madeira. Yes. Commissioner Jones. Yes. Motion is approved three
- to zero. Thank you so much. And I'm going to ask that we amend our agenda to bring back to the floor.
- Ordinance 2026-01 amendments to the sliding scale subdivision ordinance. Can I get a second?
- second. Okay, so we have a motion and a second. Thank you, Ms. Jelen, for being willing to work on the
- fly. It's great. Please present all the information we need. Thank you. Oh, sorry. Yes. Mr. Cockrell,
- will you please call the roll on the motion to amend our agenda? Sorry. Commissioner Thomas.
- Yes. Commissioner Madeira. Yes.
- Commissioner Jones. Yes. Motion is approved. Three to zero. Thank you, Mr. Cockrell. I felt like something
- was missing. All right. It's not just that we're adding this item. It's thank you. Okay. So this is
- another text amendment. This item was tabled from when we originally passed the county development ordinance
- on December 18th.
- that was addressed by the public during their comment. And it was largely regarding the sliding scale
- subdivision in the 25 year reservation of the parent parcel. The planned commission did for this text
- amendment to the commissioners with a favorable vote on December
- This text amendment, I will say, has gone through several different boards and committees. I included
- a cover sheet here with a lot of great information for people that want to follow along. But basically,
- we're looking at over 10 meetings for which this was discussed. Ordinance Review Committee definitely
- saw it the most, but then the Plan Commission administrative meetings and regular meetings of the Plan
- Commission did see it twice.
- We did receive public feedback at one of those. But I just want to go with some key takeaways and I'll
- just summarize it here for the public. Basically the plan commission at the end of this discussion did
- put on a separate list. We have a staff list of future talking points and CDO amendments. So we are
- still looking into potentially looking at the ordinance in terms of
- Ability to vacate and resub divide parcels as well as the ability to potentially add another subdivision
- type So that was something that came out of this discussion after we talked about how the ordinance
- is currently written the ordinance review committee was asked after the first meeting of the regular
- Plan Commission to
- Really hone in on the idea of 25 years generational things like that and the ordinance review committee
- did look up
- definition, though not incorporated in this text, about what a generational term is because that was
- something that was used a lot in kind of defining or reminding the public why the 25 years was chosen.
- So we did find, the Ordinance Review Committee did find language that it's basically between a 20 and
- 30 year time span, 25 being the midpoint. And also that there wasn't really another great way
- Um, to other than that year based, um, there wasn't really a great way to otherwise do a hold on that
- parent parcel that was clear to the public. So there were no changes made after it was forward back
- to the ORC and it came back to the plan commission. And that's when it was, um, basically sent to the
- commissioners, you all.
- not with much change. So all of that is here in this background document, but I'm going to go ahead
- and go over the list of changes that we have before you today. And if approved, this is what the text
- would look like. Ms. Nesterjohn, could we? I think it's important that we did hear this at our work
- session on January 15th, 2026. So if you want to follow along,
- that packet is found in the meetings and commissions meeting for January 1 or January 15th, 2026 work
- session agenda. So that's a good point. And it's also in last week's agenda where we continued it from.
- So it's also in that packet. It's also in last week's packet. Thank you. That's a good point.
- Thank you. So under chapter eight 31, one of the
- things that came out of this discussion was that we want to make sure that it's clear what types of
- options people have available to them right now and what those options ultimately look like on the ground.
- So the first example is the minor subdivision where you create at least lots that are 10 acres when
- they're connected to a septic system. So in this case, they would have had at least 40 acres and each
- lot that they created is 10 acres or more.
- The second example is when you have a minor subdivision that is connected to public sewer so you can
- get a lot closer to the minimum lot size for the district. This is a commercial development that was
- able to create four lots.
- And then this is a illustration of a sliding scale example. It's a pretty popular subdivision type that
- we see, but basically they're able to create three lots that are two and a half acres, which is the
- zoning minimum, and then reserve the 55% or more of the rest of the tract for a period of 25 years.
- And that's
- Also in a rural area connected to a septic system. So you do get the three lots that are smaller and
- then you get the larger lot for that parent parcel portion. And then here's just an example of a major
- subdivision where you're connected to sewer and you have lots much closer to minimum lot size for a
- district typically in more urban areas.
- So the other thing that was amended was to the purpose statements of the sliding scale. The black text
- is still kept as it is right now. And then they added two other purpose statements. So number seven
- says, allow the flexibility to create smaller residential lots served by private sewage disposal systems, i.e.
- septics, while also preserving a majority of the original tract for agricultural or conservation purposes,
- which kind of
- back to why the signing scale was created back in 2015. And then number eight is to permit development
- in rural areas that will not overburden existing infrastructure and services and to not adversely impact
- existing low traffic roadways, police and fire coverage, emergency service response times, and other
- governmental services.
- And then there was also a change under the area of the text regarding the 25 year reservation to make
- a reference back to the original ordinance ordinance 2015 dash zero two which was linked in the packet
- that Mr. Cockrell mentioned.
- that created the sliding scale. So it's a way to look at when the sliding scale option was originally
- created. That has its history located in it as well as a recorded document. And we thought it was appropriate
- here as well to bring that back in to say this is how long this has been around and that people can
- look into that themselves. And with that, the rest is just exhibits. I'm happy to go through those if
- you have any questions.
- Thank you so much. Any comments or questions, Commissioner Madeira? I do. I have to say, I've thought
- about this a long time. I've thought about it since I attended the CDO hearings. We're the only county
- in Indiana that has this particular critter. And I have a lot of respect for the planning commission.
- I have a lot of respect for our planning staff. And I have a lot of respect for my colleagues.
- the reasons that motivate this, but I do have some concerns. And I think there's a reason why we're
- the only county in Indiana that has this particular beast. So I just wanted to share those concerns
- and take a few minutes to do so now. I am concerned it depresses land values and flexibility for a long time.
- Even if the owner only wants to create one to three lots, the remainder is effectively encumbered for
- about 25 years. I'm concerned this can reduce marketability and financing options because buyers and
- lenders really dislike long government-imposed recorded restrictions. I'm concerned it frustrates ordinary
- family and firm planning, so a common rural pattern is incremental and intergenerational division.
- So the 25-year bar forces families to either subdivide all at once, which is often not desirable or
- feasible, or to wait decades. And so there's a big reason that the rule gets framed as overreach in
- public debate. I'm concerned that it feels arbitrary, and this is why I think that it had this sort
- of five-four split on the Planning Commission. When I went back and watched a lot of the meetings, it
- reflects that commissioners and not planning
- not commissioners but planning committee members and stakeholders have really questioned whether 25
- years has a clear rationale. Lots of people have suggested shorter alternatives or a new category. I think
- A rule like this creates incentives for workarounds and strategic behavior, because when a rule is blunt
- and long lasting, people look for ways around it, like sequencing splits, rezones, seeking sewer connections
- to lay to unlock subdivisions that can increase administrative burdens and create perceived unfairness
- between similarly situated owners, particularly because this restriction or other restrictions like
- it can be lifted by later ordinances through a political process, which invites concerns about unequal
- access or inconsistent outcomes.
- I'm also concerned it might be legally problematic under substantive due process arbitrariness, because
- land use regulations are usually reviewed deferentially, but they still need a rational connection to
- legitimate purposes, such as infrastructure capacity, rural character, and environmental constraints.
- And I'm concerned here that the vulnerabilities that 25 years can look like a number picked without
- evidence, especially when local officials have debated spaces so thoroughly. We do try to preempt this
- by inserting legislative finding of necessity and reasonable trade-off
- But I'm concerned that we might not have a robust record supporting that. We have a restrict on alienation
- and forced recorded covenant-like restrictions. This can be attacked conceptually as a reasonable restraint.
- It binds successors. It can't be altered except via sewer connection or legislation. That doesn't mean
- it's automatically invalid. Indiana allows many land use restrictions, but the 25-year freeze is what
- could invite the argument.
- We could have statutory authority or altruviri's challenges. The challenger could argue that the county
- has created a de facto long moratorium on an otherwise lawful future subdivision through the plat process.
- I think that that would be something we would handle if that came, and we could have a takings challenge.
- This, I think, would be a stretch.
- If the restriction is characterized as exacting a significant property rights concession, then the plaintiff
- might try to analogize this to an unconstitutional condition or regulatory taking. This is not an automatic
- winner. It would be a fact-intensive claim.
- but it would be what triggers the claim. So I would deal with these issues through variances instead.
- With that, I will conclude my remarks, but that is why I think I'm concerned about this. But I say this
- with a great deal of respect for the decision-making process. I know this has gone through a great deal
- of debate, and I say this with a lot of respect for that process and for my colleagues and for the planning
- commission and the planning staff. Thank you.
- Commissioner Jones, any comments or questions? Yes, I do. I was actually a member of the ordinance committee
- when this ordinance was originally created and passed. At that time, there was a whole lot of concern
- among mostly farmers,
- that they wanted to be able to cut off a small parcel for children or possibly parents to live on and
- yet retain the rest of the farm. And I think this has been pretty effective in doing that. I'm not going
- to try to address a lot of legal arguments. I don't have that background at all.
- But I think that the 25 years was something that was heavily debated for a long time and was basically
- a compromise in the generational period of time of 20 to 30 years. I have a lot of concern with
- changing this ordinance from the purpose that it originally had. One of the other purposes it had was
- at that time we had a proliferation of rather large subdivisions that were way out in the county. It
- was difficult for us to provide the services for these subdivisions. This was a way to allow
- families to subdivide for their use without really creating a huge new area that needed to be serviced
- by the county. I'm not in favor of these changes. I think they move away from the original purpose of
- the ordinance. That's all I have to say. Okay. Thank you.
- So for me, these changes are minimal. And one of, I think, the biggest benefits of the text amendments
- that are presented here is that it clarifies the things that were raised. Oh, what's the generation?
- Well, right now, it's 27 years across the US. But that changes.
- I mean, we had questions that just were, I think, meant to bog down the process unnecessarily. But the
- purpose of this doesn't change, but what does change in this ordinance is it outlines all of the other
- options at the same time, which is something that I think is really beneficial
- for the community so that they can see here are my options all in one place. And so for that reason
- I do support this. I appreciate Commissioner Jones that you raised the historical significance of this.
- We were hearing from large lot owners who didn't want to go through that process of
- minor subdivision because they wanted to sell a corner of the property for retirement or they wanted
- to give it to their child and that it was such an onerous process. And so what sliding scale does is
- it, if they follow all of the requirements, it bypasses the plan commission process. And it essentially
- becomes an administrative decision
- which is a great benefit to the community. If folks want to complain about having the sliding scale,
- my take on it is then we just can delete it. But I think that limits people's choice. And if this is
- a choice people want to take and they want to sell or utilize these properties, and by the way, a couple
- of things that came up
- that were inaccurate. And this came up in 2024 as we heard from folks during the CDO review process
- before we actually brought it to a vote here. You know, people had decided, I think it was the
- Bloomington Economic Development Corporation. There are some others. They put out this white paper,
- well-intentioned. But there were things in there that weren't accurate. And so what they had thrown
- people into a tizzy about was, oh my gosh, you can't re-subdivide your land for 25 years. It's only
- in sliding scale that this is true, because you can imagine
- that if somebody has 100 acres and they use the sliding scale, if there isn't some hold put on that
- what's called the parent parcel, the large parcel, which can be farmed, it could be conservation, it
- could be land that you really can't build a house on, that that prevents that person with the parent
- parcel from coming back next year and doing another five. And that would just be a major or
- minor subdivision. And so what we tried to do is
- offer to large lot owners because in 2014 when this started and 2015 when it was passed, that's what
- we were hearing. But why can't I just carve off some land for a relative? Why can't I just sell this
- corner of my lot? Why do I have to go through this whole process? And all of these parcels do not have
- to be built at the same time. They don't have to be developed at the same time.
- They're marked out. Actually, the septic piece of it has changed a bit. So it's even less onerous, doesn't
- require a septic permit at the time of the subdivision, but at the time before you build. So that's
- even easier and better and clearer. It makes more sense. So all of this is meant to benefit people.
- want the sliding scale, don't use it. Go with the minor. Go with the major. Those things are there,
- and they haven't changed. And changing that to a shorter time does invite what becomes a major subdivision
- without infrastructure being built on a huge piece of acreage. And we do need to preserve our agricultural
- land. We do. I don't know where people think food is grown,
- We do need to preserve our agricultural land. So that is really, really important for us to do. Now,
- if we don't pass this, what happens is the explanations disappear and the options, sliding scale, major,
- minor disappear from the CDO. The CDO would stay as it is, which is fine. We keep the sliding scale
- either way. I just think it's better to offer more information rather than less.
- and it is a unique thing in Monroe County, but we are proud of our uniqueness and we are proud of the
- fact that we're not just doing what every other county in Indiana does. We do have a very unique landscape
- and we do have an economy that includes agriculture, as Commissioner Jones knows. So I would prefer
- to pass this to
- get these explanations in. But if my colleagues would like it to stay as it is, that's okay too.
- Either way, we end up with sliding scale, which to me is the point. I'm glad we have this. It's an option.
- It's not a requirement. To remove an option from
- Um, people who are property owners in Monroe County on large lots, I think is unfair to those property
- owners. They don't use this, but I think it's unfair to remove an option from them. That is clearly
- something that benefits them and can be done with expediency without going through the planning commission,
- as long as they're following all of the requirements of the sliding scale. So it's a, it's a workaround
- for them to avoid having to book into meetings.
- Anyway, let's go and see what the public has to say. If anybody wishes to speak in favor of this item,
- you may come to the podium or raise your hand on teams. If anyone wished to speak in opposition to this
- item, raise your hand on teams or come to the podium.
- for any final comments or questions. Commissioner Jones. Yes, I'll say that your arguments were very
- persuasive. And I do think that it does help a whole lot to have the extra information there for people
- who are interested in using this method. Commissioner Vidura.
- I'll just say again that I know a ton of work went into this, and I really, really appreciate all the
- meetings and all the dedication of the planning staff and all the time and labor that was spent studying
- this very, very complicated topic. Thank you. All right. Mr. Cockrell, will you please call the roll
- on ordinance 2026-01? Commissioner Thomas? Yes. Commissioner Madeira?
- No. Commissioner Jones. Yes. Motion is approved, two to one. All right. Thank you so much. And thanks
- for bringing that back, Ms. Nestor-Gellin. All right. So we don't have any appointments today, but just
- a reminder to folks to please sign up for the Monroe County alert notification system.
- IN.gov slash county slash Monroe. It's right on our landing page. You can receive information on emergencies,
- road traffic, health issues by text, phone and or email. There is our free COVID slash flu tests available
- at Manure County Health Department 119 West 7th Street. It's a quarter of 7th and College.
- And we are continuing to accept applications for boards and commissions. We do have openings on health,
- both the Democrat and Republican seat, the library board. So I hope that folks will start applying.
- We always have openings on animal management and the regional sewer district. And I don't know why that
- is, but we do. So if anyone's interested, please
- please go to our website and seek out the application there through the search engine. We do have office
- hours each month on Teams six times each month. You can go to our calendar on our landing page, im.gov
- slash county slash Monroe, and look for dates and times.
- outside of today's blood drive, the next blood drive that we're co-sponsoring with the Red Cross and
- Ivy Tech, Tuesday, March 3rd, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday, March 4th, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Please go to redcross.org
- to make an appointment. I was going to say a reservation, but I think it's an appointment. These blood
- drives are held. Thank you, Ivy Tech. These blood drives are held in rooms
- C130A and B at Ivy Tech 200 Daniels Way. Our next meeting is going to be February 26. And do you have
- anything else for good of the order? Yes, actually. I had heard that people couldn't find where we were
- the link to our office hours. And so I was just going to say real quick that if you go onto the county
- website and you scan down, there is a calendar, and it has links to all of our meetings. So you can
- actually find any of our county meetings that way. You'll see a little Join This Meeting link. And our
- office hours are no different. You'll see a list of the events for that day, and it'll say Commissioner
- Office Hours. And you can just click that link, and it'll bring you right to us. And we're waiting to
- hear from you.
- That makes us sound like a telemarketer or something. It does. It does. We won't charge you much, though.
- Right, exactly. Yes, a great price of free. And I also heard some interesting news, actually. ICE is
- releasing a property up in Carmel, Indiana. Oh, they're releasing it. They are releasing it. Oh,
- leasing it. Yes, it was announced on Monday. They're starting to lease individual properties. And so
- that is interesting.
- I think that I had heard a lot of discussion about when ICE is coming to the community in various forums,
- and so that will give them a bigger link in Indiana. So for those of you listening, that is
- Concerning. Concerning, very. That's a mild statement. Absolutely. And talking about mild, it is on
- the good side. It is wonderful to actually see the snow melting. And thanks to everybody in the community
- for being patient with the snow, but also thanks to the wonderful county workers for getting the roads
- cleared and everything like that.
- so highways highways done an amazing job absolutely yes but but do watch for potholes because what's
- happening yes it's freezing at night we've got yes very wet roads and a lot of flooding yes that's the
- other reason you want to sign up for the alert system because yes we are supposed to get a lot of rain
- potentially a lot of rain this weekend um so it's a good idea to to keep your eyes on that
- Um, thank you for that. Yeah, that's very concerning. I did hear about that. I thought you said released
- and I thought it meant like they weren't going to lease that space at Kermel and I was excited for one.
- I wish. Yes. Yeah. Yes. Um, yeah. And, and, and, uh, actually I, thanks to our city colleagues, cause
- I saw them out yesterday filling potholes on Sarah road. So they are already on that. Yeah. A lot. Yes.
- Yes, there are. There are. It's cold catch.
- for now, though. It is cold patch, and cold patch does not work well. Right. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Yeah.
- But it's better than nothing. Better than nothing. Anything from you, Commissioner Jones? OK. Great.
- So we do have items for our work session. Can we come back at 1115? TSD, is that OK? We're good. Yep.
- Good. Thumbs up. Yep. Yep. Good. All right. Anything else for the good of the order?
- Excellent work session at 1115. See you then. We are adjourned. Thanks, everyone. Thank you, TSD.
- Thank you, Katz.