- Good morning. I'm going to call to order this meeting of the Monroe County Board of Commissioners. It
- is Thursday, March 26th, and I'll note for the record that all three commissioners are here and present
- in the NatU Hill Room. We'll 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, and we also stand in support of our county public school systems, both RBB
- and MCCSC.
- And with that, we'll move on to our department updates. Good morning, Commissioners. Richard Crider,
- Monroe County Building and Fleet Department. I want to provide you with an update regarding the generator
- installation at the Highway Garage and Youth Services Bureau. We recently
- requested bids for that. We received the bid packages and we had two responders, Crown Electric and
- Cassidy Electric. Cassidy was the low bidder. We are going to work with the professional services team,
- Mr. Cockrell and I, and try to get a contract ready to go for next commissioner's meeting. Great. Thank
- you so much.
- Ms. Kelly from the health department. Good morning commissioners. Just a few updates. According to the
- Indiana Department of Health, COVID wastewater concentrations are continuing to trend down. Flu activity
- across the state is now moderate.
- We have vaccines currently available through the Morgan County Health Department. For appointments or
- more information, the public can call 765-342-6621. And lastly, the department is now scheduling appointments
- for lactation counseling. For more information, the public can call 812-349-2075.
- All right. Thank you so much. Any comments or questions for my colleagues? I'm glad that the flu has
- flown. All right. Thank you so much, Ms. Kelly. Recorder Swain. Good morning. I appreciate the opportunity
- to bring a public service announcement to everyone today. I have a couple of letters here, one I received.
- and one of our property owners here in Monroe County brought in. It is a letter that wants to charge
- $285 for a property alert monitoring system that will alert you whenever something is recorded against
- your property. I just wanted to let everybody know that we offer that service for free.
- So you can go to the Monroe County Government website, click on the recorders page, and the very first
- box at the bottom is about a program called Property Watch. That will link you to DocsPop.com. DocsPop
- is our partner for posting our public records online so that people can download 24-7. They also have
- partnered with us to offer this free
- property watch alert system. What you will do is you will put in your name, it will, and county, it
- will bring up the properties that you own and then you can click which ones you want to put a watch
- on. You can get an alert by either email or text or both. I do want to caution if you live outside city
- limits, you will have a legal description that is called meets
- and bounds meets is METES. If something is recorded against a neighbor's property, you may get an alert
- because the legal description will be very similar. You can do either by name or legal description.
- If you've got a name like John Smith, you may prefer just to do the legal description.
- It is offered in at least 90 of the 92 counties here in Indiana. So even if you live in a different
- county or have relatives in a different county, if you go to the Property Watch site, there is a link
- at the bottom to the competitors website that offers a similar service called Property Fraud Alert.
- If you don't mind while I have the floor, there are a couple other letters that have been sent out that
- I wanted to, again, let people know of a lower cost or free option. There's another one that I received.
- So I transferred property after my brother's passing recently in another county. And I got the same
- letter that our Monroe County property
- resident did. I also received one that wanted to charge $132.50 for a copy of the deed, the only document
- showing that you own your property. You can get a copy of your deed for a dollar a page in our office.
- Most deeds are between one and three pages. So again,
- And you can just come into our office you can go to docs pop.com and download there. They do charge
- $2 per page one coming to the county and one paying for their service. And then the third one.
- is really important to get the word out. So our veterans are being targeted. There is a letter that
- has gone out from a company that wants to charge them more than $100 to expedite the processing of their
- DD-214 or their military discharge. You can get a copy of that for free from our office. We will also
- record DD-214s for free.
- We don't have it in our local database because the veteran didn't record their DD-214s. We can work
- with a veteran service office to contact the national database.
- It does take about two months. There's really no expediting that process. So again, we will provide
- that service for free. And I just wanted to let veterans and their families who may need that
- for scholarships or things like that to know. Thank you so much. That's really useful public education.
- My colleagues have any questions or? No, actually, I think you explained it very well. Thank you.
- It's horrifying that anyone would target in so unscrupulous a manner. So thank you so much for bringing
- that to our attention as well as to how to avoid that. And I wanna let all of the property owners know.
- So we're also putting an insert into the property tax billing this spring that'll go out next month.
- So people can look for that and share it with others and like I said, other counties as well.
- Thank you. Great, thank you.
- All right. Any other department updates? All right. Seeing none, we will move on to public comments.
- This item is not on our agenda. We ask each speaker to limit their time to three minutes per person.
- and to provide their name and county of residence when they begin speaking. You can raise your hand
- on teams or you can come to the podium. I have somebody on team Susan Hingle. You will need to unmute.
- There you go. Oh, I'm on YouTube. Good morning, commissioners. Thank you for the opportunity. Can you
- hear me okay?
- Can you hear me? Yes, we can. TSD, can you put the clock up, please? All right. Good morning. Thank
- you for the opportunity to speak. I want to address an incident that occurred last week involving the
- Monroe County Women's Commission, not to assign blame, but because it raises an important issue about
- process and support for our boards and commissions. Our March meeting was properly noticed in full compliance
- with Indiana's open door law when Commissioner
- commissioners arrived, the building was locked. After some time, we were eventually let in, only to
- be told we could not remain in the room because our meeting was not listed on an internal county calendar.
- It was also spring break, which I think contributed to the confusion. This was inconvenient and frustrating,
- but more importantly, it put us in a position where a public body that had followed the law was effectively
- prevented from using public space
- to conduct public business. We did what we were required and allowed to do. We had quorum and agenda
- and a lawfully noticed meeting, so we met anyway outside on the Sophia Travis Bench on county property.
- I want to be clear, I don't believe this was intentional, but I do think it is symptomatic of a deeper issue
- namely the fragility of the systems that support boards and commissions, especially volunteer bodies.
- Boards and commissions rely on basic infrastructure, access to meeting space, clear scheduling processes,
- and consistent staff coordination. When those systems fail, even unintentionally, it sends a message
- that this work is optional or incidental rather than an essential part of county governments.
- This matters at all the more in a moment where there are conversations about reducing and restructuring
- support for boards and commissions more broadly. If meeting rooms and administrative coordination are
- uncertain, then public service becomes unnecessarily difficult and public participation suffers. My
- ask today is simple and constructive. First, that the county review and clarify the internal processes
- around room access and calendaring to ensure that a public
- properly noticed public meeting cannot be displaced by clerical or communications gap. Second, as the
- commission reaffirmed its commitment to boards and commissions by ensuring that the basic logistical
- support required to function is treated as a core responsibility, not an expendable one. The Women's
- Commission and a lot of county boards and commissions are made up of volunteers who show up
- because they care about this community and want to contribute meaningfully. The county created these
- bodies for a reason. Our system should make it possible for them to do their work, not harder. Thank
- you for your time and your attention to this issue. Thank you. Is there anyone else that wishes to make
- public comment?
- Good morning, commissioners. My name is Tia Arthur. I'm the executive director of Monroe-Kanekasa. I
- just wanted to share with you, coming up in the month of April, it's Child Abuse Awareness Month. And
- it's something that we have taken on since I've become the director, because it's very important to
- our community. We have children in our community who are abused on a daily basis. I just got enrollment numbers.
- from MCCSE. And if you think about the enrollment of Tri-North Middle School, every single one of those
- children has been abused. So about that number, in 2025, all of those children had been abused or neglected.
- And I think that's really powerful when you think about the number of children in our community. This
- is a public health issue and we need to create awareness
- so we can make it clear that we need to prevent it. And so prevention is very important to us at CASA.
- We offer prevention programming to parents. We're rolling out a training in April called Stop It Now
- to help people understand and learn about the signs to protect children from sexual abuse. Those are
- things that are very important to us. And I just wanted to invite
- everyone here to please join us. We're doing a kickoff rally next Wednesday at noon here on the south
- side of the courthouse lawn. I wanted to extend my gratitude to Monroe County. They are supportive of
- the welfare of children. They're concerned about the welfare of children as we are at CASA. And I want
- to thank Commissioner
- Thank you so much. We also have a comment from Maria
- Good morning. Thank you so much for this time. My name is Maria Douglas and I have been a Monroe County
- resident for over 33 years and I serve on the Monroe County Women's Commission through the County Council's
- appointment.
- So first I wanted to begin by thanking Commissioner Madeira for taking my call on Thursday, March 19th,
- and for attempting to problem solve in real time, as Susan already spoke about the situation, and for
- clearly naming how unacceptable it is for the Women's Commission to be marginalized in the very county
- government that created it. And that acknowledgement mattered, so thank you so much. And she also showed
- up at the county council meeting to speak about this as well.
- So, clearly, I won't repeat the details of the locked door incident. We have already spoken before county
- council on Tuesday, and the incident was picked up by the B Square Bulletin. Thank you so much. Instead,
- I want to place that moment in a longer history, because it did not happen in isolation. The Monroe
- County Women's Commission was created as part of a broader movement across Indiana in the late 20th
- century to ensure that women had a formal voice in local government.
- These commissions were designed to advise officials surface in equities and help integrate gender equity
- into policy. Monroe County was proud to be, I think, one of only three that created this. And this was
- supposed to be a place where women could gain experience, build networks, and move into elected
- office. Let's be clear. I do not want to do that. I just want to serve in the capacity that I am. So,
- in Monroe County, the pipeline has included respected public leaders, such as Senator Shelley Yoder
- and County Councilperson Liz Feidl. This history is important because it shows what the commission has
- been capable of when it is taken seriously. Monroe County has had something rare.
- and all women board of commissioners. That should have been an extraordinary opportunity to strengthen
- the status of women and girls and marginalized genders in our community and to model what gender responsive
- governance can look like in practice. Representation alone does not demand a dismantle in equity, but
- it does create the possibility to do so.
- So, instead, too often, we have seen women in positions of authority uphold the same patriarchal systems
- that once excluded them. Systems do not change simply because the people at the table change. They change
- when those in power intentionally choose to redistribute access, visibility, and resources to those
- who have been historically pushed to the margins.
- And so our County is not judged on how well it serves those with power and stability. It is judged by
- how well it cares for the people with the least access and least protection. So we have a chance to
- do that in Monroe County to demonstrate what that looks like when women are in leadership and lift them
- up as they climb and use their positions to dismantle rather than replicate the systems that once held
- them back. Thank you so much. Thank you. Any other public comment for us?
- Good morning. My name is Sandy Keller. I am with my sister's closet of Monroe County. We are in the
- property directly south of the Monroe County Convention Center. I sent you a letter last week regarding
- our situation with our lease. First, my sister's closet has been in our lease since
- November of 2014. And we are an organization that serves women who are in vulnerable positions. They
- are low income. They are trying to move out of poverty under their own power by finding employment.
- Women who we serve are moving towards self-sufficiency. Over the last 28 years that our organization
- has been around, we have served over 4,000 women with free advocacy,
- and mentoring services, 85% of the women that we serve move into better paying jobs or new jobs within
- six weeks of their first appointment with My Sister's Closet.
- I'm here today because we are in the group of leases that are supposed to expire July 7th of this year.
- We have been very fortunate that we have been able to find a property, and we met with Jeff Cockrell
- last year to let him know about our successful status in finding this property, and that we were not
- going to be able to pay for both our lease and our mortgage at the same time.
- at that point that we.
- asked that the county would forgive our lease until we were able to move, and you have been able to
- do that for us, and we're extremely grateful for that rent forgiveness. At the same time in our meeting
- with Jeff, we talk about the possibility that we may not have enough funds to be able to renovate our
- new building by the time our lease ended. Our plans with the architect are still
- at the Taper Bruce architect office. They do need to be moved along for approval for the county and
- city, and then they would go up to the state. We have been told because of funds that have been taken
- away from those departments at the state level that this will take an additional eight weeks from the
- time that they
- get these plans. It is unlikely we'll be able to start to put a shovel in the ground before June gets
- here. That will displace our free community services to these vulnerable women. We are respectfully
- asking the county to consider our situation with either a month to month or an extension on our lease,
- similar to what you've given Jeff Cock
- Jeff, who is just south of us with the warehouse to June of 2027. This would keep our services for vulnerable
- women in the county in place without interruption. It would keep us from having to lay off 11 people
- to whom are clients that are receiving job skills training services at the moment. And it would avoid
- the need for us to pay for our stock to be stored. We are hoping that the county can
- commissioners can help us find an alternative solution while we take the steps to move our organization
- to its new location. And I would be very, very grateful if we can have a discussion about this now,
- if you have any questions. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. And this item is actually on our
- agenda in a way. So we can that for now. Thank you. Thank you.
- other public comment. Let's move on to our next item, please. Yes, I would like to move approval of
- the minutes for March 19th, 2026. Any comments or edits, corrections on this morning? Okay. All those
- in favor of approving the minutes for March 19th, 2026 signify by saying aye.
- I motion carries three zero. Next item, please. I'd like to move approval of the claims docket for accounts
- payable for March 26, 2026. Second. We have a motion and we have a second. Ms. Gallardo. Good morning.
- The accounts payable claims docket for March 26, 2026 totals $1,892,820 and 91 cents. This includes
- all emergency claims and adjustments.
- Thank you so much. Comments or questions? Commissioner Madero? I have none, thank you. Commissioner
- Jones? No, I don't. Let's see if there's any public comment on this item. You can raise your hand on
- Teams or come to the podium. Seeing none, all those in favor of approving the claims docket accounts
- payable March 26, 2026, signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries three zero. I will note for the record,
- that we have received a report from weights and measures. It is for February of 2026. And we'll now
- move on to new business, please. I would like to move approval for the 2026 polling site locations for
- the primary and general election. Second. We have a motion and we have a second and we have Ms. Ferris
- joining us to tell us about it. Good morning.
- Good morning, commissioners. Kylie Ferris, Monroe County Election Supervisor. I have presented
- the commissioner board with the list of 28 polling locations for the 2026 election cycle. When we first
- were looking at locations, we were between a number of 29 and 22. One of our locations, Southside Christian
- Church, had to back out due to damage that they had during the tornado while they were already in a modeling
- So that has extended theirs, so it has dropped down to 28 from the 29. Thank you so much. Have you share
- information about early voting?
- when it starts, and election day, and I'm sure you have this memorized. Yes. Early voting will begin
- on April 7th, so the last day to register to vote is April 6th. You can call our office or stop by the
- office. Currently, we are at 501 North Morton in Suite 203, which is upstairs to the left down the hallway
- at the very end. And then election day will be on May 5th this year, so the last day of early voting
- will be May 4th. That will end at noon.
- And there are a couple of Saturdays in there. Yes, the last two Saturdays, May 2nd, and I believe April
- 25th. All of those are posted on the county website on the voter registration page, and then all sample
- ballots are posted there as well. Thank you so much. Comments or questions? Commissioner Jones? No,
- I don't. Thank you. Commissioner Madera?
- Uh, just that I'm so glad we have almost that full month instead of the bill that would have limited
- us to what 16 days or something like that. That was horrific. So yes. Yay. Democracy. We've got to fight
- the federal legislation on ballots, which is crazy. Even though our, our president just mailed in his
- ballot in Florida. So there you go.
- you. All right. Let's see if there's any public comments on this item. You can reach your hand in teams
- or come to the podium. Seeing none all those in favor of approving the
- Motion carries 3-0. Thank you, ma'am. Thanks for being here. Thank you. These will be posted on the
- Monroe County website. There is a tab that you can click that says, where do I vote? It'll take you
- to a GIS map. Type in your address, and it'll tell you which location to go to. Excellent. I love it
- when technology works. All right. Let's move on to the next item, please.
- I guess I'd like to move approval for Nature's Way Landscape Services for multiple county properties.
- Fund name, county general, fund number 1000 in the amount of $41,244.05. Second. All right, we have
- a motion and we have a second. Good morning, commissioners.
- This request is to approve renewal of landscape services with Nature's Way Inc. in the amount of $41,244.05.
- Services include spring cleanup, mulching, monthly bed maintenance, fall cleanup at the following county
- facilities, community corrections, Fiscus Building, Gordon Pike Roundabout, Health Services Building,
- and the Historic Courthouse. This agreement also includes installation of summer annual plantings at
- the Fiscus Building, Health Services Building, and Historic Courthouse.
- and irrigation services at the Gordon Pike Roundabout. Great. Thank you so much. Comments or questions?
- Commissioner Medira? No. Sounds wonderful. Thank you. Commissioner Jones? Yeah. I very much enjoyed
- the native plant areas that they did last year, and I hope that they'll stick with that and maybe even do more.
- And my personal opinion is that Lantana, Salvia, and Begonia's are pretty boring. I wish they would
- consider some more interesting options. Okay. I think we can look at that. Okay. Sounds good. Yeah.
- And I cannot tell you how many people have stopped to say how beautiful the courthouse looks really
- all summer long.
- couldn't get over the daffodils here recently. Yeah. Yeah. It's beautiful. So thank you for organizing
- this. And I'm sure that commissioner Jones would be willing to offer some suggestions and see what we
- can substitute in. It'd be really good. Good to me. All right. Let's see if there's any public comment
- on this item. You raise your hand on teams or come to the podium.
- Seeing none, all those in favor of approving the Nature's Way landscape contract for multiple county
- properties. Signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries 3-0. Next item, please. Yes, I would like to
- move approval for Wells Lawn Care and Landscaping LLC for Youth Services Bureau. Fund name County General,
- fund number 1,000 in the amount of $19,320.46. Second. We have a motion and we have a second.
- This request is to approve renewal of landscape services with Wells Lawn Care and landscaping LLC at
- the Youth Services Bureau in the amount of $6,120.50 to provide mowing and trimming services, bed maintenance
- in the amount of $8,032.54 to include spring cleanup, weed removal, shrub trimmings, and fall cleanup.
- Mulching in the amount of $4,265.42
- plus one mowing of the field behind the Youth Services Bureau in the amount of $910 for a combined total
- of $19,328.46. Thank you so much. Comments or questions? Commissioner Madeira? No, thank you. Commissioner
- Jones? Yes, I want to commend the one mowing of the field behind Youth Services. This is a way to encourage
- plants that pollinators tend to really enjoy. If you keep things mowed completely all the time, then
- those plants never have a chance to grow. If you never mow, then it turns into trees real fast. So the
- once a year mowing is really a nice way to handle it. Great. All right, let's see if there's any
- Public comment on this item. You raise your hand on teams or come to the podium. Seeing none, all those
- in favor of approving the Wells Lawn Care Landscaping LLC Contract for Youth Services Bureau signify
- by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries three zero. Next item, please. I would like to move approval for
- core restoration agreement for the convention center.
- fund name ARPA, fund number 8950 in the amount of $1,646.52. Second. We have a motion. We have a second,
- Mr. Kreider. This request is to accept the proposal submitted by Corps Restoration in the amount of
- $1,646.52 to replace the existing flooring and mop sink in the utility area due to wear and deterioration.
- And I will note, this is it. This is the final
- project at the convention center. I had a sinking feeling about that. I guess all the funds are drained.
- Yeah. All right. I can't believe it's the last one. Yeah. Good on you. All right. Comments or questions,
- Commissioner Madera? Nothing to pipe up with. Commissioner Jones? No, I don't. Thank you. All right.
- Any public comments on this item? You raise your hand on teams or come to the podium.
- Seeing none, all those in favor of approving the core restoration agreement for convention center signify
- by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries three zero. Thank you. Thank you. Next item please. I would like
- to move approval for F&E payment pros agreement for scanning software. Fund name county general fund
- number 1000 in the amount of $12,596 for three year agreement. Second. We have a motion and we have
- a second. Ms. Purdy is going to handle this one for us.
- Yes, thank you. This is requesting the approval of a contract with F and E payment pros by the treasurer.
- And this software system they already had in place, but this is providing a three-year agreement of
- contract. The treasurer was able to negotiate significant savings for the county. The original proposal
- was a 32% increase
- And this is more likely 2.5% increase. So this agreement will provide as a total of $12,596 over the
- three years. Each year is broken down as April 1st of 2026 through March 31st of 2027 is at $4,095 a year.
- The same time for 2028, it becomes $4,198 per year. And then April 1st through March 31st of 2029, it
- becomes $4,303 per year. So she's just requesting your approval of this contract. And we'll go forward
- from there. Thank you so much. Comments or questions? Commissioner Jones? No, I don't.
- Thank you. Commissioner Madeira? No, I don't. Thank you.
- I don't have any questions either. It makes sense. Let's see if there's any public comment on this item.
- You raise your hand on teams or come to the podium. I see none. All those in favor of approving the
- F and E payment pros agreement for scanning software signify by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Motion carries
- three zero. And we'll now move on.
- to our next item, please. Yes, I would like to move approval for the Title IV-E grant renewal. Fund
- name Title IV-E, fund number 8117 in currently unknown grant amount. Second. We have a motion and we
- have a second and we have Ms. Turner-King joining us to tell us about it. Thank you.
- Good morning, commissioners. So what is before you is renewal of the Title IV Recovery Grant for the
- Public Defender's Office. What this grant provides is the opportunity for the Public Defender's Office
- to receive reimbursements for the cost of representing parents in CHINs or TPR cases, so children in
- need of services or termination of parental rights cases. The amount is unknown because
- the reimbursement is dependent on the number of those kinds of cases that the office is representing.
- The grant started in 2022, so this is renewal, and the cash balance in the Title IV funds reflecting
- recovery or reimbursements to date is $82,508.01. Thank you so much. Comments or questions? Commissioner
- Madeira? No, I have none. Thank you. Commissioner Jones? No, I don't.
- Thank you for bringing this forward. It's always good news to get a grant renewed. See if there's any
- public comments on this item. You raise your hand on teams or come to the podium. Seeing none, all those
- in favor of approving the title for grant renewal signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries 3-0.
- Thank you. Thank you so much.
- Next item, please. I'd like to move approval for resolution 2026-09 regarding the justice project location.
- Second. We have a motion. We have a second. Yes, and I haven't checked, but I think this is on with
- our meeting packet information. There is a draft version of this so that the public and those can follow
- it as we move forward with this. This is a
- resolution by the commissioners that would kind of set some parameters with the justice location site.
- As you know, we've been working on this determined site, and we've been on and off for about six or
- seven years now, and it's all based upon a lawsuit that started in 2009, or a settlement that occurred
- in 2009, dealing with the jail overcrowding issues that we're experiencing.
- We've talked a lot about the history, so I'm really not going to go through a whole lot of the reasons
- we're looking for a new facility. But we hit a snag last October, and so we need to get out of that
- snag, and the Indiana Civil Liberties Union has given us until April. Our agreement expires on April
- 15th. Our agreed order expires on April 15th unless something occurs. The attorney can fault for the
- Indiana Civil Liberties Union's
- I'll listen to you if you guys make some substantial progress. We can continue that agreement and that
- agreement is important for us because it involves a class of individuals. And once that gets dismissed,
- that class goes away and it opens us up to litigation on the current conditions of the jails. And we've
- had studies done on the current condition of the jail. So I'm really not gonna go terribly deep into
- that kind of thing. But I think what this,
- ultimately says in the now therefore is three things that the commissioners are indicating. One is that
- you guys will continue to consider the North Park site for the justice project. That you will unilaterally
- reject any property that will not allow for future co-location expansion and will cause an unreasonable
- delay in the project. And three, that you're
- you're requesting the county council to commit to utilizing cash on hand to begin the project prior
- to issuance of a bond, right? With those three, the whereas clause also includes language where the
- bonding, where we're at with the bonding is a little hazy right now, but we're hoping to have that clarified
- within the next few days. I have a meeting with bond council tomorrow to kind of figure out if there
- is a way to get the bond, what is the timeline for bonding? So can we actually get that done this year
- if that's possible to get it done this year, not that that necessarily will happen, but what
- the possibilities are. I think there's also an acknowledgement that, you know, even with that timeframe,
- a co-located facility right at the onset is probably not feasible financially, right? And so I think
- this acknowledges that, but says, hey, we still want to have that option to do that in the future.
- of the resolution if you have any questions. Thank you so much. I will note for the public that if you
- go to our county website into our calendar and it says agendas and packets for today's meeting underneath
- the regular session packet, the work session packet, which is blank, there is the exhibit for item H
- and then also this item, which is
- item G. Resolution 2026-09. So I just want to make that clear for the public that it's not in the packet,
- but it is where it can be found on our website. So hopefully that will help folks. So let's go ahead
- and take comments, questions. Commissioner Madeira? So I think that
- I'll allow much of what stands in the resolution to speak for itself. I think that there is going to
- be two areas that attract public attention, and that's why North Park is still a viable property when
- the council has so vociferously said no. And that's because we haven't heard from members of the council
- what characteristics make it undesirable and why.
- why we need to take it off the table. So when we're looking at other properties, in other words, what
- characteristics will rule these properties out, for lack of a better term. That makes it really hard
- to adequately identify other properties and choose one that's going to be acceptable both to us and
- the council. And this is especially the case because we've literally spent millions of dollars
- that we're not going to be able to do on this property. And of course, much of this was done before
- I came into office and. In this era of fiscal belt tightening the expenditure of taxpayer funds isn't
- something that I take lightly. And while we. Obviously are not committed to the design that was. Originally.
- that property has several characteristics that remain very active for the jail. It allows for circulation.
- It allows for co-location. And it is ready to go. And when we're staring down a lawsuit, being ready
- to go and having the expenditure of public funds already passed us makes that property look like a pretty
- good option.
- I don't say that out of disrespect for council and disrespect for the public and the reasons they oppose
- that property. I just wanted to make those remarks because the sheriff and other employees
- of our correctional facilities have asked why not North Park and we have not heard an answer to that question.
- I also wanted to say that it does remain very important that we continue to collaborate with the city
- of Bloomington and collaborate with the council because this is a group project, for lack of a better
- term. The justice center isn't just a building, it's a public institution and it's a public decision
- that we all must make together. And we cannot do this without transparency and without public confidence.
- And so I'll just end my remarks there, thank you.
- Thank you, Commissioner Madure. Commissioner Jones? Yes, I think it's important that we keep in mind
- that there are people actually living in that jail in the conditions that have been identified as being
- unconstitutional. The longer we leave them sitting there, and our staff also who are in the jail,
- It really seems rather cruel to unnecessarily delay this project any longer. It's been in the works
- for years, as Mr. Cockrell pointed out, and yet seems to have gotten almost nowhere. It's time to take
- it seriously and to really remember
- the people who are actually incarcerated there and what the conditions are that they're living in.
- Thank you. Thank you so much. And I just want to add a quick comment about the situation. And this is something
- a barrier or an obstacle at least that the legislature has thrown into our path. It is not something
- of our own making and we are working diligently to overcome that obstacle and having a property would
- be a good start to that process as well.
- But it's taken a lot of time to rehash what has already been done, the work that has already been done.
- And I don't want us to spend more time on revisiting and revisiting and revisiting the same
- I think we're missing out on good. In a search for perfect and perfect is never going to happen with
- a project like this ever. But the. Issues that. Had been raised about North Parker all easily.
- addressed through other means. But to me, it's the clock that's ticking. And as part of this motion,
- we should send this resolution to council and also to Mr. Falk. Does everybody agree with that? Yes?
- Can I follow up on those remarks? Sure. I think you touched on something
- really important. I mentioned transparency before, but taxpayers expect that these major public projects,
- especially ones as expensive and significant as this jail, they expect that they're gonna be planned
- with diligence and care. And I get it that North Park is a political hot potato. It's something that
- people, I use this comment about being haunted, right? There's something that's deeply politically unpopular
- and has been for a long,
- for months about this property. And as deeply unpopular as this property is, every other thing that
- we've considered, every other site we've considered, there's a lot of unknowns about it. There's a lot
- of delays. And time is money. Time is suffering. And we have an obligation. We may go down the road.
- We may find that there's something with these sites that makes them unusable. We may find out that there's
- features that cost us more money.
- And for all that North Park seems untouchable, unpalatable, we know everything about that property.
- And we know that we can put a jail at that site in a transparent fashion.
- We know that we can use public dollars efficiently. We know we can minimize waste. We know we can maximize
- long-term value. We know that we can safely put it there in all ways and under all circumstances. We
- know that we can safely use taxpayer dollars. We know that we can ground our decisions in evidence,
- and we know
- that we are not making a hasty decision. We know that we are not making one out of urgency or incomplete
- information. And that's the only site where my little empirical brain feels comfortable at this time
- moving forward. And we have to move forward hastily and with urgency. And under these circumstances,
- that's why I arrive at that site time after time. Did you want to add anything else? No, I don't. Thank you. OK.
- Let's go ahead and open this up for public comment. You can reach your hand on teams or come to the
- podium. All right, seeing none.
- All those in favor of approving resolution 2026-09 with a copy going to council and Mr. Falk at the
- ICLU signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries three zero. Next item please. I would like to move approval
- for resolution 2026-10 regarding the transfer of property to the capital improvement board. Second.
- We have a motion and we have a second, Mr. Cockrell. Yes, and much like the last item, this one is also
- can be found on the web page at the same place. Last week was spring break, I apologize. But this is
- a resolution that acknowledges that on February 5th, the Capital Improvement Board asked the county
- for the remaining properties on that block.
- where the convention center currently is. So to the south of the current convention center and to the
- west of the Beeline Trail. And this is done in regards to the fact that they've attempted to have a
- hotel project go north of the current convention center and that has fallen apart. And so they need
- to find a site where that critical convention hotel can go and whether the property there
- requested for now is that site where it ultimately goes, or if it's worked in some kind of arrangement
- for some other site that is equally as appropriate is kind of the CIB's duties and jobs, but they've
- made this request. And so this acknowledges is that, and I know that the commissioners, much like this
- morning, I've heard a lot of information about the current tenants wanting to use that. And honestly,
- if you would ask me a year ago, I would have said,
- hotel is going to go north of the site. And so we don't have a lot of these timing issues or these issues
- with these properties, but that's not where we are today. However, I also don't know how the timing
- that the CIB has in order to get these properties transformed into the ultimate hotel and whatever mechanism
- that is. So what we've included in this resolution is kind of two things, kind of two instructions to
- the CIB, which one is that, you know, we've heard from
- people who are currently utilizing the property as tenants and that to the extent that they can, as
- an interim use, allow that to continue that the commissioners are okay with that or would be satisfied
- with that, provided that the ultimate long-term goal for that property is still to support tourism in
- the convention center. And two, that some of the buildings are historic in nature,
- nature and through their decision making process they should acknowledge that and respect those things
- to the extent possible. And so those are two things. Then in the kind of the now therefore portion of
- this it is there are two exhibits and the exhibits on the website have a couple of technical issues
- that I've since corrected names and such. I think Richard Martin was the
- bill in the notary clause, which clearly is not appropriate. So basically this is saying that you approve
- the president executing those two deeds in essentially the form they are now, or if there's some minor
- changes, the legal descriptions are going to have to be updated with actual meets and bounds. That takes
- a little bit of time, and we wanted to make sure that
- We had this done in time for the council to review it in a timely fashion. And it allows the board of,
- the president of the board of commissioners to execute them in different orders. One is for the property
- west and there are some parking issues that we need to work out with the CIB before that. That may take
- a little bit while to learn, longer to work out plus that isn't the area where they believe that they
- have interest in utilizing for the hotel.
- So, and it also indicates that the copy of this resolution will go to the Capital Improvement Board
- so they can understand both the current tenant and your wishes on that as well as the historic properties.
- And then also this will be forwarded to the County Council with an agenda request to approve the terms
- and conditions of these transfers. So that is what is in the resolution.
- All right. Thank you so much. Um, comments or questions, commissioner Jones. No, I don't. Thank you.
- I just had one question. So if people want to ask questions about their leases, then they then take
- it up with the CID. Is that correct? Well, I guess.
- Eventually, yes, right? I mean, we are still the owners of the property. We are still, if there is a
- water leak in their spot, they should continue to communicate that way. I guess the real answer is until
- this gets transferred, we're still involved, but the CIB is also going to, we're going to include the
- CIB in those kinds of discussions, right? So we can't transfer, it wouldn't be right to transfer it without,
- with a brand new lease or a new lease extension or something like that without having the CIB involved
- because of the reason we're transferring it. We're transferring it for a different use. And I'm not
- as up to, I don't think anybody in the commissioner's office or the county are as up to date on where
- they're at in that process as they are. So we wanna make sure that we are working hand in hand with
- them. So I would say while we're still have title, we're still involved,
- But we would certainly want to make sure that the CIV is involved with any kind of conversation along
- those lines.
- Just for clarity, this resolution does need to go before the county council as well, because it is about
- the transfer of real property, even though it was purchased by Inkeeper tax dollars. Well, this resolution
- will go with it, but they have a different set of approvals. They have an approval. They have to do
- setting the terms and conditions of the tree. OK.
- And I appreciate that we have acknowledged the historic nature of some of the buildings on this property
- as a whole. We appreciate the folks that are working hard and making a difference in our community,
- my sister's closet and the businesses and the tenants. And we will have to see what the CIB's timeline is and
- to address the concerns of my sister's closet. I would just like to explain for the public what West
- lot is different, which is west of the beeline. It's behind the sort of an overflow lot of the current
- convention center. And we do need that lot during the times of
- early voting in both the primary and for the general election. So essentially April and October, essentially
- with some spillover. Because our employees at North Showers will be using that West lot so that more
- parking is available for county residents who wish to vote early and don't want to pay the city's meter.
- And I don't blame them. I wouldn't either. So it keeps elections free in a sense. And we really won't
- have that ability to free up that space until after the Justice Center project is done, because that
- can then serve as an area for overflow parking for our North Shower's employees. Well, actually,
- the employees that are occupying the parking garage will be at the new location and employees that nor
- showers can use the parking garage extensively. So that will change, but we can't even say when that
- is thus the previous resolution because time is of the essence in a lot of ways. And I think that is
- all true. I would just point out that this resolution
- and presumably what the council will look at will allow for that transfer of that West lot done earlier
- than that. But it acknowledges that right now that's not really seen as a higher priority, a higher
- need for the CIV at this point. That's also part of that whole. Right. And I've had discussions with
- Mr. Whitecard and they're very willing to allow us to
- to utilize that space for overflow parking, which is very kind. So, all right. With that, let's see
- if there's any public comment on this item. Raise your hand on teams or come to the podium. So,
- for clarity because this is still kind of muddy for me to understand. I don't walk in these conversations
- very often. We are being asked on a daily basis multiple times by the media and by several concerned
- citizens about our status.
- I would like to be able to give them something that's a little bit more clear if possible. It kind of
- sounds like that you have an urgent need to make a decision, but the CIB has not been able to clarify
- their timeline. Does that mean that at least where my sister's closet is concerned, we could stay at
- our location after the lease until you tell us we cannot?
- I think your best next step would be to meet with Mr. Cockrell and a member of the capital improvement
- board and set some sort of parameters. And that way you're not surprised your clients and the community
- will know. So that timeline can be set, correct? I think it's, again, I think it has to include, and
- I'm more than happy
- to be your guys' representative there, but it has to include somebody from the CIB. I think what I felt
- that you may be experiencing is something that, as a government attorney, I hear a lot is that you push
- the one side or the other, because we've got two people who need to be part of that decision. We need
- to get those two people with you, work out what solution, if any, there will be.
- We would appreciate a conversation. We have been told to talk to one person after another, John Weichart,
- who told us how the money from the food and beverage tax could be used and how the money that was allotted,
- the $71 million, was only for the construction. At that time, we did ask if there was a possibility
- of a grant to help us to make
- our timeline towards renovation to help you out. He advised me to bring it to the property manager.
- We were told by Talisha that we needed to speak to their property manager because they did not want
- to be involved with that conversation. Last week I was
- I did make those calls, I've made them several times. This last week I was put on hold six times to
- an office with people where English was not their first language. And then I was finally transferred
- to the Indianapolis office where I was told emphatically by the person in charge that under no circumstances
- would there be any consideration for an extension on the lease. And then I informed her about the situation of our
- business right next door to us who, because of a boiler issue, recently was able to extend their lease.
- And she said she was not aware of that at all. So I have to believe that because that exists, then possibly
- some kind of an exception can be made even just temporarily from my sister's closet.
- but we have not been able to actually have much of a conversation. Given that, I know Jodi, that you
- met with John Zodi recently and answered several of his questions and we met with him yesterday and
- we're very grateful for that conversation. And Jeff, I appreciate the time that you've given us. We
- just have women walking in on a regular basis and we're the only game in town doing what we do. It's
- very unique and it's,
- It keeps people from being in the system using all the social services they do. It helps them to stand
- on their own two feet. It releases that money to be used for several of these other projects that you
- have on your docket and agenda all the time that are extremely worthy and very important.
- We feel that the work we do makes a difference. We would just like to be able to give people an answer
- because I can't go anywhere without people asking me. And neither can anybody else who is connected
- with my sister's closet. It just is getting to a point where we are having people offered to do things
- in our behalf.
- which would make it look like we are not in partnership with each other. And that's not what we want
- because we feel that our organization has been walking step-in-step with the county commissioners and
- their agenda to make a better community.
- You would not have forgiven our rent all this time, you know, since April, if you did not believe that
- you would not have kept it at such a ridiculously low rate that would have allowed us to function as
- a mostly self sufficient organization under our power by operating this resale boutique.
- Your input and your guidance during this time and those acts have allowed us to be able to serve all
- these women all this time. You are much a part of their success as our own efforts and we do appreciate
- what you're doing. Just give us some guidance and help me put some words on paper and in my mouth so
- that I can let people know what they're really wanting to know and so they don't
- make assumptions on their own about what we are trying to accomplish here. All right. Thank you.
- Thank you. And we do appreciate the work that you and your agency does for women across our community,
- for families. Thank you. And that's why we had forgiven the rent. And I think we were kind of caught
- in that in between time of we knew this resolution was coming up.
- Um, and, um, and not make a commitment because we knew this resolution was coming up. So you can understand
- that. And I appreciate that. Um, but I think we do have a solution for you, which is a conversation
- with a member of the CIB, uh, and Mr. Cockrell, and you can walk away with more certainty because I
- don't know the CIB's timeline either.
- I mean, they meet regularly, but I don't know what their plans are specifically for that part of the
- property. And I'm not going to guess. But I guess I will try to reach out to the CIB attorney today,
- see if we can get something scheduled for probably early next week. And I'll let you know what times
- and we can make sure they all match up. I just want to be very careful because
- or what we'll be talking about is potential to extend the lease. I don't think any of this group, CIB,
- I mean, really anybody but the CVC or the County Council has any authority for providing the new operation
- at the different location, right? I understand that. Yes, I'm glad you raised that. But you don't know
- unless you ask, so. But I can tell you the County Council and the CVC
- I actually don't even think the CBC has the authority to do that because I think that's outside their
- bounds. But what I'll commit to is reaching out to the CIB attorney, see if we can't get something,
- a meeting scheduled early next week. Maybe after this, I can, you can send me what times you are available
- early next week. So maybe to make the scheduling a little easier and we could probably either meet here
- or at your spot or at their, I mean, we're all within a block.
- so or two so it's not that big a deal so we'll we'll try to get something scheduled early next week
- thank you thank you very much all of you i really appreciate it thank you thank you for your heart for
- your work we appreciate it sure
- I know Jeff mentioned the historic properties communication, but this seems relevant now. I'd also like
- to point out that the resolution says that the commissioners wish to communicate to the CIB that members
- of the public have made a case for continuing the leases beyond their expiration date. And the board
- of commissioners would not object to the extension so long as the ultimate use of the property is in
- compliance with Indiana Code 6943A6, which is, of course, the ultimate goal of the innkeeper's tax.
- Thank you. Any other public comment on this item? Okay. Seeing none, all those in favor of approving
- resolution 2026-10 signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries 3-0. Next item, please.
- I would like to move approval for in dot revised agreement for eagles and bridge number 922 for construction
- funds named eagles and bridge number 922 fund number 8176 in the amount of 5,326,229 dollars and 62
- cents. Second, we have a motion and we have a second miss ridge.
- This actually was approved on February 26th on the original contract. NDOT has updated some of their
- definitions and things like grant agreement was changed to contract, so they resend it just so we could
- re-sign for those changes. Thank you so much. This is not new funding. This is just a carryover from
- before. Correct. The only thing that's changed is that clause. Yeah, just some wording and the finalizing
- of the contract and things.
- Perfect. All right. Thank you. Comments or questions, Commissioner Madeira? I have none. Thank you.
- Commissioner Jones? No, I don't. I don't have any either. So let's see if there is any public comment.
- You can raise your hand on teams or come to the podium.
- those in favor of approving the end dot revised agreement for eagles and bridge number 9 22 for construction
- signified by saying aye. I motion carries 30. Uh. You don't have any appointments today. Um I do have,
- um, a couple of. Announcements I do want to
- of the trees on Pete Ellis. Although not all of them could be saved, but at least some of them were
- and I'm glad that that happened. I know there was a lot of community concern. Around that post office
- when all those big red X is appeared on the trunks of the
- essentially with the city it's part of that larger State Road 45 correction that's being done that will
- provide a safer transit for folks in that on that side of town so sadly we lost some trees but
- beauty is in the compromise and I just wanted to thank Ms. Ridge and Colonel Ferris for their efforts
- to raise this issue at the MPO meeting and make something happen and get us to this point of compromise.
- We still have appointments to make to boards and commissions including
- the health board, the library board, and animal management, easy for me to say. And so if you are interested,
- please go to in.gov slash county slash Monroe and take a look at the vacancies and or fill
- out an application. We continue to have office hours via Teams each month, six times each month. Just
- go to the calendar on that same homepage.
- and we're looking at some potential for some severe weather tonight. So it's a great time to sign up
- for the alert notification system where you will receive texts, emails and or phone calls about weather
- emergencies to keep you informed. And we are
- continuing to co-host the blood drive at Ivy Tech. Thank you, Ivy Tech. The next blood drives are Wednesday,
- April 8th from 1 to 6 p.m. Thursday, April 9th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. And that's at Ivy Tech, room C130A
- and B. Please make an appointment at redcross.org. And for CASA's Child Abuse Awareness
- We are lighting the courthouse blue. And when is that? Is that for the month? No. For the whole of April.
- Aren't we good? OK. So there's the reminder. OK. Anything else from my colleagues? We do not have a
- work session today. Our next, I have to open a calendar. Our next meeting is coming up soon. And it is.
- April 2nd. There we go. Our next meeting is April 2nd, right here in the NetU Hill room at 10 a.m. And
- with that, we are adjourned. Thanks, everyone. Thank you, Katz. Thank you, TSD.