BLOOMINGTON — Monroe County has spent years searching for a place to build a new jail. It will keep looking after councilors decided a plot of land on State Road 46 was too expensive.
Monroe County Council unanimously denied a measure to appropriate $8 million to fund an $11 million land purchase between Bloomington and Ellettsville. The meeting was more than seven hours long and featured many public comments opposed to the potential use of taxpayer money.
Council president Jennifer Crossley said it did not make financial sense for Monroe County to buy the land after its budget was hamstrung by Senate Enrolled Act 1, also known as Indiana's property tax law.
"We are the fiscal stewards of the community," Crossley said. "We just simply cannot afford a project to the scope and magnitude that it was calling for us to do."
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington hosted a town hall against the proposed jail site purchase two days before the vote. Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray hopes Monroe County uses the money it already has to improve the current jail at the Zietlow Justice Center and fund social services.
"Investing in more jails is not an investment in democracy," Frederick-Gray said. "This community cares about resources to get people the services they need so that they do not face incarceration."
The current Monroe County Correctional Facility has faced its issues over the years. The ACLU of Indiana sued Monroe County for the conditions inside of the jail in 2008 and the entire justice center temporarily closed because of dangerous mold two months ago.
Crossley said the current justice center has one major advantage over the State Road 46 site: it has easy access to services former inmates need, while the rejected jail site is not accessible to anything without a car.
"It's really hard for people to imagine a project to this scope and magnitude when you don't have that public transportation," Crossley said.
Crossley believes Monroe County and the city of Bloomington will work together to find a jail site due to the issues with funding and location.
Monroe County Commissioners are likely to start the conversation about a new jail site during their meeting on Thursday.
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Taj Simmons the In Your Community reporter for Monroe and Morgan counties. He joined WRTV in August of 2023. The Oakland, CA native is not a Hoosier by birth, but is excited to learn all about the area and tell the stories of the people who make this state feel like home. Share your story ideas and important issues with Taj by emailing him at taj.simmons@wrtv.com.
