Monroe County commissioners Lee Jones, Penny Githens and Julie Thomas at a Wednesday meeting.
(Courtesy of Community Access Television Services (CATS))
Years after plans to expand the Monroe County Convention Center were first announced, the Monroe County Board of Commissioners has approved a body to oversee the project.
The three commissioners unanimously passed an ordinance Wednesday establishing a capital improvement board (CIB), a body that finances and operates capital facilities or improvements.
The Board selects a site for expansion, contracts with operation and management organizations, oversees hotelier partner selection, hires staff, and manages additional amenities, according to county attorney Jeff Cockerill.
“(The ordinance) is basically setting up a CIB, which is supposed to oversee and look at the convention center and its expansion project that we’ve been contemplating since 2017,” Cockerill said. “Essentially, this is turning over a lot of those kinds of decision-making processes to the CIB.”
County attorney Jeff Cockerill (Courtesy of Community Access Television Services (CATS))
The ordinance does not name any members to the board, which will consist of seven members: three appointed by the city, three appointed by the county, and one appointed by the city- and county-appointed members.
Commissioner Penny Githens said residents and officials alike — including members of the county council and the business community — have spoken strongly in support of creating a CIB.
“City council members also at this point have expressed their support for all this,” said Githens. “They want this to move forward. They think that it will be good for the community.”
Commissioner Penny Githens (Courtesy of Community Access Television Services (CATS))
By establishing a CIB, the commissioners ended a long-standing debate over what type of body should manage the project.
Before Wednesday, the commissioners, as well as county and city council members, had all expressed support for a CIB. But Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton instead wanted a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to manage the project.
The commissioners approved a separate ordinance last fall that also would have established a CIB. That ordinance was never executed, however, as it required approval from the county and city councils and the mayor’s office.
Hamilton has said much of the cost of the expansion project would fall on the city if it were run by a CIB, and that a 501(c)(3) would be a more effective way to manage it.
On Wednesday, Githens criticized the mayor’s office for a perceived lack of collaboration.
“Even with all the public outcry and public support that we’ve had for the capital improvement board, the mayor still is not listening to the community,” she said.
City and county officials also are working on an interlocal cooperation agreement identifying potential next steps. A draft of that agreement includes some items city council members asked for late last year.
Cockerill said Wednesday that the mayor’s office did not support the draft agreement.
The commissioners said their deadline for getting an interlocal agreement ratified is Dec. 1, but they hope to accomplish that sooner.
Officials want to finish the project quickly because of the recently approved House Enrolled Act 1454, which exerts more oversight on local governments that impose a food and beverage tax. That’s the expansion project’s planned funding source.
The law requires distributions and expenditures to be reported to the state annually and requires Monroe County and Bloomington to spend money from the food and beverage tax before July 1, 2025. They also must develop a written plan before Dec. 1 of each year that includes information on the use of food and beverage tax funds.
If Monroe County does not meet those requirements, its ability to collect on the food and beverage tax will be ended.
The expansion project started collecting the food and beverage tax in 2018. To date, it has collected more than $14 million.
