(From left) District 3 Monroe County Commissioner Penny Githens and contestants Jody Madeira and Steve Volan.
(Lucas González, WFIU/WTIU News)
The race for the District 3 seat on the Monroe County Board of Commissioners is heating up.
Democratic incumbent Penny Githens faced challengers Jody Madeira and Steve Volan at a Thursday debate at the Bloomington Country Club, organized by the Builders Association of South-Central Indiana.
Githens defended against criticisms of the commissioners’ actions on housing, the county jail and the convention center expansion — as well as their ability to collaborate.
“It’s hard to talk about ‘I’ and ‘we’ sometimes because no commissioner can do anything unilaterally,” Githens said. “It takes at least two of us voting for anything.”
Penny Githens (Lucas González, WFIU/WTIU News)
Madeira said there is a “collaboration crisis” between the city and county, which she added is a major roadblock to progress.
“It’s a common refrain, like that tedious song, ’99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall’ — we can change the lyrics, but the refrain is the same: delay, stagnation, cynicism, loss of confidence in local government,” Madeira said. “It delays critical infrastructure projects like the jail and the convention center — and folks, it’s embarrassing.”
Jody Madeira (Lucas González, WFIU/WTIU News)
Adding to that, Madeira referenced the state legislature’s intervention in the county’s use of the food and beverage tax, the convention center project’s planned funding source.
A law passed last year requires distributions and expenditures to be reported to the state annually. It also requires Monroe County and Bloomington to spend the tax revenues before July 1, 2025, and develop a written plan before Dec. 1 of each year.
Githens responded, saying the county had come close to a resolution on the convention center before the pandemic.
Githens said the project is now full steam ahead because of those two developments.
“I reintroduced a Capital Improvement Board,” Githens said. “I was the one who worked with former City Council President Sue Sgambelluri and former County Council President Kate Wiltz to get the interlocal done. It is now moving. It is happening.”
The candidates also discussed plans for a new jail, another longtime county project.
The commissioners now say they are no longer considering county-owned land on Bloomington’s southwest side as a future jail site. They say there are too many obstacles with the site that would delay the project by at least two years.
Instead, they want to use what’s called the North Park property — land between State Road 46 and Arlington Road to the city’s northwest. A site appraisal is in progress.
Volan said this decision is an example of the commissioners refusing to work with the city.
“The commissioners seem to be people who want to go it alone,” Volan said. “That’s why they want to move the jail to North Park; because they can isolate. They don’t have to get permission from anybody else … that is not the way to get along with the crown jewel, the major asset of your county.”
Steve Volan (Lucas González, WFIU/WTIU News)
Githens pushed back, saying the work required to make the previous site usable would take too long. She added there is no delay with North Park, by contrast.
Githens also said the county needs at least 25 acres to build a jail co-located with other criminal justice functions, including the prosecutor’s and public defenders’ offices.
Volan and Madeira also stressed the need for denser housing in the county and criticized the commissioners for previously rejecting high-density projects.
The three candidates will face off in the primary on May 7.
Two Republicans are running for Githens’ seat: Paul White and Joe VanDeventer. Whoever wins the Democratic primary will face one of them on November 5.
