The following was sent to the Bloomingtonian:
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 11, 2023
Monroe County Commissioners Seek Feedback from Local Residents, General Public on
Potential Jail Location at ‘Thomson Site’
Listening Sessions To Be Held September 20th and September 24th
.
Monroe County, IN – Members of the Monroe County Board of Commissioners will host two community
conversations this month in order to gather public feedback about the potential jail site at the former Thomson
plant located off of South Rogers Street in Bloomington. Residents living nearby, as well as members of the
general public, are welcome to attend on Wednesday, September 20th at 6:30 PM or Sunday, September 24th at 3
PM. The meetings will take place at Summit Elementary School and RCA Community Park, respectively.
Both listening sessions will feature a brief presentation on the “Thomson” correctional campus site option.
Afterward, neighbors will have the opportunity to share their ideas, questions, and any concerns they may have,
and a Spanish language interpreter will be on hand to assist as needed.
“To us on the Board of Commissioners, getting input from the neighbors is every bit as important and relevant as
performing an engineering study when you’re siting a project like this,” says Penny Githens, president of the
Monroe County Board of Commissioners.
On August 29th, multiple officials from Monroe County unanimously voted to pursue the requisite next steps for
more formal consideration of the South Rogers Street location.
“This is the first of the four potential new jail sites that has been identified as worthy of further study,” explains
Julie Thomas, vice president of the Monroe County Board of Commissioners. “If this site is ultimately chosen,
then we’ll want to use the feedback we get from the folks who live nearby. What we hear from them could help
us to configure the locations of buildings, where road entrances and exits go, and so on. Ideally, we should learn
all about the surrounding neighborhoods.”
The commissioners have also invited the sheriff and other area leaders, so that they, too, will be able to hear from
residents first-hand.
Members of the public who aren’t able to attend either the September 20th or September 24th meetings are
encouraged to email their feedback to the Monroe County Board of Commissioners at
[email protected].
They are also welcome to attend the Monroe County Commissioners’ virtual office hour sessions. Check the
online events calendar at https://www.co.monroe.in.us/ for dates, times, and Zoom links.
