The Monroe County Council has approved the new Monroe County Jail’s North Park location

Bloomington, Indiana – The Monroe County Council approved the $11.375 million acquisition of property for a new justice complex, which includes a new county jail and court space, on Tuesday after more than two years of delays. By a vote of 5-1, the council authorized the transaction.

The 52-acre property is located in North Park, between Ellettsville and Bloomington, at the northwest corner of I-69 and State Road 46. It will be adjacent to Hunter Valley Road, per the agenda from the meeting on November 12.

On Tuesday, County Attorney Jeff Cockerill stated that “the jail would be more tucked away” and that the court area would be closest to the road.

On October 23, the Monroe County Commissioners gave their approval to the purchase transaction.

Between $400,000 and $800,000 would be needed for the shared costs of a road, and between $2.5 million and $3 million will be needed to expand the wastewater treatment plant that will sustain the 400-bed jail.

According to an April report by the RQAW Corporation, taxpayers will have to pay anything from $90 million to $106 million for the new jail.

An estimated $80.9 million will be spent on the new jail’s hard construction. The justice center, which would be almost 50% larger than the current one, is expected to cost roughly $78.7 million to build, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

Courtrooms, the county’s prosecutor’s office, the public defender’s office, the court-related portion of the clerk’s office, and other associated offices will all be part of the justice center.

According to Cockerill, the goal is to relocate all of the old justice-related institutions to the new site once this facility’s construction is finished. According to Cockerill, no decisions have been made as of yet on the future of the buildings that are currently home to the county jail, courts, and other associated facilities.

According to a “Criminal Justice & Incarceration Study” published by Monroe County in 2020, the jail located at 301 N. College Ave. was “far exceeded its structural and functional life cycle, despite all its renovations,” and was “incapable” of delivering sufficient inmate care.

Some local advocates, such as Care not Cages, an anti-incarceration organization that opposes the building of a new jail, want to use the funds intended for the justice complex to pay for transportation, drug addiction treatment, and supportive housing for those with low incomes.

In 2008, Monroe County was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana for the circumstances of its prisoners. The main cause of the problem was overcrowding, which led to battles over sleeping quarters and made prisoners sleep on the floor.

In a presentation to the Monroe County Council and Commissioners on July 11, Monroe County Sheriff Ruben Marté expressed his concern that violence may result from overcrowding.

“There is potential,” he stated. “Tempests flare up when there is overcrowding and no space,” he remarked.

The jail can accommodate 258 beds, according to the RQAW Corporation research, which also suggested that the county supply between 450 and 500 beds in order to sufficiently accommodate the amount of inmates.

A number of residents voiced their disapproval of the new facility at the discussion. Representing a group of taxpayer petitioners, Bloomington resident Joe Davis stated that they “strongly dissuade the purchase of this property,” recommending that the city make use of land it already possesses. Buying the North Park property, according to Davis, opens a “pandora’s box of spending taxpayer’s money.”

Because of the effect the jail will have on the residents of Ellettsville, Council Member Marty Hawk was the only one to vote against the decision. The Ellettsville Chamber of Commerce claims that because they believe the North Park property has the potential to be “incredibly valuable,” they are worried about how the new jail will affect the town’s future economic growth.

Cockerill said the jail’s construction will take 30 months, which means it will take 2.5 years to determine how to use the downtown buildings that will be vacant due to the shift to North Park.

When work on the new justice complex will start is unknown.

Cockerill stated during the meeting on November 12 that the facility’s design for the North Park location was still ongoing.