The Monroe County Board of Commissioners may look for property outside city limits to build a new jail.
The commissioners haven’t met since the Bloomington City Council rejected their request to zone land on the city’s southwest side for that purpose last week.
“There really is no other appropriate property in the city, so we're going to be looking for land in the county now,” county commissioner Lee Jones said. “We anticipate a little bit more cooperation in the county.”
The county hasn’t identified another site, but Jones said finding enough space and ensuring the jail is accessible are two major considerations.
The commission approved a $10-million conditional deal to purchase the lot in July, although without zoning approval that agreement may be void.
The Board of Commissioners believes a new jail is necessary for expanding addiction treatment services and managing overcrowding. A 2020 study it sponsored found a litany of problems with the facility in downtown Bloomington.
City councilmembers decided unanimously that the chosen site was unsuitable. The city wants to keep that land zoned as mixed-use employment, hoping to develop it to further the city’s job targets.
The Bloomington plan commission had also voted against re-zoning that lot in November.
Jones is skeptical of the city’s vision.
“It’s been on the market for 30 years,” she said. “No one seems to have wanted it.”
