Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thomson said in an email Wednesday to Monroe County Council members that they were "incredibly brave" to vote against buying a property north of town for a new jail.
The email, shared by the mayor's office with local media, calls for renewed cooperation on the jail but appeared to contradict Thomson's earlier stance that a yes vote on North Park was the smartest way forward.
On Monday, Thomson and some other local officials signed a public statement urging a yes vote on the purchase. That statement said North Park was the only path forward while “avoiding a more costly, uncertain, and adversarial process.”
The mayor’s office did not respond to a request for clarification.
Under a settlement agreement with the ACLU of Indiana, Monroe County has to show movement toward better jail conditions by Friday. Since council voted down the North Park purchase Tuesday, the county could be vulnerable to new court orders and/or a new lawsuit.
North Park is unpopular with the council, in part because it’s far from downtown services. Thomson said in an email to the council that the city will expedite zoning for any site in Bloomington and invited leaders to come together and find a new solution.
“I agree that it is not a fiscally responsibly decision to move forward with that property,” she wrote.
The earlier letter, co-signed by City Council President Isak Asare, County Council President Pro Tem Peter Iverson and the Monroe County Board of Commissioners, also notes that “no one should pretend North Park is the outcome anyone hoped for” but that because of the ACLU deadline it became “the only viable option.”
Monroe County has been obligated under the terms of a lawsuit to improve jail conditions for 17 years. The ACLU of Indiana confirmed in an email that it will let the settlement agreement expire, allowing for new litigation to be filed.
The county has considered sites in the city before and rejected them due to issues with zoning and utilities and clashes with City Council.
