Monroe County Jail

Timeline: Monroe County Jail

• 2024 Potential new location: North Park. On a 5–1 vote (with dissent from Marty Hawk and Cheryl Munson absent) the Monroe County council approves purchase of North Park as site of new jail at a cost of $11.375-million. [copy of purchase agreement] [BSB coverage]
• 2024-10-23 Potential new location: North Park. On a 3–0 vote, Monroe County commissioners approve purchase of North Park as site of new jail at a cost of $11.375-million. [copy of purchase agreement] [BSB coverage]
• 2024-04-29 Potential new location: North Park. VET Environmental submits Phase 1 Environmental Study for North Park on West Hunter Valley Road as a potential jail site. [copy of report]
• 2024-09-13 Current facility status. Monroe County sheriff Ruben Marté sends report to Monroe County commissioners on the topic of the status of current jail building systems like the fire protection, sewer, HVAC, elevator, and the roof. [copy of report]
• 2024-09-09 Size of new facility. ACLU attorney Ken Falk send email to Monroe County officials with a criticism of the idea that the number of beds in a proposed new jail should be as small as 300. [copy of emailed message]
• 2024-08-15 Potential new location: Vernal Pike. Monroe County property owners Craig Cowden and Dee Burris send letter to Monroe County commissioners and Monroe County councilors clarifying that there is a cap on the price they are asking for their land of $3 million apiece. [copy of letter]
• 2024-08-13 Potential new location: Vernal Pike. The chambers of commerce for Bloomington and Ellettsville sent letter to Monroe County officials supporting consideration of the Cowden property on Vernal Pike and Woodyard Road as the site of a new jail. [copy of letter]
• 2024-07-24 Need for new jail? New Leaf New Life releases and statement about the construction of a new Monroe County jail. [copy of statement]
• 2024-04-29 Potential new location: North Park. VET Environmental submits a site reconnaissance report for the North Park West Hunter Valley Road potential jail site [copy of report]
• 2024-04-29 Need for new jail? RQAW Architecture issues feasibility study to Monroe County commissioners. [copy of study]
• 2024-01-23 Current facility status. Monroe County sheriff Ruben Marté sends a memo to various county officials about the Monroe County jail population. [copy of memo]
• 2024-xx-xx Current facility status. Monroe County's annual jail report for 2023 is issued. [copy of annual report]
• 2023-11-30 Monroe County sheriff Ruben Marté sends email message to several officials with his reaction to the deliberations by Monroe County commissioners about their decision to revise the county's ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) plan to fund a contract position for a jail transition director. The sheriff's email reacts to the lack of enthusiasm expressed by commissioners for bringing someone on board who is not currently working in the sheriff's office—not to the outcome of their decision to amend the APRA plan. [copy of email message]
• 2023-10-27 Potential new location: Thomson PUD. Patriot Engineering and Environmental, Inc issues its geotechnical report on the Thomson PUD property as a potential location for a new jail. [copy of report]
• 2023-09-27 Potential new location: Thomson PUD. VET Environmental Engineering issues its environmental site assessment of the Thomson PUD property, as a location for a new jail. [copy of site assessment]
• 2022-12-21 Potential new location: Fullerton Pike. Bloomington's city council votes 9–0 to deny a rezone for the Fullerton Pike location to allow the location to be used as a jail [BSB coverage]
• 2022-12-12 Potential new location: Fullerton Pike. Monroe County councilor Jennifer Crossley states at a meeting of the county's community justice reform committee (CJRC) that she no longer supports Fullerton Pike as a location for a new county jail. [BSB coverage]
• 2022-12-09 Need for new jail? Private settlement agreement between the ACLU about the Monroe County, Indiana is extended [copy of extended settlement agreement]
• 2022-11-14 Potential new location: Fullerton Pike. Bloomington city plan commission votes 6–3 to send a negative recommendation to the city council for a requested rezone of a 87-acre site on Fullerton Pike, in order to allow the the use of the site for a jail facility. [BSB coverage]
• 2021-06-20 Need for new jail? Report is issued by Kenneth A. Ray of RJS Justice Services, which concludes that the Monroe County jail facility "is failing." [copy of report] [copy of executive summary] [BSB coverage]
• 2021-04 Need for new jail? Report is issued by Eve Hill of Inclusivity Strategic Consulting on the status of the current jail facility. [copy of the report] [BSB coverage]
• 2009-08-14 Need for new jail? The ACLU and Monroe County reach a private settlement agreement on the ACLU lawsuit, which allows the ACLU to renew its complaint if Monroe County does not meet certain conditions [copy of private settlement agreement]
• 2008-02-13 Need for new jail? The ACLU files a lawsuit on behalf of the prisoners at the Monroe County jail, based on overcrowded conditions at the Monroe County jail. [copy of complaint]