Council OKs land for youth detention center, county buildings

The Bloomington City Council gave preliminary approval to the Monroe County to rezone a part of the old Thomson factory property. \nThe county plans to build a youth detention center and a community corrections facility on the land. \n"This isn't just a county problem. It's a community problem," county commissioner Brian O'Neill said. "There's very little disagreement in building these facilities. The question is where."\nIn the future the county may also build an archival facility and a jail on this property, located just west of Rogers Street next to a Cinergy PSI power station. \n"We have many documents in county government that must be preserved," O'Neill said. "And we're not doing a very good job of that."\nO'Neill assured the council that there are currently no plans for a jail on the site, but down the road, this would be a logical place for a jail to be located. \n"It has very good natural buffers on the site," said Steve Smith, architect for the plan. "It's very good for these facilities."\nJim Roach, zoning planner for the city, presented some of the recent changes in the plan to the council.\nOne north-south road, connecting the facilities to developments to the north, has been changed from a public road to a private access road. \n"We did not feel we could have a road with public standards," Planning Director Tom Micuda said. \nThe council agreed that these facilities are necessary, but they questioned the future uses of the land. \n"I am concerned with government offices moving from downtown," Council member David Sabbagh said.\nSabbagh said if the county's current justice building became overcrowded in the future, they could build a bigger facility on cheaper land next to the two proposed facilities. \nO'Neill said he did not want to move any facilities out of downtown, but didn't feel it was the council's place to restrict land uses for the county. He also said with the current zoning of the site, the county could construct office facilities, and the city could not stop them. \nAll members of the council in attendance recommended the zoning be amended to allow the proposed facilities. \n"As a land use issue, building a community corrections facility and a youth detention center make a lot of sense to me on this land," Council President Chris Gaal said. \nThe council also discussed two amendments to ordinances regarding the salary of a council assistant and adding a working foreman to the utilities department. \nAll pieces of legislation discussed on Wednesday will have final action taken on them this Wednesday.