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Council advances convention-center expansion, authorizes next steps for bond and lease process
Summary
The council found that an expansion of the Monroe County Convention Center is needed and authorized procedural steps — forming a building corporation, ordering appraisals and publishing a public-hearing notice — to allow tax-exempt bond financing; controller and counsel outlined timeline and funding structure (food-and-beverage tax as primary revenue).
The Bloomington Common Council adopted a resolution finding that an expansion of the Monroe County Convention Center is needed and authorized follow-up actions to permit lease and bond financing under Indiana Code 36-1-10.
City Controller Jessica McClellan explained that the resolution begins a prescribed sequence: ratify petition signatures, authorize formation of a single-purpose building corporation to own the expanded facility, publish notice of a public hearing on a proposed lease, and authorize appraisals of the property. The building corporation would issue tax-exempt bonds to finance construction; the city would pay lease rentals equal to annual debt service, covered primarily by the county food-and-beverage tax revenue with local income tax (LIT) as a backup.
"These are the first steps in the process to issue bonds for the new convention center," McClellan said. She noted that the structure isolates financial risk in a single-purpose entity and that ownership transfers from Monroe County to the CIB and then to the building corporation are contemplated in existing interlocal agreements.
Corporation Counsel Margie Rice and outside counsel Tenley Drescher Rhodes explained the need for appraisals to determine asset value for the lease and to establish a sale price to the building corporation. McClellan said a public hearing on the proposed lease is scheduled for March 5 and the council will consider lease approval, bond issuance and related documents at that meeting.
Public testimony included endorsements from the Capital Improvement Board and Downtown Bloomington Inc., as well as supporters who said an expanded facility would attract conferences and help downtown hospitality businesses. Some council members said the word "needed" felt awkward because convention centers are not essential city services; others argued the project is a continuation of prior commitments tied to the food-and-beverage tax and regional economic-development goals. After debate the council adopted Resolution 2025-01 (vote: 7–2).
