Monroe County Council rejects North Park jail purchase after heavy public opposition and ACLU deadline pressure

Monroe County’s council voted May 26 to reject a purchase agreement for the North Park property that had been advanced as a site for a new jail, officials and public commenters said.

The council rejected the purchase agreement 6 to 1, with Council member Pete Iverson the only vote in favor. The council then approved a motion formally denying the county’s purchase of the property by a 6-0 vote; Commissioner David Henry was unable to vote after his online connection failed.

The decision came after public comment from more than 30 speakers opposed to the North Park site and after officials warned of legal and scheduling pressures. According to a county official cited in the meeting, Commissioner Julie Thomas said North Park was the only option the county had to meet imminent deadlines tied to a longstanding ACLU lawsuit.

An attorney or public commenter explaining the legal stakes said summary judgment would ask a court to decide “the ultimate legal question without a trial” and framed the central question as whether Monroe County’s jail is unconstitutional, citing recent population figures as high as 272 in a facility with a functional capacity of 235. “This is a structural problem,” the commenter said.

Sheriff Ruben Marte urged the council to approve the purchase agreement, saying the current facility is not safe for staff or inmates and that postponing a decision would place “a tremendous amount of more stress on the staff that are already stressed to a point that concerns me.”

Many public commenters argued the county should invest in alternatives to incarceration rather than a larger facility. Bloomington City Council member Isabel Piedmont Smith said the county should spend money on alternative services to prevent future incarcerations. One speaker warned a larger facility “could very well be used by ICE, could be used by the federal government.” Former city council member Steve Volan urged the county commissioners to resign.

Iverson, the lone affirmative vote, said he had discussed the decision with clergy, first responders, mental-health professionals, county employees and others and that constituents in the 1st District urged action to end “17 years of indecision.” He described the choice as between continued litigation and a flawed but actionable option.

After the votes, the council announced it will meet again on June 9. The formal motion to deny the North Park purchase passed 6 to 0; the earlier rejection of the purchase agreement was recorded 6 to 1. Commissioner David Henry’s vote was recorded as absent because of an online connection failure.

The council’s prior rejections of North Park were noted: the county rejected a North Park proposal in October because of funding limits after passage of the 2025 Senate Enrolled Act 1, and the council had also rejected a May 12 proposal. Council president Jennifer Crossley suggested the county consider the Thompson property, which the county already owns, as an alternative.