County seeks ideas for land

A plot of land on Bloomington’s south side could soon be used for BMX biking paths, a disc golf course or a low-barrier shelter.

In 2002 Monroe County purchased a plot of 85 acres located within Bloomington city limits on South Rogers Street.

On Thursday evening at the Monroe County Courthouse, a community meeting sought input on what to do with the property.

Julie Thomas, vice president of the Monroe County Board of Commissioners, said one of the main goals for the development is sustainability.

“Think sustainability, think revenue neutral or revenue generating,” Thomas said.

Likewise Thomas said the commission wants the project to be something that is at best environmentally positive and at worst environmentally neutral.

Funding is a fundamental part of the project, Thomas said. The project chosen will have to have a funding source and a plan for management and operations.

“That’s an important aspect. Some would say it’s a restriction, I say it’s a fact of life,” Thomas said.

Monroe County can sponsor the project by the land, but cannot afford to operate a project or manage a project, she said.

The cost of putting in the roads, sidewalks, storm-related infrastructure, sanitary sewers, water and design alone would cost 3.5 million dollars.

The meeting featured presentations by Thomas and Monroe County Highway Engineer, Bill Williams, followed by a discussion to identify potential uses for the property.

The first half of the community meeting was to give information on the property and the rest of the time was to get input from the crowd.

“The fruit of this exercise is the ideas,” Dave Parsons, chair of the Monroe County Environmental Quality and Sustainability Commission, said.

Large maps of the property were placed on tables in the room and table groups drew on the maps and discussed with ideas for the property.

“Uncap your pens and start discussing,” Ashley Cranor, Monroe County grants administrator for office of the commissioners, said.

During a break, the maps from every table were hung up on the walls to give people a chance to see other tables’ ideas.

The information from the meeting will be evaluated and possibly used to develop a Request for Proposals in 2014. People can email their initial ideas for the land to countythomsonproperty@gmail.com until Nov. 30.

Before any projects can be final, the City Plan Commission and the City Council must approve them, Thomas said.

“One of the things that we’d like to see is something wonderful done with this property,” Thomas said.