WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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After months of disagreement between Monroe County and the City of Bloomington, the two parties have reached an accord over the proposed convention center expansion.
Work on the Monroe convention center is set to resume after the Monroe County Board of Commissioners approved a new memorandum of understanding with the city last night.
Going forward, Bloomington and Monroe County are expected to focus on choosing an architect for the Monroe Convention Center expansion. Monroe County Attorney Jeff Cockerill said the new memorandum outlines how city and county will work together in the next phase of the project.
According to the Herald-Times, seven architects were interviewed for the proposed expansion. The next step will be to narrow down that number. That will be done by the Convention Center Steering Committee for Accountability, a nine-member team composed of four elected officials and five appointed citizens.
The proposed expansion will be funded by the food and beverage tax, passed earlier this year. Since its implementation in February, the auditor’s office has collected $1.3 million through the tax as of August 2018.
Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton is expected to sign the new Memorandum of Understanding between the city and Monroe County tomorrow.
