Peoria Standard

Woodford County Finance & Economic Development Committee met April 7.

Here is the minutes provided by the committee:

1. Order

The meeting was called to order at 6:02 PM. Due to Covid 19, the Finance Committee meeting was held by teleconference.

2. Roll Call – Chuck Nagel (chairman), Richard Hill, Emily Barker, Bryant Kempf, Josh Davis (v-ch) all present.

3. Approval of Minutes

a. Approval of March 10, 2020 Regular Meeting Motion to approve March minutes made by Hill, seconded by Barker. A roll call vote was taken due to meeting being conduct via the phone – Nagel-yes; Hill-yes; Barker-yes; Kempf-yes; Davis-yes. Motion passed.

4. Public Input 

None

5. Approval of Claims 

Motion to approve April claims made by Davis, seconded by Barker. Roll call vote – Davis-yes; Kempf- yes; Barker-yes; Hill-yes; Nagel-yes. Motion passed

6. Treasurers Report 

The Treasurers report was presented to the committee. There were no concerns with the report.

7. Budget 

In May the IT budget for equipment needs to be discussed. There needs to be clarification on what this is for.

8. New Business

a. Grant Program Contractor Selection 

We received several bids for the sidewalk projects, and only one bid for the building projects. The bids were all sealed and opened at the meeting. A discussion was held after all the bids were opened. The bids were as follows:

Sidewalks- Wendler - $130,000. Dewberry – Design $133,500, Construction - $52,000 for a total of $185,500. Midwest – Design - $66,770, Construction - $13,005 for a total of $79,775. Hermann – Design - $87,500, Construction $30,000 for a total of $117,000. Farnsworth – Design - $150,000, Construction $90,000 for a total of $240,000.

Buildings – Farnsworth – Design - $119,000, Construction $38,330 for a total of $158,250.

Discussion on the building bid. We have a choice to accept the one bid and let DECO determine if we need to rebid, or reject the bid and rebid it. Everyone had the opportunity to bid, but chose not to. The building projects are not that extensive and it was felt that the bid quote was rather high for the scope of work being done. The bid is almost double what was anticipated. Motion to reject Farnsworth bid for the building project and reopen the RFP to solicit more bids for the building projects made by Davis, seconded by Hill. Roll call vote – Hill-yes; Kempf-yes; Davis-yes; Barker-yes; Nagel-yes. Motion passed.

Discussion on who to send RFP to. We are in a time crunch as the money has to be designated by December. Motion to send the building RFP to all firms who sent letters of qualifications made by Hill, seconded by Davis. Roll call vote – Davis-yes; Kempf-yes; Barker-yes; Hill-yes; Nagel-yes. Motion passed.

Discussion on the sidewalk bids. The committee would like to see the bids before they make a decision. Ms. Breyman will scan in all the bids and send to the committee for their review. A special meeting will be held on Friday, April 17 at 4PM to discuss the bids and choose a contractor. We may need to bring the County Engineer in to help with time and materials.

9. Unfinished Business

10. Other 

The committee members have received several call regarding taxes and if, because of unemployment due to Covid-19, we will be offering an extension. Discussion. It was brought up that we are in one month of Covid-19. People knew before this past month, that their taxes were due. People should have budgeted for their taxes before now. By putting off paying the full amount, it was felt that the people would get further and further behind and not be able to afford it at all. The sales tax revenue will be going down because of business closings, and that money will not be coming into the county. Our budgets are based off of average sale tax revenue. If we split the tax bills, we would have another mailing, more postage, and would cost the county more money when the revenue is already going down. At this time the committee felt that we would not be helping people in the long run by splitting their tax bills.

There are 12 businesses that have applied for the Downstate Small Business Stabilization Grant. There will be a public hearing on Thursday April 23rd at 5PM with a special Board meeting at 5:30. Discussion on if a quorum is needed. OMA rules have been relaxed in that members are now considered present via teleconference, but a quorum is still needed.

11. Executive Session 

12. Any Action Coming Out of Executive Session

13. Adjournment 

Motion to adjourn made by Hill, seconded by Kempf. Roll call vote – Nagel-yes; Barker-yes; Hill-yes; Kempf-yes; Davis-yes. Motion passed.

Meeting adjourned at 7:10 PM.

https://www.woodford-county.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_04142020-1048