Peoria Standard

Woodford County Board met May 19.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

Board met and was called to order by Chairman John Krug.

Chairman Krug announced due to the Members attending through the Zoom platform they would forego the Pledge of Allegiance.

Roll call by the Clerk. Present: Emily Barker (Zoom), Russell Cotton (Zoom), Joshua Davis (Present in the Board Room), Justin Faulk (Zoom), Richard Hill (Zoom), Bryant Kempf (Zoom), John Krug (Present in the Board Room), Barry Logan (Zoom), Chuck Nagel (Zoom), Blake Parsons (Zoom), Jerry Smith (Zoom), Jason Spence (Zoom), Dan Steffen (Zoom) and Donald Tolan (Zoom). Also present was County Clerk Dawn Kupfer.

Board announced in session by the Chairman.

Clerk Kupfer presented and read the Certificate of Giving Notice for this meeting.

Mrs. Barker moved the Certificate be approved as read, which motion was seconded by Mr. Cotton and was unanimously carried.

Clerk Kupfer submitted the minutes of the April 21, 2020 regular session County Board meeting for additions, corrections and approval.

Mr. Davis moved to approve the minutes of the April 21, 2020 regular session County Board meeting, which was seconded by Mr. Faulk. Chairman Krug called for any additions, corrections or amendments to the April 21, 2020 regular session minutes.

Mr. Davis moved to amend the minutes to notate which Members had attended in person and which Members had attended through a virtual Zoom meeting.

Chairman Krug called for any other corrections or additions, hearing none; Chairman Krug called for approval of the minutes as amended, which unanimously carried.

Chairman Krug called for the approval of the Special Meeting minutes of April 24, 2020.

Mr. Hill moved to approve the Special Meeting minutes of April 24, 2020, which was seconded by Mr. Kempf. Chairman Krug called for any additions or corrections to the Special meeting minutes. Hearing none, motion unanimously carried.

Clerk Kupfer inquired as to whether the Members of the Board would like the Special Meeting minutes of April 24, 2020 to be amended to show which Members had attended through Zoom or in person. The Members agreed to have Clerk Kupfer make those corrections.

Chairman Krug called for public Input, announcing Ms. Hillary Aggertt with the Woodford County Health Department would be joining through Zoom to update the Members of the Board of the latest COVID-19 information.

Ms. Hillary Aggertt, Woodford County Health Department Administrator informed the Members there is a lot of things happening, the current number of cases in the County is at 18. There has also been another death bringing the death total to 2, going on to say it was a woman in her 90’s. Ms. Aggertt went on to say the Health Department is continuing to do contact tracing. She went on to say the biggest thing going on right now is how to move forward and how does the Health Department best help the residents in the community. Ms. Aggertt said there are a couple of plans which have been proposed, those being the Restore Illinois Plan and The Peoria Heart of Illinois Plan and as community’s are starting to initiate reopening plans it has created a lot of confusion. Ms. Aggertt said the majority of the time the Woodford County Health Department has been addressing many of these concerns from individuals as well as some businesses and they are trying to provide any education and guidance to these individuals. Ms. Aggertt informed the Members her department had received a COVID Crisis Grant which would be used to help with the initial costs and there is some talk of a Contact Tracing Grant. The Federal Government is working with the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Governor’s office to provide funds to jurisdictions for contact tracing. Ms. Aggertt stated she has also been working with Mike Hinrichsen and the other Mayors in the County to work on a plan for how to best find a unified approach to open up our region.

Chairman Krug called for any questions the Members may have for Ms. Aggertt.

Mr. Davis inquired as to whether Ms. Aggertt had heard of any anti-body testing being done in the area.

Ms. Aggertt stated in regard to the anti-body testing, it is available, but it is not approved testing per say. She went on to say the effectiveness of the current test being conducted are not necessarily a yes no answer at this point and time. Ms. Aggertt stated her department was working with the healthcare systems in the area to identify which tests would be most effective and if it is an FDA approved facility.

Mr. Smith inquired as to whether there were any places local offering testing.

Ms. Aggertt said in Woodford County Advocate Eureka Hospital does have testing available. She said McLean County test site is transitioning to Peoria, so there will be 4 testing sites to go to. Ms. Aggertt suggested checking with your physician first and also the Woodford County Healthcare website has information available.

Mr. Parsons stated early on in this he had heard about people going to these test sites and were turned away because they did not meet a certain criteria. He went on to say if people are testing and they are A systematic is that currently the case that there is not prerequisite for getting a test, if you want one you can get one.

Ms. Aggertt stated in the beginning there were only a limited number of tests available so it was difficult and certain criteria did have to be net, now there are more tests available so it is much easier to get testing done. She went on to say there is a local lab handling the test results so generally results are available within 24 to 72 hours of the time the test was taken.

Mr. Davis inquired as to whether the Federal Government was helping individuals to cover the cost of the test when the individuals do not have health care. He went on to ask how much the healthcare facilities are charging as well as how much the labs are charging to process these tests.

Ms. Aggertt stated none of the testing sites are turning individuals away for the inability to pay, but they are trying to bill it through insurance companies when provided in order to recover a portion of the cost.

Chairman Krug thanked Ms. Aggertt and her staff on behalf of the Members of the Board, for all of their dedication and hard work.

The Consent Agenda was presented and clarified for the reporting of these minutes.

Mr. Logan moved to approve the consent agenda, which was seconded by Mr. Nagel. Chairman Krug called for any items to be removed from the consent agenda.

Mr. Logan moved to pull Item (k) Resolution 2019/2020-062 setting the Corner Salary from the Petitions, Resolutions, and/or Motions.

Mr. Kempf took a minute to acknowledge the passing of former County Board Member Stan Glazier’s wife Phyllis. He went on to say anyone who knew her, knew how sweet, caring and compassionate she was and on behalf of the Members of the County Board our thoughts and prayers go out to the family.

Chairman Krug called for approval of the remainder of the consent agenda, which unanimously carried.

Appointments:

a. Approval of the appointment of Greg Umland to the Carlock Fire Protection District to complete the unexpired 3 year term of Wayne Gustafson expiring April 20, 2022.

Petitions, Resolutions and/or Motions:

b. Approval of the Annual Peopleware Agreement with Computer Information Concepts.

c. Approval of Resolution 2019/2020-059 approving 5311 Grant Application (We Care).

d. Approval of Resolution 2019/2020-060 authorizing the County Board Chairman to execute an engineering agreement with Hutchison Engineering Inc. for the Olio Township culvert replacement project, Section 20-11148-00-DR.

e. Motion to approve the Title VI Program.

f. Approval of Resolution 2019/2020-058 Title VI Program.

g. Motion to approve the NCourt Agreement for the acceptance of on-line payments in the County Clerk’s Office.

h. Motion to approve the quote from Heart Technologies for (5) new laptops to be used for the election.

i. Approval of Resolution 2019/2020-062 for funding of an additional Assistant State’s Attorney.

j. Approval of Smith Acres Plat.

Chairman Krug called for discussion on Item (k).

Mr. Logan moved to amend Resolution 2019/2020-063 to add the following changes. After the sentence “Whereas, the County Board set the four year salary for the Coroner as follows:”, strike all the dates which are there; and in the next paragraph he would like to strike everything after Coroner and replace it with the sentence “Now Therefore be it resolved by the Woodford County Board this 19th day of May, 2020 that the salary for the Coroner be a one-time increase to $32,176.44 (8%) for the full four year term.” Mr. Nagel seconded the motion. Mr. Logan went on to say this is what had previously been done with the other elected officials and in an effort to be fair and keep consistent this is what he proposed.

Mrs. Barker inquired if this was just being done in an effort to not have to vote on this every year.

Chairman Krug said at this point the County Board must set the salary for the Coroner 180 days before he is supposed to take office. He went on to say most of the elected officials salaries need to be set in the same manner before they are elected.

Mr. Steffen questioned whether this was 8 percent upfront and will he get this 8 percent for his four years or is this a 2 percent a year every year for a total of 8 percent; how this was figured.

Chairman Krug said he thought the way Mr. Logan presented this was there would be an 8 percent increase upfront and then that would be the salary for the four year term.

Mr. Logan then said the reason we did it like this, is because that is how it had been done for other department heads.

Mr. Hill stated in the past it had been explained earlier there had been some concern that an elected official could not have their salary changed during their term. Some thought it was not necessary, and others thought this would be a safe route to take.

Mrs. Andrews, Woodford County Treasurer believes it depends on how the language of the statute is interpreted. The statute states you have to set the elected officials salary 180 days prior to taking office, but that can be set at a different amount every year. It just has to be determined prior to that time period.

Chairman Krug said the point is the total compensation which the elected official will receive during their term will be set before they take office. Most interpretations are with yearly incremental raises, some people interpret it as one salary. The way the Board is doing this one tonight has been proposed to just have one number, but we do need to know what the coroner’s salary will be before he takes office however the Board decides to divide that up.

Chairman Krug called for a vote on Resolution 2019/2020-063 setting the Coroner’s salary; which unanimously carried.

Chairman Krug moved on to New Business, first Item (a) approval of contract award to Kenyon and Associates for a Grant Project. Mr. Nagel stated this part of phase 2 of the Revolving Loan Project, this is for the building side. Last month the Board approved the engineer/architect to take care of the sidewalks, going on to say this is the only bid the Finance Committee received. Mr. Nagel moved the County Board to go ahead and approve this contract contingent on the SAM registration, which was seconded by Mr. Parsons.

Chairman Krug called for any discussion.

Mr. Tolan asked for an explanation of what the SAM registration was.

Mr. Cummings stated (SAM) stands for System Award Management a registration is a state requirement in order to receive federal grant money.

Chairman Krug called for a vote on Item (a) and it unanimously carried.

Chairman Krug called for the next Item under New Business, Item (b) Midwest Construction Contract. Mr. Nagel stated last month the Finance Committee approved the reward for phase 1 of the Revolving Loan Project which was for the sidewalks. This month the Finance Committee is asking the Board to approve the Midwest Construction Contract. Mr. Nagel moved to approve the contract with Midwest Construction in the amount of $79,775.00; which was seconded by Mr. Smith and unanimously carried.

Chairman Krug called for Item (c ) under New Business the Heart of Illinois Reopening Plan. Chairman Krug went on to say the plan went to the Governor but was not approved. Chairman Krug announced he had asked the Sheriff where the County and the Courthouse were at with some of the concerns for reopening. The following are things that are happening around the Courthouse:

 Sheriff has spoken with Judge Feeney and they will be resuming court beginning on June 1, 2020.

 Sheriff does plan to put up signage throughout the Courthouse/Courtrooms regarding maintaining distance. They plan to prop open a few of the doors to eliminate a lot of handling of the door surfaces/handles. They will also be taking some of the benches out of the Courtroom 2 in order to temporarily reduce the number of people allowed to sit.

 Court security will continue to do some screening, however they will cease taking temperatures on June 1, 2020. Chairman Krug announced if any of the offices are in need of any personal protective equipment (PPE) for their staff they need to send a request to the Sheriff and he will see if some can be acquired from the EMA Department.

 Chairman Krug went on to say the maintenance and/or custodial staff will continue to clean and sanitize the high traffic areas. Maintenance will also supply spray bottles of disinfectant and paper towels to every office.

Mr. Hill stated he had spoken with State’s Attorney Greg Minger and thought the best place to insert this would be under New Business. Mr. Hill asked that the County Board put forward a statement which he put together concerning the troubling moves made by the state over last number of weeks. Mr. Hill asked he be allowed to read a proposal for this statement and after such reading have a discussion:

We, the Woodford County Board trust our citizens to use their liberty wisely and make good decisions for their own healthcare. For the safety and wellbeing of our fellow citizens, we encourage them to use tools and follow practices designed to protect themselves and others with whom they come into contact.

However, let it be known that we, the Woodford County Board, in the State of Illinois disapprove and reject the Governor’s extension of the Emergency Order as going beyond the scope and boundaries of his office as determined by our state constitution. Allowing this overreach to stand uncontested sets a very dangerous precedent.

We reject his infringement on the rights of religion as set forth in Article 1 of the Bill of Rights. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

We categorically reject the notion that law-abiding citizens should be denied the right to work to provide for their families.

We reject the new attempt to force churches, which he deems nonessential, and certain businesses he indiscriminately deems nonessential, to remain closed or be fined along with possible arrests and jail time. We find these rules just submitted to the legislature shocking. We trust they will not follow the same erroneous path our Governor has taken.

The punitive consequences for not following the Governor’s extended orders are incompatible with a free society and an infringement of our individual liberties, guaranteed and clearly expressed in the Bill of Rights. Our government is of the people, by the people, and for the people. In our constitutional Republic, we do not have rulers. Every person in government is a public servant. May this serve as a reminder and a warning to all the leaders who have strayed from this most fundamental principle.

Chairman Krug announced where the County Board is tonight on this matter is anyone wishing to make comment or add to this statement can, however no action can be taken on it this evening. He went on to say there are several options, if it is believed by enough of the Members there is a need to move forward with this now at least (5) Members of the County Board would have to send a letter to the County Clerk requesting a Special Meeting of the County Board. Chairman Krug stated the floor is open to make comments.

Mr. Logan stated he would like to co-sign this statement by Mr. Hill and have it put on record that he is 100 percent behind Mr. Hill on this statement.

Mr. Steffen stated he would like to second this as well, going on to say he believes the problem is up around the Chicago area and our problems down state are not as severe; we need to get back to normalcy as quick as possible.

Mr. Parsons stated he had communicated with Mr. Hill on the negative effects this is having on our business owners and Mr. Parsons felt this was a perfectly written statement by Mr. Hill. He went on to say he is in support of it 100 percent and is very appreciative of the time and effort Mr. Hill put into it.

Mr. Davis inquired if there were any Members who were in opposition to this, that way we could have a majority or a list of those who did not want to back this.

Chairman Krug said he does not see anyone in opposition to this so if Mr. Hill can continue to reach out, get sponsors in support of this statement and move forward with collecting signatures to send to the County Clerk for the Special Meeting request.

Mrs. Barker said she 100 percent agrees with Mr. Hill’s statement, however, as a nurse just returning from New York City she is extremely concerned with the seriousness of this with how highly contagious it is. Mrs. Barker went on to say she realizes it is not prevalent in our communities right now, but it is present. She went on to say she would like to see the Board work very closely with our local Health Department in providing education and recommendations to those businesses that do want to open up.

Please let the record show the attendees to this Woodford County Board was 100 percent in favor of the Statement from Mr. Hill.

Chairman Krug called for Item (a) under Unfinished Business discussion on the extension of the Proclamation of Disaster document.

Mr. Logan said the Public Safety Committee discussed whether we should set a date or if the Board should just allow the existing proclamation to sunset and we were unable to come to a clear decision. Mr. Logan said his personal thought was to just let it sunset, but the committee decided to put it on the agenda for discussion with the full Board.

Mr. McCanless, Emergency Management Director for Woodford County said he had received an email from the State of Illinois. In the email it was noted the Proclamation of Disaster could be allowed to expire as we now fall under the Federal Declaration.

Mr. Parsons said some of the discussion at the Public Safety Meeting regarding whether the County would be able to have access to supplies and personal protective equipment if the County were to let the Proclamation of Disaster expire. He went on to say he appreciates Mr. McCanless sharing information with the Board that supplies would be available through the Federal Declaration. Mr. Parsons felt this would tie in to Mr. Hill’s proposal on the statement he wants to provide on behalf of Woodford County. We need to slowly and safely reopen our local economy, which adds to the argument in favor of phasing out of the local Emergency Declaration.

Chairman Krug then called to approve the claims Paid in Vacation since the last meeting of the Board. Mr. Spence moved to approve the Claims Paid in Vacation, which was seconded by Mr. Steffen.

Chairman Krug stated he had a claim to be added to the claims paid in vacation. He moved to add a claim from the County Clerk and Recorder for Computer Information Concepts in the amount of $11,110.00. Chairman Krug said this goes along with the Annual Peopleware Agreement.

Mr. Tolan moved to add it to the claims, which was seconded by Mrs. Barker. Chairman Krug called for approval of adding the claim to Claims paid in vacation; motion carried.

Chairman Krug called for approval of the claims as amended, which unanimously carried.

Mr. Logan presented and read Resolution 2019/2020-061 approving the payment of the Claims, which was seconded by Mr. Cotton.

Chairman Krug called for a roll call vote. County Board Members voting Aye: Jerry Smith, Jason Spence, Dan Steffen, Donald Tolan, Emily Barker, Russell Cotton, Joshua Davis, Justin Faulk, Richard Hill, Bryant Kempf, John Krug, Barry Logan, Chuck Nagel and Blake Parsons. County Board Members voting Nay: None. County Board Members absent: Randy Roethler, unexcused. Motion carried.

Chairman Krug called for approval from the Board to allow for the County Board Chairman to sign off on the individual committee claim sheets from the committee meetings due to the nature of the video meeting the Chairman of the various committees had attended in person; motion carried.

Chairman Krug called for a motion to place the Treasurer’s Report, the Office of County Board Report and the Communications Report on file; motion made by Mr. Davis and seconded by Mr. Faulk; which unanimously carried.

The Report of the County Treasurer on receipts and disbursement of the General Fund, current fund balances and interfund transfers for the period ending April 30, 2020.

The report for the Office of the County Board dated May 19, 2020.

The following communication will be placed on file for the regular meeting of the May 19, 2020 County Board meeting:

 Letter from Frontier Communications stating they have entered into a Restructuring Support Agreement (or RSA) with their bondholders. The financial restructuring plan will significantly reduce the Company’s debt while they continue to provide quality service to their customers without interruption. To implement this plan, they voluntarily filed petitions under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

 Irrevocable Standby Letter of Credit from Algonquin Power and Utilities Corp. in the amount of $5,190,600.00, Note: this replaces a previous letter on file).

 Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. 2019 Annual Inspection Report for the Minonk Wind Farm.

 Treasurer’s Report, Audit Report and Health Care Committee Report for the month of April 2020.

 Minutes of the Road and Bridge Committee meeting held April 13, 2020.

 Minutes of the Public Safety Committee meeting held March 9, 2020; Note: no meeting held in April.

 Minutes of the Conservation, Planning and Zoning Committee meeting held March 9, 2020. Note:

CP & Z did not meet in April.

 Minutes of the County Offices committee held on March 10, 2020.

 Minutes of the Finance & Economic Development Committee held April 7, 2020; and Special meeting held on April 17, 2020.

The respective Chairmen gave the reports of each Standing Committee.

Mr. Hill, Chairman of the Road & Bridge Committee, stated the committee had met and discussed an engineering agreement with Hutchison Inc. in the amount of $18,500.00 to remove and replace an existing box culvert in Olio Township. Due to the location of the township line shared with Palestine Township, the two will share 50 percent of the township costs and the County will pay the remaining 50 percent.

Mr. Cotton, Chairman of the County Offices Committee, reported there had not been a lot to take care of this month on the agenda there is still the Assessor’s salary. He went on to say this month he spoke with Jason Spence and the County Board Chairman it was decided to make Mr. Spence the Chairman of County Offices which just gets the committee ready for next year when Mr. Cotton’s term is done.

Mr. Nagel, Chairman of the Finance and Economic Development Committee, stated he had nothing new beyond what was sent out in the Board packet. He went on to mention the committee is working with GPEDC and is wrapping up the Small Business Stabilization Program applications of which there were around 120 applications turned in. Mr. Nagel reported they ended up rewarding over $2,000,000.00 throughout the state and there may be a second round becoming available. He went on to say if anyone knew of a business who may qualify or could use help, please make sure to report them to the County Board.

Mr. Logan, Chairman of the Public Safety Committee, announced the committee had spent some time discussing Annex 4 building project. He stated the HVAC and the electrical are done and the committee is now talking to contractors about the audio/video equipment. Mr. Logan, Mr. Smith and Mr. Tipsword had met with the cabinet maker to pick out the colors and materials for the desks. He also stated they had some issues with the design of the desk and may need to bring it back to the committee for further discussion.

Mr. Parsons, Chairman of Conservation, Planning and Zoning, announced other than what was laid out in the Board packet he did not have much to add. He did receive a few questions regarding a preliminary subdivision plat about the nature of the proposed subdivision in case anyone else was curious. Nothing is official on a subdivision until it comes through the proper channels and it cannot be recorded in the County and become an official subdivision until the County Board approves it. Mr. Parsons then went on to say the committee did have discussion on the upcoming Wind Farm hearings as to getting some of the newer Members trained. We are looking into ways to conduct the hearings and how they would be handled due to social distancing rules and navigate through these hearings as fluidly as possible, as professionally as possible and hopefully better than the past.

Mr. Davis had a question for Mr. Parsons, as the Chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals on whether or not there was anything he would be able to do. Mr. Davis stated Mr. Hermann had reached out to him in regards to problems he is having at the state level with a Mr. Freidrich. He went on to say Mr. Hermann had been trying to obtain a permit for the campground that Mr. Blickenstaff is creating. Mr. Davis stated on February 23rd he had applied for a permit from the state, but it has been dormant for 45 days and then there were changes which had been resubmitted, but nothing appears to be moving on it. Mr. Davis asked maybe as Chairman of ZBA Mr. Parsons could look in to this. Mr. Davis said having 40 jobs on hold in District 2 is a big deal and he would appreciate any advice or help in this regard with Mr. Frederich.

Mr. Parsons said he was aware of the situation, but requested Mr. Davis to send the information to him and he would take a look, but it could be a challenge to try and get anyone to respond.

Mr. Logan stated he too was aware of the situation and had reached out to Mr. Weaver, Mr. Spain and Mr. LaHood. He went on to say all three of them are looking into this and trying to get this settled and speed the process up. Mr. Logan said there has definitely been a lag on the states part.

Chairman Krug announced there was not a Health Insurance Meeting and there was nothing from Veteran’s Assistance.

Chairman Krug called for Public Announcements; hearing none.

Chairman Krug stated there was a need to go into Executive Session.

Mr. Hill moved to go into Executive Session for 5ILCS 120-2 (c) (2) for Collective Negotiation Matters, which was seconded by Mr. Kempf. Chairman Krug called for a roll call vote. County Board Members voting Aye: Jason Spence, Dan Steffen, Donald Tolan, Emily Barker, Russell Cotton, Joshua Davis, Justin Faulk, Richard Hill, Bryant Kempf, John Krug, Barry Logan, Charles Nagel, Blake Parsons and Jerry Smith. County Board Members voting Nay: None. County Board Members absent: Randy Roethler, unexcused. Motion carried.

Entered into Executive Session at 7:45 PM.

Chairman Krug called for a motion to come back into regular session.

Mr. Logan moved to come back into regular session, which was seconded by Mr. Nagel and the motion unanimously carried.

Chairman Krug called for any action coming out of Executive Session.

Mr. Davis moved to approve the Illinois FOP Labor Council and County of Woodford/Woodford County Sheriff Corrections Sergeants and Jail/Correctional Deputies Contract, which was seconded by Mr. Nagel.

Chairman Krug called for any discussion.

Mr. Logan inquired if the motion included the sentence from page 16 which Mr. Minger wanted to add. Mr. Davis and Chairman Krug confirmed that yes, it did.

Chairman Krug called for a vote. Motion carried with one abstention from Mr. Smith.

Mr. Davis moved to adjourn until 6:30 P.M. the third Tuesday in June, A.D. 2020 same being the16th day of said month, which motion was seconded by Mr. Tolan and was unanimously carried.

Chairman Krug announced the Board adjourned at approximately 8:08 PM.

https://www.woodford-county.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_05192020-1060