Peoria Standard

Woodford County Board met Jan. 19.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

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

Chairman Krug began the meeting by leading all present in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Roll call by the Clerk. Present: Albert Durst, Justin Faulk (6:40 PM Zoom), Richard Hill, Autum Jones, John Krug, Barry Logan, David Meinhold, Charles Nagel, Jonathan Schertz, Jason Spence (6:40 PM Zoom), Dan Steffen, and Donald Tolan. Absent: Blake Parsons, excused; and Jerry Smith, excused. 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.

Mr. Hill moved the Certificate be approved as read, which motion was seconded by Mr. Steffen and was unanimously carried.

Clerk Kupfer submitted the minutes of the December 15, 2020 regular session County Board meeting for additions, corrections and approval.

Mr. Schertz moved to approve the minutes of the December 15, 2020 regular Session County Board meeting, which was seconded by Mr. Meinhold and unanimously carried.

Chairman Krug called for the review of the Executive Session Minutes stating the State’s Attorney had reviewed each set and had submitted his opinion to the Board.

Mr. Nagel moved to keep confidential the March 17, 2015 Executive Session minutes, which motion was seconded by Mr. Durst and unanimously carried.

Mr. Logan moved to release and make public the June 21, 2016, Part 2 Executive session minutes, which was seconded by Mrs. Jones and was unanimously carried.

Mr. Schertz moved to keep confidential the March 19, 2019-Part 2 Executive session minutes, which was seconded by Mr. Nagel and was unanimously carried.

Mr. Durst moved to release and make public the May 19, 2020 Executive Session minutes, which was seconded by Mr. Hill and was unanimously carried.

Chairman Krug called for public input, hearing none the Board moved on to the Consent Agenda. The Consent Agenda was presented and clarified for the reporting of these minutes.

Chairman Krug called for any items to be removed from the consent agenda.

Mr. Nagel moved to pull Items (d), (e), (i), (j), and (k) from Appointments; and Item (c) under Petitions, Resolutions, and/or Motions.

Mr. Logan stated he would like to pull Items (a) and (b) from Appointments.

Chairman Krug called for approval of the remaining Items on the Consent Agenda.

Mr. Steffen moved to approve Items (c), (f), (g), (h), and (l) from Appointments, and Items (a) and (b) under Petitions, Resolutions, and/or Motions; which was seconded by Mr. Schertz. Motion carried.

Appointments:

c. Approval of the Reappointment of Deb Breyman as the PCOM to We Care for a 4 year term expiring the first Monday in December 2024.pproval of the reappointment of Ed Leman to the Congerville Rural Fire Protection District for a 3 year term expiring May 1, 2022.

f. Approval of the appointment of Ansel Burditt to the Woodford County Board to fill the unexpired term of Joshua Davis until the first Monday of December 2022.

g. Approval of the appointment of Ansel Burditt to replace Richard Hill on the Finance Committee. 

h. Approval of the appointment of Ansel Burditt to replace Chuck Nagel on the Conservation, Planning and Zoning Committee.

l. Approval of appointment of Autumn Jones to the We Care (For Audit & Review) Board as the Woodford County Board Member Liaison to complete the unexpired 2 year term of John Krug expiring the 1st Monday in December 2022.

Petitions, Resolutions and/or Motions:

a. Approval of Resolution 2020/2021-010 accepting the low bid of $113,000.00 from Martin Equipment of Goodfield, Illinois for the purchase of one new wheel loader, which includes the trade-in of one existing wheel loader.

b. Approval of a Devnet Combined Contract for Property Tax, wEdge and Planning, Building & Zoning Software License Maintenance and Support.

Chairman Krug called for Items (a) and (b).

Mr. Nagel moved to approve Items (a) and (b), which was seconded by Mr. Meinhold.

Mr. Logan stated his reasons for pulling Items (a) the Reappointment of Susan Cole, MD to the Board of Health for a 3 year term expiring November 30, 2023; and (b) the Reappointment of Lisa Maynard to the Board of Health for a 3 year term expiring November 30, 2023; was because he is not going to be voting for these two (2) appointments as he felt they were not good stewards of Tax payer money. He went on to say these individuals are part of the same Health Department Board which were giving out 8 percent, 10 percent and 12 percent raises to people 2 years ago. Mr. Logan went on to say the County Board does not have much control over the Board of Health as it would like, but the Woodford County Board can control who we appoint to their Board and their tax levy. Mr. Logan went on to say if they are not doing the job the tax payers expect, then we, as the Board should not continue to reward them. Mr. Logan requested a Roll call vote.

Chairman Krug called for a roll call vote. County Board Members voting Aye: John Krug. County Board Members voting Nay: Justin Faulk, Richard Hill, Autum Jones, Barry Logan, David Meinhold, Charles Nagel, Jonathan Schertz, Jason Spence, Dan Steffen, Donald Tolan, and Albert Durst. County Board Members absent: Blake Parsons, excused; and Jerry Smith, excused. Motion failed.

Chairman Krug moved onto Items (d) and (e).

Mr. Nagel stated he wished to put Items, (d), (e), (i), (j) and (k) into the same motion. He went on to say he wanted to move on and amend the appointments to read November 30, 2021 or Tri County Merger, whichever occurs first; which was seconded by Mr. Logan.

Mr. Hill asked for a synopsis of the Tri County Merger.

Mr. Logan stated currently we are working on merging PUATTS (Peoria-Pekin Urbanized Area Transportation Study) and the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission together. He went on to say there is two organizations which have a lot of overlap and for efficiency we are trying to put them both together. Mr. Logan stated there is a lot of changes in by-laws, requirements, but in the end it seems to be 98 percent of the people are agreeing that it is a good idea. He stated it appears Woodford County would be paying the same of less as it has in the past once the merger happened, and there would be less per diems. Mr. Logan said it would go from one 21 member board, and one 22 member board down to one board of 20 members. He went onto say the target date for the merger is June, but if it were to carry over longer we would like the folks who are appointed to be covered by extended their term date.

Chairman Krug asked if further discussion was needed, hearing none; he called for a vote on amending Items (d), (e), (i), (j) and (k) under Appointments. Motion carried. Chairman then called for a vote on the items as amended; motion carried.

Chairman Krug called for Item (c) under Petitions, Resolutions, and/or Motions.

Mr. Nagel stated Item (c) Ordinance 2020/2021-002 concerning Good Energy referendum question to be approved by the Board had come to the Finance Committee late. He went on to say the Finance Committee had a quick discussion which resulted in bringing this forward to the full Board.

Mr. Spence moved to approve Item (c) for discussion, which was seconded by Mr. Logan.

Mr. Nagel stated this Ordinance is a request from Good Energy, LP. He went on to say approving this Ordinance would allow for a question to be put on the ballot for the April Consolidated Election. He called on the representative from Good Energy to give an explanation to the Members.

Mr. Jerod McMorris, Energy Consultant for Good Energy, LP spoke to the Members of the Board explaining Municipal Aggregation by stating the County may adopt the ordinance under which it may aggregate in accordance with this section residential and small commercial retail electrical loads located within the municipality or unincorporated areas of the county and for the purpose, may solicit bids and enter into service agreements to facilitate for those loads the sale and purchase of electricity. He went onto say the ordinance before the Board would allow a referendum question to be put on the ballot for the April 6, 2021 election, and the deadline to get this to the County Clerk is this evening. Mr. McMorris stated many areas around and in Woodford County, such as Peoria County, Tazewell, Marshall, Stark, Mason, Germantown Hills, Metamora, Roanoke and Eureka already participate in the program. Mr. Charles DeCastega with Good Energy, LP (via Zoom) stated this was put in front of the County Board was in 2011; at that time the Board tabled it until 2012 and placed on the ballot in 2013, which failed to pass.

Mr. Logan stated the main reason this did not pass in 2011 was that it is an opt-out policy, and the Board felt it was not the place of the Board to sign people up for something they may not be aware they were getting signed up for. Mr. Logan stated if this was an opt-in program he would be in favor. Much discussion followed amongst both parties.

Chairman Krug called for a vote concerning Ordinance 2020/2021-002. Motion failed.

Chairman Krug called for Ansel Burditt to be sworn in and join the Members of the Woodford County Board at the table.

Chairman Krug moved onto New Business, Item (a) Hillary Aggertt vaccine distribution presentation.

Ms. Hillary Aggertt, Administrator of the Woodford County Health Department gave the Members an update on mass vaccinations stating they have been collaborating with Peoria, Tazewell Counties, as well as

OSF Healthcare, UnityPoint Health, Carle Eureka and Heartland Health Services to provide the COVID-19 vaccine to our residents. Ms. Aggertt said the Health Department has started offering vaccination appointments to Phase 1B frontline workers which includes First Responders, Educators, Manufacturing positions, Public Transit workers, grocery store workers and shelter/day care employees. If you are employed in one of these areas, please contact the health department to schedule your vaccine. She also reminded the Members the vaccine requires a second dose which needs to be done within 21/28 days of the first. Ms. Aggertt requested that everyone be patient as they begin to vaccinate this large population as it may take several weeks to reach all of the Phase 1B.

Chairman Krug called for Item (b) under New Business, Public Hearing on Downstate Business Grants Closeout. He further stated the hearing for the closeout would be February 16, 2021 at 6:15 P.M.

Chairman Krug moved to Unfinished Business, the approval of the 2021 meeting schedule for Conservation, Planning and Zoning.

Mr. Hill moved to approve the Conservation, Planning, and Zoning meeting schedule, which was seconded by Mr. Nagel. Motion carried.

Chairman Krug then called for the vote to approve the claims Paid in Vacation since the last meeting of the Board. Mr. Tolan moved to approve the Claims Paid in Vacation, which was seconded by Mr. Steffen. Chairman Krug asked if there were any claims to be added.

Mr. Logan moved to add two (2) claims from the Probation Department, both claims are for Cognitive Group Leaders for the FOP pay in the amount of $125.00 each, which was seconded by Mr. Nagel. Motion carried.

Mr. Logan stated on the claims paid in vacation, he would be voting yes for all claims with the exception of two (2) on the third page of the claims. Mr. Logan said the bottom two (2) claims; one for Hillary Aggertt in the amount of $15,533.56 and the other for Emily Kelly in the amount of $7,484.53. He went on to say he personally could not approve those claims.

Chairman Krug called for a motion to approve the claims as amended; motion carried.

Mr. Schertz presented and read Resolution 202020/2021-009 approving the payment of the Claims, which was seconded by Mr. Meinhold.

Chairman Krug called for a roll call vote. County Board Members voting Aye: Richard Hill, Autum Jones, John Krug, Barry Logan, David Meinhold, Charles Nagel, Jonathan Schertz, Jason Spence, Dan Steffen, Donald Tolan, Ansel Burditt, Albert Durst, and Justin Faulk. County Board Members voting Nay: None. County Board Members absent: Blake Parsons, excused; and Jerry Smith, excused. Motion 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 December 31, 2020 was presented. Treasurer Andrews stated the overall fund balance shows an increase of just over $194,000 for the month of December, which she felt it was a good month. Ms. Andrews stated as of January 5, 2021 all 5 participating businesses have received their downstate small business grant funding; the County was a pass-through for this funding and in total there was $106,700 passed through to those businesses. Ms. Andrews stated the Departments Heads have been working with several Board Members on a proposal for the non-union employees pay increases and should be bringing something to the full Board within the next month or two. She stated the County audit is underway and going well, however there will be a need this year for a single audit in addition to the standard audit. Ms. Andrews stated this is a result of having more than $750,000 in Federal funding; the Cure Program, as well as the Contract Tracing Program put the County over. She stated this will cost the County more in auditing fees this year, approximately $8,000 to $12,000 more.

Mr. Spence moved to place all of the Treasurer’s reports on file, which motion was seconded by Mrs. Jones and was unanimously carried.

The following communication will be placed on file for the regular meeting of the January 19, 2021 County Board meeting:

∙ IRS standard mileage rates for 2021.

∙ The Illinois Department of Corrections Inspection Report of the Woodford County Jail. 

∙ Minutes of the Road and Bridge Committee meeting held December 8, 2020.

∙ Minutes of the Public Safety Committee meeting held December 7, 2020.

∙ Minutes of the County Offices Committee meeting held December 8, 2020.

∙ Minutes of the Finance & Economic Development Committee held on December 8, 2020. 

∙ Minutes of the Conservation, Planning, and Zoning Committee held on September 9, 2020.

Mr. Schertz moved to place all correspondence on file, which motion was seconded by Mr. Tolan and was unanimously carried.

The respective Chairmen gave the reports of each Standing Committee.

Chairwomen Andrews reported for the Health Care Committee (Health Insurance Committee). Chairwoman Andrews reported they did not meet last Wednesday because there were not important items to put on the agenda. Chairwomen Andrews did give an overview of fund balances how they did decrease and the expectation of some of those funds coming back from reinsurance proceeds. Chairwomen Andrews gave an explanation of how the Self-Funded Insurance flowed so as the new County Board Members would have a better understanding of how the County’s Health Insurance worked.

Mr. Hill, Chairman of the Road & Bridge Committee, reported they accepted a bid for a Wheel Loader stating it was one of the larger equipment expenses they have needed to make. Mr. Hill reported on the need to keep their trucks up to date, keeping trucks in rotation so they are not having more repairs than necessary. Mr. Hill stated they are renewing the idea of getting a new shed in place explaining how the old shed is not working well and the cost effectiveness of adding on to the current shed or building a new one. Mr. Hill gave an overview of the seal coating that will take place over the summer on County roads.

Mr. Spence, Chairman of the County Offices Committee, reported their Committee reviewed two Devnet contracts the Assessor’s Office use to help with the work in their office how Ms. Goff suggested that those two contracts be combined netting a cost savings of about $5,000.00.

Mr. Nagel, Chairman of the Finance Committee, announced Autum Jones was elected to be their Vice Chair for their Committee. Mr. Nagel gave an update on the Revolving Loan Fund progress reporting on the percentages of where they stand with those projects and the development timeline of when to expect them to be implemented. Mr. Nagel reported on the non-union pay or Salary Equalization Project that Department Heads have been working on Thanking all involved and will hopefully have more to bring to the Board for approval next month.

Mr. Logan, Chairman of the Public Safety Committee, announced Mr. Tolan accepted the position of Vice-Chair for their Committee. Mr. Logan reported on a correction to their Committee meeting minutes how he felt the error needed to be corrected concerning the payment received by Ms. Hillary Aggertt, Administrator for the Woodford County Health Department, how that payment was understated in the minutes. Mr. Logan stated the correct figure amount so the Committee had the right information concerning payment made to her. Mr. Durst directed a question to Sheriff Matt Smith in regards to new legislation that passed on how Law Enforcement will be conducted and the impact it will have on our Communities.

Sheriff Matt Smith stated they don’t fully understand all the Legislature further stating he is consulting with States’ Attorney Greg Minger and the Illinois Sheriffs Association and other entities that are dissecting this further reporting there were a couple things pulled out of Legislation which was good but at the end of the day this is bad Legislation and it is not going to help Law Enforcement or the cause that they thought it was going to help. Sheriff Matt Smith summed it up by stating what they are trying to do is legally defund the Police further stating that is not going to help the cause; how the Sheriffs Association, the Illinois Police Association have come out with multiple FOP Organizations, the PBPA have all come out with better Police reform through training; how they are all on board with that further stating when you are trying to take away immunity and you don’t understand what it is and trying to sell it to the Public that Police officers are getting some kind of free ride; how that is not true how that is not what immunity is about and the battles ahead not knowing how long this is going to go on.

Mr. Nagel reported for the Conservation Planning and Zoning Committee, in Mr. Parsons’s absence. Mr. Nagel reported they have been dealing with an issue that revolves around Solar Energy and setbacks as they relate to Municipalities how that will be an ongoing discussion.

Chairman Krug called for Public Announcements.

Mr. Steffen announced Mr. Whitaker had spoken with him about his office space being available for purchase for anyone interested.

Chairman Krug called for a motion to go into Executive Session.

Mr. Nagel moved to go into Executive Session under 5 ILCS 120/2 (c) 11 Litigation, which was seconded by Mr. Logan.

Chairman Krug called for a roll call vote. County Board Members voting Aye: Autum Jones, John Krug, Barry Logan, David Meinhold, Charles Nagel, Jonathan Schertz, Jason Spence, Dan Steffen, Donald Tolan, Ansel Burditt, Albert Durst, Justin Faulk, and Richard Hill. County Board Members voting Nay: None. County Board Members absent: Blake Parsons, excused; and Jerry Smith, excused. Motion Carried.

Entered into Executive Session at 8:05 PM.

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

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

Mr. Logan moved to adjourn until 6:30 P.M. the third Tuesday in February, A.D. 2021 same being the 16th day of said month, which motion was seconded by Mr. Nagel and was unanimously carried.

Chairman Krug announced the Board adjourned at approximately 8:18 PM.

http://www.woodford-county.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_01192021-1144