Peoria Standard

Peoria County Board - Executive Committee met Dec. 3.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

Attendance

Present:

Members: Jennifer Groves Allison, Eden Blair, Brandy Bryant, Camille Coates, Linda Daley, Jimmy Dillon, Betty Duncan, Danny Phelan, Rob Reneau, Steve Rieker, Paul Rosenbohm, Phil Salzer, Sharon Williams

Staff & Guests:

Scott Sorrel, Shauna Musselman, Jennie Cordis Boswell, Marcia McCann, Terry Ruhland, Andre Allen, Nicole Bjerke, Andrew Braun, Jeff Gilles, Bob Hammitt, Julie Kusturin, Heather McCord, Amy McLaren, Scott, Mettille, Gretchen Pearsall, Kristin Terry, Pastor Chuck Brown, Megan Bentley

Absent:

Members: Daniel Kelch, Matt Windish

I. CALL TO ORDER

The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Dillon at 3:07 p.m.

II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

A motion to approve the minutes of October 29, 2024, was made by Member Blair and was seconded by Member Duncan.

Motion carried. (13-0)

III. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/REPORTS/OTHER MINUTES/UPDATES

Chairperson Dillon moved to receive and file the informational items.

A. Springdale Cemetery Minutes

B. Long-Term Care Services Fund Report

C. American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Summary

D. Peoria County Enterprise Zone Report

IV. RESOLUTIONS

A. Harvest Supermarket Grant

A motion to approve the resolution was made by Member Blair and was seconded by Member Coates.

Mr. Sorrel advised the recommendation is a grant in the amount of $200,000.00 to CJ Harvest Supermarket, LLC. The funding source is the American Rescue Plan Act Fund (ARPA). This is a consensus of the Board at the most recent ARPA policy discussion. The grant will be used to match funds for a $1.6 million dollar grant from the State of Illinois and their Grocery Store Initiative grant-making program. The only stipulation on this grant is that the proceeds do need to be used as the match for the State’s grant in that the guidelines in the grant agreement from the State must be followed. Mr. Sorrel stood for questions.

Chairperson Dillon recognized Chuck Brown, the owner; Kristin Terry; and Shawn Park who helped tremendously.

Motion carried. (13-0)

B. Harvest Supermarket Loan

A motion to approve the resolution was made by Member Blair and was seconded by Member Coates.

Mr. Sorrel presented a slide deck discussing the funding source, the loan process and he also discussed the County State Capital Improvement (Keystone) Guidelines, as well as prior loans. Mr. Sorrel gave an overview of the Harvest Supermarket funding plan. He also directed the committee to the provided materials in the packet.

Chairperson Dillon called for questions from the committee.

Member Blair advised that the committee had talked with the owner about financial projections and their business model prior to the discussion recommending the loan.

Member Rieker thanked the owner and advisors for meeting with him a few weeks ago, as well as Member Blair and Administration.

Chairperson Dillon discussed the history behind the Harvest Supermarket plans. Motion carried. (13-0)

C. Bid #01-06-24 Award for Stormwater Improvements at Peoria Riverfront Museum

A motion to approve the resolution was made by Member Reneau and was seconded by Member Groves Allison.

Mr. Sorrel advised this is to award a bid to Knapp Concrete for stormwater improvements that need to be made at the Museum. The source of funds is the Peoria Riverfront Museum Capital Fund (PRM). Since opening, there have been two or three major rain events and two significant water main breaks on Liberty Street, which is uphill from the Museum. The Museum’s loading dock is downhill from Liberty Street and is accessed from Liberty Street. During each event, the loading dock has been either completely or partially filled with water. On one occasion, water got into the building. We retained Dewberry, the architect that designed the Museum, they evaluated the issues and developed some solutions; the solution is to make changes and improvements to storm water systems that were installed when the Museum was constructed. This was put out for bid; Knapp Concrete was the low bidder in the amount of $44,825.00.

Chairperson Dillon called for questions from the committee.

Motion carried (13-0)

D. Rural Peoria County Broadband Program Administration Agreement

A motion to approve the resolution was made by Member Groves Allison and was seconded by Member Williams.

Mr. Sorrel advised Comcast has continued to apply for Connect Illinois funding, the State’s broadband grant program. The total match that the Board awarded to Comcast for this project was $1,669,170.00 but this was contingent upon them receiving a grant award. The State has gone through four iterations of Connect Illinois and our three projects in rural Peoria County have not been selected. If this is approved, we will enter into an agreement with Greater Peoria Economic Development Council (GPEDC) to have them administer our rural broadband project. The agreement will obligate the dollars, so we will be compliant with the Treasury guidelines, and we will issue payment to GPEDC.

They must provide us with an investment policy which they are creating. If Comcast receives funding from the BEADS funding from the Federal government or Connect Illinois for any of our three projects between now and October 2025, the GPEDC will pay Comcast all or a share of the $1.67 million dollars.

Chairperson Dillon called for questions from the committee.

Mr. Dillon shared concerns about being able to allocate the funds towards infrastructure projects.

Mr. Sorrel advised the Board can pivot its policy direction and if Comcast still has not been awarded grant dollars by October 2025, we will bring back to the committee and you can give us direction at that time.

Chairperson Dillon asked if the EDC would receive the money as payment and keep the interest earned income.

Mr. Sorrel confirmed.

Motion carried (13-0)

E. Contract for Consultant-Led Comprehensive Planning process with Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, not to exceed $300,000.00.

A motion to approve the resolution was made by Member Daley and was seconded by Member Phelan.

Mr. Braun advised Planning and Zoning has tried for two years to find creative ways to fund the Comprehensive Plan Update. This plan is used every month in the planner’s reports for the zoning cases. In this year’s plan, there is no reference to renewable energy or broadband. Planning and Zoning is requesting to use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, not to exceed $300,000.00. We would enter a contract with Tri-County Regional Planning, and they will take on all administrative duties, reporting, requests for proposal, vending solutions, etc.

Chairperson Dillon called for questions from the committee; there were none.

Motion carried (13-0)

F. Construction Manager Contract Award

A motion to approve the resolution was made by Member Salzer and was seconded by Member Duncan.

Mr. Sorrel advised we created a scope of work and services and issued a Request for Proposals. Six vendors responded, five of them are local to our community. We interviewed the top three respondents. The recommendation is to award two contracts: One for all projects at courthouse, the recommended vendor is Core Construction. We estimate over the next several years, $10-11 million dollars of work that are subject to this contract. The second award for all our other facilities is for PJ Hoerr. We estimate that contract could be worth $9.5-10 million dollars over the next several years.

This award specifically excludes the bigger jail costs, that will be a stand-alone project in the future. Projects at PCAPS, the JDC, and the Highway Department are included. Where applicable and appropriate, both PJ Hoerr and Core Construction are able perform projects on a design build basis, we will not need an architect unless necessary. They will develop a budget for individual projects as those projects come forward.

Chairperson Dillon called for questions from the committee.

Member Daley asked if we would have an owner’s representative for these projects.

Chairperson Dillon advised that would be the position funded in the budget that will be reporting to Administrator Sorrel.

Member Daley stated she wants to define exactly what that person does.

Member Rieker stated that he has the same question.

Chairperson Dillon advised the idea for that position was to have a person that can handle projects such as economic development projects. This position would also be the owner’s representative. This is going to be funded by ARPA dollars leading into full capital dollars.

Mr. Sorrel advised the job description has been rewritten to reflect wishes of the Board. If the position is not filled by end of year, we cannot use ARPA dollars.

Member Daley asked exactly what the job description is.

Mr. Sorrel advised that the primary responsibilities of position will include project management of capital projects, supervision of Mr. Kerley and facilities team, any economic development project or special project. Qualifications will include knowledge and background in construction or architecture, project management skills. It will most likely require a bachelor’s degree.

Member Daley inquired as to whether this person would go to project meetings in the same way Member Ruhland goes to HHS campus meetings.

Mr. Sorrel confirmed.

Member Rieker asked which committee will oversee these projects.

Chairperson Dillon advised the Board will oversee these projects.

Member Williams advised it was decided that this person will report to Infrastructure and Executive Committees.

Chairperson Dillon pointed out that Member Ruhland has gone above and beyond in his two years on the Board, and he expressed his gratitude to Member Ruhland.

Motion carried (13-0)

G. Bid Letting for Highway Department Maxwell Station Salt Storage Building A motion to approve the resolution was made by Member Salzer and was seconded by Member Rosenbohm.

Mr. Gilles advised the existing salt dome is in poor condition and needs to be replaced. Mr. Gilles provided specs on the new salt storage building. A bid letting was held on November 18th and Hein Construction was the low bidder at $1,150,000.00. At the time of the bid, we did not have soil borings done yet and all bidders were instructed to assume a foundation depth of 20 feet. Once the borings are completed, they will be analyzed to ensure that is the correct depth. We are adding a contingency of $100,000.00 to increase the foundation depth if necessary.

Chairperson Dillon called for questions from the committee.

Member Rosenbohm asked who the building is made by.

Mr. Gilles advised they do not have that information yet.

Chairperson Dillon advised there are three to four suppliers, that was by Dewberry, so it will be one of them unless an alternate was chosen.

Member Rieker inquired as to whether the existing salt dome removal is part of the bid.

Mr. Gilles confirmed. He advised the new building and any salt left in the dome will move to the new building, then the old dome will be removed.

Member Rieker asked if the new dome will meet existing needs.

Mr. Gilles confirmed.

Motion carried (13-0)

H. Bid Letting for Highway Department Maxwell Station Fuel Island Replacement A motion to approve the resolution was made by Member Salzer and was seconded by Member Rosenbohm.

Ms. McLaren advised at the Maxwell Station there is a fueling system that provides fuel for most county vehicles. The tanks were installed in the early 1980s. There have been repair issues with the sumps, pumps, and other items around the fueling site. She stated this is in the Facilities Master Plan. We are looking to replace tanks and the fuel island in same location it is in now. We are also requesting a temporary tank for diesel fuel during construction. We had one bidder, Illinois Oil Marketing, with a base bid at $886,661.35. We are requesting an optional tank rental at $16,910.00. For a contingency, if there is any soil clean up, we are asking for $90,000.00 for a total of $993,571.35 for a total with the majority coming from ARPA Funds and additional funds coming from the Capital Projects fund.

Chairperson Dillon called for questions from the committee.

Member Rosenbohm inquired as to the size of the temporary tank.

Ms. McLaren advised the temporal tank is 3500 gallons. The existing tanks are 10,000 gallons for the diesel and unleaded tanks.

Member Rosenbohm asked who the supplier for fuel is.

Mr. Hammitt advised it is Herr Petroleum out of Galesburg, Illinois.

Member Rosenbohm asked if they would provide a temporary tank for free.

Mr. Hammitt stated they do not currently have any tanks.

Ms. McLaren stated they are happy to talk to Herr Petroleum.

Member Rieker asked about soil borings to understand the condition around the tanks.

Ms. McLaren advised they have not done soil borings.

Member Rieker asked if this supplier perform the remediation.

Mr. Sorrel advised this was specified as a turnkey operation.

Motion carried. (13-0)

V. COMMITTEE ACTIONS

A. 2025-2026 Yearly Committee Calendar

Motion was made to approve the 2025-2026 Yearly Committee Calendar by Member Bryant and was seconded by Member Reneau.

Chairperson Dillon called for questions from the committee; there were none.

Motion carried. (13-0)

VI. DISCUSSION

A. Standing Committees

The following Standing Committee meetings were summarized by their respective Chairperson as follows:

Infrastructure

The following resolutions were recommended to the County Board for approval.

• 2025 General Maintenance Request for Quotations

• Peoria County Jail Ring Road Phase B

• Peoria County Probation Department Renovation

Ways and Means

The following resolutions were recommended to the County Board for approval.

• Monthly Delinquent Taxes

• Additional appropriation of $13,600.00 into the FY2024 bidget for the payment of additional rental space, CAM charges and back pay for insurance.

Land Use

The following were recommended to the County Board for approval.

Zoning Board of Appeals

• #ZBA-2024-071, Petition of Jonathan Bleichner

County Operations

The following resolutions were recommended to the County Board for approval.

• Approval of the 2025 Risk Management Excess Insurance

County Health

There were no resolutions.

Public Safety and Justice

The following resolutions were recommended to the County Board for approval.

• Microchip Donation Award

• Intergovernmental Agreements with Peoria County municipalities to provide animal control services.

Finance, Audit and Legislative Affairs

There were no resolutions.

VII. PUBLIC COMMENT

Chairperson Dillon called for public comments; there were none.

VIII. MISCELLANEOUS

Chairperson Dillon called for miscellaneous comments.

Member McCann thanked the Board for welcoming her.

Member Ruhland acknowledged Chairperson Dillon's thanks but wanted to give credit to others who cooperated well on the HHS project.

Member Reneau stated the largest live Christmas Tree was being lit this evening at 6:30 p.m. at the Riverfront Museum.

Chairperson Dillon reminded the committee that the NACo conference was budgeted, the legislative conference is upcoming. Members will be receiving an email from Mr. Sorrel or Ms. Bentley regarding this; interested members should respond to that email.

Member Reneau requested an update on the ClerkMate Software training.

Ms. Musselman provided a brief update.

IX. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned by Chairperson Dillon at 4:20 p.m.

https://www.peoriacounty.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_01072025-1700