PROCEEDINGS OF THE
STATE OF
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Proceedings of the
regular meeting of the Knox County Board held at the Knox County Courthouse,
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Allen Pickrel and upon roll
call the following members reported present:
District
2 Greg Bacon
District
3 Paul Hevland
District
4
District
5 Gerald
“Jerry” Link
District
1 Allen Pickrel
District
2 Paul Stewart
District
3 Dale Parsons
District
4 George Knapp
District
5 Ricardo
“Rick” Sandoval
District
1 Lyle Johnson
District
2 William
“Bill” Abel
District
3 Janet Occhi
District
4 Wayne Saline
District
5 Stephen
“Steve” Johnson
And
those absent: District 1
Caroline Porter
Also present were Sheriff James Thompson and County Clerk Scott Erickson.
Sheriff James Thompson delivered the proclamation. Chairman Pickrel led
the Members in the pledge to the flag. Darrell Hughes, from Bethel Baptist
Church of Galesburg, delivered the invocation.
Chairman Pickrel asked for additions to the agenda. Member Bacon asked
that agenda item 23, approval of the union agreement with Laborer’s Local 538,
be removed from this agenda.
Chairman
Pickrel asked for public comment. Marianne Wiesen introduced an international
exchange student from
Chairman Pickrel presented for approval the following items of the
consent agenda: 1) minutes of the Closed Board and Regular Board Meeting held
December 27, 2006 and the Special Board Meeting held January 10, 2007, 2) claims
by Members for per diem and mileage for the Meeting of January 24, 2007, and 3)
sales tax and various taxes for the month of October 2006 in the amounts of
$80,370.79 and $17,305.37 and public safety tax in the amount of $70,993.66.
Motion was made by Member Steve Johnson and seconded by Member Parsons to
approve these measures. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bacon,
Hevland, Mannhardt, Link, Pickrel, Stewart, Parsons, Knapp, Sandoval, Lyle
Johnson, Abel, Occhi, Saline, and Steve Johnson—(14). Noes—(0). Motion
carried.
Greg Mangieri, Guy Vitale, and Linda Utsinger presented the quarterly
GREDA report. Ms. Utsinger reported that the
Recently MSI purchased the building previously owned by Illinois Power
located on
Greg Mangieri spoke of his two trips to
Guy Vitale spoke of the recent interest in establishing bio-fuel plants.
Dial has an option on land near Abingdon. Other companies have also expressed
interest in bio-fuel plants in this area. Once the studies have been completed,
it is still an investment of millions and millions of dollars. He is hesitant to
say that
Mr. Vitale explained that the
The Ad Hoc Building Committee report was presented by committee chairman
Steve Johnson. He reminded Members of the information included in the Member
packets. The committee reviewed the architect’s blueprints for the sallyport
at the Mary Davis Home. The committee also discussed the failed plans for the
scale house/office building at the landfill. The committee’s recommendation is
to request a bid from the same architect that prepared the plans for the
sallyport at the Mary Davis Home, to prepare a proposal for this structure at
the landfill. They are seeking a more affordable solution to this problem than
what has previously been purposed.
Committee chairman Steve Johnson presented for discussion the retention
of Ament, Inc. to prepare a proposal for the scale house/office building at the
landfill. The Building Committee recommends this action. A project book will be
included in the next Member packet. The committee is purposing a 20” X 40”
building. Ament, Inc. is quoting a fee of $10,000 to prepare these plans.
Motion was made by Member Steve Johnson and seconded by Member Link to
approve to bid and bring back for the sallyport addition to the Mary Davis Home
using the proposal from Ament, Inc. This is the Building Committee’s
recommendation. The architect estimates the total cost will be $200,000.
Previously the Board had voted to borrow funds for this purpose. Voice vote is
recorded as follows: Ayes—(14). Noes—(0). Motion carried.
Committee chairman Steve Johnson announced that the next meeting of the
Ad Hoc Building Committee will be held February 22,
Member Steve Johnson presented an update on various upcoming United
Counties Council of Illinois (UCCI) Workshops. Information is included in the
Member packets. He has previously attended other UCCI Workshops and found the
information to be quite valuable. There is no cost to the County to attend these
workshops. Member Occhi agreed that excellent information is provided through
these seminars.
The Finance, Insurance, Treasurer, Judicial, and Clerk Committee report
was presented by committee chairman Wayne Saline. The minutes of this meeting
are included in the Member packets. Most of the things that the committee
discussed are action items. Regarding the budget, we should be at the 8.33%
level of revenue over expenses. Neither the revenue nor the expenses are where
they should be. However, it is too early in the fiscal year to project a
definite direction or trend. There were some large bills paid in December that
are annual expenses.
Motion was made by Member Saline and seconded by Member Parsons to
approve the intergovernmental fund transfer for the nursing home, regarding the
County’s contributions to the Medicaid reimbursement of county nursing homes.
The State is changing their methodology and additional paperwork will be
involved. Member Saline, Ms. Wiesen and the State’s Attorney’s Office are
studying these requirements. Treasurer Robin Davis stated that she had been
consulting with Mr. Stone, Ms. Wiesen, and the Department of Public Aid. She
purposes adding another expense line to the nursing home account and to begin
transferring money to the State. In order to offset this expense, the
Motion was made by Member Saline and seconded by Member Bacon to approve
the pay schedule for the State’s Attorney’s Office as established on
Motion was made by Member Occhi and seconded by Member Steve Johnson to
approve the resolution on documentation of accrued benefits reporting. Treasurer
Robin Davis stated that this resolution would direct department heads and
elected officials to abide by the policies set forth by the County and the
Illinois Department of Labor in reporting accrued benefits. This documentation
will result in better control over benefit hours and wellness bonuses. A copy of
this resolution is included in the Member packets. Member Occhi stated that this
resolution would help the County settle disputed claims, as there would be a
paper trail. Roll call vote to approve this measure is recorded as follows:
Ayes—Bacon, Hevland, Mannhardt, Link, Pickrel, Stewart, Parsons, Knapp,
Sandoval, Lyle Johnson, Abel, Occhi, Saline, and Steve Johnson—(14).
Noes—(0). Motion carried.
Motion was made by Member Occhi and seconded by Member Abel to approve
the resolutions for the sale and deeds for property sold at the Knox County
Trustee Auction. County Clerk Scott Erickson explained that these resolutions
involve several parcels of property which were sold by sealed bids and would
allow for the properties to be deeded to the new owners and placed back on the
tax rolls and will be voted on as a group. This is a normal housekeeping
measure. Specific financial information is contained in the Member packets.
(Individual resolutions including specific parcel numbers for these 19 parcels
will be on file in the
Motion was made by Member Steve Johnson and seconded by Member Lyle
Johnson to approve the amendments to the Knox County Board Rules of Operation.
County Clerk Scott Erickson reminded Members that since the Board has returned
to the committee system, changes must be made in the operation rules. These
rules with the proposed changes are included in the Member packets. Roll call
vote to approve these amendments is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bacon, Hevland,
Mannhardt, Link, Pickrel, Stewart, Parsons, Knapp, Sandoval, Lyle Johnson, Abel,
Occhi, Saline, and Steve Johnson—(14). Noes—(0). Motion carried.
Motion was made by Member Saline and seconded by Member Mannhardt to
approve monthly recurring bills authorized to be paid in vacation. Committee
chairman Saline explained that since now the Board is only meeting once a month,
these approved voucher types will be paid during the month in a separate bill
run to avoid late fees or statutory limitations. Specific information is
included in the Member packets, as some department heads submitted examples of
bills that would need to be paid in vacation. Member Mannhardt asked that these
paid in vacation bills be listed on a separate summary sheet and included in the
packets with the other Board bills. County Clerk Scott Erickson said that a
separate summary sheet could be drawn up. Member Steve Johnson stated that while
he understands that necessity of paying bills in vacation, he would be voting
against this measure, as he hates paying bills in vacation. Member Stewart
stated that there was insufficient information contained in the packets. He
couldn’t determine which bills this would include or how much the total would
be. Nor is there specific budget information for each of these bills and how it
relates. Member Saline said that the finance committee could prepare a cover
sheet each month for these bills showing the various appropriations. He reported
that although most bills would be about the same amount each month, the amount
for the landfill bill could vary. Roll call vote to approve this measure is
recorded as follows: Ayes—Bacon, Hevland, Mannhardt, Link, Pickrel, Parsons,
Knapp, Sandoval, Lyle Johnson, Occhi, and Saline—(11). Noes—Stewart, Abel,
and Steve Johnson—(3). Motion carried.
Chairman Pickrel asked other department heads and elected officials as
soon as possible to turn in to the
Committee chairman Saline introduced for discussion the information
technology position for the County. He reminded Members that no action has been
taken on this position since four candidates were interviewed by the full Board
last fall. The committee has not received performance evaluations regarding R
Cubed Technologies. In committee discussions, their recommendation was to bring
this back to the full Board and invite the remaining two candidates to attend
the full Board Executive Meeting February 28. We need to decide how to proceed
with this matter, whether to remain with R Cubed Technologies or hire one of
these candidates. Either way whether an IT person is hired or the County remains
with R Cubed Technologies; there will not be much of a budgetary difference.
Motion was made by Member Saline and seconded by Member Sandoval to
approve to bid and bring back for County Cost/Fee Study. Previously Maximus had
submitted an estimate of $15,000 to complete a county wide fee study. Member
Steve Johnson expressed concern that not enough preparation had been done to
determine which fees needed to be studied and bid out. The Sheriff’s bond cost
study would be excluded from this general cost study, as it would be done
separately. Member Saline stated that there are 30 or more fees that are
collected by the County, but not all of them would be worth studying. Motion was
made by Member Steve Johnson to table this measure until the next meeting. The
Board needs to decide which fees should be studied and bid out. The original
motion was rescinded.
The Sheriff, Jail, Courthouse, Animal Control, Mary Davis Home,
Courthouse and Annex Committee report was presented by committee chairman Steve
Johnson. The minutes of this meeting are included in the Board packets. The
committee did vote unanimously to approve spending $2,500.00 on a cost study
with Robin Johnson for the Sheriff’s Department for the bonding fee at the
jail. In 2006, 2,119 bonds were accepted at the jail. The current fee schedule
to accept that bond is $12.74, which was determined by a cost study done several
years ago. This generates an annual income of $26,996.00. The Sheriff and the
committee believe that after a cost study is done that fee could be raised to
$15.00, which would be an increase of $2.26. This proposed increase would
generate annual fees in the amount of $31,785.00, or an increase of $4,789.00.
This would be more than enough to pay the fee for the cost study.
Committee
chairman Steve Johnson addressed the problem with the sidewalk in front of the
Annex. Although he plans to talk to the city about this to determine who owns
the sidewalk and whose responsibility it is to repair it, he has not yet done
so. Realistically, nothing can be done to repair it until spring. Annex
employees are sprinkling salt on the sidewalk as needed.
Motion was made by Member Steve Johnson and seconded by Member Sandoval
to approve to bid and bring back for opening of the internal downspouts at the
Courthouse. When the Courthouse was originally constructed, it was built with
internal downspouts. There has been some significant water damage to the walls
of the Courthouse, especially on the upper flours. Someone years ago poured
concrete down some of those downspouts and blocked them. Therefore, when it
rains the water has nowhere to go and seeps through the walls. Sheriff Thompson
explained during the committee meeting that the gutters need to be cleared of
debris prior to repair or painting. Voice vote is recorded as follows:
Ayes—(14). Noes—(0). Motion carried.
The Highway, Assessor, Zoning, GIS, and Recorder Committee report was
presented by committee chairman Jerry Link. The minutes of this meeting are
included in the Board packets. Regarding the assessor’s report, Mrs. Skinner
will be retiring at the conclusion of her contract which expires at the end of
December 2007. The committee discussed the time table to get the tax notices
out. Neither Assessor Joyce Skinner nor the multi-township Assessors will be
signing the Assessor’s oath of accuracy. Mrs. Skinner felt that there was
insufficient time to check values and make corrections or determine the township
multipliers.
The
committee had a lengthy discussion regarding the bid from ESRI for the ArcGIS
software. The committee does recommend that purchase. There was also a lot of
discussion concerning a bill for the mapping license in the amount of $1,900,
which had not been budgeted for either the Assessor’s Office or the GIS
Office. The committee decided that this year this fee would be paid out of the
GIS budget. This expense does need to be included in next year’s budget for
the either the Recorder’s Office or the Assessor’s Office.
The
complete highway department report is included in the packets. Committee
chairman Link thanked Mr. Ratermann for including the additional information.
The
Chairman Pickrel presented an update on the tax bill process. He reported
that he had spoken with Joyce Skinner and others trying to come up with a
workable plan to get the tax bills out. He reported that Mrs. Skinner did not
feel comfortable signing off on the taxes on January 19. Instead they have
purposed February 2, as the alternate date to publish; as Mrs. Skinner feels
more comfortable with this date. They may be finished checking the amounts
before that date. Chairman Pickrel expressed his appreciation to everybody who
communicated this problem and were willing to work together to try to resolve
this problem.
Motion
was made by Member Link and seconded by Member Sandoval to approve the Public
Assistance Grant. This grant concerns the snowstorm of December 1, 2006.
President Bush declared a snow emergency for
Motion was made by Member Link and seconded by Member Parsons to approve
the low bid submitted by Knapheide Equipment Company in the amount of $7,100.00
for the installation of a dump body and hydraulic system on a newly purchased
highway department truck. The amount of $10,000.00 is included in the highway
fund budget for equipment replacement. Roll call vote to approve this bid is
recorded as follows: Ayes—Bacon, Hevland, Mannhardt, Link, Pickrel, Stewart,
Parsons, Knapp, Sandoval, Lyle Johnson, Abel, Occhi, Saline, and Steve
Johnson—(14). Noes—(0). Motion carried.
Motion was made by Member Parsons and seconded by Member Stewart to
approve to bid and bring back for a new chip spreader and a new 20 ton tag
trailer for the highway department. The budgeted amount is $150,000.00 for the
chip spreader and $20,000.00 for the trailer. These funds are included in the
highway fund budget. Voice vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—(14). Noes—(0).
Motion carried.
Motion was made by Member Link and seconded by Member Occhi to approve
the bid for ArcGIS server software from ESRI (Environmental Systems Research
Institute, Inc.) at an estimated cost of $20,014.28. This expenditure will come
from the hardware/software line item in the GIS budget. After this purchase,
$20,485.72 will be remaining in this line item. The committee’s recommendation
is to approve this bid.
Member Steve Johnson questioned if this software would be compatible with
the effected computers. Chris Wood responded that five computers will need to be
upgraded at an estimated cost of $77.00 each. R Cubed Technologies will be doing
these upgrades and the funds will come out of the GIS budget. Roll call vote to
approve this bid is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bacon, Hevland, Mannhardt, Link,
Pickrel, Stewart, Parsons, Knapp, Sandoval, Lyle Johnson, Abel, Occhi, Saline,
and Steve Johnson—(14). Noes—(0). Motion carried.
Motion was made by Member Stewart and seconded by Member Steve Johnson to
approve a major subdivision development within the city limits of Williamsfield.
Joyce Skinner reported that this subdivision would consist of 20 acres and 17
lots, and is located in a cull de sac. These lots would have city water and
sewer. She and Zoning Administrator Mary Christie have gone out to inspect this
site, have reviewed the paperwork, and found everything to be in order. Members
did see the professional plans for this development.
Members
also read copies of the covenant agreement. Member Bacon stated that he would be
voting against this subdivision as he disagrees with the terms of the covenant
agreement, which restrict a person’s ability to be themselves. Chairman
Pickrel agreed and stated that he would also be voting against this subdivision
because of the restrictions stated in this covenant agreement. However, he is
happy to see some development. Member Lyle Johnson and Member Stewart stated
that these covenant restrictions are known by the owner when they purchase the
property. Roll call vote to approve this subdivision is recorded as follows:
Ayes—Hevland, Mannhardt, Link, Stewart, Parsons, Knapp, Sandoval, Lyle
Johnson, Abel, Occhi, Saline, and Steve Johnson—(12). Noes—Bacon and
Pickrel—(2). Motion carried.
The Nursing Home and Landfill Committee report was presented by committee
chairman Lowell Mannhardt. The minutes of the committee meeting are included in
the Member packets. He began by discussing the fuel bids for the highway
department and the landfill. Previously Mr. Larson was given the authority to
bid and accept the best fuel bids. This time three bids were submitted and the
low bid was accepted from Herr Petroleum. The bids are included in the packets.
Motion was made by Member Sandoval and seconded by Member Stewart to
approve the purchase of a waste oil heater for the new shop building at the
landfill. Although the committee could have voted to approve this purchase, they
wanted to bring it to the full Board. Roll call vote to approve this purchase is
recorded as follows: Ayes—Bacon, Hevland, Mannhardt, Link, Pickrel, Stewart,
Parsons, Knapp, Sandoval, Lyle Johnson, Abel, Occhi, Saline, and Steve
Johnson—(14). Noes—(0). Motion carried.
Mr. Larson reported that bids to provide electricity to this building would be published January 29 and 30.
Motion was made by Member Saline and seconded by Member Parsons to
approve to bid and bring back for engineering services and design of the HVAC
system at the nursing home as per suggested option B. A thorough HVAC system
review was conducted by IEFM, consulting engineers. Their evaluation is included
in the Member packets, which contains three options. Their recommendation is
option B, with alternates. The present system is 40 years old and needs to be
upgraded. There was a near crisis heat emergency situation last summer. Voice
vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—(14). Noes—(0). Motion carried.
Motion was made by Member Parsons and seconded by Member Hevland to
approve physical therapy services with Cottage Rehab Services & Advanced
Therapy. This is the committee’s recommendation. Dr. Carl Strauch also
recommended this company. Five bids were submitted. Ms. Wiesen stated that this
is the lowest bid. Roll call vote to approve this measure is recorded as
follows: Ayes—Bacon, Hevland, Mannhardt, Link, Pickrel, Stewart, Parsons,
Knapp, Sandoval, Lyle Johnson, Abel, Occhi, Saline, and Steve Johnson—(14).
Noes—(0). Motion carried.
On other nursing home business, Committee chairman Mannhardt reported
that the farmland tenant has expressed his desire to continue to rent the
property for the coming season.
The next Landfill, Nursing Home Committee meeting will be held February
15, 2007, 6:00 p.m., at the Landfill Office, located at the Health Department.
Motion was made by Member Steve Johnson and seconded by Member Parsons to
approve the claims against
STATEMENTS OF
GENERAL CONCERN
Member Bacon, Member Hevland, and Member Mannhardt
had no comments at this time.
Member
Link commented that it would take a month or so to get back into the routine of
the committee system. He thinks that Members will have a lot more information
and all the Members will be more knowledgeable.
Chairman
Pickrel echoed those thoughts. Everyone did a great job with their minutes.
Everyone can look through their packets and see what went on in the other
committees. We are only going to improve from here. Things will get better and
become more streamlined. We are receiving much more information than we had been
receiving in a long time. That is really nice to see. He is still investigating
how to get the road to the nursing home cleaned earlier. Since some of the
committee meetings are held at the Annex, he addressed the need for committee
chairmen to have keys to that building.
Member Stewart commented that during the committee meeting for the
Sheriff, Jail, Courthouse, Animal Control, Mary Davis Home, Courthouse and
Annex, he was encouraged by the fact that department heads were willing to
provide some additional information regarding what line items their expenses
would be taken out of. He was hoping for that. This is an example of how having
a
Member Parsons, Member Knapp, Member Sandoval, Member Lyle Johnson, and
Member Abel had no comments at this time.
Member Occhi commented that she liked seeing the Mother Bickerdyke statue
on the cover of the budget packets.
Member Saline had no comments at this time.
Member Steve Johnson announced that the Sheriff, Jail, Courthouse, Animal
Control, Mary Davis Home, Courthouse and Annex Committee will meet February 19,
6:00 p.m. at the Mary Davis Home. The Ad Hoc Building Committee will meet
February 22, 6:00 p.m. at the Annex.
Chairman Pickrel announced that the next regular meeting will be held on
Wednesday, February 28, 2007, 6:00 p.m. at the Knox County Courthouse,
Motion was made by Member Sandoval and seconded by Member Occhi to
adjourn. Voice vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—(14). Noes—(0). Motion
carried. Meeting adjourned at 7:55 p.m.