Monroe County Board of County Commissioners met July 17.
Here is the minutes provided by the Board:
The meeting of the County Commissioners of Monroe County, Illinois was called to order at 9:00 a.m. Chairman Robert Elmore, Commissioner Delbert Wittenauer and Commissioner Vicki Koerber were present.
The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Others present included County Clerk Dennis Knobloch, Sheila Wetzler, along with Press Corps representatives – Joe Leicht of the Monroe County Independent and Alan Dooley of the Republic Times.
There being a quorum present, the meeting was called to order by Chairman Elmore.
There were no public comments.
The following Accounts Payable having been approved for payment, Commissioner Koerber moved that the same be allowed and that vouchers be issued against their respective funds of the County Treasurer for payment. Motion seconded by Commissioner Wittenauer, and so declared. All voting Aye, none Nay, and none Absent. Motion carried.
General Fund:
AT&T Mobility 2,359.12
Americom 687.10
Ann Rudloff 136.20
Belleville Supply Company 577.87
Blackbaud 4,461.25
Bob Brockland Buick GMC. 200.00
Bountiful Blossoms 74.45
Coast to Coast Equipment 68.53
CTS Group 196,415.54
Culligan-Schaefer Water Centers 82.64
Da Com Corporation 192.75
Debra Burckhardt 175.00
Drs. Beard & Holmen Ltd. 379.00
Egyptian Workspace Partners 197.94
Gateway FS 5,464.52
General Code 495.00
Grassman Lawncare Inc. 320.00
GreatAmerica Financial Services 178.49
Harrisonville Telephone Co 469.36
IL Office of State Fire Marshal 400.00
Kone Inc. 633.14
Leon Uniform Company Inc. 502.48
Linnemann Lawn Care & Landscaping 41.56
Locks A2Z 65.00
MAR Graphics 315.47
Marina Palmieri 97.50
Matthew Bender & Co. Inc. 254.10
May Pest Control LLC 240.00
Monroe County Electric Coop Inc. 437.50
Monroe County General Fund 3,600.00
Monroe County Independent 28.00
Motorola 2,402.75
Nabers Shop 18.50
Oak Hill 7,824.00
Otto Faulbaum 1,077.50
Prairie Farms Dairy Inc. 160.00
Quality Collision 2,066.22
Quill Corporation 231.89
Rahn’s Hometown Auto Repair 53.35
Randy Rudloff 2,015.00
Rejis Commission 1,813.00
Reliable Sanitation Service Inc. 2,599.12
Republic-Times LLC 50.00
Richland Pet Cremation & Memorials 4.52
Rudloff Plumbing 412.50
Schmersahl Treloar & Co 6,625.92
Schneider Quality Meats 4,992.00
Secure Document Destruction 40.00
Security Envelope Company 339.83
Sidebarr Technologies 300.00
St. Clair/Monroe County CASA 1,200.00
Sure Shine Auto Wash 1,477.30
Thomson Reuters-West Publishing Corp. 1,096.60
Tipton Systems 1,181.00
Toshiba Financial Services 492.00
Traughber & Morris Ltd 741.67
U. S. Bank Equipment Finance 256.82
V “Red” Smith 20.00
Vision Websoft 240.00
Waterloo Lumber Company Inc. 62.41
Wayne’s One Stop 3,949.79
Wex 119.16
Wightman Pharmacy 152.94
Ambulance Service Fund:
Airgas Mid America 467.96
Gateway FS 52.64
MABAS Division 32 175.00
Medpro Waste Disposal LLC 355.10
Midwest Warehouse & Storage Inc. 100.00
Monroe County General Fund 29,939.00
Warner Communications Corp. 297.25
Health Tax Fund:
Andrea Kohring 147.66
Culligan-Schaefer Water Centers 40.50
John Wagner 145.52
Mary Wheat 6.42
Monroe County Independent 28.00
Penny Dietz 40.66
Stericycle Inc. 278.52
Victoria Kehrer 3.21
Highway Fund:
Al’s Auto Waterloo 62.74
Ameren Illinois 42.22
Beelman Logistics LLC 2,003.38
Christ Bros. Asphalt Inc. 979.44
Columbia Quarry Company 127.75
CPR Plus 160.95
DataTronics Inc. 188.00
Fountain Water District 31.55
Gilbert Electric LLC 170.00
Iron Crafters Inc. 634.18
Leaf 299.00
Monroe County Electric Cooperative 767.88
Nu-Deal Oil Company 399.92
O’Reilly Auto Parts 16.87
Quill 53.88
Reliable Sanitation Service Inc. 50.60
Schaeffer Mfg. Co. 1,186.35
Sherwin Williams 614.70
Sidebarr Technologies 8.61
The Home City Ice Company 164.50
County Road Motor Fuel:
Columbia Quarry Company 911.82
JTC Petroleum Co. 44,080.15
Mississippi Lime Company 4,800.30
Monroe County Highway Fund 53,702.51
Road Motor Fuel:
Columbia Quarry Company 2,291.46
Recorder’s Document Fund:
Fidlar Technologies 1,725.50
Glen Mueller and Brenda Seboldt led a delegation of Monroe County Farm Bureau representatives to the meeting. The Farm Bureau was recognized for their 100th year of organization, and the group was presented with a certificate of recognition.
Chuck Etwert of the Southwestern Illinois Flood Prevention District, along with Monroe County representatives of that group, John Conrad and Bruce Brinkman, came to the meeting to discuss the current activity of the District. Also present for the discussion was Edie Koch. Mr. Etwert said currently they are improving 65 miles of levee from Alton to Columbia. He said currently the sales tax is being collected in the following increments – 46.4% of the total by St. Clair County, 48.8% of the total by Madison County and 4.8% of the total by Monroe County. Mr. Etwert said it has been challenging to satisfy the requirements of both FEMA and the Corps of Engineers. He said no levees have been raised as part of these improvements – it is all by relief wells, seepage berms, clay caps, pump stations, etc. John Conrad said things are going much better now than they did in the early years of the District, and after quite a bit of contentious discussion, the other two Counties now see Monroe County as an equal player in the program. Bruce Brinkman said his goal is to continue to work on this project and carry this effort to the south for the benefit of the other Monroe County levee districts.
Kim Keckritz came to the meeting to discuss Nursing Home business. She said the Holland representative did not come to today’s meeting. Financial and census information was discussed. Ms. Keckritz said she has been talking with a different pharmacy in the hope of getting better pricing due to volume. She said following IDPH reviews, Oak Hill is still carrying the 5-star status. Ms. Keckritz said the air handler for the main air conditioning unit went down, and they are trying to determine if it was part of the electrical problems at the Home. She said they are also having problems with the new paging/call light system, and if they want to use pagers, they will have to get a new transmitter. Ms. Keckritz said the other option would be to give all of the CNA’s phones that would stay in the facility, and that would be more economical than trying to resurrect the paging system.
Chairman Elmore said he is concerned that the Medicaid reimbursements will change, leaving the County with less funding. Motion was made by Commissioner Wittenauer, with a second by Commissioner Koerber to approve the Nursing Home bills. All voting Aye, none Nay and none Absent. Motion carried.
Motion was made by Commissioner Koerber, with a second by Commissioner Wittenauer to approve a Raffle Permit for St. Patrick Church at Tipton. All voting Aye, none Nay and none Absent. Motion carried.
The minutes of the July 3, 2017 regular meeting were approved with minor corrections upon motion by Commissioner Wittenauer, with a second by Commissioner Koerber. All voting Aye, none Nay and none Absent. Motion carried.
The minutes of the July 3, 2017 closed session meeting were approved upon motion by Commissioner Wittenauer, with a second by Commissioner Koerber. All voting Aye, none Nay and none Absent. Motion carried.
Dennis Knobloch said he is currently calculating tax rates and will transfer the information to the Treasurer’s office next week.
Commissioner Koerber said she wanted to recognize three separate celebrations of the upcoming August 21 eclipse – in Waterloo, in Columbia, and by Clifftop at the Fogelpole Cave property in the southern part of the County.
Harry Reichert, Charlotte Hoock and Mark Kempf were present to discuss the Miles Cemetery property. Also present was Kevin Koenigstein. Ms. Hoock explained that the slope on the west face of the Cemetery property is home to a very significant prairie area, about one acre in size. Debbie Newman of the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission was on hand to discuss the details of the property. Commissioner Koerber said she was concerned that in future years there may be some restrictions on the maintenance or development of the property.
Debbie Newman explained the interest of the INPC in regard to this property. She said that the most recent inventory of State hill prairie area shows about 500 acres of this type property left in the State, and about 39% of that acreage is here in a corridor that stretches from southern St. Clair County, south through Monroe County and into northern Randolph County. The Miles Cemetery property is part of this inventory, and is a high grade hill prairie. Ms. Newman said in order for the property to receive nature preserve status, a proposal would be written and taken to the 9- member INPC Board. If the proposal receives a favorable status, then more work is done to lock in the nature preserve status. She said this status would allow only passive uses of the property following designation, including hiking, photography, etc. Ms. Newman said she is also talking with some of the surrounding property owners about participating in this program as well. She said the current owners would continue to hold their ownership interest in the property, and the INPC would hold the development rights to the property. Commissioner Wittenauer said he agreed with the prairie designation, but he wanted to make sure there was no negative impact on the cemetery property. The County Board decided to pass this information along to the State’s Attorney for review prior to making any recommendation to the Miles Cemetery Board.
Aaron Metzger and Marcia Mehrtens were present to discuss Highway Department business. Mr. Metzger said he had received six bids for the construction of a new Gall Road Bridge over a tributary of the Andy’s Run Creek. He said the apparent low bid was from Depew & Owen builders of Centralia in the amount of $176,788. Commissioner Koerber asked Mr. Metzger if he had checked the references for this company. Mr. Metzger said this firm is state-qualified, so they are automatically allowed to place bids on projects like this. Following discussion, motion was made by Commissioner Wittenauer, with a second by Commissioner Koerber to award the Gall Road Bridge construction contract to Depew & Own Builders in the amount of $176,788. All voting Aye, none Nay and none Absent. Motion carried. Mr. Metzger said the project would probably not start until October after the harvest season, since the road will have to be closed during the construction.
Resolution 17-61
Gall Road Bridge/Tributary to Andy’s Run Creek Construction Contract Award Road District No. 6
Whereas, in the interest of improved transportation facilities and safety to the motoring public, Monroe County and Road District No. 6, propose to improve Gall Road Bridge by construction of a bridge crossing a Tributary to Andy’s Run Creek, two miles northwest of Waterloo; and
Whereas, bids were received on July 17, 2017 for said construction designated as Section 15-06113-00-BR, in accordance with plans prepared by the Monroe County Highway Department and approved by the Commissioner of Road District No. 6 on June 7, 2017 and Illinois Department of Transportation on July 5, 2017.
Now, Therefore be it Resolved, that the County of Monroe shall award the construction contract for said, Gall Road/Tributary to Andy’s Run Creek bridge construction, to the low bidder, Depew & Owen Builders Inc., Centralia, IL, in the amount of $176,788.00, and that the County Board Chairman and the County Clerk are hereby authorized to execute said construction contracts upon execution by the contractor; and
Be it Further Resolved that the County of Monroe shall appropriate and authorize for expenditure the following amounts to cover the cost of construction:
Construction:
State Township Bridge Fund $141,430.40
County Bridge Funds $ 36,000.00
Total $177,430.40
Engineering:
County Bridge Funds $ 45,000
Be it Further Resolved that upon completion of the project that the County Engineer is directed to bill Road District No. 6 an amount equal to 5% of the final cost of the construction contract.
Passed by the Board of County Commissioners of Monroe County, Illinois at Waterloo, this 17th day of July, 2017.
Motion: Second: Aye: Nay: Absent:
Bid Summary: Construction Estimate - $186,795.00 Depew & Owen Builders Inc.- $176,788.00 Baxmeyer Construction Inc.- $183,450.00 Lake Contracting Inc. - $191,746.50 Keller Construction Inc. - $214,350.00 Keeley & Sons Inc. - $224,836.67 The Kilian Corporation - $231,841.90
Kevin Koenigstein and Annmarie Marcuson came to the meeting to discuss the Vacation Buyout program. They distributed a list showing the accrued vacation time for the various County offices, with the total amount of $80,162.28. Adding this to the previously discussed amount for the Sheriff’s Department – about $157,000 – makes a total amount of about $237,162. Several types of buyout incentives were discussed, but employees cannot be forced to take a buyout on these benefits. Ms. Marcuson said the 457 rollover plan is available for employees of the Sheriff’s office, but that program is not available to the other County employees. Mr. Koenigstein said any buyout amounts would come out of the County Contingency line item. Once the new handbook is enacted, it will limit the amount of vacation that can be rolled over by each employee. Commissioner Wittenauer said it would be good if we had some input from the employees to see what would entice them to take a buyout. Doing a 3-year payout program, and allocating $80,000 per year was discussed.
Carla Heise came to the meeting to discuss Ambulance Service business. Mike Fausz was also in attendance. She said she would like to continue with an extended warranty on the Zoll equipment. Chairman Elmore signed the paperwork to approve that action. Ms. Heise distributed a report showing the calls by month, and the number of calls is down for the year. She also distributed a report showing the statistics on the collection of charges. Kevin Koenigstein said he wanted to make the Board aware that the Ambulance Service had just paid their full annual rent for use of the Annex Building property. Ms.Heise said she is looking at getting a new computer for the office – possibly a semi-Tough Book with a docking station for use in the office. Mr. Fausz said 9-1-1 just bought new Tough Books for all of the Ambulances. Ms. Heise said they have received the Tough Books, but she has been having problems with REJIS to get the equipment to coordinate with the Ambulances. She said she is not very happy with the service provided by REJIS. Commissioner Koerber said she has talked with Sheriff Rohlfing, and REJIS has had a change of personnel that has resulted in a negative impact on the service they provide.
Members of the Valmeyer High School baseball team and Coach Greg Reinhardt were on hand to receive recognition from the County Board for their recent trip to the IHSA State Baseball Tournament where they landed the second place trophy.
A delegation from CTS was on hand to discuss the completion of the Energy Conservation work. Also in attendance were Brian Hooten and Kevin Koenigstein. Ellie Blankenship presented a no cost change order to the Board showing that there was some anticipated work that didn’t need to be completed, and there were some other items that had to be added to the contract. CTS covered the extra items and is passing along no extra cost to the County. Ms. Blankenship said the only outstanding issues were a flickering light fixture in the County Clerk’s office and some humidity issues in the Courtroom, and CTS will continue to look at solving those problems. Mr. Hooten said the only problem he is still working with is getting the computer equipment up to speed, and he is currently having problems with REJIS and the firewall, but will continue to work on that until the system is up and running. Ms. Blackenship said once the final payment is received, and the project is officially closed out, the monitoring of all of the systems will begin within 30 days, and CTS will continue to monitor to make sure no adjustments need to be made to any of the systems. Motion was made by Commissioner Wittenauer, with a second by Commissioner Koerber to accept the no cost change order. All voting Aye, none Nay, none Absent. Motion carried. The Commissioner thanked the CTS personnel for performing this work in a timely and efficient manner. Ms. Blankenship said they would like to assist the County Board if there is any interest in doing this same type of work at Oak Hill.
There being no additional business to come before the County Board, motion to adjourn was made by Commissioner Koerber, with a second by Commissioner Wittenauer. All voting Aye, none Nay and none Absent. Motion carried.
http://monroecountyil.org/admin/upload/document_center/meeting-agendas-minutes/598b3bf9961e6.pdf
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