White County Board met July 18.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
A regular meeting of the White County Board begun and holden this 18thd day of July 2023 in the Courtrrom of the White County Courthouse in the City of Carmi.
Chairman Pigg called the meeting to order at 7:00. Clerk Heil took roll call with Spencer, Cannon, Usery, South and Pigg present.
Chairman Pigg led everyone with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Chairman Pigg stated the first item on the agenda was to approve the minutes from the previous board meeting. Mr. Usery made the motion to approve the minutes, seconded by Mr. South. Motion carried 5-0 on roll call vote.
Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to approve payments of the County’s bills. Mr. Usery made the motion to approve the payments, seconded by Mr. Spencer. Motion carried 5-0 on roll call vote.
Chairman Pigg asked if any County Officers had anything to report. County Clerk, Kayci Heil, had nothing new to report. The Treasurer, Mike Baxley, gave his report. A written copy can be found located in the County Clerk’s Office. Mr. Baxley stated that they County should be make $500,000 in interest revenue. Circuit Clerk, Kelly Fulkerson, did not have anything to report. Mr. Adam Allen, Ambulance Director, stated that he submitted his report, and they had a little bit of a loss this month and he did hire two new EMT’s. States Attorney, Denton Aud, told the Board that his office was still busy and that Supreme Court upheld the Safe T Act. He said that he is still on the hunt for a full time Assistant States Attorney. He is hoping to have someone hired soon. Sheriff Weiss stated that he had gutters fixed and other projects fixed in the annex. They have ordered new firearms and they should arrive in 60-90 days. He stated that there was an issue with the air conditioning in the Courtroom, but it has been fixed. Supervisor of Assessments, Gary Baxley, stated that they turned in the tentative abstract. He said that Board of Review has met and there were 5 complaints. He stated that they started out on time, but they are currently running behind schedule. Clerk Heil told the Board that she would have to have the taxes for a month, before sending them to the Treasurer. Mr. Chris Marsh, Coroner, told the Board that with the trouble of finding a pathologist the one that he is currently using is retiring. He stated that he will be going to Bloomington if he can not find anyone locally.
Visitors: None
Communications: None
Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to consider the discussion about UTV/ATV permitting for the County. Mr. Aud stated that this was brought up a couple years ago and that the local government that has jurisdiction over the road way can pass this ordinance. Mr. Aud stated that the issue is that there are more township roads than there are County roads. He stated that each township would have to pass an ordinance and then the County would also need to spearhead the project. The next issue that the County would face is is there enough manpower to keep up with inspections of the UTV/ATV. Chairman Pigg stated that at every crossing that they would have to sign. Mr. South made the motion to dismiss this item from the agenda, seconded by Mr. Usery. Motion carried 5-0 on roll call.
Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was approval of the solar permit/application for Greenkey (Pawpaw) Solar that was tabled from the previous meeting. Chairman Pigg stated that there was a public hearing that was done earlier in the meeting. Mr. Grandon introduced himself again to the Board and did a brief information summary about the project. Mr. Grandon stated that they have complied with all the permits, applications, and House Bill 4412. Mr. Stockton made his concerns about noise and the closeness of his panels to his house. Mr. Spencer made a motion to approve the permit/application, seconded by Mr. Usery. Motion failed to pass on a 2-3 roll call vote.
Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to consider the discussion of the City of Carmi giving the EMA services to the County. This item was tabled at the previous meeting. Chairman Pigg stated that she got an email from Jeff Pollard and that the Carmi Fire Department restructured and the Carmi Fire Department and EMA got combined and the City decided that they don’t utilize the service. Mr. Usery stated that back in 1977 Carmi Civil Defense was established in the City and not the County. Mr. Young confirmed that Carmi has had their own unit. The County has only ever had one and that was Mr. Bolin. Chairman Pigg stated that the City is keeping everything that they purchased. Chairman Pigg stated that essentially the County will retain their EMA services. There is a possibility that the City will need a liaison to coordinate with the County. Mr. Usery made the motion to table this item till the next board meeting, seconded by Mrs. Cannon. Motion carried 5-0 on roll call.
Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to consider an Ordinance to pay Bacon, Farmer, Workman Engineering & Test Inc. for structural evaluation done on the Courthouse out of the ARPA funds. Mr. South made the motion to approve the ordinance, seconded by Mr. Usery. Motion carried 5-0 on roll call.
Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to consider the approval for the donation of $10,000 out of the ARPA funds for the Carmi American Legion. Mr. Usery stated that they donated to the VFW and fair is fair. Mr. Usery made a motion to donate the money out of the ARPA funds, seconded by Mr. South. Motion carried 5-0 on roll call.
Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to consider the approval of a new bank account at Banterra Bank and People’s National Bank for the purposes of earning significantly more interest and distributing money to more local banks. Mr. Spencer made the motion to open the new accounts, seconded by Mrs. Cannon. Motion Carried 5-0 on roll call.
Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to consider the resignation of Wanda Douglas from the Egyptian Health Department Board effective June 30, 2023. Mrs. Cannon is on the Board and that they would like to have someone with a mental health background, but it is not required.
Mr. South made the motion to approve the resignation and table an appointment to replace Mrs. Douglas till the next board meeting, seconded by Mr. Spencer. Motion Carried 5-0 on roll call.
Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to consider the approval of a Resolution to approve the increase in the Public Defender’s salary. Clerk Heil explained that this Resolution is done every year and this is done for the State to reimburse the County. Mr. Spencer made the motion to approve the resolution, seconded by Mr. South. Motion Carried 5-0 on roll call.
Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to consider the approval of a Resolution to approve the increase in the Sheriff’s salary. Mrs. Cannon made the motion to approve the resolution, seconded by Mr. South. Motion carried 5-0 on roll call.
Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to consider the approval of an Ordinance to pay Mid-West Telecom for the final payment on the installation of the phone system, fiber, and internet out of the ARPA funds. Mrs. Cannon made the motion to approve the ordinance, seconded by Mr. South. Motion carried 5-0 on roll call.
Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to consider the approval of an Ordinance to pay Kiesler Police Supply for the purchase of firearms out of the ARPA funds. Mr. South made the motion to approve the ordinance, seconded by Mr. Usery. Motion carried 5-0 on roll call.
Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to consider the discussion of obtaining written contracts for non-union employees. Mr. Aud said that he had been working on this in his office and that the County does have a handbook. Sheriff Weiss stated that down the road it would be beneficial to have contracts for employees that do come in that are not unionized. Mr. Aud stated that the County handbook has not been updated since the County went into the Union. Sheriff Weiss wanted this brought to the Board and had help in this area from them. Mr. Weiss stated that he has talked to other counties to find out how they handle their custodial work. Sheriff Weiss stated that there needs to be more on paper with non union employees. Mr. South suggested coming up with a job description. Mr. South made the motion to table this item at the next board meeting, seconded by Mrs. Cannon. Motion carried 5-0 on roll call.
Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to consider the discussion and possible approval of purchasing necessities needed for the former Carmi Times Building out of the ARPA funds. Clerk Heil stated that there were some items that needed for the Building that needed to be purchased. Possible items were a bigger trash can, a bench for tax season, and rugs. Mr. Spencer mentioned a pipe that runs along the side of the building where customers park. Mrs. Cannon made the motion to approve the purchases, seconded by Mr. South. Motion carried 5-0 on roll call.
Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to consider the approval of an Ordinance to pay for insulating the County Highway building out of the ARPA funds. Mr. Usery said that Mr. Ray got a $20,000 dollar bid to insult the building. The Board decided to table this till the next meeting in order to talk to Mr. Ray. Mrs. Cannon made the motion to table this item, seconded by Mr. South. Motion carried 5-0 on roll call.
Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was discussion and possible approval for adding Probation to the County phone and internet services. Probation receives funds from the County
to supplement their salaries, but not their expenses. Chairman Pigg suggested to table the this until the next meeting until Mr. Rubble can talk to the State about helping to fund this. Mr. Usery made the motion to table this item, seconded by Mr. Spencer. Motion carried 5-0 on roll call.
Chairman Pigg asked if anyone had anything for the Executive Session. Mr. Allen stated that he had something for Executive Session for personnel. Mrs. Cannon made a motion to go into Executive Session, seconded by Mrs. Spencer. Motion carried 5-0 on roll call.
Mr. Usery made a motion to come out of Executive Session, seconded by Mr. Spencer. Motion carried 5-0 roll call vote.
Other Business: NONE
Mr. Usery made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Mrs. Cannon. Motion carried 5-0 on roll call.
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