SE Illinois News

White County Board met Oct. 17.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

A special meeting of the White County Board begun and holden this 17th day of October 2023 in the Courtroom 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 Cannon via telephone, Usery, South, Pigg present and Spencer being counted as absent.

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 4-0 on roll call vote, with Spencer counted as absent.

Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to approve payments of the County’s bills. Mr. South made the motion to approve the payments, seconded by Mr. Usery. Motion carried 4-0 on roll call vote, with Spencer counted as absent.

Chairman Pigg asked if any County Officers had anything to report. Clerk Heil told the Board that she went to the fall County Clerk’s Conference. She also told the Board that she spoke to Jeff at Greater Wabash Regional Planning Commission and that the ETC grant had sent an award to the GATA portal and that was accepted, and we can continue to move forward with the grant. Mike Baxley, Treasurer, gave his report on the financial standing for the Counties accounts. He also stated that they have taken in 60 percent of the taxes so far. Circuit Clerk, Kelly Fulkerson, did not have anything to report. Ambulance Director, Adam Allen, stated that they have had another lost with the issues that they are facing with the Medicare application. He stated that they did receive some back monies to help with it. He went on to further state that the issue is because the previous administration put on the application that they had a medicar and that is not the case. They have red flagged that and they are in the process of submitting a new application. The State Attorney, Denton Aud, did not have anything to report. Sheriff, Jordan Weiss, did not have anything to report. Supervisor of Assessments, Gary Baxley, did not have anything to report. County Engineer, Brian Ray, stated that they got their building insulated and thanked the Board for allowing them to do that.

Visitors: Haley Dagley, an animal rescue coordinator, stated that she has reached out to the Board about an animal control issue. She also stated that she has contacted the Sheriff’s Department about the issue as well. She stated that a woman was surrendering 4 dogs to the rescue that Ms. Dagley works for and since then the woman has continued to get more dogs. She told the Board that she thinks that the County Animal Control Officer and the City Animal Control Officer need to have more training which is at no fault too the County Animal Control Officer. She stated that the Illinois Department of Agriculture has a field agent named Stacy Ballard and she sends out training that information for courses in Springfield, Illinois. She went on to state that anytime an animal control issue is not investigated then the County can be fined. The Board told Mr. Dagley that they would take it under advisement. Andy Glover, Wayne County Board, addressed the Board about the issues that they are having with their Animal Control. He asked the Board if they would be willing to join the Counties together and cover Wayne County. He stated right now they use and pay the humane society and they are at capacity and cannot get any more animals. He would like the Board to take that into advisement. Earl Harlow addressed the Board and wanted to thank the highway department for all the mowing that they have been doing as well as tree trimming to help with the snow. Mr. Stockton addressed the Board about the sound decimals that are allowed. He wanted to know if that was while construction was under construction or after it is completed. Mr. Aud stated that he would need to investigate the Ordinance and see what is stated in the Ordinance. Mr. Stockton asked if there was any sound ordinance for the County which there is not currently.

Communications: None

Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to consider the approval of the fiscal year 2024 calendar. Mr. Usery made a motion to approve the calendar, seconded by Mr. South. Motion carried 4-0 on roll call vote, with Spencer counted as absent.

Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was the discussion and possible approval of purging excess equipment. Mrs. Cannon stated that everyone has their own list but needs a motion to get rid of everything that needs to be disposed of. Chairman Pigg asked what the correct process was to dispose of everything. She stated that they need to get a list from every office holder to by the next board meeting. Mr. Usery made a motion to table this item, seconded by Mr. South. Motion carried 4-0 on roll call vote, with Spencer counted as absent.

Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to consider the discussion and possible approval of the updated Solar Ordinance to coincide with the State of Illinois statutes. Mr. Aud stated that he talked to other Counties, and he updated ours based upon what is updated with the State. Mr. South made the motion to approve this Solar Ordinance, seconded by Mr. Usery. Motion carried 4-0 on roll call vote, with Spencer counted as absent.

Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to consider the discussion and approval of replacing the decommissioning bond with a letter of credit for Boomtown Solar. Chairman Pigg stated that essentially for the project they had a bond for the project and now that it is completed, they want to change that bond to a letter of credit for the same amount. Mr. Aud stated either one of these are available remedies under the ordinance. Chairman Pigg stated that the letter of credit works the same as the bond. Mr. Usery asked if the letter of credit is as good as a bond. Mr. South made the motion to table this item on the agenda, seconded by Mr. Usery. Motion carried 4-0 on roll call vote, with Spencer counted as absent.

Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to consider the approval of an Ordinance to pay ADG Architecture and Design Group Ltd for the inspection on the Courthouse out of ARPA funds. Mr. South made a motion to approve the Ordinance for payment to ADG, seconded by Mr. Usery. Motion carried 4-0 on roll call vote, with Spencer counted as absent.

Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to consider the approval of the 2023-2024 ICRMT Insurance renewal for property, liability, cyber security, and unemployment insurance. Mr. Kern with Snedeker Insurance was present and told the Board that he had had great success with the department heads keeping everything up to date. He stated that the policy for every County in Illinois is up between 10-15 percent. He stated that they bumped up the building coverage with new freezer at the jail and new building. He also stated that they gave us a revised proposal on our excess liability insurance. He said our current liability is at 7 million and every other county in Illinois is at 10 million dollars. He said that unemployment insurance is about the best in the State of Illinois. Mr. Usery made the motion to approve the renewal, seconded by Mr. South. Motion carried 4-0 on roll call vote, with Spencer counted as absent.

Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to consider the discussion and possible approval of the tentative and preliminary budget for fiscal year 2023-2024 for White County, Coleman Rehab and Egyptian Health Department to be on display. Mr. Usery made the motion to approve putting the budget on display, seconded by Mr. South. Motion carried 4-0 on roll call vote, with Spencer counted as absent.

Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to consider the discussion and possible approval of the Levy for fiscal year 2023-2024 for White County, Coleman Rehab and Egyptian Health Department. Chairman Pigg stated that this is not ready yet. Mr. Usery made the motion to table this item, seconded by Mr. South. Moti Motion carried 4-0 on roll call vote, with Spencer counted as absent.

Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to consider upgrading the phone system for the Probation Department. Chariman Pigg stated that this was from the last meeting, and it was discussed at the last meeting. Mrs. Cannon made the motion to approve the upgrades, seconded by Mr. South. Motion carried 4-0 on roll call vote, with Spencer counted as absent.

Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to consider the discussion and approval of the solar application process. Mr. South stated that he has looked at a couple of other Counties and our application is a lot leaner than the others and our permit fee is too low. He stated that he has talked to Mr. Aud and they would like to table this item to get more information. Mr. South made the motion to table this item, seconded by Mr. Usery. Motion carried 4-0 on roll call vote, with Spencer counted as absent.

Chairman Pigg stated the next item on the agenda was to consider the discussion and possible approval for handicap accessibility to buildings. Chairman Pigg stated that there is not great handicap accessibility to the former Carmi Times Building. Sheriff Weiss talked to Mayor Pollard, and they are putting up handrails to help. They also talked about on Locust Street the sidewalk being made into a narrower sidewalk to put in handicap parking spots. Sheriff Weiss stated that when the handrails are put up then he will get community service to paint yellow or white on the steps to make them stand out more.

Chairman Pigg asked if anyone had anything for the Executive Session. Chairman Pigg stated that she had something for Executive Session for personnel. Mr. Usery made a motion to go into Executive Session, seconded by Mr. South. Motion carried 4-0 on roll call vote, with Spencer counted as absent.

Mr. Usery made a motion to come out of Executive Session, seconded by Mr. South. Motion carried 4-0 on roll call vote, with Spencer counted as absent.

Other business: Next meeting will be November 21, 2023, at 7:00 P.M.

Mr. Usery made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Mr. South. Motion carried 4-0 on roll call vote, with Spencer counted as absent.

https://www.whitecounty-il.gov/county-board