SE Illinois News

White County Board met Aug. 21.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The White County Board convened at the White County Courthouse in the City of Carmi, State of Illinois, on Wednesday the 21st day of August, at 7:00 p.m. and was called to order by Chairman Cassie Pigg.

The meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.

On Roll Call, the following Board members responded as being present, which represented a quorum: Kenny Usery, Amanda Cannon, Cassie Pigg, and David South were present. Clint Spencer was absent

MOTION was made by Mrs. Cannon, seconded by Mr. South, to approve the minutes of the White County Board meeting. Vote by acclamation. All voting aye, none nay. Motion carried.

COUNTY OFFICER REPORTS

County Clerk: Clerk Heil let the Board know that their office encountered a fraudulent check and is going through the process to get everything set up with new accounts and steps in place to ensure that this does not happen again. She also told the Board that she received an election grant for $20,000. That will help cover the cost of the PVBM’s that are getting ready to go out. She also stated that she was done with her side of the taxes and that school board petitions are available for pick up.

County Treasurer: Mr. Baxley submitted his report in writing. He stated that taxes should be mailed out by the end of the month with installments being on October 15, 2024, and November 15, 2024. He informed the Board that the cannabis sales tax was already voted on, but never got sent into the State of Illinois. He said we should start getting sales tax on that in January 2025.

Circuit Clerk: Clerk Fulkerson said that she received reimbursement for her grant. She also told the Board that she would like to praise the girls in her office for doing a great job running the office when she had to be off. She said that her office ran very smoothly.

Ambulance: Not in attendance

State’s Attorney: Mr. Neal stated that they made it through the jury trial and things were starting to get back to normal.

Sheriff: Sheriff Weiss stated that they had a couple of issues with the State’s Attorney building and the roof holding water. He also stated that there was a sink hole in the gravel, but the highway department fixed the problem. He also stated that the extra deputy is working out great.

Supervisor of Assessments: Not in attendance

Highway: Mr. Ray stated that he did not have anything other than what was on the consent agenda. Mr. South asked how things were coming on the Centerville bridge and Mr. Ray said that they were waiting on the State. As far as timeline they wanted to start this fall.

EMA: Not in attendance

TB Officer: Not in attendance

Coroner: Not in attendance

911: Not in attendance

Administrative Services: Mr. Greeley stated that they were in the heart of budget season. He told the Board that they will be getting with everyone to set up the budget meetings with each department head. As at the end of this month will be the end of the 3rd quarter and variance reports will be coming out soon.

Chairman Pigg opened the floor for public comment:

Mr. Beth Conner addressed the Board concerning the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. She told the Board how vital reading was for children and that she has over 40% of the kids in White County enrolled. It cost $13.30 per child to fund their enrollment in the program. As of right now the program is in the black and would like to get the funding up for future enrollments. She asked the Board if they would like to donate if compelled to do so.

Mr. Jeff Vaughan with Greater Wabash Regional Planning Commission addressed the Board on the ETC grant. He told the Board that currently money is being held up due to the SHPO (State Historical Preservation Organization) due to the County wanting to tear down the current Courthouse and build a new one. The grant is currently frozen due to the fiscal year State rollover and the SHPO. The County requested some money upfront or by reimbursement, but with SHPO not approving anything the money is held up. Mr. Vaughan informed the Board that if they could get SHPO to push the paperwork then they could start hopefully being released. Mr. South asked if we needed to get our Legislators involved. Mr. Vaughan said that it probably would hurt. He told the Board that he is having a hard time getting answers and responses from the Grant Manager. Clerk Fulkerson stated that they are working in the office and stuff is falling on their heads and they are finding the mice in the Courthouse.

Janice Prince addressed the Board about getting County Road 500 in the middle of the 7-mile flats oil and chipped. She stated that she goes 7 miles out of her way to Enfield to get to Carmi instead of going down the 2-mile road that they would like to have oil and chipped. She collected 199 signatures to push improvement on the road. Mr. Ray told the Board that none of those roads had a base on them and that he would not oil and chip a road without a base. He told them that to do today what they did 30 years ago is $70,000 a mile. He said that you are throwing money away to oil and chipping a gravel road. Mr. Ray told the Board and Mrs. Prince that there is no one who is more upset with the road conditions and his performance than himself. Mr. Ray told the Board that White County is one of 4 counties where vehicle registrations have gone down drastically. He stated that he would love to see the road done, but they can’t simply afford to maintain it.

Mrs. Lacey Young with Architechniques Ltd. addressed the Board concerning drawings for the new Courthouse. Mrs. Young did a brief rundown of everything that was requested to be placed in the new Courthouse. She also had drawings for renovations for the Times Building. She told the Board that these are all preliminary ideas. Mr. Baxley asked why his office was being moved and he does not want to move. She told the Board that this is just an idea and Mrs. Pigg stated that she wanted to try a new idea without moving the already renovated part of the Times Building. There were security concerns with the old layout and they needed to make sure that we fixed those concerns.

Consent Agenda

The consent agenda was read by Chairman Pigg.

A. Discussion and possible approval of a Resolution of Support and Commitment of Funds to Greater Wabash Regional Planning Commission.

B. Discussion and possible approval of the Guardian renewal for dental, vision, life, AD&D, and voluntary life.

C. Discussion and possible approval of Resolution for Section 20-10134-00-BR in Phillips Township to replace a bridge on County Road 1800N over Crooked Creek

D. Discussion and possible approval of Resolution for Section 24-08147-00-MS to reconstruct sections of TR 367, TR 106, and TR 383 in Indian Creek Township with Soil Cement and an A-2 chipseal surface using MFT Rebuild funds.

E. Discussion and possible approval of Resolution for Section 24-03123-00-MS to reconstruct sections of TR 291 and FAS 890 in Emma Township with Soil Cement and an A-2 chipseal surface using MFT Rebuild funds.

F. Discussion and possible approval of Resolution for Section 24-10135-00-MS to reconstruct sections of TR 392 in Phillips Township with Soil Cement and an A-2 chipseal surface using MFT Rebuild funds.

Chairman Pigg asked the Board if the items need to be removed or discussed further.

MOTION was made by Mr. South, seconded by Mrs. Cannon to approve the consent agenda. Vote by roll call. Usery, Cannon, South, and Pigg all voted yes and Spencer was counted as absent.

OLD BUSINESS

There was no old business

NEW BUSINESS

A. Discussion and possible approval of changes made to the Decommissioning Plan and Letter of Credit with Boomtown Solar.

Mr. Neal stated that a representative from Invenergy was in the audience. He asked that the Board waive the letter of credit for Ameren Missouri since it is utility company. Mr. Keyt stated that he would suggest that if Ameren was to sell that we change the decommissioning plan so we can get a letter of credit. With it being a Missouri Company and not an Illinois Company the Board stated that they would like for the decommissioning plan stand as it and for Ameren to get a letter of credit.

MOTION was made by Mr. Usery to keep the decommissioning plan as is and for Ameren Missouri to provide a letter of credit, seconded by Mr. South. Vote by roll call. Usery, Cannon, South, and Pigg all voted yes and Spencer was counted as absent.

B. Discussion and possible approval of vacation time for non-union employees.

MOTION was made by Mr. Usery to table this item, seconded by Mrs. Cannon. Vote by roll call. Usery, Cannon, South, and Pigg all voted yes and Spencer was counted as absent.

CLAIMS

Chairman Pigg asked for a motion to pay the county bills.

MOTION was made by Mr. Usery, seconded by Mrs. Cannon, to approve all bills. Vote by acclamation. All voting aye, none nay. Motion carried.

Executive Session

There was no executive session

County Board Member Non-Action Items and Comments

Next meeting will be September 18, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. in the White County Courthouse.

MOTION was made by Mr. Usery, seconded by Mrs. Cannon, to adjourn. Vote by acclamation. All voting aye, none nay. Motion carried.

 https://irp.cdn-website.com/4e51b38b/files/uploaded/8-21-24_board_meeting_minutes.docx