Quincy Reporter

Adams County Board met April 12.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The County Board of Adams County, Illinois met at the Courthouse, Quincy, Illinois, on Wednesday, April 12th, 2023 at 7:00 P.M., pursuant to recess.

PRESENT: Kent Snider, Chairman

Ryan Niekamp, County Clerk

Mr. Mark Sorensen gave the invocation which was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

Chairman Snider called the meeting to order.

The County Clerk called the roll and the following members were present: Jon McCoy, Tim Finlay, Robert Reich, Brad Poulter, David McCleary, Les Post, Theresa Bockhold, Joe Zanger, Brent Fischer, Todd Duesterhaus, Bret Austin, Keith Callaway, Mark Sorensen, Barbara Fletcher, Ryan Hinkamper, Dave Bellis, Marvin Kerkhoff, Mark Dietrich, Steve McQueen, Travis Cooley and Kent Snider.

Total Present: 21 Absent: 0

Chairman Snider declared a quorum present.

Officeholders, department heads, and/or their representatives also present were: Georgene Zimmerman- Supervisor of Assessments, Lori Geschwandner-Circuit Clerk, Anthony Foster- Director of Court Services, Todd Nelson- Public Defender, John Simon EMA & Ambulance Director, Jim Frankenhoff- County Engineer, Jerrod Welch- Public Health Administrator David Hochgraber- Director if IT and Sheriff Anthony Grootens.

Requests to speak:

Mr. Zanger made a motion to suspend the rules to allow the public to speak. Mr. Austin seconded the motion.

The rules were suspended to allow the public to speak.

At this time, Kyle Moore, President of GREDF spoke to the board about the Adams County/City of Quincy Housing Plan. He updated the board on the information they have gathered on housing in the City of Quincy and Adams County. He updated the board with information that the area does not have enough housing to put people if all of the open jobs were filled throughout the community. He reported that GREDF has developed plans, strategies, projections, etc. to figure out what type of housing Adams County needs. GREDF believes that if we do not fix our housing situation, companies may feel the need to leave the area. He stated that GREDF commends this body for balancing the impacts the pandemic had and making substantial investments. They ask the board to use ARPA dollars to make investments in long-term growth that is housing. He thanked the board for their partnership.

Mr. Finlay made a motion to return to regular session.

Mr. Poulter seconded the motion.

The board returned to regular session.

Mr. Duesterhaus moved to approve the minutes of the March 14, 2023 county board meeting as printed and distributed.

Mrs. Fletcher seconded the motion.

Motion to approve the minutes of the March 14, 2023 meeting as printed was adopted.

Transportation, Building & Technology Committee Report (Mr. Bellis)

Bills – The committee met on Wednesday, April 12th to review the bills for the Highway Department, the Maintenance Department, and the Technology Department. All of the bills were in order.

Reports

The Highway Department gave reports on a couple of resolutions being passed. They are trying to find a replacement for one of the dump trucks.

Safestart plans to come to town on April 17th with 5 employees to get a walkthrough of the building to get ready to start the inspections for mold. He reported that the parking lot bid packets went out and the bid will open on May 5th. Mr. Bellis also gave an update on the Juvenile Detention Center project.

Resolutions

a. 2023-04-501-008 - Resolution reporting bids from the March 21, 2023 County Motor Fuel Tax Maintenance Materials Letting for metal culverts.

The clerk read the resolution by title only.

Mr. Zanger made a motion to approve the resolution.

Mr. Bellis seconded the motion.

Resolution 2023-04-501-008 was approved.

b. 2023-04-501-009 – Resolution reporting bids from the March 21, 2023 Road District Motor Fuel Tax Maintenance Materials Letting for oil, culverts and lignin.

The clerk read the resolution by title only.

Mr. Bellis made a motion to approve the resolution.

Mr. McCleary seconded the motion.

Resolution 2023-04-501-009 was approved.

c. 2023-04-501-010 – Resolution reporting bids and awarding the contract from the April 4, 2023 County Motor Fuel Tax Maintenance Letting for oil and chip sealing various County Highways.

The clerk read the resolution by title only.

Mr. Zanger made a motion to approve the resolution.

Mr. Sorensen seconded the motion.

Mr. Callaway asked what areas these were for. Mr. Frankenhoff stated there was a map given out last month that will show it. He stated it is scattered. Resolution 2023-04-501-010 was approved.

d. 2023-04-501-011 – Resolution reporting bids and awarding the contract from the April 4, 2023 Maintenance Letting for oil and chip sealing various County Highways.

The clerk read the resolution by title only.

Mr. Bellis made a motion to approve the resolution.

Mr. Zanger seconded the motion.

Resolution 2023-04-501-011 was approved.

e. 2023-04-501-012 - Resolution reporting bids and awarding the contract from the April 4, 2023 Maintenance Letting for pavement marking on various County Highways.

The clerk read the resolution by title only.

Mr. McCleary made a motion to approve the resolution.

Mr. Hinkamper seconded the motion.

Resolution 2023-04-501-012 was approved.

f. 2023-04-501-013 - Resolution reporting bids and awarding the contract from the April 4, 2023 bid letting for the pulverization and the application of an A-1 Bituminous Surface Treatment of 3.084 miles of East 2600TH Street in Northeast Road District using Road District Motor Fuel Tax Funds and authorizing the Adams County Board Chairman to sign the contract.

The clerk read the resolution by title only.

Mr. Post made a motion to approve the resolution.

Mr. Bellis seconded the motion.

Resolution 2023-04-501-013 was approved.

g. 2023-04-501-014 - Resolution reporting bids and awarding the contract from the April 4, 2023 bid letting for the removal and replacement of the existing corrugated structural plate pipe arches on North 700TH Avenue in McKee Road District using Road District Motor Fuel Tax Funds and authorizing the Adams County Board Chairman to sign the contract.

The clerk read the resolution by title only.

Mr. Bellis made a motion to approve the resolution.

Mr. McCleary seconded the motion.

Resolution 2023-04-501-014 was approved.

New Business

a. Acceptance of Bid for glass work in the Adams County Jail ATTACHMENT A-8 Mr. Bellis stated the committee unanimously approved the bid.

Mr. Bellis made a motion to accept the bid.

Mr. McCleary seconded the motion.

Mr. Austin asked what the amount was. Mr. Bellis stated the amount was in the packet. Mr. Austin asked where the funds were coming from. Mr. Bellis stated it would come from the capital project jail fund.

Mr. Bellis stated there was a small issue with new cameras going in. He stated one of the offices has an employee covered up, which is not acceptable. He stated they need to remind employees they may not tamper with cameras.

The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for May 9th, 2023.

Legislative & Judicial

Committee Report (Mr. Reich)

Bills – The committee met on Wednesday, April 12th to review the bills from the circuit Clerk, Juvenile Detention Center, Probation Department, Public Defender, State’s Attorney, and the Supervisor of Assessments. All of the bills were in order.

Reports

There were no additional reports.

County Code

a. Plat Act Update

Mr. Reich stated they were given the final draft of the plat act. He stated it will be put up for vote at next month’s meeting.

b. Solar and Wind Farm Update

Mr. Reich stated that our ordinances are null and void and they are going to clean up our codes to reflect that.

Resolutions-

a. Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between the City of Quincy and County of Adams for the Strong Communities Program (SCP) Grant

The clerk read the agreement by title only.

Mr. Reich made a motion to approve the agreement.

Mr. Austin seconded the motion.

Discussion: Mr. Austin stated that this was a grant that came from the State. He stated they are still working on getting the landbank program going. He also stated that this can only be used for demolition or acquisition.

The Intergovernmental Agreement was approved.

b. Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between the Township of Beverly, Illinois and the County of Adams for Polling Place Accessibility Work at Township Hall located in Beverly, Illinois.

Mr. Reich stated they tabled this for next month.

c. Resolution Number 2023-04-501-010 – Floodplain Variance

The clerk read the resolution by title only.

Mr. Reich made a motion to approve the resolution.

Mr. Finlay seconded the motion.

Discussion: He stated this is in a building in a floodplain.

Resolution 2023-04-501-010 was approved.

Appointments

a. Appointment of Warren A. Husemann to the Office of Trustee of Central Adams County Fire Protection District for a Term Expiring on the First Monday of May 2026.

Mr. Reich made a motion to approve the appointment.

Mr. McQueen seconded the motion.

The appointment was approved.

The following appointments were approved together:

b. Appointment of Douglas Means to the Office of Trustee of the Clayton Fire Protection District for a Term Expiring on the First Monday of May 2026 c. Appointment of Dale Kill to the Office of Trustee of the Clayton Fire Protection District for a Term Expiring on the First Monday of May 2026

Mr. Reich made a motion to approve the appointment.

Mrs. Fletcher seconded the motion.

The appointments were approved.

Liquor Licenses

a. One-Day Special Liquor License Permit for Hamilton’s Catering INC for a Wedding at Lakeview Weddings in Camp Point, Illinois on September 9, 2023 from 4:00PM until 10:00PM

The clerk read the license request.

Mr. Reich made a motion to approve the one-day liquor license.

Mrs. Bockhold seconded the motion.

The one-day liquor permit was approved.

Pyrotechnic Displays

a. Pyrotechnic Display Permit for Pointe D’Vine LLC located at 276 Highway 57, Quincy, IL. 62305 to be held on Sunday, April 29th, 2023 at 9PM with no alternative date or time.

The clerk read the pyrotechnic display request.

Mr. Reich made a motion to approve the pyrotechnic display.

Mr. Zanger seconded the motion.

The pyrotechnic display was approved.

The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for May 9th, 2023.

Public Health & Safety

Committee Report (Mrs. Fletcher)

Bills – The committee met on April 12th, 2023 and reviewed the bills for the Sheriff’s Office, Coroner’s Office, Emergency Management Agency and Animal Control. All of the bills were in order.

Reports

Mrs. Fletcher read the following reports from departments:

Scott Graham, Coroner- There were 91 reported deaths, 5 autopsies, 0 abandon remains, 38 cremation permits and one suicide in March 2023.

Director of Ambulance and EMA, John Simon- Storm season is here and they have activated the EOC two times and assisted Fulton County. They received a letter of thanks from the Fulton County EMS director. They are working on mitigation plans for natural disasters. The Ambulance is still 30% short-staffed. They are down 13 staff members at this time.

Sheriff Anthony Grootens- He updated the committee on the lease purchase of radios and cameras. He also reported on the fingerprint machines that will come out of their budget. Staffing is down in the jail.

The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for May 9th, 2023.

Executive Committee

Committee Report (Mr. Austin)

The committee met on April 3rd, 2023.

Reports

There were no additional reports.

Resolution

There were no resolutions.

Discussion and Possible Action

a. Acceptance of H.R. Manager Employment

Mr. Austin stated they had a robust vetting and hiring committee. He stated they are ready to make a motion to accept the candidate that they unanimously chose. The Chairman introduced Cisco Fuller who has a military background as well as HR/payroll and budgeting background. He stated they interviewed half a dozen and he looks forward to working with Mr. Fuller.

Mr. Bellis made a motion to approve the hiring.

Mrs. Fletcher seconded the motion.

The HR Manager employment was accepted.

b. Adams County Sheriff Radio Lease Agreement

Mr. Austin stated the total is around $500,000 for the car and mobile radios. He reported they have no money dedicated to this but the system is in serious need of updating. He stated the board has a copy of the lease program that the Sheriff’s Department negotiated with the company called GTSI. He reported that $499,728.00 is the amount and the lease agreement is for 5 years at 5.15%. The committee checked local rates and they were not as good as what the company offered. He stated that leasing and using their financing there are advantages towards obsoletion where they get upgrades in the equipment. The maintenance agreement is included as well. Mr. Austin stated both Executive and Finance committees agreed to do a $116,000 per year payment and to fund the initial payment with $50,000 from contingency and $66,000 out of general fund reserves. The following 4 payments would be paid yearly out of budgeted capital expenses from the Sheriff’s Office budget.

Mr. Austin made a motion that they approve the 5 year lease making the first payment using $50,000 from contingency and $66,000 from general fund reserves as well as building the next 4 years’ payments into the Sheriff’s Department budget.

Mr. Callaway seconded the motion.

The motion was approved.

c. Adams County Sheriff Body Camera Lease Agreement

Mr. Austin stated that the county is mandated to have body cameras by the end of the year and the car cameras are a tethered system with the body cameras. He stated it is $162,000 for a 5-year lease that starts with a payment of about $35,000. The committees both recommend paying the first payment out of contingency and then build the remaining years into the Sheriff’s capital budget.

Mr. Austin made a motion to approve the 5-year lease with the first payment out of contingency and the following four years’ payments budgeted into the Sheriff’s Department’s budget.

Mr. Hinkamper seconded the motion.

Mr. McQueen asked if we are doing leasing on the cameras as well and what the rate was. Mr. Austin stated it was around the same. Mr. McQueen stated that leasing would make sense as you cannot keep up with technology. The motion was approved.

The committee’s next meeting will be May 1st, 2023.

Finance

Committee Report (Mr. Austin)

Bills – The committee met on April 10th, 2023 to review the bills. All of the bills were in order.

Report

There were no other reports.

Mr. Austin reviewed a summary with the board on the projects. He stated there is no action to take. Mr. Austin stated we are probably going to have to fund the HVAC in the Juvenile Detention Center from general funds. Mr. Bellis stated we are on budget for the Juvenile Detention HVAC system and Sid’s payroll was not included on that project. Mr. McQueen stated that these ARPA funds are unallocated and we do not want to get too far into general reserve funds. He asked if we could take whatever we can from the unallocated ARPA funds to balance. Mr. Austin stated that the security system cameras are what brings in the extra $204,000 which can be completely covered by ARPA. Mr. Austin stated that the original $700,000 was budgeted for. Mr. McQueen stated that the extra $204,000 would come from the ARPA funds. Mr. Austin confirmed. Mr. Austin spoke about the Health Department HVAC System and that $154,000 needs to be a split and he’s spoken to Mr. Welch about it. He stated that the Health Department has their own board and budgeting, and the committee is requesting to blend ARPA money with their money. Mr. McQueen asked for clarification that of the $154,000, $40,000 would come from change orders of the project from the Health Department. Mr. Austin stated that was correct and anything past that is us asking. Mr. McQueen asked if we took $70,000 from ARPA, would we take the rest from general funds. Mr. Austin stated they are requesting the Health Board to help fund as well. Mr. McQueen stated going through the approved ARPA project list, he wondered if they could discuss cutting some of the ARPA projects down and just do part of them so they can make sure they remain sound financially. He said maybe we can do part of the projects now and part of them later. Mr. Austin stated that they should not mess with the Ameren project because it’s ready to go and they are matching it. He stated they are not contractually obligated to the restroom facilities or housing. He said cutting a project would have to come with some obligation to finish it at some point in the future. Mr. McCleary stated the village restrooms are ready to go out for bid. He stated there are no plans for housing like there are the restrooms. Mr. Austin stated that restrooms in the villages are 1/100th as important as housing county-wide. Mr. McQueen stated that $150,000-$200,000 houses seems like a reach for our area. Mr. Hinkamper stated that they voted on their own housing study to tell us what we need for housing. Mr. Zanger asked why we need $1,000,000 for housing and he stated that’s too much for the government to get involved with, however, he knows housing is needed. Mr. Austin stated that $0 does nothing. He stated the money will provide a matching amount for different grants. Mr. Callaway spoke about his idea of a program he would like to see. The Chairman stated that phase two of the housing study is contacting other cities to see what kind of programs they are using for housing. Mr. McQueen stated that his original point was why we would commit to one project and not the other and he suggests they take, evenly and incrementally from each project instead of killing any of them. The Chairman assigned the finance committee to come up with $200-$500,000 ARPA money projects with the understanding to try to refund it in next year’s budget. Mr. Kerkhoff stated that housing is needed. The Chairman stated that he received many letters from big employers of the area that said please do something with housing because it leads to employment. Mr. McQueen stated that we need to do things the hard way and agree to put the money back that they take away from projects now. The Chairman stated the finance committee will get back to us next month. Mr. Zanger stated that the City needs to really spend their money on housing as well as that is the main area people will want to live in this county.

Finance

a. Additional Fund Appropriations from David Hochgraber – Information Technology – in the Amount of $204,500 for Expense Account Number 001-104-5875 – IT Capital Expenses – for a Revised Budget Amount of $904,500.

The clerk read the additional fund appropriation by title only.

Mr. Austin made a motion to approve the additional fund appropriation. Mr. Bellis seconded the motion.

Discussion: Mr. Austin stated that this needs to be done to make sure this project can get done.

A roll call vote was taken to approve the Additional Fund Appropriation. Those in favor were: Jon McCoy, Tim Finlay, Robert Reich, Brad Poulter, David McCleary, Les Post, Theresa Bockhold, Joe Zanger, Brent Fischer, Todd Duesterhaus, Bret Austin, Keith Callaway, Mark Sorensen, Barbara Fletcher, Ryan Hinkamper, Dave Bellis, Marvin Kerkhoff, Mark Dietrich, Steve McQueen, Travis Cooley and Kent Snider.

Total in favor was 21. Total opposed was 0.

The Additional Fund Appropriation was approved.

Mr. Austin stated that the county board ipads are being funded through a grant and there is no action to be taken on that. Mr. Austin stated that replacing any Sheriff vehicles will have to wait if they cannot find money in their budget. The Sheriff stated he thinks they will be okay this year and he will have a report from the vehicle maintenance people to evaluate for the future.

Mr. Austin reported that the jail sales tax is leaving an $850,000 buffer on top of what was left in the jail fund. He stated we cannot use the money on anything that’s not jail related, but we could possibly pay the bond down quicker and get the citizens off of the sales tax.

Budget/Levy

There was no budget or levy discussions.

Insurance

There were no insurance discussions.

The committee’s next meeting will be May 8th, 2023.

Unfinished Business

There was no unfinished business to discuss.

New Business

Approval of Board Member Travel Vouchers

There were no board member travel vouchers to approve.

Monthly Reports

Supervisor of Assessments/Board of Review, Juvenile Detention Center, the County Clerk & Recorder’s office, the Public Defender, the Circuit Clerk, Information Technology, Probation Department and the Treasurer’s office, Monthly check register for March 2023, and Funds Summary report for March 2023 including revenue and expenses.

Mr. Duesterhaus made a motion to receive and file the monthly reports with the appropriate committee.

Mr. Zanger seconded the motion.

Motion to receive and file the monthly reports with the appropriate committee adopted.

Resignation

There were no resignations.

Appointments

The chairman entertained a motion to approve the following appointments.

a. OPIOD Settlement Money Committee

i. Mark Schmitz- Transitions

ii. Stacey Julifs- PFH

iii. Dr. Mike Connolly- SIU

iv. Dr. Chris Solaro- Blessing

v. Jerrod Welch- Adams County Health Department

vi. Tim Finlay- Board of Health

vii. Bob Reich- County Board

viii. QMG -TBD

Mr. Fischer made a motion to approve the appointments.

Mr. Sorensen seconded the motion.

The appointments were approved.

Report

There were no reports.

Announcements

The clerk stated that each board member needs to fill out a statement of economic interest by May 1st.

Discussion and Possible Action

There were no further discussions or actions.

Correspondence

1) Thank you Notification from the Smith Family

2) Notice of Pre-Hearing Conference Regarding the Navigator Heartland Greenway LLC Pipe Line.

3) Notice regarding the Renewal of the Federally Enforceable State Operating Permit Titan Wheel Corporation of Illinois in Quincy

4) Notification from Ameren Illinois regarding Upcoming Vegetation Activities Notifications

5) Notification from Ameren Illinois regarding Future Tree Trimming

Mr. Duesterhaus moved to receive and file the correspondence with the appropriate committee.

Mr. Zanger seconded the motion.

Motion to receive and file the correspondence with the appropriate committee adopted.