Quincy Reporter

Adams County Board Finance Committee met March 11.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

Meeting Convened at 6:00PM on March 11, 2024.

Members Present: Travis Cooley, Tim Finlay, Brad Poulter

Members Absent: Bret Austin, Brent Fischer

Others in Attendance: Clerk Ryan Niekamp, Chairman R. Kent Snider, Todd Eyler, Sheriff Tony Grootens, Terry Bower, David Hochgraber, Anthony Foster

A motion to approve the minutes as written by Mr. Cooley and seconded by Mr. Finlay. The minutes were approved unanimously as printed.

Presentation of new credit card vendor. Jana Hattey with First Bankers and Ryan Niekamp presented the a new card service provider for the County. Mr. Niekamp went over several details of the company and Ms. Hattey contributed greatly by providing different perks of the program along with other business specific detailed. The Hattey appreciated Mr. Niekamp and Ms. Hattey  for finding a program that works for the county. Mr. Cooley asked if the bank would still be our go-to bank for this new credit provider and Ms. Hattey  stated that the bank takes its relationships very seriously and absolutely would.

Additional Fund Appropriation from Ryan A. Niekamp – County Clerk & Recorder – in the Amount of ti100 to Revenue Account Line Number 000-000-0000 – Revenue - Commercial Energy Facilities Permiting – for a Revised Budget Amount of ti100 and ti100 to Expense Account Line Number 000-000-0000 -- Expense - Commercial Energy Facilities Permiting – for a Revised Budget Amount of ti100. Motion made to approve by Mr. Finlay, seconded by Mr. Poulter. Mr. Niekamp stated this was to fund the County Code for Solar Farms that was approved at last month’s meeting. Mr. Niekamp stated that there must be an appropriate account to deposit the revenue from the applications and a proper way to expense the application expenses such as for a hearing officer, publications, court reporters, etc. Motion was approved.

Transfer of Budget Appropriation from Anthony Foster – Director of Court Services – in the Amount of ti7,500 from Account Number 005-001-5713 – American Rescue Plan Expense – for a Revised Budget Amount of ti2,780,500 and ti7,500 to Account Number 005-001-5905 – A.C.E. Program Expense – for a Revised Budget of ti7,500. Motion to approve by Mr. Poulter, seconded by Mr. Finlay. Mr. Cooley provided an overview of this project, and this is to expense the final amount of ACE funding that was initially approved by the County Board in 2021.

School Resource Officer. Sheriff stated that he would like to hire two new school resources now and next year hire two more. The Sheriff stated that there is one officer in Liberty and one in Camp Point currently.

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Sheriff Grootens stated that in today’s society, he doesn’t trust it and his guys are scattered and stated that he has the money in the budget today if they are hired in June, or July. Mr. Poulter asked to clarify the funding source of this. Sheriff Grootens said it will take time to find and hire the deputies and then send them out to training. Mr. Snider stated that the Sheriff is puZng the Finance committee on notice that this year’s money will not be an issue as they will not have anyone on this year’s budget but next year the Sheriff will be requesting additional money in next year’s budget. Mr. Kerkhoff asked if there were any grants available for this type of program. Sheriff Grootens stated that currently there are no grants for this type of project. Mr. Finlay stated that he supports the program, but asked what a school resource does. Sheriff Grootens stated that once there is one for everyone school their focus will be different and then their responsibility will be a liaison for the kids. He further states that it will not be a new officer assigned, but someone from the ranks as someone is needed with experience on the streets and currently there is internal interest. Sheriff Grootens stated last time he hired, he brought in the school principals to interview the candidates because they know what they need, not the Sheriff. Mr. Snider commented about the relationship and trust with the officers and the students.

GROW Housing Nominations and Application Review was reviewed by the Committee. Mr. Cooley stated that the committee’s prerogative tonight was to act on the nominations. Mr. Poulter stated that he appreciated including people from the county and that not everyone was from Quincy. Mr. Poulter made a motion to approve, seconded by Mr. Finlay. There was a question asked if the County would need to amend the action passed by the Board last month’s meeting. Mr. Eyler stated that they would need to amend the previous action at committee and the Board. Mr. Poulter made a motion to amend what the County Board did last month from five members to seven members. Mr. Finlay seconded the motion. The committee voted unanimously to approve the list of seven nominees.

Mr. Cooley next went over the GROW Housing Drag application. Mr. Finlay stated that he would like a numeric scoring matrix where each metric has an assigned weighting. Mr. Snider stated there will be. Mr. Cooley stated that it states the higher number of units a person has, would increase the number of scoring and he did not feel that was fair or should be weighted differently.

Clerk and Recorded Cost Study was presented by the County Clerk. Mr. Niekamp and stated that it had been a few years since the previous cost study was done and what happened at that time was significant jumps were made as the study had not been done for many years prior and Mr. Niekamp did not want to see that happen again. Mr. Niekamp further stated he believes the vitals department should act a funding supplement to the taxpayers and under his administration he does that; however, all the variable costs

have increased to produce the records of his office and it was time.

Juvenile Detention Center Sidewalk Mr. Bower stated that this has been an ongoing issue for several years and it’s been kicked down the road and ager years of salting and plowing the sidewalks are damaged, dangerous and need repairs. There was an estimate of repair that was completed a couple of years ago of about ti24,000 so today’s number will be higher. Mr. Cooley asked if there is any issue with the curbs. Mr. Bower stated this would include everything that needs to be replaced. These repairs would also include the 911 / EMA center. Mr. Niekamp stated that there was some money available leg in the DCEO Capital Improvement Grant the remaining amount will be out of contingency. Motion to approve by Mr. Poulter, seconded by Mr. Finlay. The committee approved the motion unanimously.

Courthouse HVAC Review of Study was provided by Mr. Bellis. The complete study was e-mailed last week. Mr. Bellis provided a cost analysis of a HVAC system. The item on the first page is the one that building,

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and grounds will more than likely the one that is suggested. Mr. Bower stated that the numbers that are shown are worse case scenarios. Mr. Bower stated that he will be able to take one-million out for new drop ceilings, and two-million out for new lighting as these were not needed. Mr. Bower stated that when it’s 44 degrees or higher, there is no heat that runs. If the outdoor temperature is 42 degrees and with the south sun there are rooms that will get in the mid-80 degrees and complimented Chuck Obert on his help on regulating the temperature of the courthouse. Mr. Bower explained why it would be best get rid of the water based system and the best move would be to independently controlled system (variable reverse flow VRF system) per office. The timeline is important and would need to know in the next couple of days if the Board wanted to act on this. It would take six months to engineer the system. One to two months to bid it with an overall project timeline of two or so years so the cost would be budgeted over a couple of years. Mr. Bellis asked if the work would be done on nights and weekend. Mr. Bower stated yes, they would work nights and weekend which does cause for the price to be a little bit higher. Mr. Finlay asked how much is included for asbestos removal. Mr. Bower stated that there is currently ti400,000 included in the estimation. Mr. Cooley stated that there was no action to take tonight. Mr. Bellis said time is of the essence. Mr. Finaly stated that it appeared we needed to know by this week? Mr. Bower stated that is true. Mr. Snider stated he does not believe we can make any commitments at this moment when there is a six or seven million dollar question. Mr. Snider further stated that the County would more than likely need to bond the money. Mr. Niekamp provided an update on an IL EPA Grant that would fund a study for the energy efficiency of the Courthouse and then open the county up to for potential funding from the Federal EPA to fund a new HVAC system.

There being no other business, the Finance Committee adjourned at 7:00 pm on March 11, 2024. Motion to adjourn by Mr. Finlay and seconded by Poulter Motion to adjourned approved unanimously.

https://www.adamscountyil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/9497/638482515536595794