December 13th, 2005

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Montgomery County Board Minutes For Tuesday, December 13th, 2005 – 8:30 AM The following are minutes of a regular meeting of the Montgomery County Board held at 8:30 AM on Tuesday, December 13th, 2005 in the County Board Chambers of the Historic Courthouse, Hillsboro, Illinois. The meeting was called to order by County Board Chairman Mike Havera. Roll call was taken, 20 members present, 1 absent. Members Present: Nelson Aumann, Mary Bathurst, George Blankenship, Terry Bone, Bonnie Branum, Ronald Deabenderfer, Toby Dean, John Downs, Robert Durbin, Mike Havera, Dave Heaton, Edward Helgen, Keith Horn, Frank Komor, Roger Myers, Dale Ogden, Glenn Painter, Don Petty, Mike Plunkett, Bill Sielschott. Members Absent: Dennis Jagodzinski Pledge of Allegiance to the flag was given. Mileage and Per Diem Approval: Motion by Aumann, second by Petty to approve the mileage and per diem. All in favor, motion carried. Approval of Minutes of Previous County Board Meeting: Motion by Heaton, second by Bone to approve the Minutes of the Previously Adjourned County Board Meeting held on Tuesday, November 8th, 2005. All in favor, motion carried. CONSENT AGENDA: 1. Circuit Clerk’s Report – submitted. 2. County Treasurer’s Report – submitted. 3. County Clerk and Recorder’s Report – Sandy Leitheiser was present for questions and reported that the filing period for the 2006 Elections will end Monday, December 19, 2005, and the County Clerk’s Office will stay open until 5:00 PM that day for that purpose. 4. Sheriff’s Report – submitted. 5. Health Department Report – Hugh Satterlee was present for questions. 6. T.B. Department Report – submitted. 7. Public Defender’s Report – submitted. 8. Probation Office Report – submitted. 9. 911 Report – submitted. APPROVAL OF 9 ITEMS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA: Motion by Painter, second by Myers to approve the 9 office reports on the Consent Agenda. All in favor, motion carried. COMMITTEE REPORTS: Coordinating Committee Report: Discussion took place in the following Committees: ROAD AND BRIDGE COMMITTEE REPORT: Given by Chairman Bonnie Branum as follows: 1. FY 2006 Fuel Bids Update: One bid from M&M Service Company was received for fuel. The bid was for Regular gasoline at $1.8301 and Diesel fuel at $2.560. Motion by Branum, second by Komor to accept the fuel bid from M&M Service Company for Regular gasoline at $1.8301 per gallon and Diesel fuel at $2.5600 per gallon. All in favor, motion carried. 2. Preliminary Engineering Services Agreement for T.R. 105 Approval: Branum referred to Highway Engineer Giesing, who stated that the Highway Department has a Preliminary Engineering Services Agreement for T.R. 105, located approximately 3 miles north of Fillmore, Existing Structure #068-3176 Bridge Replacement for Section 01-05118-00-BR for Fillmore Road District with Cummins Engineering Corporation. Motion by Branum, second by Durbin to approve the Preliminary Engineering Services Agreement for T.R. 105. All in favor, motion carried. (See Resolution Book 6, pages 1-4). 3. Preliminary Engineering Services Agreement for T.R. 219 Approval: Giesing reported on the Preliminary Engineering Services Agreement for T.R. 219, over Tributary of Cress Creek, Existing Structure #068-3149 Bridge Replacement for Section 93-03113-00-BR for Butler Grove Road District with Allen Henderson & Associates, Inc. Motion by Branum, second by Dean to approve the Preliminary Engineering Services Agreement for T.R. 219. All in favor, motion carried. (See Resolution Book 6, pages 5-8). 4. Approval of Resolution #17-05: A resolution to appropriate an amount of $6,000 for 1019 B-CA, East Fork R.D./Montgomery County, 50%-50% Project; Montgomery County’s Share = 0.5 ($3,000.00). Giesing reported that this is usually done in the spring, but the bridge fell in and needs replaced. Motion by Bone, second by Horn to approve resolution #17-05 with Montgomery County’s Share being $3,000.00. All in favor, motion carried. (See Resolution Book 6, pages 9-10). 5. Approval of Resolution #18-05 to Amend Resolution #08-05: Resolution #18-05, an Amending resolution to appropriate an amount of $29,107.72 for 1011 B-CA, Fillmore R.D./Montgomery County, 50%-50% project; Montgomery County’s Share = 0.5 ($14,553.86). Amends the original resolution, #08-05, by $1,107.72 which was for $28,000.00. Motion by Branum, second by Durbin to approve Resolution #18-05, which amends resolution #08-05 with Montgomery County’s share being $14,553.86. All in favor, motion carried. (See Resolution Book 6, pages 11-12). 6. Bat Wing Mower Update: Branum reported that the committee discussed replacing one of the older bat wing mowers, due to a weld problem on the mower, and Bids will be sought. 7. FY 2006 Raises Update: Discussion took place on the 4% pay increase for non-union Highway Department employees Pezold, Waggoner and Sefton. Havera queried that the increase was already in the budget and because the budget had already passed, it may not be necessary to get a motion. Branum decided to proceed. Motion by Branum, second by Heaton to approve 4% raises for Pezold, Waggoner and Sefton. All in favor, motion carried. 8. Bridge Repair in North Litchfield Township: (Not on posted agenda) Board member Helgen asked Geising about the possibility of bridge repair to be done on New Hope Bridge in North Litchfield Township, and she replied that it wasn’t included in the Highway Department’s three year plan. FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT: Given by Chairman Bill Sielschott as follows: 1. Coal Rights Sale Update: Sielschott briefly reported on the Coal Rights Sale that took place at a special meeting of the Finance Committee on Monday, December 5th, 2005 in the County Board Room with Colt Coal Company finalizing the coal agreement with Montgomery County, Montgomery County executing a deed finalizing the sale, and with Colt Coal Company representative Jim Morris presenting the county with a check for $500,000.00. 2. Update on BPI Methane Gas Agreement: Sielschott also reported that at the same meeting, BPI Industries signed a Methane Gas Lease Agreement for 6 years with Montgomery County, and BPI Industries representative Dan Anderson reported at that meeting that the company would be drilling in the next 18 months. 3. Update/Approval of Bid Opening for Upgrade of Communications Systems Console & Lock & Intercom Controls at County Jail: Sielschott reported that two bids were received for the upgrade of the Communications Systems Console and lock and intercom controls at jail. The first bid was received from Datatronics of Alton, Illinois for $64,958.26. The second bid was received from Global Technical Systems of Jacksonville, Illinois for $72,989.73. Bid specs submitted will be reviewed by Undersheriff Rick Robbins and a recommendation will be presented to the Finance Committee on Monday, January 9th, 2006. 4. Update on Assessment Publications: Sielschott stated that Chief Assessing Officer Kiefer reported at the committee meeting that the Sales Ratio was received last year in mid October from the State. The Supervisor of Assessment’s Office has been ready to publish since October 2005; however, they are still waiting on the Sales Ratio from the Department of Revenue so that the Township multiplier can be added to the tax bills. Once the Sales Ratio is received then Kiefer has to publish in local papers, tax payers will then have 30 days to file a complaint, and the Board of Review then will have to meet to review complaints. 5. Deferred Compensation Plan Review Update/Approval: Sielschott reported that State’s Attorney Roberts reviewed a proposal from a company that has reviewed the county’s deferred compensation plan. The Personnel Committee will further discuss the deferred compensation issues at their next meeting on Thursday, December 22nd, 2005 at 8:30 AM in the County Board Room. 6. Mileage 2006 IRS Update/Approval: The IRS has increased the mileage reimbursement rate to .445 cents per mile for 2006, and the Finance Committee has approved raising the mileage reimbursement rate for the county to .44 cents a mile effective January 1st, 2006. Motion by Sielschott, second by Downs to approve the mileage reimbursement rate increase to .44 cents per mile effective January 1st, 2006 per IRS regulations. All in favor, motion carried. 7. FY 2006 Budget Books: Fiscal Year 2006 Budget Books were passed out to board members, and Board member Helgen asked about the future property taxes on the Coal Rights. Sielschott stated that as soon as the coal company became owners of the coal, they also assumed the property taxes. HWE COMMITTEE REPORT: Given by Chairman Bob Durbin as follows: Election Technical Judge & Election Technical Support Team Approval: 1. County Clerk Leitheiser, having received endorsement from Democratic Party Chairman Steve White and Republican Party Chairman Roy Hertel, asked for approval on the following four items for elections (For complete overview, see Resolution Book 6, pages 13-14): · Election Judges’ School Attendance Mileage Approval and Revised Salary Approval: Leitheiser gave an overview of Election Judges’ Schooling, mileage and revised salary. Motion by Durbin, second by Ogden to pay mileage to Election Judges who attend Judge School training and to change the current Election Judge pay per election from $105.00 without schooling and $115.00 with schooling, to $95.00 for a Judge without schooling and $115.00 plus mileage to work as Judge with schooling. All in favor, motion carried. · Election Voting System Tech Support Team Approval: Leitheiser explained that with the new voting machines comes the need for on-call technical support during the elections. The team will be made up of 3 county employees with computer background: Bill Purcell, Mary Purcell and Sue Gray. Supervisors of these employees have cleared them to assume these duties, and all will take personal/vacation time from their county positions to perform this service. Motion by Durbin, second by Downs to approve the Election Voting System Tech Support Team as proposed. All in favor, motion carried. · Election Technical Judge Duties and Pay Approval: In addition to the Tech Support Team some judges will be trained on some of the problems that can happen with the voting machines and how to fix them if a Technical Support person is not available at that time. Motion by Durbin, second by Helgen to approve the Election Technical Judge Duties and Pay as proposed. All in favor, motion carried. · Election Equipment Delivery by County/Truck Rental Approval: Leitheiser stated that due to the size and weight of the equipment, pre-Election delivery and setup and post-Election pickup of both units to each of the 26 polling places will need to be done by County Employees Bill Purcell and Larry Moore, using a locally rented Rental Truck. Sheriff Vazzi endorses Larry Moore being made available to do this task. The truck will be needed about 6 total days for the first Election-(Friday-Monday before the Election, Wednesday-Thursday after the Election). The county will need to rent a truck to transport the voting equipment. The approximate pricing is $500.00 for 17’ truck rental with mileage included from Hillsboro Rental. The truck may be used for a shorter time period in subsequent Elections once scheduling and travel have been completed in the first Election. Motion by Durbin, second by Bone to approve the Election Equipment Delivery by County Employees and Truck Rental as proposed. All in favor, motion carried. 2. Meeting with Veterinarians Update: Durbin reported that the committee discussed the concerns of the County Veterinarians with regard to collecting the Rabies Tag fee for dogs and cats. Durbin stated that the collecting of the fee is in Illinois Statutes and is also covered in the County Animal Control Ordinance, under section 1/36. The county will continue with past practice of Veterinarians collecting the money for rabies tag fees. 3. Corporate Cost Solutions, Inc., Update/Approval: Corporate Cost Solutions has offered to do an audit of the County Employee payroll to see if each employee is classified in the proper code for Workers Compensation. The company would get 50% of their findings. Motion by Durbin, second by Horn to approve the agreement with Corporate Cost Solutions, Inc. to audit county payroll for workers compensation cost. All in favor, motion carried. (See Resolution Book 6, page 15). PERSONNEL COMMITTEE REPORT: Given by Chairman John Downs as follows: 1. Jailers/Dispatchers Union Update: Downs stated that union members may be staying with the Laborers Union, but has not heard anything definite yet. 2. Highway Department Arbitration Update: John Downs stated that arbitrators have been selected and tentative meeting dates have been set for December 28th and a couple of days in January. 3. Fusion Fitness Corporate Membership Rates Update: The Committee approved for Montgomery County to become a Corporate Member of the Fusion Fitness Center, so that interested County Employees may sign up for gym services at the corporate discount rate. There will be no cost to the County. BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS COMMITTEE REPORT: Given by Chairman Glenn Painter as follows: 1. Update on Luminaria Around Courthouse for December: Painter reported that the Probation Office will put a luminaria display outside the Historic Courthouse on the evening of December 16th, 2005. 2. Historic Courthouse Emergency Lighting Update: Painter stated that installation of the emergency lighting for the Historic Courthouse will begin next Monday. ESDA/AMBULANCE COMMITTEE REPORT: Given by Committee Member Ron Deabenderfer as follows: 1. Ambulance Call Reports: A summary of monthly operations for November 2005 is as follows: Total calls: 328; Total amount billed: $132,340.00; Total amount collected: $106,823.22. 2. Director Holmes Report: Deabenderfer reported that the Credit Bureau System has been an asset to the Ambulance Billing Systems. On November 14th, 2005, EMA received a conference call from the National Weather Service, which amounted to an advanced warning of severe weather for most of Montgomery County including all schools, hospitals, both court buildings and the Health Department were notified. The ARES operators were activated with one member standing by in the office. The county was lucky that the weather turned out not to be as severe as the weather service had predicted, and all warnings were cancelled around 3:00 PM. The MABAS Organization has sent several shipments of anti-nerve agent for the HazMat Team, of which there are two types; automatic-injection, and inhalation. One of the anti-nerve agents will need refrigeration, all of the agents have been sent to the Health Department for storage. Holmes will be re-writing job descriptions for her staff in January. Deabenderfer also reported that the HazMat Team was called out for the first time to a hazardous spill in Litchfield. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE REPORT: Given by Chairman Mike Plunkett as follows: 1. Update of Clean Up Site of Kerr McGee Station in Raymond: Plunkett reported that three underground storage tanks were removed from the old Kerr McGee gas station in Raymond on November 22nd, 2005. Cleanup of the soil at the site will begin in the spring. 2. Rural Partners Resolution/Intergovernmental Agreement for a Program of Affordable Housing Update/Approval: Plunkett reported to the board that there is an initiative to stimulate new housing growth in Montgomery County by the Rural Partners group, which will get collaborative partners together to help finance new housing. This program would enable people from low to moderate income to afford to build a new home. Amanda Cole from Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation, Kelly Moroney from Montgomery County Housing Authority, and Tonya Flannery-Litchfield EDC would help lead the program. Each community would identify its needs and pull together the building partners. The county would need to pass a resolution and intergovernmental agreement to get bonds to fund the program. A county the size of Montgomery County can apply for $2 million to get the program started. There is no financial liability to Montgomery County. USDA puts up the money for the program and guarantees the loans that are funded through local banks. A first time homeowner is defined as someone who has not owned a home in the last three years. Mortgage rates would be set when the resolution is passed, which would be done by December 31st, 2005 in order to start funding for 2006. Credit counseling will be available for new home owners. The Bond Cap of $2,000,000 was arrived at by taking 25% of the home sales in the county from the previous year. Total home sales were $8 Million. The key for the program is the loaning institutions qualifying and counseling applicants for the housing. There are no requirements to make the new homeowner stay in the home. The financial incentive is to stay in the home at least 5 years, because then the qualifying upfront loans would be forgiven. Tonya Flannery reported that the City of Litchfield already has a list of interested home buyers, financial institutions and builders. Kelly Moroney reported that Montgomery County Housing Authority personnel will take a week long course on how to council prospective home buyers and has offered to administer the program for the county. Freedom Place in Litchfield and Liberty Homes in Hillsboro both have waiting lists and some people who had income limits just over the qualifying limit that prevented them from moving into these units may be eligible for this program. Motion by Plunkett, second by Aumann to approve the Resolution to Authorize Application for Bond Volume Cap Issuance of $2,000,000. All in favor, motion carried. Motion by Plunkett, second by Bathurst to approve the Intergovernmental Agreement with the Illinois Housing Development Authority. All in favor, motion carried. (For both documents, see Resolution Book 6, pages 16-20). APPROVAL OF 7 COMMITTEE REPORTS: Motion by Blankenship, second by Durbin to approve the 7 committee reports. All in favor, motion carried. CHAIRMAN’S REPORT: Given by Chairman Mike Havera as follows: The County Employee Holiday Luncheon will be held December 22nd, 2005 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. Members were also given new County Calendars for 2006 meetings, current County Board member contact information and an Updated County Employee Telephone Listing. ANNOUNCEMENTS: State’s Attorney Roberts informed members that he recently received confirmation that he will be appointed as a Judge for the 4th Judicial Circuit, replacing the Judge Mark Joy, who is retiring. Roberts will take office in a ceremony to be held on January 6th, 2006. Roberts stated he enjoyed the many years serving the County Board and that he was proud of the work that they had done together. Roberts he would recommend Assistant State’s Attorney Chris Matoush for the seat of State’s Attorney after he tenders his written resignation. Matoush has been with the County State’s Attorney’s office for the past 6 years. The County Board has the task of filling the position of State’s Attorney and will hold a Special Meeting on Wednesday, December 28th, 2005 in the County Board room at 8:30 AM to appoint a qualified person to finish Roberts’ term as the county’s State’s Attorney. This term ends November 30th, 2006. SCHEDULE CHANGES: The Personnel Committee Meeting that was originally scheduled for Thursday, December 29th, 2005 has been changed to Thursday, December 22nd, 2005 at 8:30 AM in the County Board Room, Historic Courthouse, Hillsboro, Illinois. The Coordinating Committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday, December 27th, at 6:00 PM in the County Board Room, Historic Courthouse, Hillsboro, Illinois will meet at 5:30 PM instead, but on the same date and at the same location. APPOINTMENTS: None EXECUTIVE SESSION: Motion by Bathurst, second by Helgen to enter into Closed Session for the purpose of reviewing sealed Executive Session minutes. All in favor, motion carried. (Began at 9:30 AM) Motion to end the Closed Session: (Continue board meeting 10:10 AM) Motion by Branum, second by Downs to end the Closed Session. All in favor, motion carried. Motion by Plunkett, second by Bathurst to approve the unsealing of 14 executive session minutes as follows: January 12, 1999 – June 24, 1999 – June 29, 1999 – July 8, 1999 – August 10, 1999 – August 30, 1999 & August 31, 1999 – November 29, 1999 – September 27, 1999 – November 29, 1999 – August 12, 2003 – September 9, 2003 – January 11, 2005 – July 12, 2005. All in favor, motion carried. Motion by George Blankenship, second by Bone that the following 7 executive session minutes remain sealed: January 11, 2000 – January 26, 2000 – June 13, 2000 – February 13, 2001 – October 7, 2003 – October 11, 2005 – November 8, 2005. All in favor, motion carried. PAY BILLS: Motion by Sielschott, second by Painter to pay all approved bills. All in favor, motion carried. For itemized listing of bills paid, refer to Accounts Payable Book for FY 2006. ADJOURN: Until the Special Full Board Meeting on Wednesday, December 28th, 2005 at 8:30 AM in the County Board Room, Historic Courthouse, Hillsboro, IL. Motion by Branum, second by Downs to adjourn the Full Board Meeting. All in favor, motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 10:15 AM.