Galesburg Reporter

Knox County Board met Sept. 25.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

Proceedings of the Regular Meeting of the Knox County Board held at the Galesburg City Hall, Galesburg, Illinois on Wednesday, September 25, 2019 at 6:05 p.m.

The Meeting was called to order by County Board Chair Pamela Davidson and upon roll call the following Members reported present:

District 2 David Amor

District 3 Pamela Davidson

District 4 Jared Hawkinson

District 5 Ricardo “Rick” Sandoval

District 1 Cheryl Nache

District 2 Robert Bondi

District 3 Tara Wilder

District 4 Todd Olinger

District 5 Brian Friedrich

District 2 John Hunigan

District 3 Kyle Rohweder

District 4 Sara Varner

And those absent: District 1 Lyle Johnson

District 1 Patrick Harlan

District 5 Todd Shreves

Also present were County Treasurer Robin Davis and County Clerk Scott Erickson.

County Clerk Scott Erickson delivered the Proclamation. Board Chair Davidson led the Members in the pledge of allegiance to the flag. In lieu of a formal invocation Chair Davidson asked that a moment of silence be observed.

Chair Davidson asked for additions or deletions to the agenda. Member Amor asked that Item #12 - Approval to accept the classification and compensation study conducted by PayPoint HR. The item was removed without objection.

Chair Davidson asked for public comments.

Randy DeSutter addressed the Board in regards to wind turbines and invited the Board and the public to come to his wind farm just north of Knox County to see the turbines up close.

There will be some zoning requests coming through soon that will bring wind energy to Knox County.

Dennis Fredrickson from Victoria stated that he is a farmer that has worked with Orion Energy and is support of wind farms.

Andrew Bowman from Oneida stated that the 3 persons who have spoken to you this evening represent 3 various types of farmers. He feels that the contracts signed by the farmers balance all factors. The County and local schools are expected to receive a large increase in taxes due to the wind farms. They are also looking at bring up the wind farms standards that are 5 years old now up to those even higher than the State requires. Even though there may be some controversy and difference of opinions we all need to work together for the betterment of the County.

Dale Carlson of Galesburg presented written comments to the Board in regards to the legalization of the sale of cannabis in the County. He has concerns for the health and well-being of the children of the County and encourages the County to not allow the recreational sale of cannabis to be allowed in the County. Larger communities have opted out of allowing the sale and he encourages the Board to take the moral stand to defend families and vote in opposition.

Mike Landon from Local 25 spoke to express concern about the proposed Smartwatt projects. He has received discouraging feedback from this and feels that local companies can do the job just as well or better. Local companies can and have given estimates on savings from projects. He is concerned about these companies that have not worked in our area and any unexpected costs and factors that could arise.

Motion was made by Member Amor and seconded by Member Nache to approve the following items of the consent agenda: 1) minutes of the Regular and Closed Board Meetings on August 28, 2019, 2) claims by Members for per diem and mileage for the meeting of September 2019 and other claims for per diem from meetings, and 3) sales tax and various taxes for the month of June 2019 in the amounts of $117,139.59 and $20,065.65 and public safety tax in the amount of $196,318.29. Roll vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Amor, Davidson. Hawkinson, Sandoval, Nache, Bondi, Wilder, Olinger, Friedrich, Hunigan, Rohweder, and Varner (12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Motion was made by Member Friedrich and seconded by Member Hawkinson to approve the Proclamation in support of October as Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Roll vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Amor, Davidson. Hawkinson, Sandoval, Nache, Bondi, Wilder, Olinger, Friedrich, Hunigan, Rohweder, and Varner (12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Motion was made by Member Hawkinson and seconded by Member Sandoval to approve the new appointment of Joseph Riley as commissioner to the Knox County Housing Authoity. Information is included in the packets. Roll vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Amor, Davidson. Hawkinson, Sandoval, Nache, Bondi, Wilder, Olinger, Friedrich, Hunigan, Rohweder, and Varner (12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Member Amor presented the monthly report from the Finance, Insurance, Treasurer, Judicial and Clerk Committee. The monthly report is included in the packets. They have been busy working on finalizing the budget during some work sessions. There will be a tentative budget to put on display at next month’s meeting.

Motion was made by Member Amor and seconded by Member Bondi to approve the food safety ordinance fee schedule to be included with the recently approved and revised food safety ordinance. These fees have not been increased in ten years and need to be brought up. Roll vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Amor, Davidson. Hawkinson, Sandoval, Nache, Bondi, Wilder, Olinger, Friedrich, Hunigan, Rohweder, and Varner (12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Motion was made by Member Amor and seconded by Member Bondi to approve the renewal quote for premiums for the liability, workman’s compensation, vehicle, and property insurance. These coverages were bid out by our agent and reviewed at the Finance Committee. Roll vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Amor, Davidson. Hawkinson, Sandoval, Nache, Bondi, Wilder, Olinger, Friedrich, Hunigan, Rohweder, and Varner (12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Motion was made by Member Amor and seconded by Member Sandoval to approve the contract for elections connectivity with Stratus. This new connection is being required by the State Board of Elections and will aid in the securing of electronic transmission of data between the County and the State through the Illinois Century Network. There will be grant funding provided to cover this ongoing expense. Roll vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Amor, Davidson. Hawkinson, Sandoval, Nache, Bondi, Wilder, Olinger, Friedrich, Hunigan, Rohweder, and Varner (12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Motion was made by Member Amor and seconded by Member Sandoval to approve the purchase of computers for various offices in the County. County Clerk Erickson reported that this purchase will be used to replace computers in some offices that had budgeted those costs for this year. The purchase was bid out in bulk so as to get a better cost on the equipment. Roll vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Amor, Davidson. Hawkinson, Sandoval, Nache, Bondi, Wilder, Olinger, Friedrich, Hunigan, Rohweder, and Varner (12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Motion made by Member Amor and seconded by Member Olinger to approve the letter of engagement with the auditors. This will allow the auditors to begin their work on the upcoming audit for the County. Roll vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Amor, Davidson. Hawkinson, Sandoval, Nache, Bondi, Wilder, Olinger, Friedrich, Hunigan, Rohweder, and Varner (12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Member Wilder reported that they did not have a quorum for the monthly meeting of the Nursing Home Committee. There is a charge for reimbursement in the bills for to replace a shattered TV of a resident as the accident was caused by a staff member.

Motion was made by Member Wilder and seconded by Member Olinger to approve the change order for the sewer work project at the Knox County Nursing Home. This was a bid project and the 8 inch pipe that they thought was replaced previously was not. Therefore, they will need to replace this additional section of pipe in this change order. The cost should be under $4,000 to complete. Roll vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Amor, Davidson. Hawkinson, Sandoval, Nache, Bondi, Wilder, Olinger, Friedrich, Hunigan, Rohweder, and Varner (12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Member Hawkinson presented the monthly Sheriff, Jail, Mary Davis Home, Animal Control, and Building Committee report. There has been no money paid yet to the Mary Davis Home from this year’s State budget, but the State is current with the payments from last year. There are some building issues caused by settlement that will need to be addressed. The Sheriff’s Department reported that there are issues with the flat roof at the jail. It makes it hard to locate the leaks as the water can run in from different directions. They are also reviewing possible hail damage to the roof. The State has also recently completed the annual jail inspection. There were some minor items to address that had been previously noted but were not made into a big concern. They have reached out to the Western Illinois Reginal Council to help them with some grants for the jail. The Committee was also updated on the Smartwatt project scope and reviewed a list of potential projects to be handled through this program. This generated a lengthy discussion at the meeting and ultimately caused a special meeting to be called.

Motion was made by Member Hawkinson and seconded by Member Friedrich to approve the purchase of new radios for the Sheriff’s department in the amount of $86,881. The current radio system is ten to twelve years old and is no longer produced by the vendor. If a unit breaks down, we can no longer get parts to fix them and have to borrow ones from other departments. The purchase will be financed commercially over three years from F&M Bank at a rate of 3% interest. The monthly cost will be $2,600. The old radios that are still operating can be sold to other departments that cannot afford to upgrade their units. Roll vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Amor, Davidson. Hawkinson, Sandoval, Nache, Bondi, Wilder, Olinger, Friedrich, Hunigan, Rohweder, and Varner (12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Motion by Member Hawkinson and seconded by Member Varner to approve the list of projects on the Smartwatt proposal to be pursued by the vendor. Member Hawkinson stated that this was not the final approval or legally binding list of projects that would be funded. That scope of work is provided to the County with projects at different locations and buildings throughout the County. This approval would be to authorize them to get more solid information and to seek bids for projects. Those bid rates would then be brought back to the Board. Some of the projects on the list include lighting improvements with conversion to LED bulbs, boiler upgrades at the Jail and Nursing Home, AC replacement at Mary Davis Home and Nursing Home, variable frequency drive motors on the jail roof top units, walk-in cooler replacement, sealing of doors and windows on buildings and repairing of cracks, HVAC control upgrades, and water conservation measures. The projected cost of these projects is $1,537,037 after a $88,379 rebate from the power company. The estimated savings each year would be around $2,418,831. The projected best return would be on a 15 year lease with no upfront costs. There would be no payments for 1 year so that the County can budget for these costs. Roll vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Amor. Hawkinson, Bondi, Rohweder, and Varner (5). Noes—Davdidson, Sandoval, Nache, Wilder, Olinger, Friedrich, and Hunigan(7). Motion failed.

Member Hunigan presented the monthly Assessor, Zoning, GIS, Highway, Veteran’s, and Landfill Committee report. Highway Department has some openings for employment. The Landfill reports that Rod Cleair has passed his certification tests on the first attempt. They are also having Foth look at staffing requirements at the Landfill and will bring a report for action next month. In the Assessor’s office the Township Assessors work was competed on September 13. The office has issued 153 certificates of error for the 2018 tax year to date. The September meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals was cancelled due to lack of quorum.

Motion was made by Member Hunigan and seconded by Member Amor to approve the Resolution regarding the zoning and retailer’s occupational tax on the recreational cannabis businesses in Knox County. Approval of the resolution will allow the recreational cannabis businesses to be established in the County. Ken Springer was asked to address the Board on the economic impact of these businesses in the County.

Ken Springer presented a summary of his research into the field as he has spent a great deal of time on this subject during talks within the City of Galesburg. In a short amount of time, Galesburg has already seen projects line up to be implemented. There are lots of opt-in costs and benefits to the legalization of cannabis. The State has made it legal to possess a certain amount of the drug effective January 1, 2020. Your decision to opt in or out will not change that part. The decision to be made is if the County will allow for the growth and development of this type of business in the unincorporated areas of the County and in turn be able to include ether own level of taxation on the industry. There are lots of jobs and tax revenue to be made with the passage of this resolution. Discussion was made on the how the licenses would be issued. The State is the only entity that can issue a license, so the taxation issue is all the County has to deal with at this time. The State will issue the licenses throughout the State at different times and with a variety of requirements. Currently it is only available to current dispensary business. Member Amor said that he has done research on the topic and has found that in Oregon and Washington the crime rates have decrease somewhat. This will present law enforcement with new challenges. Roll vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Amor, Davidson, Nache, Bondi, Wilder, Olinger, Hunigan, and Rohweder(8). Noes—Hawkinson, Sandoval, and Friedrich(3). Abstain – Varner(1). Motion carried.

Member Bondi presented the monthly report from the Knox County Board of Health. Bruner Cooper and Zuck were brought in to look at the parking lot issues. The budget process was going well and they are dealing with the increase in minimum wage. LIHEAP applications are due starting October 1, 2019.

Member Varner presented the monthly report from the Galesburg Convention and Visitors Bureau. She reported that the Board is restructuring and that plans would be announced soon.

Member Hawkinson presented the monthly report from the 9-1-1 Committee. There was no regular meeting this month. There will be a special meeting next week to discuss personnel and membership on the Board

Ken Springer presented the monthly report from the Knox County Area Partnership for Economic Development. There will be a massive industry showcase for manufacturing and building trades at Galesburg High School. Lead activity is strong especially in the food processing, warehouse, and restaurant fields. KCAP has hired Noah Postin to be their client manager.

Member Johnson was not present to give a report from the Prairie Hills Resources Board.

Cahir Davidson presented the monthly report from the United Council of Counties. The group hosted a trip for County Board Chairs to Washington D.C. to talk with Congressmen and Senators about infrastructure and County governments. It was very educational. UCCI paid for the expenses of the trip, so there was no cost to the taxpayers.

Vice-Chairman Amor presented the monthly report from the Western Illinois Regional Council. He reported that there was no meeting this month. They did host a CEO group in Macomb to talk about the upcoming census. The West Central Region has applied for $300,000 for a complete count effort. The mayors will hold a complete count group meeting and make the County a part of the process. They are working on the target groups to focus attention.

Member Rohweder presented the monthly report from the Knox County Mental Health 708 Board. Members Bacon and Watts were planning on attending this meeting. They are working on 1 to 3 year goals for the group. They also discussed grant fund distribution.

Motion was made by Member Friedrich and seconded by Member Bondi to approve the opening of the budget for line item changes. Roll vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Amor, Davidson. Hawkinson, Sandoval, Nache, Bondi, Wilder, Olinger, Friedrich, Hunigan, Rohweder, and Varner (12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Proposed budget line item changes are presented in the packets.

Motion was made by Member Nache and seconded by Member Rohweder to approve the proposed line item changes as presented. Roll vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Amor, Davidson. Hawkinson, Sandoval, Nache, Bondi, Wilder, Olinger, Friedrich, Hunigan, Rohweder, and Varner (12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Motion was made by Member Bondi and seconded by Member Olinger to approve the claims against Knox County, Illinois, for the period of August 29, 2019 through September 25, 2019 (ordering that invoices be accepted and approved and that the County Clerk and County Treasurer be authorized and directed to issue County Warrants in payment of the bills.) Chair Davidson added that the billd from the Nursing Home Committee were passed around for your review at the meeting and will be approved with this action. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Amor, Davidson, Nache, Bondi, Wilder, Olinger, Friedrich, Hunigan, Rohweder, and Varner—(10). Noes—Hawkinson-(1). Abstain – Sandoval-(1) Motion carried.

STATEMENTS OF GENERAL CONCERN

Vice-Chairman Amor was taken aback and disappointed about the Smartwatt vote without discussion. He understands local labor and local bidders are not competitive, but this process would save the County $90,000 a year. This includes the structured guarantees from the vendor. He hopes the Board will reconsider this issue.

Chair Davidson had no comment at this time.

Member Hawkinson noted that this week is National Diaper Need Awareness Week.

Lots of local families need diapers for not only infants but for the elderly as well. He encourages all to donate to this worthy cause.

Member Sandoval and Member Nache had no comments at this time.

Member Bondi expressed his thanks to Vice-Chairman Amor for expressing his concerns about the Smartwatt project. He feels the same way.

Member Wilder had no comments at this time.

Member Olinger explained that he missed the Nursing Home Committee meeting due to a presentation to a local Boy Scout troop.

Member Friedrich reminded people that harvest season is underway and to be careful on the roads. He also thanked the Farm Bureau for being at the meeting tonight.

Member Hunigan stated that even with the controversy on the cannabis issue this is the right thing to do for the County.

Member Rohweder agreed with Member Hunigan’s remarks. His favorite shirt is a hemp blend and Union made from Texas.

Member Varner stated that although she is in favor of the tax revenue and jobs that the cannabis businesses will create, she had a majority of her constituents call in opposition to this vote. With 5 kids of her own and the loss of her brother to drugs, this is a very sensitive issue for her.

The next Regular Meeting will be held on Wednesday, October23, 2019, 6:00 p.m., at the Galesburg City Hall Council Chambers, Galesburg, Illinois.

Motion was made by Member Sandoval and seconded by Member Nache to adjourn from this Open Meeting until the next scheduled Meeting of the Board. Voice vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—(12). Noes—(0). Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m.

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