Galesburg Reporter

Knox County Board Met July 28.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

Proceedings of the Regular Meeting of the Knox County Board held in person at the Galesburg City Council chambers at 6:13 p.m. Due to the coronavirus precautions, this meeting was presented via teleconference in order to alleviate the need for the public to be in person at the meeting.

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

District 2 Robert Bondi

District 4 Jared Hawkinson

District 5 Ricardo “Rick” Sandoval

District 1 Darla Krejci

District 2 David Amor

District 3 Pamela Davidson

District 5 Brian Friedrich

District 1 Cheryl Nache

District 2 John Hunigan

District 3 Kyle Rohweder

District 4 Sara Varner

District 5 Jeff Link

And those absent: 

District 1 Roland Paulsgrove

District 3 Tara Wilder

District 4 Todd Olinger

Also present was County Clerk Scott Erickson, State’s Attorney Jeremy Karlin, and County Treasurer Robin Davis. Department Heads present were Nursing Home Administrator Jodi Mines, Landfill Administrator Rod Cleair, and Mary Davis Home Administrator Wendi Steck.

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

Chair Hawkinson asked for additions or deletions to the agenda. Member Bondi asked to remove Item #27 the approval of easement requests from Ameren. Chair Hawkinson asked to remove Item #9 the approval of the contract for the Supervisor of Assessments. Without objection, Chair Hawkinson removed and advanced the items.

Chair Hawkinson asked for public comments. There was no public comment at this time.

Motion was made by Member Bondi and seconded by Member Varner to approve the following items of the consent agenda: 1) minutes of the Regular and Closed Board Meetings for June 21, 2021, 2) claims for Members for per diem and mileage for the meetings of July 2021 and other claims for per diem from meetings, and 3) sales tax and various taxes for the month of April 2021 in the amount of $146,175.35 and $33,077.68 and public safety tax in the amount of $233,427.13. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Davidson, Friedrich, Nache, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link—(12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Chair Hawkinson introduced members of the Galesburg Public Library Capital Campaign to address the Board. Noelle Thompson and Heather Sikes gave an update on the new library construction and the history of the library. The Library has had to adapt quickly to the changing needs of the clients during the pandemic. They still are checking out books and providing internet access from the facility to the users outside of the building. The current library was built to be a temporary replacement for the Carnegie Library building that burned down. This temporary space has been in use since 1961. The funding for the new library was on hold for about 8 years prior to it being appropriated. They have purchased land and have been working on demolition of the site this summer. The new library will have more community rooms, a kitchen area, study rooms, and large group collaboration spaces. There will also be an enhanced children’s room and a skills and technology lab. Chair Hawkinson thanked them for their presentation and stated that copies of their report are available for the Board Members to review. Member Amor told them to let the Board know if they needed our help.

Motion was made by Member Bondi and seconded by Member Varner to approve the appointment to the Spoon Valley Lake Sanitary District of David P. Groeber. This is a new appointment. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Davidson, Friedrich, Nache, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link—(12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Motion was made by Member Friedrich and seconded by Member Sandoval to approve the appointment to the Williamsfield Fire Protection District of Bruce Bush. This is a new appointment. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Davidson, Friedrich, Nache, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link—(12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Motion was made by Member Bondi and seconded by Member Varner to approve the request to trap at the old County landfill by Dave Mason. Mr. Mason has trapped on this land before and has been a nuisance trapper for over 40 years. There will be no cost to the County and it will fulfill a requirement that the County provide nuisance control of beavers on the property. .Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Davidson, Friedrich, Nache, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link—(12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Motion was made by Member Friedrich and seconded by Member Amor to approve the creation of a Redistricting Ad Hoc Committee. Chair Hawkinson stated that the redistricting/reapportionment from the State directs the County to conduct the redistricting with the use of the most recent Census data. With the delay in the Census numbers this year, the State of Illinois has passed legislation that delays the deadline for the redistricting process to December 31, 2021. The redistricting process is designed to fairly distribute the voting population into the assigned Districts for as equal a representation as possible. This is also the time that the number of Districts can be modified along with the number of Members to be elected form each District. The County Board must complete the process by the third Wednesday in November. Failure to do so would then require the County Clerk to activate a redistricting commission to do the work no later than December 31, 2021. The proposed County Redistricting Ad Hoc Committee shall be comprised of the following person: Members Amor, Sandoval, Nache, and Bondi, along with the Chairs of the 2 major political parties or their designees. The Committee will be chaired by the Chair Hawkinson. Member Davidson asked if every District was represented. Chair Hawkinson stated that it was not required. Member Davidson stated that District 3 has lost population and there was no Member form District 3 on the Committee which is bothersome. Chair Hawkinson stated that Member Davidson will be on the Committee in the roll of Democratic Party Chair. Member Davidson stated that the Redistricting Committee has always had representation from every District on ti for years.

Member Link stated that he never thought it was right that the City of Galesburg got to have 9 representatives and the County only got to have 6 representatives on the Board. Member Amor asked about the Statute reference to the leading Parties. Chair Hawkinson confirmed that it was referring to the Democratic and Republican Parties. Chair Hawkinson also reminded the Board that this item was on the agenda in April and was removed. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Friedrich, Nache, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link—(12). Noes- Davidson—(1). Motion carried. 

Motion was made by Member Sandoval and seconded by Member Bondi to approve the intergovernmental agreement with IEMA. Chair Hawkinson reported that in the January meeting the Board approved an agreement for the required hazard mitigation plan to be revised.

This is the next step in the process. The company doing the work is approved by the State and the costs will be covered with grant money. Emergency Services Director Randy Hovind is in support of this action. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Davidson, Friedrich, Nache, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link— (12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Chair Hawkinson presented an update on the American Rescue Plan Task Force. The group met to set the mission and organizational goals and to establish the phases of work to be completed. They are working on the organizational phase at this time. They are assigning

Members to be liaisons to municipalities for collaboration on projects. The next meeting is August 2. They hope to start the assessment phase at that time. Member Davidson stated that at the UCCI meeting she attended that both UCCI and NACo spoke about this topic. They would be happy to come speak to the task force. Member Nache asked how long it would be before the Board got an answer on what projects to fund. Chair Hawkinson stated that they will be gathering information for about 3 or 4 months as they want to be sure to get all the documentation for potential projects. Member Amor stated that they are currently working on the lost revenue calculations and then they can start to draw down some of the funds into the County revenue. They are also looking at local hardships and short term expenditures. Member Nache wanted to make sure that those who need the funds the most are able to get access to them.

Member Friedrich presented the monthly report for the Finance, Insurance, Treasurer, Judicial, Veterans, and Clerk/Recorder Committee. The reports are included in the packet. He reported that the redistricting project will be coming up very soon.

Motion made by Member Friedrich and seconded by Member Amor to approve the Resolution on Deeds of Conveyance. This is a routine action item for the Board. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Davidson, Friedrich, Nache, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link—(12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Motion made by Member Friedrich and seconded by Member Bondi to approve the membership renewal with Western Illinois Regional Council. Member Amor stated that the dues are based on a per capita rate for all member Counties. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Davidson, Friedrich, Nache, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link—(12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Motion made by Member Friedrich and seconded by Member Bondi to approve the emergency letter of agreement with Bellwether LLC. Chair Hawkinson reported that this is a consulting firm that is working with 45 other counties in the State to help calculate lost revenue and provide guidance on potential projects and compliance with regulations. The cost can be taken from the ARPA grant as administrative costs. The cost is $20,000 and will be split between the 2 installments that the County will receive. They were only taking a certain number of counties and we needed to react quickly in order to get on their list. Member Friedrich stated that we have used them in the past for some fee study work. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Davidson, Friedrich, Nache, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link—(12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Motion made by Member Friedrich and seconded by Member Bondi to approve the resolution for American Rescue Plan Act disbursement to Bellwether LLC. Chair Hawkinson reported that the expenditures from the ARPA funds will need to be initiated by Resolution to properly track and report the expenditures. This is the first expenditure from this grant. Member Friedrich said this was a good way to track the money. Member Bondi said it is a great value. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Davidson, Friedrich, Nache, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link—(12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Motion made by Member Friedrich and seconded by Member Bondi to approve the bid and bring back for workman’s compensation, liability, and vehicle insurance. Member Friedrich said that we are looking for the best deals we can get and the bidding process will allow for that. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Davidson, Friedrich, Nache, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link—(12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Motion made by Member Friedrich and seconded by Member Rohweder to approve the wage increase for the Public Defender. Member Friedrich reported that this is a directive from the State of Illinois that we must pay the Public Defender a certain percentage of what the States Attorney is being paid in order to receive salary reimbursement. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Davidson, Friedrich, Nache, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link—(12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Motion made by Member Friedrich and seconded by Member Bondi to approve the budget changes for the Public Defender and State’s Attorney wage increases. Member Friedrich stated that these changes are needed to modify the budget to accommodate the new pay for these 2 office holders.. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Davidson, Friedrich, Nache, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link—(12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Motion made by Member Friedrich and seconded by Member Rohweder to approve the memorandum of Understanding between Carl Sandburg College and Knox County. Chair Hawkinson reported that he was contacted by the Dean of Institutional Planning about their plans for creating an Innovation center in the old Carl Sandburg College Annex building on Main Street. This will be a great boost to the community and help with training and support of new technology workforce. In order to get the Federal grant for this project, they need to have the support of local governments for the project. There is no monetary cost to the County Member Rohweder said that our future development depends on this type of cooperation to get projects completed. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Davidson, Friedrich, Nache, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link—(12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Member Sandoval presented the monthly report from the Sheriff, Jail, Mary Davis Home, Animal Control, and Building Committee. All Departments are busy with normal operations.

Motion made by Member Sandoval and seconded by Member Friedrich to approve the bid for County Facility Maintenance contract. Chair Hawkinson reported that there were 2 bidders for this contract. The bids are included in the packet. There were 6 areas to bid and they are the same as the ones bid out in 2019. The Committee reviewed the bids and recommend accepting the bid from MSI for everything but fire protection. Both bids for the fire protection were very high and therefore were removed from consideration. Member Amor asked how long MSI has had this contract. Chair Hawkinson stated that they were awarded the bid in 2019.

Member Amor asked if the different types of bids could be split out for approval. Chair

Hawkinson stated that the bids were all inclusive. He also stated that MSI was the only one to provide certification on the HVAC system at the courthouse. Member Friedrich said that there was discussion about splitting these things out but the bids may be higher if we do this. Chair Hawkinson stated that the bid tab shows that MSI was not charging an increased weekend rate, just an increased holiday rate. Member Davidson stated that in 2019 Amp did not apply for the HVAC and MSI has been the main contractor for several years. We need to give due diligence to make sure that everyone is getting a share of the work. Member Bondi suggested that the 2 companies could work together if the contract was split out by specialty type. Member Hunigan agreed. There are some department heads that may not be comfortable with a particular provider and should have the opportunity to use a different one. Member Friedrich said that the bids are in the packet and if we want to change the rules we need to allow for an individual bid along with a collective bid. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Hawkinson, Krejci, Friedrich, Rohweder, and Link—(5). Noes—Bondi, Amor, Davidson, Nache, Hunigan, and Varner—(6). Abstain –Sandoval—(1). Motion fails. Chair Hawkinson said it will go back to Committee next month for revisions.

Member Davidson asked about the jail census. Chair Hawkinson reported that they had 105 clients at the jail with 37 Federal prisoners.

Member Bondi presented the monthly report from the Assessor, Zoning, GIS, Highway, IT, and Landfill Committee. The reports are presented in the Board packet.

Motion made by Member Bondi and seconded by Member Rohweder to approve the engineering services agreement for County Highway 25/1200N intersection reconstruction, Section 21-000-25-01-SF. Member Bondi said this was for oil and chip work on various road projects. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Davidson, Friedrich, Nache, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link—(12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Motion made by Member Bondi and seconded by Member Friedrich to approve the bid for a new skid loader for the Landfill. Member Bondi said this will be for a purchase from AC McCartney as they were the lowest acceptable bid. The low bid did not have vertical lift arms and the Kubota does. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Davidson, Friedrich, Nache, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link— (12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Motion made by Member Bondi and seconded by Member Davidson to approve the bid and bring back for financing options for the skid loader for the Landfill. Member Bondi stated that the Landfill does have enough in the budget to purchase the equipment, they just want to look at options. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Davidson, Friedrich, Nache, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link—(12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Motion made by Member Bondi and seconded by Member Nache to approve the authorization to solicit offers for County real estate property 10-20-400-021 and 10-29-226-021.

Member Bondi stated that this is for the property the County owns by the Love’s truck stop in Knoxville. We are looking to accept offers for the property from any interested bidders. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Davidson, Friedrich, Nache, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link—(12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Member Hunigan presented the report from the Nursing Home Committee. The report is in the packet. There are plans for a 100th birthday celebration for Harold Olman this Friday.

They are working on gathering 100 cards for his birthday. The Nursing Home is working towards being a COVID19 vaccine location.

Motion made by Member Hunigan and seconded by Member Nache to approve the purchase of a Vulcan 5-pan electric convection steamer and filter system. Member Hunigan stated that they only had 1 bid for this purchase. The total for the unit and the water scale blocker is $7,591. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Davidson, Friedrich, Nache, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link—(12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Motion made by Member Hunigan and seconded by Member Rohweder to approve the bid and bring back for therapy services for the Nursing Home. Member Hunigan stated that the current provider said they would provide better service than the previous supplier. Their reporting is not proving to be sufficient and they hope to get a better rate by going out for bid. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Davidson, Friedrich, Nache, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link—(12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Member Davidson stated that there will be a Garden Walk on the 31st and the Nursing Home is included in this walk. She hopes for good weather.

Chair Hawkinson reported that the reports from the outside committee assignments will be included in the packet if provided. If anyone has a question in regards to an outside committee or their report, they should contact the Board Member that is serving on that committee and ask them directly.

Motion by Member Friedrich and seconded by Member Sandoval to open the budget for line item changes. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Davidson, Friedrich, Nache, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link—(12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Motion by Member Bondi and seconded by Member Rohweder to approve the budget changes as presented. Chair Hawkinson stated that there are changes for the line item changes are include in the packet. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Davidson, Friedrich, Nache, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link— (12). Noes—(0). Motion carried.

Chair Hawkinson discussed the review of checks that were paid during the time the Board was not in session. There were only the regularly approved checks for this month.

Motion was made by Member Friedrich and seconded by Member Bondi to approve the claims against Knox County, Illinois, for the period of June 24, 2021 through July 28, 2021 (ordering that invoices be accepted and approved and that the County Clerk and County Treasurer by authorized and directed to issue County Warrants in payment of the bills. Treasurer Davis reported that the vouchers submitted amounted to $2,196,202.93 this month. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Friedrich, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link—(10). Noes--(0). Abstain—Davidson and Nache—(2).

Motion carried.

The next Regular Meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 25, 2021, 6:00 p.m., in person at the council chambers at Galesburg City Hall.

Motion was made by Member Bondi and seconded by Member Friedrich to adjourn the meeting. Roll call vote is recorded as follows: Ayes—Bondi, Hawkinson, Sandoval, Krejci, Amor, Davidson, Friedrich, Nache, Hunigan, Rohweder, Varner, and Link—(12). Noes—(0).

Motion carried and meeting adjourned at 7:55PM.

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