Kankakee Times

Kankakee County Community Services Committee met Tuesday, March 21.

REVISED  MINUTES

Members Present

Mr. Sirois, Ms. Webber, Mr. Stauffenberg, Mr. Tholen, Ms. Polk, Mr. Snipes, Ms. Evans, Ms. Peters, Mr. Johnson, Ms. Dunbar, and Ms. Parker

Members Absent

Mr. Vickery and Mr. Payton

In Attendance

 Board Members

Mr. Wheeler and Mr. Liehr

 Department Heads

Erich Blair, Lori Gadbois, Bruce Clark, Kevin Duval, Jake Lee, and Julie Boudreau

 Media

None

1. Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by the Chairman, Mr. Sirois, at 9:00 a.m. Quorum present.

2. Public Comment

3. Approval of Minutes: February 21, 2017

A motion to approve the minutes was made by Mr. Johnson, and seconded by Ms. Parker.

Motion carried with a voice vote.

4. Recorder: Lori Gadbois

 Monthly Report

Mr. Johnson made a motion to accept the report, and Ms. Dunbar seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

Ms. Gadbois reviewed and discussed the reports with the committee.

5. Assessor – Erich Blair

 Monthly Report

Ms. Peters made a motion to approve the report, and Mr. Snipes seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

Mr. Blair reviewed and discussed the report with the committee.

 Staff Replacement Update

Mr. Blair stated that his new employee, Collin Wood, started on March 13, 2017, and he’s really pleased with the progress that Mr. Wood has made in the last week and a half. Mr. Blair has no doubt about Mr. Wood being able to handle the mapping aspect that they’ve placed upon him. As far as interaction with the public and knowing the type of questions they receive, that’s just repetition and he’s sure that Mr. Wood will adapt just fine to that.

 Solar Energy Projects

Mr. Blair stated that there have been some rumblings about solar energy projects within the county. Given that there are no statutory guidelines on how to value such a project, he has taken on the task of assembling a committee with his peers to try to uniformly find a way to assess these types of projects. What he found was that LaSalle County has a methodology that they already use to split out what is real property and what is personal property in that project. In lieu of any statutory guidelines, he would lean on that heavily should we have any solar projects come into our county, and officially construct a project.

6. Animal Control – Julie Boudreau

 Monthly Report

Mr. Johnson made a motion to approve the report, and Ms. Evans seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

Ms. Boudreau reviewed and discussed the report with the committee.

 Bellwether Fee Study Increases

Ms. Boudreau stated the Bellwether Fee Study indicated that there were several fees that came in under the needs or the actual cost to the department. While this is not hitting all of those, working with the Assistant State’s Attorney, they have started opening up the entire ordinance and working on different things. Their rabies fees haven’t been increased since September of 1996. She would like to propose an increase, not quite as high as Bellwether indicated, but up $5 on the one year, $10 on the three year altered, and $10 on the unaltered. She is proposing to increase the board fee by $5, and the rabies observation board fee by $5. For the adoption fee, she proposes raising that by $50 for dogs, and by $55 for cats.

Mr. Wheeler asked Ms. Boudreau if she would be willing to come back and address the fees that she chose not to increase.

Ms. Boudreau stated that she would be willing to discuss those fees at next month’s meeting.

Ms. Evans made a motion to accept the increases and move them to the full board, and Ms. Parker seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

 Multi-Pet Permit

Ms. Boudreau stated that, over the years, pet limits have been talked about. Some villages, municipalities, and other counties have limits. One of the counties that she has worked with over the years has a multi-pet permit. Some people can handle many pets and do a wonderful job of it, but some people can barely take care of one. The information she provided to the committee is very similar to what the other county does. She spoke with the State’s Attorney’s office about what other counties’ ordinances read, and whether it would apply to our county. Instead of reinventing it, she used a lot of their language. If the committee were to accept this multi-pet permit, there is a “magic number” which, in the other county’s ordinance, states, “…that such license shall be obtained no later than 30 days after assuming ownership of a fifth animal".

Ms. Boudreau further discussed the multi-pet permit issue with the committee, and it was decided to change the number of animals from “5” to “9”.

Mr. Wheeler made a motion to change the number of allowable cats and dogs from “5” to “9”, and to move the multi-pet permit to the full board for consideration. Mr. Johnson seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

 Definition of Shelter

Ms. Boudreau stated that, in the State statutes under the Humane Care of Animals Act, it simply says “adequate shelter and protection from the weather”, which is extremely vague. She suggests adding the definition of shelter to our own local ordinance, and that would define four sides, a roof, floor, and bedding. The shelter is to be of sufficient size to permit such animal to stand up, turn around inside when fully grown, and allow retention of body heat. The shelter shall be placed to provide shade from the sun and protection from the weather.

Mr. Wheeler asked what the definition of bedding is. Is it hay, straw…?

Ms. Boudreau stated that it would be the type of material that wouldn’t necessarily freeze. Bedding is not blankets as those get wet and freeze. Bedding would be shavings, hay, straw, or something of that nature.

Mr. Wheeler asked that bedding be clarified as to what the definition is if we do make the change.

Ms. Evans made a motion to accept this definition of “shelter” and that “bedding” be defined, and Ms. Parker seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

 Property Update

Ms. Boudreau stated that they’ve been working with an Eagle Scout from Troop #361. They called and wanted to help Animal Control do something, so they worked on the barn over the latter part of fall and the early part of this year. Their portion of that is now complete. It is not completely renovated as they need to add additional stalls, proper ventilation, light, and water. As there are going to be multiple buildings on the property, they have named the barn “County Barn 361” in honor of the Eagle Scout Troop who helped them make this happen.

 Upcoming BARK Fundraiser

Ms. Boudreau stated that BARK is having a fundraiser on May 12th at the Knights of Columbus, and she would like to see the County Board members attend.

7. County Clerk – Bruce Clark

 Monthly Report

Mr. Johnson made a motion to approve the report, and Ms. Dunbar seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

Mr. Clark reviewed and discussed the report with the committee.

8. Old Business

9. New Business

10. Adjournment

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