Kankakee Times

Kankakee County Planning, Zoning and Agriculture Committee met Thursday, March 23.

MINUTES

Members Present

Mr. Washington, Ms. Polk, Mr. Tholen, Mr. Mulcahy, Mr. Payton, Mr. Hildebrand, Mr. Ritter, and Ms. Dunbar

Members Absent

Mr. Olthoff, Mr. Tripp, Mr. Einfeldt, Ms. Peters, and Mr. Byrne

In Attendance

 Board Members

Mr. Wheeler and Mr. Liehr

 Department Heads

Kevin Duval and Delbert Skimerhorn

 Media

Present

1. Call to Order/Roll Call

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

2. Public Comment

3. Approval of Minutes: February 23, 2017

A motion was made by Mr. Washington to approve the minutes, and Mr. Hildebrand seconded it.

Motion carried with a voice vote.

4. Building – Delbert Skimerhorn

 Building Report – February 2017

Mr. Skimerhorn reviewed and discussed the building report with the committee.

Mr. Mulcahy made a motion to approve the building report and Ms. Polk seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

5. Transportation – Geoff Olson

 FY2018 Rural Transit Service

 FTA Section 5311 Application

 Illinois Downstate Operating Assistance Program

Mr. Olson stated that, at the beginning of each year, they send out letters to all of the transportation providers in the area. It’s a notice of opportunity for anyone who is interested in providing a rural transit service in our county. The only submission they received back was from SHOW BUS, who is currently their transportation provider, and has been since 1999. The main service we provide is our demand response service where anyone who is interested in the rural area calls SHOW BUS about 24 hours in advance to schedule a ride. They can then come into town, go everywhere they need to, and then SHOW BUS will take them back home at the end of the day. The fares for that are $4. They also have their Momence deviated fixed route service which is the commuter service between Kankakee and Momence. The fare for that is $1 each way. The first bus leaves at 4:00 a.m., and the last bus leaves Kankakee at 5:00 p.m. That service has been very instrumental for workers commuting between Momence and Kankakee. The majority of funding comes from two grants that they receive. They receive federal funds from the FTA for rural transit, which is Section 5311. They also receive downstate operating assistance funds from the State of Illinois. The grant amount from FTA is for $166,698, and the amount for the downstate operating assistance from the state is $960,800. There is local match involved which comes from a handful of different places. Various townships throughout the county provide donations, which count as a local match, and which draws the federal and state dollars. Service contracts that SHOW BUS has with various social service agencies in the County also counts as a local match, and that draws the federal and state dollars. Last year was the first year in several years that the county budgeted a local match as part of the budget, and we budgeted $15,000. We would have to be looking at next year’s budget for the local match that we would come up with for this application today, and would try to keep it at $15,000, if possible. By continuing to provide the local match, it shows support and commitment to the state that we value our rural transit service. The other major concern is that, in any given year, if the state legislature wanted to, they could change what the caps are for transit service. Right now, each year, they are required to increase our downstate operating system by 10%. Right now, we are only using about half of that because we don’t have enough service contracts or local match to increase service to other areas of the county or underserved areas of the county. If we were ever to expand services, that could be prohibitive if we don’t have additional grant funds coming in. The previous fiscal year, we did serve 32,193 rides across all our service, and a little over half was on the Momence commuter service. Kankakee County has the highest number of work-related trips out of SHOW BUS’s seven county area. He is asking for approval to continue submitting the applications, the Section 5311, the FTA fund, and the downstate operating system grant fund.

Mr. Washington made a motion to combine and approve submission of the above applications, and Mr. Tholen seconded it.

Discussion:

Mr. Washington asked why the fixed route to Momence fare is only $1.

Mr. Olson stated that’s what the fare was set at. Fares are up to the County Board because is their service, but it’s always been $1 each way. One thing to note about fare is that it does not count as local match, so that does not draw additional state or federal funds. It basically comes off the top of operating expenses, so it isn’t necessarily a viable solution to try and increase local match.

Mr. Wheeler asked, based on the state’s fiscal, when would the $15,000 be due? Would it be after June of this year?

Mr. Olson stated yes, it would be after June. From what he understands, SHOW BUS would have to receive it by the time they have their audit, which he believes is in September or October, and it can’t be outstanding on their books.

Mr. Hildebrand asked about Mr. Olson’s statement that, on the $15,000 we budgeted, the townships might contribute to that?

Mr. Olson stated that the townships have been contributing for quite some time. The county used to pay a local match. When the state introduced the downstate operating system program, we weren’t spending enough at that point in time that we had to come up with a local share. We didn’t have a share for five or six years. Starting in fiscal year 2014-2015, the local match the county did not pay, SHOW BUS actually came up with on our behalf. Once some of the funds that we had banked up prior to 2008-2009 ran out, that is when we had to start looking for a local match again from the county. In the past, we’ve paid anywhere between $20,000-$37,000. Everyone knows we have budget issues, but if we can start getting something in the budget, that’s definitely worth noting. He also wanted to clarify that we have the $15,000 in the budget for the year we’re in, but we would have to do it again for next year.

Original motion carried with a roll call vote. Voting aye were Mr. Washington, Mr. Tholen, Ms. Polk, Mr. Mulcahy, Mr. Hildebrand, Mr. Payton, Ms. Dunbar, Mr. Ritter, and Mr. Wheeler.

 Purchase of Service Agreement with SHOW BUS

Mr. Olson stated that this agreement is like every one we’ve had in the past with SHOW BUS that they will be providing transit service for us for the upcoming fiscal year.

Mr. Tholen made a motion to accept the purchase of the service agreement with SHOW BUS, and it was seconded by Ms. Dunbar. Motion carried with a voice vote.

6. Zoning

Mr. Wheeler stated that they would be striking all of the zoning cases that were going to be reviewed because the newspaper did not publish them, and that is part of the requirement. There will be a new Zoning Board of Appeals hearing on them on April 17, 2017, and then the cases will come back to this committee on April 21, 2017

7. Planning

 Waste Management Letter

Mr. Skimerhorn discussed with the committee a notice he had received from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), along with a response letter from Waste Management, and provided them with copies of both. Waste Management has applied to modify their permit for the landfill that’s closed down in Otto Township.

8. Old Business

 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Kankakee City for Lead Program

Mr. Wheeler stated that the City of Kankakee’s Community Development Agency has a Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Program. Basically, federal funds can be accessed for people who have lead on their windowsills or lead in their house, and get them replaced or repaired. The City has to apply for the grant every year, and when they applied this year, they wanted to open it up to the entire county. If it’s a rural area, and even the municipalities in the county, they’re opening it up to them as well. The City had to get their application in last week, so he was contacted by Cliff Cross and asked if we would sign a Memorandum of Understanding that we are on board with this. The county doesn’t have the people or the money to administer this, so as long as the City will be the one that everyone will apply through, then that’s fine. We’ll get a copy of the paperwork so that we know what’s going on. He had to act by last week to sign the MOU so the City could get their application in on time, but he acted without commitment of any funds or resources from the county.

Mr. Washington asked if we will get frequent reports with information on how the program is going.

Mr. Wheeler stated that yes, as things happen, they will let us know.

Planning, Zoning, and Agriculture

Committee Meeting

March 23, 2017

9. New Business

Mr. Skimerhorn stated that he provided the committee with another letter from the IEPA concerning a request for a permit from Bunge Milling for a Federally Enforceable State Operating Permit. The letter states if we want to be further informed about this, we can be put on their mailing list. The permit would be in compliance with the Clean Air Act, and that is what is requiring them to file for the permit.

10. Adjournment

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