Kankakee Times

Kankakee County Highways and Buildings Committee met Jan. 11.

Here is the agenda provided by the Committee:

Members Present Mr. McConnell, Mr. LaGesse, Mr. Vickery, Ms. Polk, Mr. Mulcahy, Mr. Hildebrand, Ms. Evans, Ms. Peters, Ms. Parker, Mr. Ritter, and Mr. Kinzinger Members Absent Mr. Tripp, Mr. Olthoff, Mr. Einfeldt, and Ms. Webber In Attendance

• Board Members Mr. Wheeler and Mr. Liehr

• Department Heads Mark Rogers and Brian Gadbois Media None

1. Call to Order

• Roll Call The meeting was called to order by the Committee Chairman, Mr. McConnell, at 9:00 a.m. Quorum present.

2. Public Comment None

3. Approval of Minutes: December 14, 2017 Ms. Parker made a motion to approve the minutes, and Mr. Vickery seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

4. Highways - Mark Rogers

• Bidding and Letting – None

• County Engineer’s Pay Estimates Mr. Mulcahy made a motion to approve the pay estimates, and Ms. Peters seconded it. Motion carried with a roll call vote of 12 ayes and 0 nays. Voting aye were Mr. McConnell, Mr. LaGesse, Mr. Vickery, Ms. Polk, Mr. Mulcahy, Mr. Hildebrand, Ms. Evans, Ms. Peters, Ms. Parker, Mr. Ritter, Mr. Kinzinger, and Mr. Wheeler.

• Resolutions a) Resolution Authorizing the County Board Chairman to Sign Local Agency Agreement for Federal Participation and Appropriating Matching Tax Funds for Resurfacing County Highway 37 Ms. Peters made a motion to waive the reading of the resolution and Mr. Hildebrand seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote. Mr. Vickery made a motion to approve the resolution and Mr. LaGesse seconded it. Motion carried with a roll call vote of 12 ayes and 0 nays. Voting aye were Mr. McConnell, Mr. LaGesse, Mr. Vickery, Ms. Polk, Mr. Mulcahy, Mr. Hildebrand, Ms. Evans, Ms. Peters, Ms. Parker, Mr. Ritter, Mr. Kinzinger, and Mr. Wheeler.

b) Resolution Authorizing the County Board Chairman to Sign a Proposal for NBI Bridge Inspection Services and Appropriating County Joint Bridge Funds for those services Ms. Evans made a motion to waive the reading of the resolution, and Mr. LaGesse seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

Mr. LaGesse inquired about the procedure should a bridge fails to pass an inspection.

Mr. Rogers stated that a bridge that does not pass inspection is placed on a list and might get posted, whether it be legal load, 40 tons, or 20 tons an axle. Some are just 10 ton bridges. They will then be subject to inspection every two years instead of every four years. Mr. LaGesse made a motion to approve the resolution, and Mr. Ritter seconded it. Motion carried with a roll call vote of 12 ayes and 0 nays. Voting aye were Mr. McConnell, Mr. LaGesse, Mr. Vickery, Ms. Polk, Mr. Mulcahy, Mr. Hildebrand, Ms. Evans, Ms. Peters, Ms. Parker, Mr. Ritter, Mr. Kinzinger, and Mr. Wheeler.

c) Resolution for the Construction of a Bridge on the Livingston-Kankakee County Line and Appropriating County Joint Bridge Funds for the Engineering and Construction

Mr. Rogers stated that Livingston County is willing to pay 25% of the costs for the new bridge at the Livingston-Kankakee County line as well as do the bidding, letting, and inspection of the new bridge. Once complete, Livingston will bill Kankakee for 75% of the costs.

Ms. Vickery made a motion to waive the reading of the resolution and Ms. Parker seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

Mr. Ritter asked if Kankakee County has any oversight over the building of the bridge.

Mr. Rogers stated that he will receive correspondence from the Livingston County Engineer throughout the process of building the new bridge. Mr. Vickery made a motion to approve the resolution and Mr. LaGesse seconded it. Motion carried with a roll call vote of 12 ayes and 0 nays. Voting aye were Mr. McConnell, Mr. LaGesse, Mr. Vickery, Ms. Polk, Mr. Mulcahy, Mr. Hildebrand, Ms. Evans, Ms. Peters, Ms. Parker, Mr. Ritter, Mr. Kinzinger, and Mr. Wheeler.

5. Buildings - Brian Gadbois

• Facility Dude Report

• Financial Report

• Building Report Mr. Gadbois discussed and reviewed the above reports with the committee.

Mr. Gadbois stated that the roof on Administrative Building needs to be replaced as it continues to leak. It has been repaired, patched, caulked, etc., but it is now beyond repair.

Mr. Wheeler asked Mr. Gadbois to get an estimate and report the approximate cost at the February meeting.

Mr. Gadbois agreed to do so.

Mr. Gadbois stated that the door to the Circuit Clerk’s office in the Courthouse has been replaced and is ADA compliant.

Mr. Gadbois stated that the Treasurer’s old building had a pipe burst in the downstairs bathroom. The basement was completely flooded with about a foot of water down there. The pump had kicked off because the water flowing down there tripped out the electrical breakers. He turned the water off, and it has been repaired. Currently the only use of the building is storage of approximately 80-100 boxes of the State’s Attorney’s Office files. Employees from the State’s Attorney’s office go over there about once or twice a week.

Mr. McConnell asked if the State’s Attorney’s office can move the files to another location.

Mr. Gadbois stated he has not spoken with the State’s Attorney’s office, but thought maybe they did not have an alternate location to store the records. If moved, the new location where the files are stored will need to be equipped with an alarm system because of the sensitivity of the files.

Mr. Gadbois also stated that the tunnel between the Administrative Building and the Treasurer’s office is becoming weak and he’s concerned about it caving in, which would take the parking lot above it as well.

Mr. Wheeler stated that the Committee needs to have a plan within the next few months to address removal of the records from the building, what to do with the building itself, and filling in of the tunnel. He asked if the old VAC location would be suitable to store the records.

Mr. Gadbois felt it would be a suitable location once an alarm system has been installed. The current alarm system in the old Treasurer’s building could be dismantled and reinstalled at the old VAC location.

• Staffing Levels Mr. Gadbois stated that he currently has eight staff members, but has one on leave for medical reasons. Work orders are being completed, but routine maintenance is not. Much of the work he is contracting out is work which could have been done by internal staff members if he had the manpower.

Mr. McConnell asked if there is a way that Mr. Gadbois could track the work contracted, which could have been done internally and the money spent on those contracts.

Mr. Gadbois stated he does track the jobs and will be able to provide the Committee with the information at the February meeting.

Mr. Wheeler is interested in exploring the numbers for the Committee to decide if it is more beneficial for the County to hire more Maintenance staff or to continue contracting.

Ms. Peters asked about Mr. Gadbois’ request in past meetings for a part-time clerical person and why he has not brought this issue up today.

Mr. Gadbois stated that he has been working with Mr. Wheeler in looking at ways to solve the clerical shortage. He does need clerical staff and believes there should be a clerical person in the Maintenance office at least three days per week assisting him with pricing, making calls, researching projects, etc.

Mr. Gadbois stated that, due to staff shortage, the Maintenance Department has not been able to maintain OSHA, Loss/Risk Management duties, including replenishing first aid kits, fire extinguisher inspections, AED and panic button testing, fire drills, and tornado drills.

Mr. Wheeler stated that these are issues which he has been apprised of over the last month and they are important to County Administration. Issues are being looked at and Administration is trying to explore ways to manage this efficiently with the shortage of staff.

• Security at Annex Building Mr. Wheeler stated that there is no security at the entrance of the Annex Building. In the past, there was a Sheriff’s Deputy assigned, but due to shortage of staff, this is no longer the case. Banks have a system where they use an unmanned system where security is provided via cameras and scanners upon entry to the building. He would like to research this to see if this is something which would prove cost effective rather than hiring another staff member or contracting security.

Mr. Vickery would like have the files moved from the old Treasurer’s office or a quote to do so by the Committee’s next meeting. He would also like some ideas or guidance as to how to solve the tunnel issue.

Mr. Gadbois stated that he will start moving the files and will look into the tunnel issues.

Mr. Wheeler asked that the State’s Attorney’s office be contacted prior to moving files to ensure the facility is acceptable and security issues are addressed. He will address this at the Department Head meeting and if the State’s Attorney’s office approves, files will be moved as soon as possible.

6. ADA – Pam Fogarty

• New ADA Brochure for Courthouse Ms. Fogarty reported that the ADA brochure outlining the Courthouse’s policy on discrimination against people with disabilities, how to request an accommodation, and how to file a grievance, has been completed. The brochure has been approved by the State’s Attorneys’ office and is in the process of being printed. The brochure will be available to the public at the Courthouse, to Courthouse employees, and online.

7. Old Business None

8. New Business

• Administration Department Reorganization Mr. Wheeler asked the Committee for permission to move the Maintenance Office to the fifth floor to provide administrative support to Mr. Gadbois. The Auditor’s Office would be moved to the fourth floor. He feels this would help in gaining efficiencies within Administrative Services. He wanted approval from the Committee prior to discussing this with Mr. Lee.

Mr. LaGesse made a motion to approve the reorganization as Mr. Wheeler described, and Mr. Kinzinger seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

9. Other Business None

10. Adjournment

Mr. LaGesse made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:10 a.m., and Mr. Kinzinger seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

http://www.co.kankakee.il.us/files/committees/highways_11118.pdf