Kankakee Times

Iroquois County Board met Nov. 12.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The Iroquois County Board met in Recessed Session at the Administrative Center in Watseka, IL on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, at 9 A.M. Chairman Shure called the meeting to order and asked County Clerk Breein Suver to call the roll.

Roll call and votes in Iroquois County

Recessed Session, November 12, 2024

Chairman Shure

On motion to call the roll

Aye: Alt, Behrends, Bowers, Crow, Ducat, Huse, McGinnis, Perkinson Shure, Whitlow, Williams, Zumwalt

Absent: Bence, Geiger, Watts

PRAYER & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Ryan Mustered of Trinity Church in Watseka and Ashkum, gave the opening prayer after which the Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison.

AGENDA

It was moved by Mr. Williams and seconded to approve the agenda. The motion carried by a voice vote.

MINUTES

It was moved by Mr. Williams and seconded to approve the minutes from the October 8, 2024 Recessed Session meeting and the minutes from the October 21, 2024 Special Session meeting. The motion carried by a voice vote

PAYROLL

It was moved by Mr. Williams and seconded to approve the October payroll. The motion carried by a roll call vote.

On motion to approve the October payroll

Aye: Alt, Behrends, Bowers, Crow, Ducat, Huse, McGinnis Perkinson, Shure, Whitlow, Williams, Zumwalt

Absent: Bence, Geiger, Watts

COUNTY BOARD SERVICES

Charlie Alt - 334.00

Lyle Behrends - $424.85

Paul Bowers - $380.40

Donna Crow - $262.16

Paul Ducat - $441.42

Steve Huse - $320.60

Chad McGinnis - $352.12

Kathleen Perkinson - $309.88

John Shure - $1238.18

Gerald Whitlow - $350.50

Raymond Williams - $727.18

John Zumwalt - $248.24

PUBLIC COMMENTS

Jennifer Ingram, Superintendent for Iroquois County Veteran Services, addressed the County Board with news of Ingram being the recipient of the Allen J. Lynch award recognizing Ingram as Veteran Service Officer of the year for the State of Illinois. Mrs. Ingram spoke of her continued dedication to providing area Veterans with resources and services and assisting with filing claims. In closing, Mrs. Ingram proudly spoke of the $1.8 million dollar increase in paid claims from the previous year.

CHAIRMAN COMMENTS

Chairman Shure recognized County Board members Paul Bowers and John Zumwalt for their service on the County Board. Shure noted that both Bowers and Zumwalt have terms that will expire at the end of November. Chairman Shure stated that his term will also end and thanked the County Board for the years he has served on various committees and as County Board Chairman.

RESOLUTION NO. R2024-48

RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION FOR EXEMPLARY SERVICE Chairman Shure presented Resolution No. R2024-48, a Resolution of Appreciation for Exemplary Service to be presented to State’s Attorney Jim Devine recognizing his upcoming retirement. It was moved by Chairman Shure, and seconded to approve the Resolution of Appreciation for Exemplary Service. The motion carried by a roll call vote.

Chairman Shure

On motion to approve Resolution R2024-48 Resolution of Appreciation for Exemplary Service

Aye: Alt, Behrends, Bowers, Crow, Ducat, Huse, McGinnis Perkinson, Shure, Whitlow, Williams, Zumwalt

Absent: Bence, Geiger, Watts

OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS REPORTS

There were no outside organization reports.

POLICY & PROCEDURE

&

RESOLUTION NO. R2024-49

RESOLUTION OF THE COUNTY BOARD OF IROQUOIS COUNTY HOLIDAYS TO BE OBSERVED BY THE OFFICES OF IROQUOIS COUNTY FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2025

&

RESOLUTION NO. R2024-50

RESOLUTION DESIGNATING THE 2025 IROQUOIS COUNTY BOARD CALENDARVOF MEETINGS

Mr. Ducat, Vice Chairman of the Policy & Procedure Committee, gave the report of his committee and presented Resolution No. R2024-49 and Resolution No. R2024-50 for approval. Mr. Ducat moved for adoption of all, which was seconded and carried by a roll call vote.

Chairman Shure

On motion to approve the Policy & Procedure Committee report and Resolutions R2024-49 through R2024-50

Aye: Alt, Behrends, Bowers, Crow, Ducat, Huse, McGinnis, Perkinson, Shure, Whitlow, Williams, Zumwalt

Absent: Bence, Geiger, Watts

Mr. Chairman and members of the County Board:

Your Committee to whom was referred Policy & Procedure would beg leave to submit the following report on the matters before them:

Your Committee met at the Administrative Center on October 31, 2024 at 9:00 A.M. Members present were County Board Chairman John Shure, Paul Ducat, Lyle Behrends, Charlie Alt and Jed Whitlow. Also present, Finance Manager Jill Johnson, State’s Attorney Jim Devine, Sheriff Clint Perzee, EMA Director Scott Anderson, Supervisor of Assessments Mia McCammon, Planning & Zoning Administrator Julie Feller, Jamie Bakken, Carl Gerdovich with WGFA, Scott Drabicki with Clark Dietz, Inc. and County Board members Mitchell Bence, Paul Bowers, Donna Crow, Doug Geiger, Steve Huse, Chad McGinnis, Kathleen Perkinson, Ray Williams and John Zumwalt.

The meeting was called to order.

It was moved by Paul Ducat and seconded by Jed Whitlow to approve the agenda. Motion carried by a voice vote. County Board Chairman John Shure noted there is a Zoom meeting scheduled for 9:30 A.M. with CivicPlus to discuss their proposals for the County Code Book.

There were no public comments.

EMA Director Scott Anderson distributed his monthly report to the committee. • On October 28th, a spill occurred at the southbound on-ramp to I-57. Debris punctured the 300-gallon fuel tank on a truck that resulted in the spillage of 175-200 gallons of diesel. E Environmental Solutions was contacted and completed the containment and clean-up.

• A County-wide burn ban was issued October 11th and is in effect until further notice.

• The next and final Hazard Mitigation planning meeting has been rescheduled from October 24th to December 12th in Crescent City. The expected completion date is July 2025. The City of Watseka and Unit 9 School District have decided to re-join the Iroquois County plan.

• Anderson completed the IS-322: Flood Mitigation Basics for Mitigation Staff training.

• Anderson will hold Stop the Bleed training for all Iroquois County deputies soon once a date is established with Sheriff Clint Perzee. Members of the Watseka Police Department will follow soon after.

• The Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) will meet on November 13th for their quarterly meeting. Anderson will be discussing topics and ideas he learned while attending the IEMA Summit in September. Anderson will also present the possibility of obtaining the Hazardous Materials Transportation Grant that is centered around the LEPC. Anderson attended the Iroquois County Amateur Radio Club meeting on October 24th. A testing session for the EMA volunteers is expected to take place within the next few months. Anderson also attended the MABAS meeting on October 30th. A training segment was facilitated that introduced the members to the capabilities of the Civil Air Patrol by inviting a member from their Rantoul group to speak.

• Anderson has fulfilled his requirements for IEMA accreditation.

• County Clerk Breein Suver reached out to Anderson regarding assistance that may be required on Election Day. Suver, Perzee and Anderson met and discussed possible scenarios such as polling place violence, power outages, internet disruption and other potential problems. Anderson will be on-call on Election Day to assist in any way that may be required.

• Anderson continues to encourage all County Board members to follow through with his request to complete the NIMS independent study courses and submit certificates to him.

• Stop the Bleed training has been taught to the EMA volunteers that attended the October meeting. A nurse from the health department also completed the training and is now an instructor that Anderson can utilize for future training sessions.

Anderson continues to share information on the EMA Facebook page. The Committee Chairs gave their monthly reports:

• Management Chairman Lyle Behrends reported the committee will receive an update on the Morgue. The Finance committee will take action on the FY2025 budget.

• Tax/Planning & Zoning Chairman Paul Ducat reported the committee will continue reviewing wind, solar and battery ordinances and receive their monthly reports. The committee will also begin discussion on the FY2024 levy and take action on parcels sold through the delinquent tax process. The ARPA committee will continue to review applications. The Health committee will receive their reports from Animal Control and the Health Department. A new Administrator for the health department has been hired.

• Judicial Chairman Jed Whitlow reported a vacancy in the 911 Center. Starcom training is ongoing, and deputy testing was held. The committee will hear their monthly reports from department heads.

• Highway Chairman Charlie Alt reported the committee will receive their monthly reports. Interviews were held and County Engineer Alan Harwood is in the process of filling the vacancies. Lastly, a Resolution for the County Engineer’s salary will be presented to the committee for approval.

Shure provided an update on the ShowBus stating we are waiting on a response from the State. Ducat added that he and Shure attended a meeting in Kankakee County and Kankakee County has opted to go a different direction in regards to ShowBus.

The 2025 holiday schedule was distributed for review. It was moved by Behrends and seconded by Ducat to approve the 2025 holiday schedule. A roll call vote was taken. Motion carried. The 2025 County Board meeting schedule was distributed for review. It was moved by Behrends and seconded by Whitlow to approve the 2025 County Board meeting schedule. A roll call vote was taken. Motion carried.

The committee received copies of the County’s floodplain ordinance and Ameren’s building permit. Shure said Ameren has been hauling in dirt to the construction site and this violates our ordinance. Ducat said he noticed the site and informed Planning & Zoning Administrator Julie Feller. Ducat read a letter he wrote to State’s Attorney Jim Devine about the ordinance violation. Devine stated if Ameren is in violation, which he believes them to be, a certified letter needs to be sent notifying them of the violation immediately. Ameren will have 10 days to correct the violation. It was moved by Behrends and seconded by Ducat to authorize a letter be sent via certified mail to Ameren from Planning & Zoning Administrator Julie Feller detailing their violations. A roll call vote was taken. Motion carried. Shure read from the ordinance on page 9 that states “Any fill material used shall be obtained within the flood plain area of the property for which the developmental permit is obtained.” Shure also noted a representative from Ameren signed the building permit application which states they will conform to the regulation set forth in the Iroquois County Building Ordinances.

Krystal Hays with CivicPlus began her presentation to the committee. Proposals for recodification, supplementation, and online code hosting services as well as republication, supplementation, and online hosting services were given to the committee. Ms. Hays explained that the recodification process consists of an update and republish of the County Code Book. This process takes approximately 4-6 months at a cost of $8,475. Other features including online code hosting is available at an additional charge. The recodification includes an update to the County Code book as well as a legal review of the documents and comparing codes to state law. This process is estimated to take 15-24 months at a cost of $15,580. Ms. Hays reviewed the optional enhancements that are available at an additional cost. The premium bundle includes online code hosting, CodeBank, CodeBank Compare, OrdBank, and MuniPRO Service for $1,375. The billing is divided into 4 equal installments. Ms. Hays gave a demonstration on how to navigate the online portion. It was also noted that the data in the County Code Book is owned by Iroquois County. It was moved by Alt to table action on the proposals and consult with State’s Attorney Jim Devine. Motion failed due to the lack of a second. It was moved by Ducat and seconded by Behrends to accept the recodification proposal from CivicPlus at a cost of $15,580 plus the premium bundle at a cost of $1,375. A roll call vote was taken. Motion carried.

The committee continued their discussion on the Ameren ordinance violations. Scott Drabicki with Clark Dietz, Inc. told the committee it is important for the County to uphold their ordinances. Devine recommended the County Board seek representation from an outside law firm. It was moved by Behrends and seconded by Ducat to request State’s Attorney Jim

Devine, with input from the County Board Chairman and Vice Chairman, research outside law firms to represent the County, if necessary. A roll call vote was taken. Motion carried. Appointments will be made at the County Board meeting.

Correspondence was distributed to the committee for review.

The committee reviewed the claims. It was moved by Behrends and seconded by Ducat to pay the claims, subject to County Board approval. A roll call vote was taken. Motion carried. There was no old business.

During new business, Shure informed the committee that the next Policy & Procedure meeting falls on a holiday and will need to be rescheduled. The committee agreed to hold the next Policy & Procedure meeting on Wednesday, November 27th at 9:00 A.M.

As there was no further business to come before the committee, it was moved by Behrends and seconded by Alt to adjourn at 11:04 A.M. Motion carried by a voice vote.

https://irocounty.webfoot-designs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Nov-12-County-Board-final.pdf