Jasper County Board
July 9, 2020
The County Board met in regular session on Thursday, July 9, 2020. Members present were
Bollman, Leffler, Fehrenbacher, Hall, Heltsley, Hickox, Kerner, Pickens, Warfel, Michl, Swick
and Weddell. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by proclamation according to law by
Sheriff Francis.
Sheriff Francis led a moment in silence and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Public comments
Melinda Barthelme with Saved by Grace spoke about their concerns about animal control in
Jasper County. (See end of notes for the staement from Mrs. Barthelme. Tyranne McDaniel with ARCH spoke regarding preference for air medical
service based on lift and flight times and update every quarter.
Swick made a motion to approve the agenda. Warfel seconded the motion. Motion carried on a
voice vote.
Committee Reports:
The Road and Bridge Committee met on July 6th. Discussion was held on the 2021 Budget.
Foreman’s mileage for June was 1,980 miles.
Solid Waste Committee did not meet.
The Sheriff’s Committee met on June 24 th . The office is currently back to full staffing.
Dispatcher Clay Curtright is off for the next three weeks with the birth of his daughter.
Everything went well and the baby is doing fine. The total budget expenditure at the end of 6
months is just under 46% of the total budget. Sheriff has been working on the initial budget sheet
for 2021 and will submit that prior to the June 29 th for the finance committee. Macon County
Law Enforcement Training Center has posted that they will begin a Correctional Officer training
class in October. The Sheriff’s Office currently has 4 Correctional Officers that need to complete
the 5-week course and 4 spots for that class has been reserved. The Sheriff will be checking into
housing inmates in a neighboring county jail while the Correctional Officer’s attend training.
Illinois Department of Corrections is still refusing to accept prisoners. Currently housing inmates
sentenced to IDOC and there is currently no word as to when they will begin accepting prisoners
again. Kevin Short at McClane Motors has ordered the Dodge Durango for the department. Short
advised that he has not received word on when the Durango will be arriving. Sheriff Francis has
received an email that due to COVID-19 there will be a delay in the issuance of grants from the
Mary Heath Foundation. The Sheriff’s Office submitted the grant in April for new tasers.
The Finance Committee met on July 6 th . Anne Marie Hopkins from Kemper CPA Group came
and presented the 2019 Audit. She handed out the Circuit Clerk Report, GATA Report,
Consolidated year-end Financial Report. Audit financial statement to issue opinion. The audit
was clean. She went over statements, balance sheet and income statement. They are healthy
financial statements, but not sure how COVID effecting the current year. Vistra is 14% of the
total property taxes paid within the county. She went over nonmajor fund. She went over prior
year comments and next year some comments may be removed because they have been
corrected. Two new comments were added. Bollman made a motion to approve the 2019 audit.
Swick seconded the motion. Motion passed on a voice vote. Clinton gave the June report of
income and expenses. The expenses are not far off from last year’s expenses within $1,000.
Overall year to date down in income and sales tax money from the state is down $177,000.
Expenses are about the same. Bigard emailed the tentative budget. Examined the 6-month
reports. Swick made a motion to approve the 6-month reports. Fehrenbacher seconded the
motion. The motion carried on a voice vote. Power plant agreement is up. Working on a new
agreement hopefully the agreement will be about the same. There is a lot of pollution control.
GIS flyover was done in 2018 and need a flight in 2021. A six-year project 2 flights county wide.
The images will be 2 pixels for villages and 6 pixels for rural areas with a 30% or less leaf
coverage. Public can see the images and it is being used. A change finder can be ran to compare
the changes. Ambulance, Sheriff, fire use also with the Spillman System. Money is there. Woods
would also like to get flood maps digitalized also. Swick mad a motion to approve the GIS
flyover. Fehrenbacher seconded the motion. Motion carried on a voice vote. SonicWall is no
longer supported in the courthouse. Hall made a motion to approve the SonicWall for the
courthouse. Bollman seconded the motion. Motion carried on a voice vote. JEDI going to use
county name for grant. No spending of county money. Discussion on budget meeting with
department heads on August 3 rd and August 10 th starting at 8:30 am with 30-minute increments.
The Building Committee met on July 2 nd . Bollman spoke on behalf of Jason Warfel for Newton
Elite Fitness to have an event on October 3 rd 7am to 3 pm on the courthouse lawn. The gym has
event insurance. The committee verbally agreed. Paul Woods spoke on the waiting area furniture
in his office. He would like to see different furniture. Tom’s Report: 6-4 Talked to Matt Tarr
with City of Newton Electric Dept. about lights around top of roof. He is going to try and help
us. He also recommended switching to LED bulbs. Talked to Newton Animal Health and Rex
Vault about benches for courtyard. See bids, I recommend going with NAHC. They are only 4
feet long but they have backs on them. I think we should replace 8 now, 2 on the East side, 2 on
the West side and 4 on the South side and 8 more later. They also have very nice-looking trash
cans that I think would look nice if we are going to the work of the benches to make it look nice.
Benches are $350/each and the trash cans are $719 each (but they might do a little better on
these). Bruce Ochs pour 3×6 pads of concrete along with an angle portion of the sidewalk for
$2,115.75. $7,500 to $8,000 for 16 benches and trash cans. D&M Manufacturing was brought up
that they may have benches also. Michl spoke with D&M and a 5ft bench would be $275 and a
4ft bench would be $169. After discussion, Pickens made a motion for 12 benches, 2 trash cans
and concrete for $7,000. Bollman seconded the motion. Motion carried on a voice vote. Get with
D&M Manufacturing to figure out a date, so Bruce Ochs can have time to pour concrete. Current
benches will need to be removed possibly have highway department use their equipment to pull
old benches. 6-5 Talked to Chad Miller, about liability on mower if using my own. He said that
as long as he was mowing the county property on county time, there was NO problem. 6-8
Called Martinsville Roofing – They said that they had fixed everything when they were there. 6-
13 Wright’s carpet cleaning cleaned Paul and Amy’s offices. Carpet turned out pretty nice
considering the age. They did a nice job. 6-23 Finished trimming out doors in Clinton’s and
Amy’s office. Still need to install closers. 6-29 Talked to Midwest Tractor about quote on
ExMark mower. See bid. My recommendation is to let me keep using my mower and possibly
pay me for the use. $8,000 for mower with an $800 trade in. It was decided to keep the John
Deere mower for snow removal and other uses. Discussion was made on compensating or buying
a mower. It takes between 3 ½ to 4 hours to mow. If county would have someone else come in
and mow it, they would charge $60 an hour. There will be 28 to 32 mowing’s a year. Michl made
a motion to lease/rental the lawnmower from Tom for $1,200. Bollman seconded the motion.
Motion carried on a voice vote. $400 to be paid quarterly s tame time as the gas card. Chad
Miller will draw up a lease. Went over budget with Clinton. I feel that we should lump all of the
supplies for the Courthouse, County Building and the Jail together instead of keeping them
separate. Supplies are moved around anyway. Curious about cell phone reimbursement. Cell
phone reimbursement prior was $68 per month, discussed reimbursement. Pickens made a
motion for $35 per month cell phone reimbursement. Bollman seconded the motion. Motion
passed on a voice vote. Go back to March and pay forward. 6-30 Noticed that we have a large
Oak tree on the West side of the Courthouse dead. Need to check on removing. Tom can contact
Wayne’s Tree Service to remove tree. Notes: Surveillance cameras in courthouse is in need of
updating. We have 2 cameras that are not working and I cannot get them working. Ongoing
problems with monitors going out. The quality of the video is very poor. I feel that we should
look into replacing the entire system. I talked to Barlow Lock and Security about it. He
recommended replacing cameras with IP cameras so that they could be monitored from
anywhere. Equipment would run around $5,000-$6,000. This would not include wiring that
would need to be replaced and labor to install. Take to Brandon to see if can come out of court
security fund and Finance. Emergency exit doors are all done but Paul’s and closures. Roof is
taken care of. Awning not completed yet. Dirt work not completed by Smithenry’s at county
building around new concrete, Tom will do it. No thoughts on record protection in the county
clerk’s office. Lawnmower was covered in Tom’s Report. Nothing to report on the Sheriff’s
Project. Items need added to the 5-year plan. Seating around the courthouse was covered in
Tom’s Report Discussion on a counter in county clerk office with a bid presented from Jone’s
Hardware for two different type of cabinets. Tom would install. Pickens made a motion for
$3,500 for counter project in county clerk office. Bollman seconded the motion. Motion carried
on a voice vote. Clinton gave committee budget planning sheets to start looking at and salary line
item for Tom should be $35,000. Hickox asked committee what they would think about asking
Darren Bailey to come to a board meeting to talk about his thoughts of where the state monies
are heading and to ask him other questions concerning the county. It was agreed it would be a
good idea.
GIS committee met on July 6 th . Paul Woods, Supervisor of Assessments, presented a proposal for
the 2021 and 2024 aerial flights for the county. The flights will be provided by EagleView,
formerly known as Pictometry. They provided flights for the county in 2015 and 2018.
EagleView imagery is captured with patented proprietary camera systems that enable the viewer
to see the world from multiple perspectives. EagleView will run analytical software that will
distinguish changes in building between the 2018 flight and the 2021 flights. The two flights
recommended by Woods, are 2-inch pixel resolution in the urban areas and a 6-inch pixel
resolution in the rural areas. This is an improvement over the previous flights which were 6 inch
in the urban and 9 inch in the rural areas. The flights will take place in 2021 and 2024 with 30%
or less leaf cover. The proposal is a six-year contract, like in the past, with an annual payment of
$34,339.33 for the two flights. The GIS account has a balance of $136,194.38 and has been
running $4,000 to $5,000 per month income. Ron Swick made a motion to approve the proposal
and it was seconded by Darrel Hickox. The vote passed with Gary Michl, Darrel Hickox, and
Ros Swick voting yes and Brian Leffler voting no. Motion passed.
The Ambulance Committee met on July 1 st . The new unit is still being delayed. Unit 2358 had to
have the DEF system serviced, DEF injector issues. Unit 2357 has given 3 different turbo errors
and parts have been ordered and will be fixed once they come in, the unit is in service at this
time. Unit 2356 have to have a battery replaced. All unit are up and running at this time. Daniel
and Jonathon was finally able to complete the ABC360 conference via webinars June 10 th , 11 th ,
and 12 th due to the pandemic. Daniel reviewed his proposed 2021 budget to the committee and
showed all the changes compared to 2020 budget. The 2021 budget will be turned into the
treasurer’s office is $145,850 less than the 2020 budget. Daniel discussed the use and need for
part time employees.
The Insurance Committee did not meet.
EMA met July 9 th . Update from Ed Francis: COVID 19 is interfering in everything. EMA has
ordered PPE, facilitated delivery of the Health Department supplies. They have had no meetings
but plan to have the next meeting in two weeks. Next they will reorganize and check equipment.
On May 12 th they helped search for 3 boys who were found the next morning. A discussion was
held regarding a location of equipment. The search is still on for a location to keep the
equipment.
The Animal Control did not meet, but did have two evenings for interviews.
JEDI met on July 7 th . A Tour was given of Smithenry Industrial Hemp Farm. Amber Volk, Mark
Bolander, Ron Heltsley, Andy Johnson, Sarah Kinkade gave monthly reports.
Personnel Committee did not meet.
Health Department report is in the board packet.
Law Enforcement Committee did not meet, but a point has been reached where a meeting is
needed.
Wedall moved to approve the County Clerk’s report. Bollman seconded the motion. Motion
carried on a voice vote.
Old Business.
Hold over appointment of the Jasper County Animal Control Warden until after closed session.
New Business:
Michl moved to approve the appointment of Dave Goss as trustee for the North Fork
Conservancy District for a term of 5 years. Hickox seconded the motion. Motion carried on a
voice vote.
Fehenbacher moved to approve the appointment of Ronnie Diel to a 2-year term on the Board of
Review for the 2020 and 2021 Assessment year. Leffler seconded the motion. Motion carried on
a voice vote.
Swick moved to approve the of 6-month reports County Clerk, Circuit Clerk, Treasurer and
Sheriff. Hall seconded the motion. Motion carried on a voice vote.
Kerner moved to approve the of fiscal 2019 Audit. Warfel seconded the motion. The motion
passed on a roll call vote with Bollman, Leffler, Fehrenbacher, Hall, Heltsley, Kerner, Michl,
Warfel, Hickox, Swick, Pickens and Weddell voting yes.
Hold over to after closed session to approve the GIS Flyover, but Woods described the services
that will be offered by the two projects over 6 years.
Hold over to after closed session to approve the amend Liquor Ordinance Resolution.
Hall moved to approve the minutes. Pickens seconded the motion. The motion carried on a voice
vote.
No County Board Comments:
Chairman’s Comments: County is getting a grant.
Weddell made a motion to go into closed session at 7:55 pm. Leffler seconded the motion. The
motion passed on a roll call vote with Bollman, Leffler, Fehrenbacher, Hall, Heltsley, Kerner,
Michl, Warfel, Hickox, Swick, Pickens and Weddell voting yes.
9:27 pm came out of closed session.
Bollman moved to appoint Austin Ferguson to the position as the Jasper County Animal Control
Warden for $22,500 plus mileage effective July 1, 2020. Pickens seconded the motion. The
motion passed on a roll call vote with Bollman, Leffler, Fehrenbacher, Hall, Heltsley, Kerner,
Michl, Warfel, Hickox, Swick, Pickens and Weddell voting yes.
Weddell moved to approve the GIS Flyover for 2021 and 2024 for $206,036. Michl seconded the
motion. The motion passed on a roll call vote with Fehrenbacher, Kerner, Michl, Warfel, Swick,
Pickens and Weddell voting yes; Bollman, Heltsley, Leffler, Hickox, and Hall voting no.
Swick moved to allow the claims. Kerner seconded the motion. The motion carried on a voice
vote.
Hickox moved to amend Liquor Ordinance Resolution with a reduction of classes and an
addition of noise ordinance. Bollman seconded the motion. The motion passed on a roll call vote
with Bollman, Leffler, Fehrenbacher, Hall, Heltsley, Kerner, Michl, Warfel, Hickox, Swick,
Pickens and Weddell voting yes.
The next board meeting is August 13 th , 2020 at 7:00 pm.
Leffler moved to adjourn at 9:32 pm. Hall seconded the motion. The motion carried on a voice
vote.
Amy Tarr, Jasper County Clerk
The following is the statement from Melinda Barthelme during the county board meeting
Saved by Grace gets phone calls every day regarding dogs that are lost, abandoned, malnourished, in
inhumane living conditions… As required we direct the phone calls to Jasper County Animal Control.
Many people have expressed their resistance to pursue the AC assistance because of the previous
handling of the animals in Jasper County. We are not here to talk about the past we are here to talk
about the needs of our community going forward. Our community no longer wants to look the other
way as viable dogs are being killed without the chance of being rehomed.
We would like to move forward with a meeting with the Animal Control committee and administrative
vet, (add whoever)
To address the following issues:
1) Policy and procedures
2) Training for animal control officer
3) Public hours or by appointment access to the animal control facilities
4) Social media opportunities to unite missing pets with their owners and find potential adopters
for unwanted pets
This morning, we believed the Jasper County Board was moving forward to make the necessary changes
in the way Animal Control was being operated and managed. We thought we could go forward with a
positive statement tonight so we could work together on serving the needs of our Community.
However, once word was out that we were attending the meeting we started receiving phone calls that
contradicted what we had been previously told by committee members.
In spite of what we have been told by the committee chairman, the information that came to light today
implied that some of the committee members are really not willing to move forward with any change in
animal control. We were led to believe that during the interview process the candidate would need to
show willingness to work with Saved By Grace Animal Rescue. Today we have learned this was a façade
as a certain committee member in searching for a new candidate specifically mentioned the new hire
should have no problem in putting down dogs with no questions asked and have no affiliation with
Saved By Grace.
As the hunt for a new AC continued some candidates believe they have been overlooked because of
their gender.
Sadly we have now lost faith in certain members of the animal control committee We would like to ask
the Board Chairman Ron Heltsley to reassign and head the animal control committee.
We would like to say that we have had a chance to work with the newly appointed Animal Control
officer on several occasions already, one being a very difficult and heartbreaking case, and will continue
to give our support and assistance where needed. Our goal is to work with animal control and provide
the community with every effort to afford every dog the right to be treated humanely.
