Jasper County Board Minutes
COUNTY OF JASPER NEWTON, ILLINOIS
County Office Building 204 W Washington St, Newton, IL 62448
August 10, 2023
The County Board met in regular session on Thursday, August 10th, 2023. The meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm by proclamation according to law by Sheriff Francis. Sheriff Francis led a moment in silence and the Pledge of Allegiance. Members present were Bollman, Deckard, Geier, Heltsley, Judson, Pickens, Spiker, Warfel, and Weddell.
Public comments: None
Correction to Agenda addition to new business Item B Appointment of Thomas Matson as Supervisor of Assessments.
Geier made a motion to approve the agenda. Deckard seconded the motion. Motion carried on a voice vote.
Reports:
County Departments
Ambulance – 154 runs for the month of July; 911 – 73; Refusal/canceled en route/ no pt found – 27; MVA – 6; Transfers/discharges – 28; Coroner assists – 3; Mutual Aid – 17
Highway Department – The new Solid Waste truck was delivered on Monday, July 31, 2023. As reported last month the amount of $83,968.24 was paid out of ARPA funds. We will take bids on the old truck this winter after the work on swapping the beds of the old to the new has been completed. The oil and chip program is approximately ¾ completed with the townships. The County program using Motor Fuel Tax and local funds is completed. We are waiting for IDOT approval to proceed with our pavement preservation program, which consists of the CIPS Road, Shamrock Road and from Willow Hill to the Jasper/Richland line for a total of 20.5 miles. Sealed bids were due on Friday, July 21, 2023, for our used 1995 Etnyre Chipspreader. Hood Construction Group Midwest, LLC, Rushville, IL submitted a bid of $48,000.00 and Heuerman Bros. Trucking, Effingham, IL submitted a bid of $32,750.00. Hood Construction picked up the Chipspreader on Monday, July 31st. The check of $48,000.00 was deposited as partial payment on the loan with the General Fund. The Electronic Recycling Event is scheduled for Saturday, August 26, 2023.
Board of Health – Board of Health met on July 24th. Behavioral Health has moved into their new building and performed an active shooting training. The next meeting will be on September 25th at 5:30 pm.
County Positions/Services
Building Maintenance – August 18th Judy McClure will install window tinting on the north windows of the County Building in the morning. Pickens talked to Dan’s Glass and the windows have not arrived yet. Pickens had a request to have the courthouse “panic” button system repaired. The county buildings electric upgrade was completed in July and August.
Information Technology Consultant – An update was given.
Supervisor of Assessment Office – 61 Certificate of errors. Tom passed the state test for the assessor. He will be promoted from office manager.
Animal Control – Austin Ferguson said everything is good and he has been busy responding to calls. Judson complimented him on his work.
Elected Officials
Treasurer- Reports from Bigard were sent in the board packet. The general fund income of $220,707.36, and the personal property income of $108,921.01 with a total income for July were $329,628.37. The expenses for July were $286,027.15. Total income less expenses for July a net profit of $43,601.22. Personal Property $532,000 on track with last year. Fiscal year 2022/23 to date state/general fund income $1,784,811.67, Personal property income $423,373.46, Grand total income $2,208,185.13. Less expenses $2,395,216.65 and excludes Jail Payments YTD. Net profit/loss ($187,031.52). Next Tuesday, August 15th is the due date for the first installment of property taxes.
Other Elected Officials/Offices
Weddell had pictures of the new drone for EMA. The drone will help the departments.
Weddell made a motion to approve the consent agenda containing the following items: Approval of County Board July 13, 2023, Minutes; Accept FY2022 County of Jasper Audit; Authorize State’s Attorney’s Office Credit Card Limit Increase ($10,000); File County Reports including Six Month Reports; and Allow Claims. Pickens seconded the motion. Motion carried on a voice vote.
Old Business:
Item A –VISION 2031 – Jasper County Government Strategic Plan
Warfel encourages all to continue the discussion with designated points of contact as we work towards a comprehensive strategic plan for our County Government. As was mentioned at the previous meetings, a County Website is something that we are looking at working towards. Mr. Spiker received a quote from Imagine This! , in Effingham Illinois. The quote is attached in the board packet. Spiker had looked at several websites and the County of Effingham is presented well and uses Imagine This!. Spiker and Weddell will be looking for a few more quotes. By the end of year, the plan is to have the process started on developing a website.
Item B – Energy Transition Community Grant
Phase 2 of the Grant was submitted ahead of the May 31, 2023, deadline. Still awaiting word from the State of Illinois on approval of Phase 2 and directions on moving forward. Nothing to report currently. Geier said they would reach out if there are any issues with the grant that has been submitted.
Item C – Review and Approval of County Fiber Optic Install Bid
Kemper Technology provided the Board with a quote from FieldWrx, Inc. at the April 2023 meeting. In addition, at the June board meeting it was decided to seek additional bids/quotes. An additional verbal quote was received at the July meeting from SCAN. During the July meeting we discussed getting a full boring quote from FieldWrx that would match the scope of the work SCAN was proposing. Since the last meeting SCAN has declined to proceed forward with a formal quote. The proposal received from FieldWrxs, Inc. is in the amount of $74,294 Mr. McDonald provided a quick overview and answered any questions the board might have. McDonald explained what fiber provides and locations that are connected. Discussion of fiber was among the board members. Treccia said he was having trouble with downloading a body cam video of 20 minutes from the City of Newton. Weddell motion to approve the FieldWrxs, Inc. Fiber Optic Quote in the amount of $74,294. Spiker seconded the motion. Motion carried on a voice vote. Bigard wanted to know what fund will be used to pay for the fiber. The ARPA Funds will pay for the fiber.
New Business:
Item A – Adoption of Resolution Authorizing an Intergovernmental Agreement for Participation in the Mutal Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS)
The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was organized beginning in 1968 in the northwest and western suburbs of Chicago, Illinois to coordinate and automate fire department mutual aid, based roughly on the Chicago Fire Department’s box alarm system of predetermined resources assigned to respond to a specific incident or area. Since 1968, MABAS has grown into a multi-state organization to coordinate response to fires, emergency medical calls, hazardous material, technical rescue, and other emergencies and disasters through prearranged mutual aid and dispatch agreements. The system is designed to facilitate all levels of mutual aid from day-to-day automatic aid response to major incidents and disasters requiring the significant deployment of resources. Since the last revision of the master MABAS intergovernmental agreement in 1988, MABAS has grown exponentially to its current composition of almost 1200 Illinois Units and 2200 total Units in Illinois and several adjoining States. The MABAS executive board on October 19, 2022 approved the most recent agreement for participation in the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System which comes before our board for review and approval. It calls a box alarm and call goes to Effingham then they start pulling equipment from other local departments. Away to get additional help from other departments. The ambulance department brought it the boards attention. Judson motion to adopt the Resolution Authorizing an Intergovernmental Agreement for Participation in the Mutal Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS). Deckard seconded the motion. The Resolution requires a roll call vote. Bollman, Deckard, Geier, Heltsley, Judson, Pickens, Spiker, Warfel, and Weddell voting yes. Motion passed on a roll call vote.
Item B – Appointment to the position Supervisor of Assessments
Heltsley made a motion to appoint Thomas Matson as Jasper County Supervisor of Assessments effective of August 14th, 2023 Judson seconded the motion. Motion passed a voice vote. Tom took the exam yesterday and passed. The process has been long, and he has done a good job.
Board Comments:
Pickens congratulated Tom Matson and said when we appointed him back in November to the position of office manager of the assessment office, he would work hard to accomplish the requirements.
Bollman informed Leann’s Legacy is having a fundraiser this Saturday for cancer patients in the area.
Weddell said the Cruise Night is Friday night.
Chairman’s Comments: United Counties Council of Illinois Annual Conference – July 23 – July 25 in Galena, Illinois (Page 157-211). The County Clerk and myself participated in the first session on the UCCI/U of I Extension Leadership Academy last week from Thursday, August 3 – Saturday, August 5. The second session will take place over three days at the end of the month. Tenaska and Cordelio provided the County with information on their potential Wind Farm Development. They are targeting property on the western side of Jasper County. As they progress in the process, they will keep the County informed on the status of their potential project. Jasper County Law Enforcement & First Responder Appreciation Presentation – Saturday, August 19 on Courthouse Lawn 11:00 . Electronic Recycling Event – Saturday, August 26, 2023, from 7am – 1:30 p.m. unless trailer is filled before. County Budget meetings will be held on Monday, August 28th with the various Offices/Departments in preparation for the FY2024 County Budget 5:30 .
Geier made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:09 pm. Bollman seconded the motion. Motion carried on a voice vote.Next Regular Board Meeting will be Thursday, September 14th at 6:00 p.m.
Amy Tarr, Jasper County Clerk
