See below for the county board minutes.
The County Board met in regular session on Thursday, December 16th, 2021. 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. Members present were Bollman, Fehrenbacher, Geier, Hall, Heltsley, Kerner, Leffler, Pickens, Swick, Warfel, and Weddell. Hickox was absent.
Public comments: No Public Comments
Hall made a motion to approve the agenda. Geier seconded the motion. Motion carried on a voice vote.
Committee Reports: Standing Committees
Ambulance Department: The Jasper County Ambulance Committee met on December 2nd, 2021.Old Business: Manager salary was addressed from previous month. Acting Manager Gracey explained that he felt it was a 3 day job with how we did things. Salary request was $26,000 a year. This would be above normal hourly wage for working the truck as a Paramedic. After minimal discussion on this effecting vacation or sick time. Hall made motion, seconded by Hickox – all in favor. Motion Passed. Agreement with school board for Ambulance coverage at events discussed. Contract has been signed by ambulance and is being presented to School Board at its next meeting. This is $10,000 yearly payment to cover ambulance attendance and any non-transports at school events. Hall made a motion, seconded by Weddell- all in favor. Motion passed. New Business: Discussed adding a policy in place for a forced mandate for workers if coverage is not available. This is a policy that was believed to be in effect but was never in writing. Also discussed Sick time call in policy change. Moving from 0500 day of shift to 2200 the day prior to shift. Hall motioned, Kerner seconded- all in Favor. Motion passed. MOU with Arrow Ambulance discussed to help with coverage on days we are short do to staffing. After discussion. Hall requested we look at this next month do to questions on billing from Arrows calls. Gracey will contact Arrow to find those answers. Informational Items: 2357 has had routine maintenance performed. Concerns on generator, believe it as an isolated events and seems to be working properly. Staffing concerns, still short but doing what we need to make sure shifts are covered. A new basic has been hired and begins ride time and will be on the rotation starting in January. Unofficial Fiscal numbers for the year put the ambulance at $1,000,454.00 income with $979,586.82 in expenses. Board Comments: Weddell expressed concern on how meeting with Arrow went. Wanted to know why the people that were included were chosen. States Attorney Chad Miller explained it was an informational meeting and the people in attendance were board chairs or the initial contact from Arrow. Weddell just requested more communication on things like that. The next Scheduled meeting for the will be Wednesday, January, 5th, 2021 at 8:30 a.m.
Buildings: The Building Committee County met on December 13th, 2021 at 7:00 pm. Tom’s Report: Installed cameras at the dog pound. Landscaping has been completed by Steve Shryock around the cannon on the courthouse lawn. The cannon has also been painted. Kerner made a motion to send a thank you and a $30 Joe’s Pizza Gift certificate in appreciation to Steve Shryock. Leffler seconded the motion. Motion passed on a voice vote. Tom came in on his day off from hunting because the county building smelled like sewage and the lift station was running over. He called Tim Jones on his drive in to see what could be wrong. Tom pulled the pump from the lift station and the pump was clogged with flushable wipes, which are not flushable. Tom was able to unclog the pump and placed the pump back in the lift station and it worked. Tom helped SDS run wires for WIFI routers in the courthouse to improve the wireless internet. There were not enough spots in the Internet switch so a new switch has been ordered. Old Business: Nothing on the pavilion will work on plans next year. An estimate for the court room wall repair was presented by Pickens. The East wall’s quote was $9,623, the west wall $7,500. Fidelity Construction Services would remove all loose plaster. Then apply fiberglass mesh to the wall, skim coat, sand, and prime and paint two coats of matching color. This includes labor and materials. There was discussion on previous quotes of other options. The quote was discussed. Kerner made a motion to repair the east wall only for $9,623.00 with Fidelity Construction Services. Leffler seconded the motion. Motion passed on a voice vote. Look and see if the court can help cover some cost of repairs. Stephens Heating and Cooling is going to look at the lobby to see about heating and cooling and look at the courtroom heating and air system to see if there is a way to make it quieter. Parking lot curb at the county building parking lot is still needing a quote. Bierman is to get a quote on the wall in the assessor’s office. Kerner plans to add shelving for record protection and add parking blocks to the county building parking lot. New south doors at the county building are to be installed by Dan’s Glass when they come in, the cost for the doors was $8,425. New folding chairs have been purchased for the boardroom. New Business: Tom presented a quote from Calligan for a water softener to be installed in the courthouse for $3,949 and the county building for $3,099. Steve Jones Plumbing gave a quote for a water softener for the courthouse and county building for $4,540.18. Discussion on the water softeners, will help with toilets and faucets. The water softener system from Steve Jones Plumbing will include a filter and salt. Hickox made a motion to have Steve Jones Plumbing install water softener at the courthouse and the county building. Kerner seconded the motion. Motion passed on a voice vote. Tom reported a judge tripped going up the stairs at the courthouse on the rubber stair treads. The rubber tread was split and needs fixed. Tom will see if he can get quotes on repairing the stair treads. The fall and Christmas decorations have caused issues making it difficult to manage the leaves that have fallen. Tom would like to be asked before decorations are installed to make sure he has completed the yard work. The nativity on the courthouse lawn looks nice. Discussion on the amount of decorations on the courthouse lawn will be addressed next year. Tom had to call for the fall decorations to be taken down and it had killed the grass. Next meeting January 10th at 7:00 pm
Finance: The Finance Committee met on December 13th, 2021. Public Comments: Miller explained the interpretation of the Holiday schedule from the personnel policy. Treasurer’s Report: Bigard reported the fiscal year ended in a positive profit of $925,269.64. Bigard gave a handout of the Jail construction expenses occurred. Pilot money will still be dispersed to the county. New Business: There was discussion on the tax levy for the county. Heltsley wants to lower Health Department levy. Discussion was held on the amounts owed to the county. Unemployment insurance has been lowered have not been paying the amount. Fehrenbacher made a motion to increase the tort by 5%. Swick seconded the motion. Motion passed on a voice vote. Fehrenbacher made a motion to pass the tax levy with changes. Swick seconded the motion. Motion passed with a roll call vote with Hall, Fehrenbacher, Swick voting yes. Heltsley and Bollman voted no. There is a new statute which says shall have 1,200 voters in a precinct. It is required to have a precinct in each township. Miller explained it this is not followed the county could be withheld funds. The board has 60 days to act on the redistricting with the passing of the statute. Different options will be looked at in redistricting. The schedule of the meeting dates for board meetings and committee meetings was presented. A reorganizational meeting needs to be added to the schedule and remove the December meetings because at reorganizational meeting will make decisions on future meetings. Heltsley made a motion to adopt the committee and board meeting dates. Bollman seconded the motion. Motion passed on a voice vote. SDS is working on a quote for cyber security. (Kemper will also be giving a quote.) Fehrenbacher, brought from the operations committee an idea for employee recognition for employees who have been with the county for more than 20 years. There was discussion on what should be given to recognize employee. Chamber bucks were suggested to keep the money local. Swick made a motion to recognize county employees with 20 years plus with $50 in Chamber Bucks excluding the health department. Fehrenbacher seconded the motion. Motion passed on a voice vote. The Tourism is paying to be part of the South-Central Tourism Book. They would like the county to pay the bill prior to dispersing the hotel/motel tax. Fehrenbacher made a motion to pay South-Central Tourism prior to dispersing the hotel/motel tax. Swick seconded the motion. Motion passed on a voice. Old Business: SDS is ordering a 24-port switch because WIFI hotspots have been added to the courthouse. It was billed to the Circuit Clerk, but needs to be taken out of the technology fund. Power Plant agreement has all signatures finished and waiting on for a court date. Bigard is waiting for approval before funds are dispersed. (Miller stated it has been approved by judge.) Next meeting Monday, January 12th, 2021 at 8:30 am at the County Building.
Highway Department: The Jasper County Road & Bridge Committee met on December 13, 2021. New Business: The committee discussed and approved the Resolution for 2022 County Maintenance using Motor Fuel Tax Monies. Motion made by Ron Swick and seconded by A.C. Pickens. The motion carried on a voice vote. This resolution will need County Board approval. Ben Bland, County Engineer submitted Letter of Resignation effective March 18, 2022. Foreman’s mileage for November 2021 was 1,262 miles. Next meeting Monday, January 10th, 2021 at 7:00 am at the Highway Building.
Operations: The Operations Committee met on November 24, 2021 at 6:00 pm. Old Business: Tarr and the committee reviewed the information that she currently has about cyber security. The committee discussed this. Further information, such as cost, is still needed. The committee discussed details for employee recognition. The committee agreed to take their ideas to finance. Next meeting January 17, 2021 at 7:00 pm.
Public Safety: The Public Safety Committee met on November 15th, 2021 at 6:00 pm. Monthly Reports: Sheriff Francis informed the committee of an incident involving the chasing of a fugitive. The subject was contained and apprehended. The sheriff expressed his appreciation of those who assisted in the situation. The squad car that we’ve been waiting on from Kansas Highway Patrol has been tagged and should be ready in the near future. The jail is 45% complete and on track to be finished in April or May. EMA assisted in the containment of the fugitive, and spotted the individual on their drone. EMA has been assisting with the drive through booster shots for covid vaccinations at the Health Department. Chief Swick is in the process of getting 911 equipment approved for the new jail building. The security system for the animal control building is in the process of being installed. Miller will prepare a written agreement between the city and county for the animal control building and land with the city. (Miller has given the City of Newton the agreement for approval.) Old Business: Discussion was held about the possibility of animal control call out fees. No decisions were made. New Business: The committee discussed the possibility of an animal control ordinance, but agreed that the committee cannot do anything at present. Next meeting December 20th at 6:00 pm.
Informative
Law Enforcement Center Pay/Progress: Woodard gave a monthly update. Exterior masonry and steel on the outside is complete. Insulation and siding have been delivered. On track to be completed on time with 45-50% complete. Woodard says need to come and take a tour of it going up.
Board of Health- Gave updates on numbers.
Chamber of Commerce- Meeting scheduled Tuesday, December 21 at 6:30 pm and will discuss plans for the coming year.
Economic Development (JEDI) – Flo’s Coffee Bar and RPI both opened recently. The quarterly meeting of JEDI will be on Friday, January 14 at 8:30 a.m. at the Chamber Building and plans are underway for a JEDI relaunch party on Friday, January 28 starting at 5:30 p.m. at the West End Event Center, Warfel will have more details on that event at the January meeting.
Weddell made a motion to approve the consent agenda containing the following items: Approval of County Board November 18, 2021, Minutes; Approval of November and December Standing Committee Minutes; Approval of 2022 County Board and Committee Schedule; Appointment of Attorney Brenda M. Mathis as Public Defender of Jasper County [Jan 1 – Nov. 30, 2022]; Appointment of Brock Kessler to the remainder of a 2-Year Term [June 2023] on the Board of Review; Adoption of Resolution for 2022 County Highway Maintenance Using Motor Fuel Tax Monies; File County Reports; Allow Claims. Bollman seconded the motion. Motion carried on a voice vote.
Old business: None
New Business:
It is proposed to lower the I.M.R.F. fund by $50,000 due to the fund having an adequate amount to cover cost. It is proposed to raise the Audit fund by $1,500 to cover the cost to the county. It is proposed to raise the Tort Judgment and Liability by $12,000 to anticipate added costs with cyber security. Social Security was raised by $14,000 to cover the cost to the county. The Ambulance levy which was maxed out in 2020-2021 shows a fund increase to anticipate the Equalized Assessed Value for this coming year, the department is only entitled to the 0.2000 rate however if they underestimate the amount, they can’t collect anything in excess. The County’s levy is $19,982 less than the previous year. The proposed levy is in keeping with the history of the past 5 years plus of lowering the levy. Past 4 Years: 2018-2019 $3,755,000; 2019-2020 $3,622,053; 2020-2021 $3,536,470; 2021-2022 $3,516,488. The Health Department Levy was discussed, with the department still owing the County money. It was suggested to lower the levy amount to reflect those penalties so the burden would not be on the backs of the Jasper County taxpayers. Miller informed the Finance Committee it was his understanding that the Health Department intended to repay these penalties. Bigard and Miller agreed there needs to be documentation of approval. Miller has not heard from Dr. Bloomberg. Heltsley addressed his concern of if the Health Department will pay. Swick mentioned withholding levy funds if the money was not paid back. It was a consensus if it was not paid the board could approve withholding levy funds at the January Board meeting. Pickens made a motion to adopt the County FY2021-2022 Annual Levy Ordinance. Fehrenbacher seconded the motion. Motion passed on a roll call vote with Bollman, Fehrenbacher, Geier, Hall, Heltsley, Kerner, Leffler, Pickens, Swick, Warfel, and Weddell voting yes. Hickox was absent.
A contract between Jasper County Ambulance Department and the Jasper County Community Unit #1 School District to pay $10,000 yearly to cover ambulance attendance and any non-transports at school events. The Jasper County Ambulance Department has signed the contract. The contract is being presented to School Board at its next meeting (December 20, 2021). This can be approved on the condition that the Jasper County School Board passes it at their meeting next Monday. Geier made a motion to approve the contract between the Ambulance Department and JCCU#1 School District for coverage at events. Weddell seconded the motion. Motion carried on a voice vote.
The Ambulance Department has a Salary request for $26,000 a year for the manager position above the normal hourly wage for working the truck as a Paramedic. Hall made a motion to approve the salary request of $26,000 for Ambulance Department Manager. Weddell seconded the motion. Motion carried on a voice vote.
The board discussed what years and how the employees should be recognized for years of service. Fehrenbacher made a motion to approve Employee Anniversary Recognition. Hall seconded the motion. Motion carried on a voice vote.
The board will postpone acting on the annual membership fee in IllinoiSouth Tourism out of hotel/motel tax.
Board Comments: No Comments
Chairman’s Comments:
Thank You Note from Debbie and Randy Ochs for the passing of her mother. Sexual Harassment Training needs completed by December 31st. At the January Board meeting Apex Clean Energy will present the Violet Solar Project. Warfel extended a thank you to all our County Employees, Elected Officials and to my fellow board members for the time and attention they devote to our County over the past year and I wish each of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Leffler moved to adjourn at 7:50 pm. Geier seconded the motion. Motion carried on a voice vote.
The next regular Jasper County Board meeting will be held on Thursday, January 13th at 7:00 p.m.
Amy Tarr, Jasper County Clerk
