Hancock County Highway, Road and Bridge Committee Met Oct. 29.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
The Hancock County Highway, Road and Bridge Committee meeting was called to order by Mr. Bolton on Thursday, October 29, 2020 at 8:30 A.M. Committee members present were Steve Bolton, Patsy Davis, Wayne Bollin, Mark Menn, Harry Douglas, Tom Scheetz, and Pat Cramer. Also present were County Board Chairman Delbert Kreps and County Engineer Elgin Berry.
Claims and expenditures for the month of October were presented to the committee for approval. A motion was made by Mr. Cramer and seconded by Mr. Scheetz to pay all bills as presented. All committee members present voted ‘Aye’.
County Engineer’s Report
The 2021 Motor Fuel Tax (MFT) lettings for county and township aggregate (quarry) products will be held on Tuesday, November 24, 2020 so that the new prices will be effective on January 1, 2021.
Rachel Mast has reviewed the proposed Employee Policy Manual and did not have any objections to it. The Highway Committee previously requested a review by the State’s Attorney prior to final adoption of the manual. Ms. Davis made a motion to recommend final approval of the Highway Department Employee Policy Manual to the full county board. The motion was seconded by Mr. Cramer. All committee members present voted ‘Aye’.
The Hancock County Engineer recommended a 2.5% wage increase for Highway Department Employees, to stay generally even with Sheriff’s Department employees that are receiving either 2% plus “step” or 2.5% plus “step” increase. The Highway Department has budgeted sufficient funds to pay for the recommended amount. Mr. Menn stated that the County Engineer should have the discretion to set appropriate wages for the Highway Department employees, as long as they’re within the limitations of the approved budget.
A motion was made by Mr. Bollin to recommend 2.5% pay increases for Highway Department employees to the full county board. Mr. Douglas seconded the motion. All committee members present voted ‘Aye’.
The Village of Pontoosuc is still in the process of selecting a consultant engineer for the design work to replace the 4th Street Bridge at Spillman Creek. The Village President, Bob Durand, said that there have been some personnel changes on their Village Board and they haven’t had time to look into it. The village attorney, Kurt Dittmer will assist them with the selection process as needed.
Hancock County will obtain salt from Cargill, Inc. for the coming winter at a price of $47.98 per ton.
New Business
Mr. Bollin informed the committee that a group of people from Edgar County are suing Hancock County for $12,000 because the Sheriff did not disclose the names of people who purchased seized weapons at a firearms sale. Mr. Bollin stated that Rachel Mast informed him that the names would have to be disclosed. The Sheriff had hoped to protect the purchasers from possible retaliation by the people whose weapons were seized.
Mr. Scheetz said that the shoulder drop-offs on Connable Road are getting bad again. The damage occurs when vehicles with trailers and other wide vehicles run off the edge of the narrow road and dislodge the gravel. Mr. Berry said that the use of asphalt stabilized pug mix instead of gravel has worked better in the past, but nothing really lasts very long.
Adjournment
As no further business was brought before the Committee at this time, a motion was made by Mr. Scheetz and seconded by Mr. Bollin to recess until Wednesday, November 25, 2020 at 8:30 A.M. All committee members present voted ‘Aye’. The meeting adjourned at 9:15 A.M.
https://www.hancockcounty-il.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Highway-Road-Bridge-Committee-Minutes-October-29-2020.pdf
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