West Central Reporter

Pike County Board met July 26.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

Call to order

Chairman Andy Borrowman called to order the regular meeting of the Pike County Board at 7:00 p.m. in the upper courtroom of the Pike County Courthouse.

Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance

Wes Shriver gave the invocation and Chairman Borrowman led in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Roll Call

Members present were Andy Borrowman, John Birch, Amy, Tom Lewis, Mark Mountain (Telephone), Derek Ross, Jim Sheppard, and Mark Sprague.

Approval of Minutes from June 22nd, 2020

John Birch made a motion to approve the April minutes. Tom Lewis seconded.  Voice vote 7-0. Minutes approved.

Consideration of New Liquor Licenses

Chairman Andy Borrowman provided a summary of the current standings of the Pike County Liquor Licenses for unincorporated areas. He directed the board that the vote would be to expand the available licenses. He informed the board members that he currently has two applications from David Coldwell.

My Borrowman asked Mr. Coldwell to provide and explanation for his intended use. Mr. Coldwell stated he owns the car lot and motel in Pike Station, Illinois in an unincorporated area of Pike County. He wishes to provide gamming at the motel to attract transient workers and wished to have a café with machines at what is currently the car lot.

Chairman Borrowman stated that the vote was just to increase the liquor licenses and applicants would need to apply as well as go through the State Liquor Commission.

Derek Ross sought clarity on the connection between gamming and liquor. State’s Attorney, Zack Boren stated that one must possess a liquor license to apply for a gamming license.

Mark Mountain made a motion to increase the county liquor licenses by 1 license making a total available 4 from the previous three. Jim Sheppard seconded. Voice vote 7-0. Motion passed.

Review of Application for conditional use permit for the Brotherhood of Bikers RC

Pike County Zoning Administrator, Greg Wyatt, summarized the prior submitted Condition Use Permit for the Brotherhood of Bikers RC located in Summer Hill, Illinois. He reviewed the recommendations from the Board of Review as well as the contingency of working with the Health Department, IDOT, and purchasing the property.

Amy Gates made a motion to approve the Conditional Use Permit contingent upon approval from the Pike County Health Department, Illinois Department of Transportation, and the purchase of the property itself. Should the club dissolve or cell the property, the permit will cease. There also will be no parking on the right of way as stated in the Board of Review. John Birch seconded. Voice vote 7-0. Permit approved.

Direction to State’s Attorney to file a proof of claim in National Prescription Opiate Litigation.

Pike County State’s Attorney, Zack Boren, summarize the pending litigation/bankruptcy for the board and stated that this is a joint class action and an estimate has been provided via formula for approval. Mr. Boren also stated that it is unlikely we will see direct financial reimbursement and that the settlement would most likely include funding to more support programs in relation to opiate addiction.

Mark Sprague made a motion to direct the State’s Attorney to file the proof of claim. Derek Ross seconded. Voice vote 7-0. Motion passed.

Board Action of proposed resolution regarding Remote Attendance at Pike County Board and Committee Meetings.

Pike County State’s Attorney, Zack Boren, briefed the board regarding remote access to board and committee meetings. Mr. Boren stated that due to still being in a State of Emergency declared by the governor, that these conditions exist. This resolution is to allow for certain remote attendance post emergency declaration per the Open Meeting’s Act.

Derek Ross stated that he appreciated the technology that was used during remote meetings and expressed an interest in expanding upon that. Chairman Borrowman agreed and stated that they can check with GIS/IT committee for some options on broadcasting the meetings or offering various technological components to them.

Amy Gates made a motion to approve resolution 2020-006 outlining remote attendance options. Tom Lewis seconded. Voice vote 6-1. Motion carried.

Board action on proposed resolution regarding Special Use Permit Liquor Licenses for Pike County Business-Continuing Approval.

State’s Attorney Zack Boren provided a summary of this resolution to the board. He stated that the board was approached last month regarding a possible special use liquor permit and agreed it is worth looking in to. Mr. Bored created a resolution. Multiple board members had questions regarding various aspects of the use.

Mark Mountain made a motion to table the discussion until Mr. Bored was able to gather more information from the Illinois Liquor Commission. John Birch seconded. Voice vote 7-0. Motion passed.

Committee Reports

Finance

The finance committee of the Pike County Board met at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday July 15th, 2020, in the conference room of the Pike County Government Building. Members present were Rodger Hannel, Amy Gates, Jim Sheppard, and County Board Chairman Andy Borrowman. Also present were the finance committee of the Pike County Health Department and representatives of the Health Department and County Treasurer Scott Syrcle.  

Routine bills in the amount of $79,170.06 were approved for payment on a motion by Amy Gates and a second by Rodger Hannel.

We discussed the amount that the Health Department owes the county general fund for Health Insurance. After a great deal of discussion it was decided we would look again at past billing and try and once and for all come up with a figure that is owed since we have discovered additional errors in billing since we last looked at this. Jim Sheppard said he would be willing to go back as far as January 1st, 2017 and have an answer by the next finance meeting.

Jim Sheppard informed the committee that he had reached out to Cindy Foote about starting on the budget worksheets for fiscal 2021. He stated he would also discuss the Health insurance fund. He then talked about a webinar about reimbursements related to Covid and asked the health department to help the general fund departments find Covid related expenses that we might be reimbursed for.

We then discussed putting the county’s audit out for bid. We had done this a few years ago but it was late in the year and we wanted to do this when we had more time. Amy Gates made a motion to put the audit out for bid. Rodger Hannel seconded. Motion carried.

Amy Gates made a motion to adjourn. Rodger Hannel seconded. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 6:35 p.m.

Tom Lewis made a motion to approve the finance Committee minutes. Amy Gates seconded. Voice vote 7-0. Minutes approved.  

Highway

The Road and Bridge Committee met Wednesday, July 8th, 2020 at 3:30 p.m. at the County Highway Department. The meeting was called to order at 3:30 p.m.

Members in attendance were Rodger Hannel, Andy Borrowman, Mark Mountain and John Birch. County Engineer Chris Johnson and Office Manager Brenda DeSpain were also present.

A motion was made by Mark Mountain, seconded by John Birch to pay claims per claim reports dated July 8, 2020. All in favor. Motion Carried.

A motion was made by Mark Mountain, seconded by John Birch to approve the following Half Aid to Bridge Project: New Salem Township- project consists of replacing damages culvert on 350th St on the Section line between Sections 32 and 33 with an 8’ X 50’ CMP. Total cost of project is $8,336.55. Pike County paid $7,042.50 and New Salem Township paid $1,294.05 of expenses. To settle New Salem Township owes County Road and Bridge fund $2,874.23.

A motion was made by John Birch, seconded by Mark Mountain to approve the Highway Department six-month report as presented. All in favor. Motion carried.

There was discussion regarding the County’s portion of employee health insurance paid by the Highway Department for its employees. The preliminary insurance audit revealed that the Highway Department had been overpaying premiums for several years. In addition, it was recently discovered that the reinsurance part of the premium paid from the insurance liability fund was applying the single rate of $250 for all Highway Department employees. Those with family coverage the rate should have been $534 so the difference was being paid by the county highway funds in stead of the liability fund. Currently, there is no total amount for the overpayment or a solution on refunding the overpayment to the county highway fund.

John Birch made a motion to approve the Half Aid to Bridge claim. Mark Mountain seconded. Voice vote 7-0. Motion approved.

Tom Lewis made a motion to approve the Highway Committee minutes. Mark Sprague seconded. Voice vote 7-0. Minutes approved.

Building and Grounds

The Building and Grounds committee met on Wednesday, July 15th, 2020 at 3:30 p.m. Present were: Ton Lewis, Rodger Hannel, Derek Ross, Andy Borrowman and Darwin Feenstra by phone.

Tom Lewis reported that Sheriff Greenwood told him that he had some concerns about some concrete issues located on the North entrance side to the courthouse. Sheriff Greenwood will get some bids to repair the concrete.

Also, Sheriff Greenwood mentioned to Tom Lewis that some cameras at the Annex building need replaced in the future. Sheriff Greenwood will seek some bids to replace even through he realizes that some projects may need to be included in next years budget.

Darwin Feenstra stated that the courthouse security project is not done yet, as some required elector and camera inspection sand work still need to be done. Also, Darwin mentioned that the courthouse had some air conditioning problems, but he was able to get Peters to repair them.

Tom Lewis made a motion to approve the monthly bills of $5782.33. Rodger Hannel seconded, and the motion passed.

A motion to adjourn at 4:00 p.m. by Tom Lewis and seconded by Rodger Hannel passed.  

Jim Sheppard asked Sheriff Greenwood when the security upgrade to the courthouse would be completed. Sheriff Greenwood stated they will start using that entrance on Monday, August 3rd, 2020.

John Birch made a motion to approve the Building and Grounds committee minutes. Mark Sprague seconded. Voice vote 7-0. Minutes approved.

GIS/IT

The GIS committee of the Pike County Board met at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday July14th, 2020 in the upstairs conference room of the Pike County Jail. Those present were Amy Gates, Mark Sprague, Jim Sheppard, Board Chairman Andy Borrowman, Sandy Schacht, Paula Dean, and Deputy Dan Brennecke.

Amy Gates made a motion to pay the bill sin the amount of $8,935.57. Mark Sprague seconded. Motion carried.

 We again visited the subject of the monitors. Sandy had tracked down where they had gone. Unfortunately, those that had received monitors by mistake like the new ones and now would like to keep them. Which means we will be purchasing more monitors. We then discussed who would pay for the monitors since we felt the committee had met our obligation.

Sandy Schacht presented a new contract with Adams Fiber for three years with no change in price.

Amy Gates made the motion to adjourn at 5:48 p.m. and Mark Sprague seconded. Motion carried.

Amy Gates made a motion to approve the GIS/IT minutes. Derek Ross seconded. Voice vote 7-0. Minutes approved.

Public Safety June 24th, 2020

The Pike County Public Safety Committee was called to order at 6:57 P.M. on June 24th, 2020. Those in attendance were committee members Derek Ross, Amy Gates, Tom Lewis, Andy Borrowman, and Pike County Ambulance Administrator Josh Martin. Also, in attendance were numerous Pike County Ambulance Employees.

Tom Lewis made a motion and was seconded by Amy Gates to enter Closed session pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1) to consider the appointment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employee(s). The motion passed.  

The committee resumed open session at 10:00 p.m. No action was taken.

Tom Lewis made a motion and seconded by Amy Gates to adjourn. The motion passed and the meeting adjourned at 10:01 p.m.

Amy Gates made a motion to approve the Public Safety committee report. Tom Lewis seconded. Voice vote 7-0. Minutes approved.

Public Safety July 8th, 2020

The Pike County Public Safety Committee was called to order at 7:00 p.m. on July 8th, 2020. Those in attendance were committee members Derek Ross, Amy Gates, Tom Lewis, and Pike County Ambulance Administrator Josh Martin. Also, in attendance were numerous Pike County Ambulance Employees and Payton Dean from the Pike County Health Department.

Payton Dean presented that the Pike County Health Department (PCHD) and the Illinois EPA are holding a used tire collection for local units of government. Individuals should coordinate with their local units of government or road commissioners to find out where they can drop off their used tires. She also said the PCHD and County Offices would like to remind the public that as the new tax bills will be coming out soon, they encourage the public practice social distancing when paying their bills in person and remind them that they can mail their tax payments into the Treasurer’s office.

Tom Lewis made a motion and Amy Gates seconded that the Pike County Ambulance Service-Policy Guide be forwarded to the full board for approval and implementation. The motion passed.

Josh Martin presented that one of the ambulances is not operational without a new engine. Since that particular ambulance was the one scheduled to be replaced, Tom Lewis made a motion and was seconded by Amy Gates to enter a Repurchase Agreement with American Response Vehicles to purchase a used ambulance for $10,000.00 which that ambulance will then be sold back to American Response Vehicles for $7,000.00, when we take possession of our new ambulance. The motion passed. Amy Gates asked administrator Martin for an update on staff meetings. Administrator Martin said he had not had a staff meeting yet as he wanted to have one when the new Policy Guide is implemented. Amy gates recommended having one sooner to go over any outstanding issues and to possibly discuss protocol for the new time clock that will be implemented next week.  

Jay Albert and Josh Forbis asked to have a closed session special meeting to discuss and outside business they are involved with and how it may affect the Pike County Ambulance Department. The special meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 22nd at 7:00 p.m. at the Pike County Ambulance Department.

Amy Gates made a motion and Tom Lewis seconded to pay bills in the amount of $22,722.96. The motion passed.

Amy Gates made a motion and seconded by Tom Lewis to adjourn. The motion passed and the meeting adjourned at 7:41 p.m.

Mark Sprague asked Peyton Dean when the used tire collection is and he responded August 7th and 8th.

Amy Gates made a motion to approve the Ambulance Department Policy minutes. Derek Ross seconded. Voice vote 7-0. Minutes approved.

Public Safety July 22nd, 2020

The Pike County Public Safety Committee was called to order at 6:59 p.m. on July 22nd, 2020. Those in attendance were committee members Derek Ross, Amy Gates, Tom Lewis, Andy Borrowman, and Pike County Ambulance Administrator Josh Martin. Also, in attendance were numerous Pike County Ambulance Employees.

Under New Business, the employees met with Administrator Martin for a first of what should be many staff meetings. A topic of discussion was the new time cloth that will go live the 26th of July. The primary purpose of the clock is to aid in more accurate payroll records and to save time in processing payroll with the ability to do detailed reports. Also, the meeting produced good suggestions from staff and a Rig Status Board was implemented to allow for all to see and update regarding any issues a rig or rigs have, and need addressed.

Tom Lewis made a motion and was seconded by Amy Gates to enter Closed session pursuant to 5 ILCS 120(c)(1) to consider the appointment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employee(s) at 7:29 p.m. The motion passed.

The committee resumed open session at 8:33 p.m. No action was taken.

Amy Gates made a motion and seconded by Tom Lewis to adjourn. The motion passed and the meeting adjourned at 8:34 p.m.

Tom Lewis made a motion to approve the Public Safety Committee minutes. Amy Gates seconded. Voice vote 7-0. Minutes approved.

Insurance

The Insurance committee of the Pike County Board met at 10:30 a.m. June 30, 2020 in the conference room of the Pike County Government building. Members present were Rodger Hannel, Derek Ross, Jim Sheppard and County Board Chairman Andy Borrowman. Also present were County Clerk Natalie Roseberry, Eric Snedecker, Katie Powers, and several employees of the county.

The first item of business was the bids on the dental/vision and life insurance. Natalie Roseberry had prepared a spreadsheet for our review. Derek Ross made a motion to accept the bid from Principal for the dental and vision and the bid from Dearborn for the life insurance with an effective date of August 1. Rodger Hannel seconded motion carried.

Eric Snedecker updated the committee on Illinois Counties Risk Management Trust and the upcoming property casualty renewal. He also noted that we have a new loss control representative, Dan Lutrell. We also discussed online training through ICRMT.

We then move to health insurance and the HOPE Trust. Eric stated that with the contracts the trust has in place with certain hospitals that insured members would be encouraged to use these facilities and that the trust was essentially building their own network. Members can see what providers are under contract by using the Trustmark Benefits Portal.

Derek Ross made a motion that the county put the health insurance out for bid and meet before the HOPE Trust renewal. After discussion, motion failed for lack of a second.

Natalie brought to the committee the news that with the retirement of Becky Irwin from her office that someone new would have to be appointed to fulfill her insurance duties. Jim Sheppard requested that she develop a job description for the position and submit it to the committee by email for comment. Natalie also brought forth a document from the deferred comp carrier that changed the guaranteed rate of return on those funds.

On a motion by Derek Ross and a second by Rodger Hannel meeting adjourned at 11:28 a.m.

Tom Lewis made a motion to approve the public safety minutes and John Birch seconded. Prior to the voice vote, discussion was had.

Amy Gates questioned why the motion to seek out health insurance bids failed. Jim Sheppard stated that is failed due to not having a second for the motion.

Derek Ross stated that he just wanted to look around and see what was out there. He stated that we have bid out our Dental/Vision and Life coverage and we should bid out our health coverage as well. By not comparing insurance, Mr. Ross stated that it is impossible to understand if we are receiving the best coverage for the most affordable price.

Jim Sheppard stated that he reviewed a document from a few years ago where the HOPE Trust paid out around $900,000.00 over our premiums for our members and at best, we have fallen short of our premium at around $200,000.00. Mr. Sheppard also stated, that the county pays the reinsurance rate from the Liability Fund and if we changed coverage, the general fund would have to absorb the entire premium which it would be unable considering the state of things.

Derek Ross stated that he believes that the County should not be utilizing the liability fund for reinsurance payments. He stated that he has brought this to the board’s attention previously, it was recommended by the insurance committee that an opinion on the payment be requested from the Attorney General’s Office. The full board conducted a vote and voted not to seek the opinion and the motion did not pass.

Derek Ross inquired to Chairman Borrowman if he could make a motion for the full board to vote on seeking bids for health insurance. Chairman Borrowman stated he would not be able to entertain the motion as there was a motion to approve the minutes on the floor presently.

Some discussion regarding Robert’s Rules of Order occurred.

Chairman Borrowman called the motion to approve the Insurance Committee minutes and a voice vote 7-0. Minutes approved.

Derek Ross then requested a vote for seeking insurance. Mark Sprague stated he believed that the point was already addressed when they voted on the minutes of the meeting, as the minutes stated it did not have a second thus was invalid. Amy Gates questioned on how this is different than a previous vote where the board voted against something recommended by a committee. Derek Ross agreed and reiterated a prior meeting situation regarding the liability fund.

State’s Attorney stated the cleanest way to present the question on biding out health and liability insurance would be to have it as an agenda item.

Derek Ross requested that on the August Agenda, an item is “Consideration for Pike County to go out for bid for Health Insurance and Liability Insurance.”

New Business

Pike County Treasurer, Scott Syrcle, updated the board on the upcoming lighting payment. He also stated the taxes were rolled from the Pike County Clerk, Natalie Roseberry, and they were in the process of printing and mailing taxes. Taxes will be mailed by July 31st, 2020 and the first installment is due on September 2nd, 2020 and the second installment is due on October 16th, 2020.

Old Business

Jim Sheppard made a motion to pay $55,000.00 towards the lighting. Mark Sprague seconded. Voice vote 7-0. Motion approved.

Chairman’s Remarks

None

Summary of Expenses for the Month/Mileage & Per Diem Report

Motion to approve made by Tom Lewis. Seconded by John Birch. Voice vote 7-0. Reports approved.  

Questions from Press and Visitors

None

Adjourn

Tom Lewis made a motion to adjourn. Seconded by John Birch. Voice vote 7-0. Meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.

https://www.pikecountyil.org/county-boards/minutes/