West Central Reporter

Pike County Board met March 28.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

Call to order

Chairman Jim Sheppard 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

Micheal Teneycke gave the invocation and Chairman Sheppard led in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Roll Call

Chairman Sheppard asked Deputy Clerk Haley Rezba to call roll. Board members present were, Chairman Sheppard, John Birch, Amy Gates, Andy Borrowman, Reta Hoskin, Tom Lewis, Mark Mountain, and Derek Ross. Absent was board member Mark Sprague.

Approval of Minutes from Pike County Board meeting on February 28th, 2022

John Birch made a motion to approve the minutes. Mark Mountain seconded. Voice vote 8-0. Motion approved.

Review/Consideration of the Conditional Use permit applications for a satellite dish compound for fiber internet service as per Article IV, Section 4.1.3 of the Pike County Zoning Ordinance located at: Being a part of Parcels # 33-024-09 at 41181 Perry-Fishook Road, Chambersburg, IL. lying in and being part of the Southeast Quarter of Section 20, Township 3 South Range 3 West of the Fourth Principal Meridian, Pike County, Illinois. Public Comment limited to 5 minutes per person.

Derek Ross questions the radius of area being serviced and what type of speeds are being offered. It is stated that it is more options for the county to use for providers.

Amy Gates made the motion to approve. Mark Mountain seconded. Voice vote 8-0. Motion approved.

Review/Consideration of a petition to rezone a parcel of land from A Agricultural to II industrial district for an Adult Use cannabis facility as per Article II Section 2.4 and Article III section 3.9 of the Pike County Zoning ordinance located at: being a part of parcels # 64-026-13 and 64-026-13A at 17766 County Highway 11, Pleasant Hill, IL lying in and being part of the Northeast Quarter of Section 27, township 6 South, Range 4 West of the Fourth Principal Meridian, Pike County, Illinois. Public comment limited to 5 minutes per person.

The consultant from the company states that she is here to answer any questions or concerns that anyone may have.

Derek Ross: is the Board breaking a tie between the two Committees this was presented to?

Zach Boren: No, not breaking a tie. The land will have to be re-zoned.

Andy Borrowman: Wants to table the topic until the application is turned completely finished.

Reta Hoskin: States there is a lot of information at hand that needs to be looked over and wants to know what happens if they are denied? What would happen next?

Chairman Jim Sheppard: He thinks that decisions on this topic needs to wait until next month.

Amy Gates: Inquires about light pollution and what kind of security lights there will be on the property.

The consultant states the lights are motion activated only.

Amy Gates: Wants to know if there will be workers on site 24 hours a day?

Consultant: States there will be no 24-hour hours being worked. Daytime hours only.

Derek Ross: States there are a lot of requirements and hoops that have a to jump through. Are all of those being met?

Consultant: Maintaining the correct distance from schools is the main requirement.

Member of the Public: Wants to know if you can legally have it next to a house?

Consultant: Yes, it can be next to houses.

Member of the Public: Brings up the weed plant in Lincoln IL. States that the security lights are visible for miles away and that you can smell the product from miles away.

Consultant: States you can’t compare the two facilities because of the massive size difference between them.

Jeff Ruziska from Martinsburg: Wants to know the exact size that it will end up being and about the smell getting out of the building. Also asks who they will be employing?

Jason Thompson: Wants to know what the potential of income for the county is? What security measures will be getting taken? Where will employees be coming from? States that he really wants people to stop running new businesses out of the county. He inquires about where the weed being grown will be sold? Does not believe it will be adding to crime rates when the products will not be sold here in the county. Wants to know if there will be jobs available for county residents once up and running.

Becky Ghrist: Asks if there are going to be people there at all times of the day? How close is the Barry facility from residential homes? What is the company trying to accomplish by doing this in Martinsburg?

Consultant: States that they are trying to bring more tax dollars into the area. They are trying to keep everyone on the same page with everything. She noticed that there is something missing from the County. Things that the County needs to open up to in order to keep more young people in the area. Also stated that the company is a grow facility for medical weed and not for recreational use. The products that they grow are not going to be sold here, they will be sent out and distributed.

Member of the Public: Why would investors put money into a business like this without knowing if everything had already been approved? Who are the investors?

Mischa Ruziska: Wants to know what the odors will be like in the winter? What trouble can come with the odors from the product? Asks the consultant is she would want a facility like this in her backyard that she would have to smell all the time?

Consultant: States that the cold kills off odors and that the facility will use air scrubbers that will prevent it from being an issue.

Chairman Jim Sheppard: Asks where the company is currently at in the process of getting their state license.

Consultant: States the company is currently in the lottery for the license. She is unsure of the number in the lottery.

Chairman Jim Sheppard: Inquires if the board denies this from moving forward, does the company have to start the process over from the beginning.

Mr Garrett: Read several printed pages that he brought with him regarding weed and the use of it. Most of the reading was to show the negatives and to urge this to not get passed.

Derek Ross: States he has heard all of the back and forth and the talk about it, wants to know what they want? Asks them what it is that they need?

Consultant: Expresses that she doesn’t understand why there are no younger people being involved in this decision?

Mark Mountain: Speaks about the hurdles that have to be completed in order to do this, what was their reason for selecting this property? What is the liability to the county?

Consultant: States that the water supply on the property was the main selling point and there will be no liability to the county.

Jason Thompson: States that in the 80s the county farmers blocked the building of a recreational lake that would have brought the county a ton of money. Wants to know when the county is going to realizes that it is dying and there needs to be something brought here to help keep people and jobs here.

Amy Gates made the motion to approve. Seconded by Andy Borrowman. Voice vote 6-2. Motion approved.

Review/Consideration of a Conditional Use Permit application for Adult Use Cannabis Craft Grow, Adult Use Cannabis Infuser Organization and Adult Use Cannabis transporting organization facility as per Article II Section 2.4 and Article III Section 3.9 of the Pike County Zoning Ordinance located at: being a part of parcels # 64-026-13 and 64-026-13A at 17766 County Highway 11, Pleasant Hill IL lying in and being a part of the Northeast Quarter Section 27, Township 6 South, Range 4 West of the Fourth Principal Meridian, Pike County, Illinois. Public comment limited to 5 minutes per person.

Greg Wyatt: States that these are tough issues, and we need to let the board have time to process all the information that they have been given so they can make the best decision that they can for the entire county.

Amy Gates: States that she wants people to understand that not every decision that the board makes is solely based on money. There are a lot of factors that go into their decisions.

Mark Mountain: States to the public when the board meetings are and where and encourages everyone to come to them more often so the board can hear their concerns and opinions on the happenings in the county.

Chairman Jim Sheppard: States that this is a mute-point as the board is not moving forward with the rezoning issue yet and the two go together.

Mark Mountain made the motion to leave it on the table for next month. John Birch seconded. Voice Vote 8-0. Motion approved.

Committee Reports

Finance

The Finance Committee meeting was called to order at 5:30pm. on March 16th, 2022. Members in attendance were Andy Borrowman, Amy Gates, and Reta Hoskin. Also present were County Board Chairman Jim Sheppard, County treasurer Scott Syrcle, Kerri Rodhouse with the County Treasurer’s office, Haley Rezba with the County Clerk’s office and Don Foster.

After a review of the bills presented for payment, Andy made a motion to pay $130,168.33 in bills. Amy seconded the motion. Motion approved.

Scott reported our balance is $127,061.50

Under new business, the Committee approved a request from the Probation Office to obtain two credit cards with a shared limit of $2500.00. Andy made the motion to approve, which was seconded by Reta. All approved.

Under old business, there was an inquiry about the status of the W2s. There was not an update available at the time of the meeting.

Under public comments, the Treasurer’s office stated the County portion of the HSA for the Highway Department has not been paid in some time. Haley said she would check on that with Brenda Despain at the Highway Department to ensure needed documentation is in place.

The Treasure’s Office reported that it is now using ARPA funds to pay bills that would otherwise be paid with contingency funds. The Committee must still check whether ARPA funds can be used for debt reduction.

Amy made a motion to adjourn. Andy seconded the motion. Motion approved. The meeting adjourned at 6:34pm.

Motion made to approve by Amy Gates. Seconded by John Birch. Voice vote 8-0. Motion approved.

Highway

The Road and Bridge Committee met Wednesday, March 16, 2022 at 4:00pm at the County Highway Department. The meeting was called to order at 4:04pm.

Present were John Birch, Reta Hoskin, Mark Sprague and Jim Sheppard. Along with staff members Chris Johnson and Brenda Despain. Visitors were Don Foster and Max Middendorf.

There were no public comments.

A motion was made by Reta Hoskin, seconded by Mark Sprague to pay claims per claim reports dated March 16, 2022. All in favor. Motion carried.

No half aid to bridge settlements.

County Engineer’s Report- Approval of the Preliminary Engineering Service Agreements for project 21-13110-00-FL and 21-00103-00-FL will be added to the full board agenda. The agreements were not received in time to add to the Highway Committee Agenda. No action taken.

Closed session pursuant to 5 ilcs 120/2(c)(5) and 5 ilcs/2(c)(1):

A motion was made by Reta Hoskin, seconded by Mark Sprague to go into closed session at 4:11pm. All in favor. Motion carried.

A motion was made by Reta Hoskin, seconded by Mark Sprague to adjourn closed session at 4:44pm. All in favor. Motion carried.

A Motion was made by John Birch, seconded by Reta Hoskin to adjourn meeting at 4:45pm. All in favor. Motion carried.

Motion made to approve by Andy Borrowman. Seconded by Tom Lewis. Voice vote 8-0. Motion approved.

Building and Grounds

The March meeting of the Pike County Building and Grounds Committee was called to order at 3:03pm by committee chair Sprague.

Also present were committee members Mountain and Lewis as well as Board Chairman Sheppard. Visitor present was Charlie Ward from the County Clerk’s office.

On a motion by Lewis and seconded by Mountain, routine bills in the amount of $12,731.86 were approved for payment.

Under old business, Peter’s Heating and Air has still not finished the new air conditioner install at the courthouse.

There was no new business.

On a motion by Mountain and seconded by Lewis, the meeting was adjourned at 3:44pm.

Approval of Preliminary Engineering Services agreement Section 21-131100-00-FL.

Motion made to approve by Amy Gates. Seconded by Reta Hoskin. Voice vote 8-0. Motion approved.

Approval of Preliminary Engineering Services agreement Section 21-00103-00-FL.

Motion made to approve by Amy Gates. Seconded by Mark Mountain. Voice vote 8-0. Motion approved.

Motion made to approve by John Birch. Seconded by Amy Gates. Voice vote 8-0. Motion approved.

GIS/IT

The GIS/IT Committee was called to order at 5:40pm on March 15th, 2022. Those in attendance were committee members Derek Ross, Reta Hoskin, Amy Gates and Kim Sheppard. Also in attendance were Brenda Despain, Dan Brennecke, and Nicole McDonald.

Under New Business:

GIS forwarded their “full-service” proposal that was for $12,900 a month. The committee took no action on the proposal.

A motion was made by Amy Gates and seconded buy Reta Hoskin to accept a bid from Mike Devine to rewire the Court House in the amount of $23,620.00 and forward to the full board for ARPA funding approval. The motion passed.

Mike Devine dropped extra lines for the County Clerk’s new plotter. We believe everything is working correctly.

Paperwork is turned in and waiting approval from the Department of Information Technology, regarding the County’s “.gov” domain.

Brenda was notified that MS Office fees will be increasing, but the increase did not appear on this month’s invoice. She will watch for changes on next month’s invoice.

The committee discussed the need for bids for the County’s updated Aerial Photograph. Jim Sheppard found some potential bid language and Derek Ross agreed to coordinate with Nicole McDonald to get a bid packet together for vendors. Once the bid language has been approved, Derek Ross asked Nicole McDonald to take the lead in sending the bids out. The GIS/IT committee wants to work very closely with the Assessor’s Office to make sure the final product meets their needs and works well with the existing software being used.

Brenda brought up a link on the County’s website, under “your government, then Supervisor of Assessments” there is an added link to “pikeil.devnetwedge.com”. This link has detailed information about parcels of properties.

Under Old Business:

The Sherriff’s new fingerprint machines are up and working.

No public comments.

Motion to pay bills in the amount of $11,437.76 was made by Reta Hoskin and seconded by Amy Gates. The motion passed.

Amy Gates made a motion and seconded by Reta Hoskin to adjourn. The motion passed and the meeting adjourned at 7:04pm.

A motion made by Reta Hoskin, seconded by Tom Lewis to approve the Courthouse rewire. Voice vote 8-0. Motion passed

Motion made to approve by Amy Gates. Seconded by Andy Borrowman. Voice vote 8-0. Motion approved.

Public Safety

The Public Safety Committee meeting was called to order at 7:08pm at the Pike County Ambulance building. Members present were Tom Lewis, Amy Gates, Derek Ross and Chairman Sheppard. Also present were Kasey Kendall Ambulance Administrator, Lexi Damon from Illini Hospital and employees of the Pike County Ambulance.

Administrator’s Report: Kasey stated there were a total of 196 calls for the month of February and 395 for the year. There was 46 transfers for the same time period. Kasey stated that they would be doing some PR events in the future which includes the Illini Hospital Community expo that will be held at the Pittsfield Lake and a career fair that is being held at the Pittsfield High School. Kasey stated that there will be a documentation class coming up. This is to help the employees with correct documentation on reports to make sure we are getting the correct amount of pay for our EMS calls. The new ambulance that we have ordered is still waiting on a chassis. Kasey stated he had looked into our AT&T phone bill and found out that we were getting charged for 8 phone lines that are not being used. Kasey cancelled those lines and this will be a savings on our phone bill. Kasey stated that there had been someone lurking around the Ambulance building and has ordered some security cameras to be placed on the outside of the building.

New Business: Kasey presented a list of equipment that the ambulance service is wanting to purchase with eh Recovery funds that the County received. The items are attached with these minutes. The equipment that he is requestion is items that will better equip our ambulance service to help serve our citizens and individuals that travel through our area. The committee is asking the County Board to approve these items to be purchased at this time so that they can be ordered and that if any training is needed that can get completed so we can get this equipment into service.

No old business.

Public Comment: Lexi Damon stated that everything is going good between the hospital and the ambulance service and wanted to thank them for their roll in the mock stroke drill that Illini Hospital had.

Bills in the amount of $35,806.51 was approved on a motion by Amy and seconded by Derek. Motion approved.

With no further business Amy made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Derek. Motion approved. Meeting adjourned at 7:45pm.

Motion made to approve by Amy Gates. Seconded by Derek Ross. Voice vote 8-0. Motion approved.

Labor

Meeting was called to order at 2pm by Chairman Borrowman. Those present were Mark Mountain, Tom Lewis, Andy Borrowman, and Board Chairman Jim Sheppard. Also present was Haley Rezba

Committee discussed options on time off policies and Haley gave recommendations and recorded what the committee decided on. Copies will be put in Board members folders for each member to look at and make recommendations or approve and be ready to vote on at the April Board meeting.

Motion by Lewis to adjourn and seconded by Mountain. Motion approved. Meeting adjourned at 3:50pm.

Motion made to approve by Tom Lewis. Seconded by Reta Hoskin. Voice vote 8-0. Motion approved.

New Business

None

Old Business

None

Chairman’s Remarks

GrainBelt Express April 12, 2022 at the Sr Citizen Center from 5-7pm.

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

Motion to approve made by Amy Gates. Seconded by Andy Borrowman. Voice vote 8-0. Motion approved.

Questions from Press and Visitors

Who is the representative for the weed company? -Trevian Qutti

What is Ben’s affiliation with the people in the community? Adoptive family? Who are they?

Derek Ross: States that he is not pro-cannabis but he does recognize that there is an issue with the younger people of the County leaving.

Closed Session pursuant to 5ILCS 120/(2)(5), purchase or lease of real property.

Motion made by Mark Mountain and seconded by John Birch to enter into closed session. Voice vote 8-0. Motion approved.

Closed Session in at 8:55 and out at 9:17pm.

Adjournment

Motion made by Amy Gates and seconded by John Birch to adjourn meeting at 9:19pm. Voice vote 8-0. Meeting adjourned.

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