PUTNAM COUNTY REGULAR BOARD MEETING
April 11, 2022, at 5:30 P.M.
The regular meeting of the Putnam County Board was called to order at 5:30 P.M. on Monday, April 11, 2022, by County Board Chairman Charles Lenkaitis. The meeting was held in the courtroom at the Putnam County Courthouse in Hennepin, Illinois.
Roll Call was taken by the Clerk of the County Board with, Floyd Holocker, Tony Rue, Luke Holly answering and Steve Malavolti being absent.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all in attendance.
Minutes: It was moved by board member Rue to approve the minutes from March 14, 2022, Regular Board Meeting. Board member Holocker seconded the motion and the motion was carried on a roll call board vote of 3 ayes, 0 nays, and 1 absent.
Bills: It was moved by board member Holly to approve bills for March 2022. Board member Holocker seconded the motion and the motion was carried on a roll call board vote of 3 ayes, 0 nays, and 1 absent.
Public comment:
Valerie Witzman was present and expressed her concern about windmills coming to Putnam County. Valerie gave several reasons she felt windmills should not be approved in Putnam County.
Charlie Witzman was present and expressed his concerns about windmills and the number of eagles that the windmills have been killing. Witzman also asked about the procedure for fulfilling the Zoning Office position.
Neal O’Donnell was present and expressed his concern about the distance between the windmills at a wind farm by 39 and 51.
Jeff Purtell was present and stated he wanted to get educated here. Purtell started asking questions and was asked to email his questions to the board because public comment period was not the place for that.
Richard Ashdown was present and said that we should be thinking about the generation to come. Will they want to deal with the windmills falling down and all the concrete in the ground??
County Highway Engineer Pat Sloan presented his March report regarding County Highway Engineer and Maintenance Activities to the board. The tractor should be here soon, so that bill should be on next month’s report. We opened bids for 2022 MFT work on March 30, 2022. The scope of the work was 40.2 miles of road work for the county and townships. The work was divided into eight contracts. The total engineer’s estimate was $1,149,195.45. The total amount of low-responsible bids was $1,307,248.10, which was 13.8% over the estimate. After a short discussion, Board member Holocker moved to pass the Resolution Awarding Bids for Various Township and County Maintenance Sections. Board member Holly seconded the motion and the motion was carried on a roll call board vote of 3 ayes, 0 nays, and 1 absent. The Clerk of the County Board was directed to process the Resolution (#2022-04). (The County Highway Engineer Reports are on file at the Office of the County Clerk for review by any interested parties.)
Sheriff Kevin Doyle was present with his financial reports for March. There were no questions on his report. Sheriff Doyle said that he will be having a preconstruction meeting tomorrow with the award winner and with the engineer and going over a plan on how to get in and out with prisoners. They will be starting in May and said they would be in and out in 2 weeks. Board member Holly mentioned that Cathy Oliveri had a chair that was taken out of the courthouse to be fixed and she is working on getting an estimate. The sheriff mentioned that there has been a build-up of little tables and clutter in the basement that needs to find a home. The sheriff said he has contacted many different places about the old conference table so if anyone knows of anyone that is in need of a 12 ft table, let him know. (The Sheriff’s and Civil Processing Transaction Reports are on file at the Office of the County Clerk for review by any interested parties.)
County Treasurer Kevin Kunkel was present and presented his financial reports for March to the board. The General Fund’s balance for March, Fiscal Year 2022, is $320,386.98 compared to a balance of $174,902.88 for March, Fiscal Year 2021. Kunkel’s report also included a review of the “General Fund Accounts Balance by Month, Fiscal Year 2022". The General Fund balance for March, Fiscal Year 2022, is $134,747.44. The General Fund Savings balance for March, Fiscal Year 2022, is $980,096.57. The Illinois Fund - General Fund balance for March, Fiscal Year 2022, is $338,062.70. The total of the General Fund Accounts is $1,452,906.71. Year to date for the Fiscal Year 2022 shows revenues of $320,386.98 and expenses of ($232,654.63) for a total of ($87,732.35). Kunkel stated that of the 1.4 million dollars $322,643.65 is specified money. Kunkel also stated that in the 2010 Census, Putnam County had 6,006 residents in the county and as of the 2020 Census Putnam County has 5,637 residents, we lost 6%. (The County Treasurer’s financial reports are on file at the Office of the County Clerk for review by any interested parties.).
County Clerk & Recorder Tina Dolder presented her report for March to the board. Dolder stated that it has been a slow month for documents. We were able to get a lot of disposable items loaded up for Matt to dispose of. There is more work to do in the storage room but it looks much better. Dolder’s report shows $49,352.21 in total receipts for the month. The new hire is doing amazing learning everything and keeping busy. (The County Clerk & Recorder’s financial report is on file at the Office of the County Clerk & Recorder for review by any interested parties.)
County Circuit Clerk Carly Neubaum was not present and did not have a report for the board.
County Probation Officer Patricia Hohulin was not present and did not have a report for the board.
County Supervisor of Assessments Tammy Mehalic was not present and did not have a report for the board.
County Zoning Officer was not present and did not have a report.
County Death Investigator Bob Cofoid was not present but did have his Death Investigator report for March to the board. There was (1) death reported to his office during March. Cofoid also said he did attend the Training Conference at Starved Rock and the presenter was excellent. (The County Death Investigator Report is on file at the Office of the County Clerk for review by any interested parties.)
Putnam County Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Chauntelle Biagi-Bruer presented her February report to the board. The State of Illinois has extended its Disaster Proclamation until April 2, 2022, which covers all 102 counties including Putnam County. On February 22 Chauntelle attended the Marshall-Putnam Natural Mitigation Meeting in Henry. We have a completed draft of the Risk Assessment and Biagi-Bruer will get with Dolder to add it to our website. Biagi-Bruer has been doing ID cards for Hennepin Granville Fire and Cedar Point Fire over the last month. Biagi-Bruer did attend the IEMA region 2 quarterly meeting via zoom on February 17th and attended the Region 2 Flood Preparedness meeting via zoom on February 22nd. (The Emergency Management Coordinators Report is on file at the Office of the County Clerk for review by any interested parties.)
Hector Gomez was present and said that the Health Department was still offering booster shots for anyone that needs them.
STATES ATTORNEY Christina Judd Mennie was present but did not have anything to report.
NEW BUSINESS:
Cemetery mowing bids were open. There were 2 different businesses that entered bids. Michael Dennis’s bid was $250.00/week for only Caledonia Cemetery, and he only bid on that cemetery. Leatherman Lawn Care entered a bid for all 3 cemeteries; Caledonia $3000, Old Granville $2800, Florid $ 3500. After discussion, the board members requested more detailed information on the bids for each of the cemeteries. Board member Rue was going to reach out to Leatherman Lawn Care and asked him to submit a more detailed bid. Board member Holly moved to table the Cemetery mowing decision until we get more information. Board member Holocker seconded the motion and the motion was carried on a roll call board vote of 3 ayes, 0 nays, and 1 absent.
Reappointment of Father Paul Meismer for a 3-year term (5/2022 -4/2025) as trustee of the Standard Fire Protection District. After a short discussion, board member Holly moved to pass the reappointment of Father Paul Meismer as trustee. Board member Rue seconded the motion and the motion was carried on a roll call board vote of 3 ayes, 0 nays, and 1 absent.
Reappointment of John Holmbeck for a 3-year term (5/2022-4/2025) as trustee of the Granville Hennepin Fire Protection District. After a short discussion, board member Rue moved to pass the reappointment of John Holmbeck as trustee. Board member Holocker seconded the motion and the motion was carried on a roll call board vote of 3 ayes, 0 nays, and 1 absent.
OLD BUSINESS:
Putnam County Website (www.co.putnam.il.us.)
Website Care Report was included in the packet for the board to see the activity for March.
Correspondences and Committee Reports:
EXECUTIVE SESSION:
At 6:21 pm Board member Holocker moved to go into Executive Session to discuss personal. Board member Holly seconded the motion and the motion was carried on a roll call board vote of 3 ayes, 0 nays, and 1 absent. At 6:36 pm Board member Rue moved to come out of Executive Session. Board member Holocker seconded the motion and the motion was carried on a roll call board vote of 3 ayes, 0 nays, and 1 absent.
The board came back in session and discussed the possibility of expanding a current position and adding Grant work to their job duties. The board will discuss this with department heads and see if this is something they think is needed.
ADJOURN:
At 6:47 P.M., board member Holocker moved to adjourn the meeting. Board member Rue seconded the motion and the motion was carried on a roll call board vote of 3 ayes, 0 nays, and 1 absent. The meeting was adjourned. The next Regular Meeting of the Putnam County Board is scheduled for Monday, May 9, 2022, at 5:30 P.M. The meeting will be held in the courtroom at the Putnam County Courthouse.
Respectfully submitted,
TINA DOLDER
Clerk of the Putnam County Board