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PUTNAM COUNTY REGULAR BOARD MEETING

July 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, July 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 being present via zoom and Tony Rue, Steve Malavolti, Luke Holly, and Charles answering.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all in attendance.

Minutes: It was moved by board member Malavolti to approve the minutes from June 13, 2022, Regular Board Meeting.  Board member Holly seconded the motion and the motion was carried on a roll call board vote of 4 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 absent.

Bills: It was moved by board member Malavolti to approve bills for May 2022. Board member Rue seconded the motion and the motion was carried on a roll call board vote of 4 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 absent. It was moved by board member Malavolti to approve bills for June 2022. Board member Rue seconded the motion and the motion was carried on a roll call board vote of 4 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 absent.

Public comment:  

Valerie Witzman was present and gave a handout titled Industrial Wind Turbine and Bat Kill. This is more information on the negative effects of wind turbines.

Charlie Witzman was present and wanted to go on record agreeing with Val’s handout. He also stated that he is against wind turbines. Charlie mentioned the wind turbines will be an inconvenience to the farmers and crop duster as they will not be able to fly to spray the fields.

States Attorney Christina Judd Mennie was present and discussed the Contract between Putnam County and Illinois State Police. This contract would allow ISP to set up an office within the Emergency Management Building. Mennie stated that she is not comfortable signing a contract where we are not indemnified for injuries that are incurred by state police so I’d like to add language that holds them accountable. After discussion the board did say there is a benefit to having an ISP office within our County in case of an emergency, we would have more immediate help much quicker. It was moved by board member Malavolti to approve the Contract with the change of language. Board member Rue seconded the motion and the motion was carried on a roll call board vote of 4 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 absent.

County Highway Engineer Pat Sloan presented his June report regarding County Highway Engineer and Maintenance Activities to the board. Pat reported that the coffee creek bridge on ESK road for Hennepin Township has been substantially completed and the road is reopened. Paving of 100N from Rt. 18 to the Retreat Center was completed on July 6, 2022. Pat said that he will continue to monitor the silt and gravel in the box culvert under rt 89 which is partially plugged.  (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 June. The sheriff did point out that the gas has doubled on his report due to the rate of gas prices. The sheriff also said that he is looking into decorative blocks to separate the parking lot so people do not drive through it. There were no other questions on his report. (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 June to the board.  The General Fund’s balance for June, Fiscal Year 2022, is $992,324.12 compared to a balance of $939,641.91 for June, 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 June, Fiscal Year 2022, is $19,100.61.  The General Fund Savings balance for June, Fiscal Year 2022, is $1,830,580.65.  The Illinois Fund - General Fund balance for June, Fiscal Year 2022, is $608,162.19.  The total of the General Fund Accounts is $2,457,843.45.  Year to date for the Fiscal Year 2022 shows revenues of $2,782,398.43 and expenses of ($1,820,904.61) for a total of 961,493.82. (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 June to the board.  Dolder’s report shows $63,271.51 in total receipts for the month. Dolder said that a total of $17,387.07 was grant reimbursements back to the general fund. The General Primary went very well and we had a higher turnout than expected at 24.81%. Dolder reported that her office has 201 residents that have signed up for Property Fraud alerts, and she encouraged everyone to take advantage of the Property fraud alert opportunity.  (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 present and reported damage to the Naf device which holds all the imaging data for the Circuit Clerk’s office. A temporary Naf device was sent and everything is working properly.  Neubaum also encouraged everyone to attend Senior Day at the Marshall Putnam Fair. This is a program that elected officials try to attend every year to greet the seniors.

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 – there was no report.

County Death Investigator Bob Cofoid was not present and did and did not have a report for the board.

Putnam County Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Chauntelle Biagi-Bruer presented her June report to the board. The State of Illinois has extended its Disaster Proclamation until July 24, 2022, which covers all 102 counties including Putnam County. Biagi-Bruer attended several meetings and training this month. At the Region 2 IEMA Quarterly meeting, the emergency managers from region 2 voted Chauntelle into the position of Region 2 Regional Vice President for IESMA (Illinois Emergency Services Management Association). The board Congratulated her. (The Emergency Management Coordinators Report is on file at the Office of the County Clerk for review by any interested parties.)

NEW BUSINESS:

The board discussed the Internal Revenue Service announced an increase in mileage rate for travel from July 1, 2022, through Dec 31, 2022, from 58.5 cents to 62.5 cents. Reference IR-2022-124, June 9, 2022

Fish N’ Fun has requested approval to serve liquor at their Annual Pancake Breakfast on Sunday, August 7, 2022. A copy of liability insurance coverage is on file at the clerk’s office.  It was moved by Malavolti to approve the request to serve liquor on August 7, 2022. Board member Holly seconded the motion and the motion was carried on a roll call board vote of 3 ayes, 0 nays, 1 abstain, and 0 absent.

The Putnam County Conservation District is seeking the re-appointment of Michael Schrowang to be appointed for another term. Board member Rue moved to reappoint Michael Schrowang for another term at the Conservation District.  Board member Holly seconded the motion and the motion was carried on a roll call board vote of 4 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 absent.

OLD BUSINESS:

Putnam County Website (www.co.putnam.il.us.

Correspondences and Committee Reports:

Board member Malavolti reported on the Broadband for All survey. This is a 14-week program and all community members are encouraged to complete the survey so as much data can be collected as possible. This will help lay the groundwork so that when the map grant is available the multi-county project would be ready to go.

Board member Lenkaitis said that there is an agreement in place for Marshall/Putnam County Zoning Administrator and the ads are in the paper.

EXECUTIVE SESSION:

At 6:13 PM, it was moved by board member Malavolti to go into Executive Session regarding personnel. Board member Holly seconded the motion and the motion was carried on a roll call board vote of 4 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 absent. At 6:46 P.M., Board member Rue moved to adjourn the Executive session.  Board member Holly seconded the motion and the motion was carried on a roll call board vote of 4 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 absent.

ADJOURN:              

At 6:49 P.M., Board member Rue moved to adjourn the meeting.  Board member Holly seconded the motion and the motion was carried on a roll call board vote of 4 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 absent.  The meeting was adjourned.  The next Regular Meeting of the Putnam County Board is scheduled for Monday, August 8, 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