PUTNAM COUNTY REGULAR BOARD MEETING
September 12, 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, September 12, 2022, by County Board Chairman Charlie 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, Steve Malavolti, Luke Holly, and Charlie Lenkaitis answering.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all in attendance.
Minutes: It was moved by board member Rue to approve the minutes from August 8, 2022, Regular Board Meeting. Board member Holocker seconded the motion and the motion was carried on a roll call board vote of 4 ayes, 0 nays.
Bills: It was moved by board member Malavolti to approve bills for August 2022. Board member Holocker seconded the motion and the motion was carried on a roll call board vote of 4 ayes, 0 nays.
Public comment:
Valerie Witzman was present and passed out a handout regarding an interview with a retired EMS pilot. Valerie stated there are numerous safety concerns but spoke about the concern of EMS Helicopter being able to land safely around wind turbines.
Charlie Witzman was present and spoke about the loss of property value on homes/property and possibly not even being able to sell. He is against wind turbines.
Jeff Purtell referenced the loss of his personal property value from his own experience. Jeff also gave a handout on some questions that the community has been asking him. He asked the board to get back to him for the answers at a later date.
States Attorney Christina Judd Mennie was present and spoke about the easement with Putnam County and Marquis. Christina mentioned that she has met with Marquis’s attorney and they have agreed to these terms. It was moved by board member Rue to approve the agreement between Putnam County and Marquis. Board member Malavolti seconded the motion and the motion was carried on a roll call board vote 3 ayes, 0 nays, and 1 absent.
County Highway Engineer Pat Sloan was present via zoom. Pat presented his August report regarding County Highway Engineer and Maintenance Activities to the board. There were no questions regarding Pat’s report. (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 August. Sheriff Doyle pointed out the estimate that he included in his packet for the lights in the courthouse hallway. The parts for the lights are no longer available so the whole fixture will need to be changed. The board did agree that this was something that needed to be fixed. There were no other questions regarding the Sheriff’s 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 not present but included in the packet his financial reports for August to the board. The General Fund’s balance for August, Fiscal Year 2022, is $158,007.93 compared to a balance of $153,319.07 for August, 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 August, Fiscal Year 2022, is $47,483.93. The General Fund Savings balance for August, Fiscal Year 2022, is $1,380,542.16. The Illinois Fund - General Fund balance for August, Fiscal Year 2022, is $996,191.85. The total of the General Fund Accounts is $2,424,217.94. Year to date for the Fiscal Year 2022 shows revenues of $3,245,382.56 and expenses of ($2,313,139.28) for a total of 941,243.28. (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 was present with her report for August. On the agenda is the Certification of Election Judges for 2022 – 2024. Tina explained that every 2 years Election Judges need to be approved by the board and certified by the courts. Board member Rue made the motion to approve the list of election judges to be certified by the courts. Board member Holocker seconded the motion and the motion was carried on a roll call board vote 4 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 absent. Tina is working with the Sheriff to get the Vote by Mail ballot box installed in the foyer of the Sheriff’s office for the upcoming election. Tina has been working closely with Connecting Point trying to get all email addresses running smoothly after switching over to .gov. We are getting closer to being completely done with this project. (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 had nothing to report.
County Probation Officer
County Supervisor of Assessments Tammy Mehalic was present and discussed with the board the quadrennial reassessment years and how she is wanting to handle them in the future. Board member Malavolti recommended that she meets with the State’s Attorney and draft up a Resolution to bring to the board for approval. This matter was tabled until the Resolution is drafted and ready to be presented. There were no other questions from the board.
County Death Investigator Bob Cofoid was not present however did include his Death Investigator report for August to the board. Cofoid reported (2) deaths for the month of August. Cofoid did attend the Illinois Coroner and Medical Examiners Association Training in August with 115 attendees. 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 was not present and had no report.
NEW BUSINESS:
Proclamation acknowledging the 75th Anniversary of the Granville-Hennepin Fire Protection District. The Granville-Hennepin Fire Protection District was established as a Fire Protection District in 1947 and Thomas Dore, Charles Vogler, and Henry Schafer were appointed as the district’s initial Trustees. Board member Malavolti made a motion to approve and proclaim September 17, 2022, as the “75th Anniversary of the Granville-Hennepin Fire Protection District” in Putnam County, Illinois, and commends its observance to all citizens. 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.
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 August.
The website and email costs have gone up now that we are .gov. so we need to make sure that we are only paying for costs produced by the county, not other tax levying districts. The domain for the website has been changed to putnamil.gov and the email conversion is almost complete. Reviewing our website, we have found 3 districts that have a page on our website so the clerk will notify each district to let them know instead of giving them a page we are going to just put their link on the resource page instead.
Correspondences and Committee Reports:
EXECUTIVE SESSION:
At 5:59 PM, it was moved by board member Rue to go into Executive Session regarding personnel. Board member Holocker seconded the motion and the motion was carried on a roll call board vote of 4 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 absent. At 6:21 P.M., Board member Holocker 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 6:24 P.M., Board member Holly moved to adjourn the meeting. Board member Holocker 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, October 10, 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