Sangamon Sun

Sangamon County Board met April 13.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

The Sangamon County Board met in Reconvened Adjourned September Session on April 13, 2020 in the County Board Chambers. Chairman Van Meter called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Mr. Stumpf gave the Invocation. They are meeting this evening pursuant to the Governor’s order under somewhat constrained circumstances on the phone, so the meeting will not allow for public comment or questions from the media, but they want to announce to members of the media listening that all of the speakers this evening will be available to you by calling the County Board Office phone number immediately after the meeting.

ROLL CALL

Chairman Van Meter asked County Clerk Gray to call the roll. There were 28 Present – 1 Absent. Mr. Thomas was excused.

COVID‐19 REPORTS

Director of the Sangamon County Department of Public Health Gail O’Neill, addressed the County Board. She stated today they are reporting three additional positive cases in Sangamon County, for a total of 44. They had 418 negative tests with a total of 858 total tests done. Of those positive cases, 16 have recovered and there have been three deaths. Recovered to them means the nurse is no longer following them and their period of isolation has been completed, but it may not mean they feel all the way better yet. This is something that takes a while for some people to get over. Their infinite command system has worked extremely well. It is fortunate that the City and County are working together on so many levels. They have been working with EMS, the police, fire departments, and the media. They have a staff that gathers the data and gives an analysis of it. They have been valuable, as everyone has in this operation. With all the people helping, it has brought them farther ahead than other communities at this time. They are also hoping it is keeping the number of people who are infected and who are dying from this to a minimum. The challenges they have now are trying to get people to remember to social distance and to resist the urge to go out with families and groups. She had quite a few questions about testing. In the beginning, the Public Health Department was the only place authorizing testing for sick people, but as more testing becames available, the IDPH lab and some other labs were authorized to do testing. Then the hospitals started with outpatient clinics in their facilities. At that point, and they really didn’t know, and still don’t know, how many people are being tested, so they rely on the test results that come in from the hospitals, Springfield Clinic, and SIU to tell them every day how many positive or negative cases come in. Another question she received was if they were going to test everyone once they go back to work, and if not, how would they know it is safe to go anywhere? They are also asking how some people can be tested and others cannot. Testing is still available on a limited basis and is available to those who have symptoms. They do not know right now if it is safe to go out in public, and that is why social distancing is so important. They do need to keep spreading that message. The doctors can answer most of the other questions as they see the patients.

Sangamon County Board of Health President Dr. Brian Miller, addressed the County Board. The organization they have is well structured now. They start out with, if you use military terms, their field army here with Brian McFadden being the field marshal leading them into battle, and they have Gail O’Neill, Memorial Hospital, St John’s Hospital, Springfield Clinic, SIU, along with the department, and the command structure for the overall command. They break it down into different parts. They have the governmental parts, medical parts and combined parts of the medical and government. They are fielding questions and diverting them to the appropriate levels, whether it be for supplies, manpower, equipment, medical equipment, medical rooms, or the healthcare delivery system. Right now, they are dealing with waiting. They are waiting for it to hit. Given the fact they are able to ramp up quickly, they have been able to keep a lid on this for now. The next three to four weeks will tell them whether they can deflect this away from this county or if they will have to absorb the punch when it comes. It all depends on how things filter out from Chicago, over from Indiana, and up from St. Louis. They will have their own small brushfires that develop with people doing things they should not be doing, such as traveling to Europe and hot spots in the country, coming back to town and not doing the right thing. Once they identify where those brushfires occur, they try to identify them quickly through trace monitoring or tracking contacts and try to shut it down that way. In addition, using law enforcement to, potentially, shut down large gatherings whereby unknowingly infected people can spread it, bring it back to their own homes, and infect other people. The structure is in place, things are in place and they are waiting. That is where they are at right now.

Dr. Miller addressed some of the questions that were submitted. One question was how many masks were donated from Ford. There were 10,000 face shields donated to the HSHS system by the Ford Company. This includes 15 organizations, such as hospitals, throughout a two state region including Wisconsin and Illinois. There were around 6,000 face shields that came into St. John’s. He is not sure how they are being distributed.

Another question asked was about the availability of a vaccine. Dr. Miller explained at the beginning of the year they talked about it being 14 to 16 months out from then. Initial vaccine testing, as far as trying to get an immune response, started very recently. That will all take time even if they cut corners or use new technology to ramp up the system. He does not believe they will see anything of substance as far as volume of vaccines until probably early next year. Unless something highly fortuitous comes through, he does not think they will see any vaccines by this fall. People keep talking about opening back up on May 1st, but that is not going to happen. Every day he sees an increase in the number of cases in the country and does not see a flattening of the curve, he adds three days to his projected outlook. If two weeks ago, he said the middle of May, then it is now two weeks later. He has not seen a break in the curve, so that two weeks turns into an extra six weeks. He is not looking at anything until June as far as trying to cut back. This infestation is wildfire raging in the big cities like New York, Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Miami, and New Orleans. They are saying they are seeing a leveling off. If you are talking about 790 people dying per day in New York City versus 660 people dying per day in New York City, then he supposes it is leveling off, but it is still very bad. It is still going to be awhile. They need people to understand they are doing the right thing here. Their numbers are not climbing as they are in many places because they are doing what they are supposed to do, with the exception of some people not doing the right thing. That is causing issues when people are coming back from highly infected areas and are getting people infected, and they have to shut down those brushfires. As far as herd immunity and the number of people that have to be vaccinated or need an immunity to a given disease process, a fraction of the population would need to have antibodies or a vaccination with the formation of antibodies in order to shut down the rapid spread of the infection. At Prairie, every single one of the staff members have been furloughed and had their hours cut by 1/3 or more, and others are being voluntarily furloughed. The administrators had all of their salaries reduced by 1/3, even though they have been working overtime all the time. The doctors are not furloughed. They keep working until either they get sick or they just keep working. Hopefully, if they take precautions, they will not get sick. As far as giving out personal information, legally they could potentially do that, but they do not want to do that. Right now as far as giving information to the first responders such as police and fire, they are giving addresses. If there are specific questions, they call and give them specific answers with names of people. That seems to be working okay right now, but if it does not work okay in the future, they will re‐address it and give more information as they need it. They understand the police and fire need this information to protect their people, but they also know they have to protect the privacy of the citizens. He thinks they do have a good working system right now. If the system does not give them all the information they need, then they will give them more, but they do not want to give out information that is not necessary.

Medical Director of Public Health Vidya Sundareshan addressed the County Board. She stated working with everyone and collaborating has been a great experience, and everyone has been doing their best. They have been trying to collect all the information from the hospitals and clinics and clean up the data so no duplicates are recorded. They are also trying to collect all of the information regarding those who have been tested and are trying to be tested so it is reflected accurately. They are also taking a look at certain groups where access to care or testing has been affected. There was also a question of how accurate testing has been. They are looking at that as well. There are some people who had more than one test and had a different result on the second test, so they had to see if the tests are effective, and they are quite effective. The hospitals are doing the tests and are good on the number of beds and ventilators available, so everything seems to be going well as far as hospital preparedness. The third so‐called surge for Illinois was originally thought to be April 20th, then there was data saying it was closer to April 11th, which was a Saturday. The numbers did go up. Two days before that, the number of deaths in Illinois were the highest recorded. The levels now seem to have leveled off, showing that social distancing and other public health measures are effective. They have definitely been successful in flattening the curve, but that does not mean they can start to get back to normal. They have to make sure there is not a resurgence, since there is a big chance of resurgence with this virus. They have to continue their efforts and be strong with these public health measures and sheltering in place.

The Infectious Disease Society, which is a critical care society, has come up with treatment guidelines. Patients who are sick in the hospital are the only ones who have access to certain treatments. There are over 100 clinical trials worldwide, and they are still looking at the best ways to prepare the patients for treatments. There is another process where plasma from someone who has recovered from COVID can be given to someone who is extremely sick. There has been a lot of good information and a good outcome in patients who have received it. They do have a facility here in Springfield, and they are looking into that as well.

All the guidelines that are in place at both hospitals, SIU, and Springfield Clinic are based on CDC and IDPH guidelines. They look at these guidelines as a group so that all organizations are aligned. There was one question, which asked about essential workers that live with family members and what could be done to prevent them from getting COVID. She does see patients that are essential workers and are exposed. She suggested when you go home, it is very important to take your shoes off outside the house in a hot zone, wipe down all the surfaces, door knobs, etc., take a shower, and wash clothes right away that have been worn that day. Social distance from other family members if you are sick and inform your employers and supervisors if you do get sick. Continue to wash your hands and wipe down surfaces. These are things that can be done at home to prevent family members from getting sick. People who are essential workers do have a higher chance of exposure because they could be exposed to people who may have the disease.

Dr. Sundareshan also explained the difference between COVID testing and antibody testing. COVID testing actually tests for the viral particles. When they are talking about antibody testing, antibodies are something they need in response to exposure to the virus either if you are sick or asymptomatic. The COVID test for the viral particles is being done for people who are symptomatic. They are not testing anyone who is asymptomatic, so they do not know how many people that are asymptomatic in the community actually have protective antibodies for the virus. That is what most states are now trying to study. California is now looking at this. Stanford did a test of about 3,000 people to see how many are immune. The results of those tests are still pending. At least 50% of the general population in the community needs to have these protective antibodies so the virus can be slowed down.

Director of the Office of Emergency Management Bill Lee addressed the County Board. They continue to monitor non‐essential businesses, public gatherings, and have been attempting to address social distancing in the community. They are still identifying issues with coordination of gathering information on testing results, and their alternate housing plan in on going. They have sent out several leases and have two signed and several pending. They have started a demobilization plan for when social distancing starts to end. They are working on documenting lessons learned and are building a pandemic annex for an emergency operation plan since everyone is lacking that. They will definitely have a robust plan for the next time this may happen. They are assuring that everyone is tracking all of their COVID expenses within the counties and villages and municipalities to prepare the COVID‐19 Public Assistance Grant that is coming out. They are also assuring everyone is taking the FEMA training that is being offered.

Springfield Fire Chief Allen Reyne addressed the County Board. He agreed that this has been a very cooperative effort. They are all just trying to do what is right. Sometimes they are trying to hit a moving target when they are trying to do what is right, but they are just listening to the experts. They are taking the expert advice from all of the physicians who are giving them guidance every single day. They are setting the tone to manage this incident because that is exactly what they are doing. They do not know, looking one or two weeks out, what it is going to look like. They are trying to prepare those plans based on the best information they have today. They are looking at what the next directives from the Governor are going to be and what the next directives will be when they do start opening things back up, whether it is late May or June. It is possible the Governor will mandate this and they will not have any choice. If the Governor leaves the choice up to each individual county, they want to have a plan in place to manage that. Any time something is issued, there is always more questions than answers, and they just want to be prepared for those questions so they are all speaking with one voice and are moving in one direction. That is the beauty they have created here with this cooperative effort, and he hopes that goes on long after this crisis is over.

Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell addressed the County Board. He also appreciates all of the cooperation they have received. The jail headcount is at a level that allows them the option to isolate trustees if necessary. Their personal protective equipment inventory is in good shape thanks to the many donations they have received. He concluded by saying he is very proud of all the employees who have continued to do their jobs through this pandemic that they have never experienced before.

Chairman Van Meter stated the next speaker was not involved in the initial response to the virus, but they have now been helping with outreach to businesses who need assistance in dealing with the after effects from the virus. Director of Lincoln Land Workforce Alliance Sarah Graham addressed the County Board. Sarah explained they had a number of businesses reach out to them for assistance. There are three grants that the state released. One was an emergency loan fund, and not too many businesses were interested in that because it was a loan. Another one was the Downstate Small Business Stabilization Program. This is a grant where the County would have to be involved because businesses would have to utilize the County to apply for these grants. She has been fielding numerous phone calls regarding this and has been attending many meetings about the process and how they would roll this out to businesses. A couple stipulations are that the businesses would have to be operational since January 1, 2017. They would also be required to have more than one full time employee. The $25,000 they would get from this program would be to offset costs such as salaries, taxes, utilities, rent, inventory, and other things along those lines. She concluded that it would not be an easy process for businesses, and it is not an easy process for her office to get this moving forward for businesses. They would have to start by putting a notice of the opportunity in all newspapers in their county area. They would also have to hold a public meeting and get all the grant information out to anybody who attended the meeting and to any businesses that are interested. They would then have to walk them through the whole process and assist them with any of their issues related to the paperwork and gathering the documentation they need. At that point, they would be able to send the grant application to the State of Illinois. The businesses would be required to report to the State of Illinois at the six‐month period of the grant and at the end of the grant. Part of their proposal is that it could not include any of her office’s expenses. So none of her staff’s salary or time, none of the ads they publish, or none of their other expenses could be written into the grant. Generally, they would be able to do that. They will be spending a lot of time and money and will not be able to recoup any of that. Additionally, another concern is that her office could be subject to a FOIA request and the businesses are providing them with a lot of private information, so many of the businesses are concerned about that. Lastly, if businesses default in any way on the terms of this grant then the County would be responsible for paying back the $25,000 given to the company as part of this grant. From her perspective, that would be a big concern since the County would be liable. The question is if the County would be able to support the companies that might default on this opportunity and how they would recoup the money. They have one more meeting with the State of Illinois on Wednesday, and she will be able to get more answers to the questions about helping these companies. At this point, she does have one companies full grant proposal. She is waiting to hear if they want to move forward with assisting them with this and get more information from the State regarding this opportunity.

Chairman Van Meter stated there are a lot of logistics to be worked out with the program, but they appreciate her working through them and making progress and in the meantime helping businesses.

County Administrator Brian McFadden addressed the County Board. The County has been operating under modified operating plans for quite some time now, and has decided to extend those through mid‐May. Of course, they are evaluating this on a regular basis. There are 20 departments/offices that are working under the modified plan and four that are not.

These four essential offices that have been operating as usual are 911, Sheriff’s Office, OEM, and to a great extent, Public Health. They have been working closely with these departments. They are seeing a lot of cross training and remote work. They have also reviewed what semiannual activities they need to address. The biggest one will be the property tax cycle. They have also talked about revenue obstructions. Court fines and fees are down. Recording fees are the only things trending up. They have reduced the building hours and are now closing at Noon. Employees and the public are required to have their temperature taken at the door, masks have been given out to the employees in the building, the bill process is still working, and there is essentially a hiring freeze in place, with the exception of the Coroner and Sheriff’s Offices. Employees in the State’s Attorney’s Office and the Treasurer’s Office are working hours above and beyond what they normally do. The Highway Department is making food deliveries using their refrigerated trucks. The County has also hired some contractual professionals for emergency planning.

Jeff Wilhite, who is the Public Information Officer for the County, addressed the County Board. They have started working with the community leaders and elected officials to promote ads encouraging people to stay home. The longer the stay at home order lasts the harder it will be for people to comply. They are working with radio stations and t.v. to get the message out. Channel 20 and 3 radio groups all have posted to social media including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and

Tik Tok. Either he or Gail O’Neill will send updated videos each week to the County Board and elected officials so they can share with other people and share the message on social media. Brian McFadden noted that public service announcements regarding this would run free of charge.

There were no questions/comments from the County Board members.

Chairman Van Meter acknowledged that Mr. Sullivan, Mrs. Ruzic and Mrs. Small are all present. They could not be heard at the beginning of the meeting.

MINUTES

A motion was made by Mrs. Williams, seconded by Mr. Bunch, for approval of the Minutes of March 10, 2020 and March 23, 2020. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTION CARRIED 

MINUTES ADOPTED

CORRESPONDENCE

A motion was made by Mrs. Williams, seconded by Mr. Bunch, to place correspondence on file with the County Clerk. A voice vote was unanimous.

RESOLUTION 1

1. Resolution approving the Property Tax Relief Plan to postpone the delinquency date and waive the interest penalty on the 1st installment of property taxes.

A motion was made by Mr. Preckwinkle, seconded by Mrs. Williams, to place Resolution 1 on the floor. Mr. Preckwinkle stated, with this time of need in the county and with everything that is going on right now with the virus, it is critical to help everyone, and one of those ways is to delay the requirement of the property tax payment. Tax bills will still be going out, but this will allow the first installment to be paid by the time the second installment is due, without interest penalties. It does not change the tax bill and does not change the second installment, if people want to pay it that way. There are still some challenges of collecting the interest if not paid by the time the second installment is due, but that is something they still have to figure out. Brian may have a little more detail about the challenges of these late fees. It is a great effort on the County’s part to allow the first installment to be delayed until September.

Treasurer Joe Aiello stated he was asked four weeks ago by the Chairman to come up with a plan, and this is the best plan they could find within the statute. They are allowed to waive the late fees and they also chose to push back the due dates by a week on the first and second payments. They are the collection agency for all 172 taxing bodies in Sangamon County, and they do not have a choice, they must send these out. They are giving some relief to those who cannot pay it this time. By doing this, it allows them the opportunity to harvest 25% of the taxes that are sitting in escrow accounts at this time. They have spoken with banks, and they are ready to pay. They have notified the banks today to let them know they expect that payment on June 1st, and most banks will participate in that. Those electronic payments are scheduled for June 1st by 11 of those banks that hold escrow accounts. Unfortunately, there will be some that cannot pay at this time, but he thinks this is great relief.

Chairman Van Meter stated it is his understanding that Mr. Aiello and his staff had extensive conversations with all the local units of government including the City, various park districts, school districts, and all the entities that depend on this money for their budget. Mr. Aiello stated they did reach out to a large percentage of those taxing bodies. They called the top 25 along with various others including townships. With many of the taxing bodies, this is coming up at the end of their budget year, and they are counting on this money to jump‐start the next budget year. They usually send a payment out at the end of May and another payment after the 1st installment is due. They think they can adjust that this year, if necessary. They are all appreciative of the effort and appreciate that they are looking out for them. They are dealing with a lot of villages, fire protection districts, and schools that continue to teach and feed children. The large majority do appreciate the effort they are making.

Brian McFadden explained that the penalties and fines Mr. Preckwinkle referred to are assessed on individuals that are late, and are collected entirely by the County because it is County’s responsibility to collect the money. That is a revenue item that fluctuates greatly from year to year. At a low amount, it could be $200,000, but at a high amount, it could be $600,000. That is money that could be lost intentionally. That is the way the program is set up, given what everyone is dealing with right now. The property tax relief is going to be a cash flow problem for all of these local governments including the County. This will be lost revenue to the County. Chairman Van Meter stated Brian and the Auditor’s Office did a stress test on the County’s finances with this program in place, and it looked like they were going to be okay. Is that correct? Mr. McFadden stated that is correct. They have actually done a number of stress tests on the budget based upon how the property tax revenue does come in, and on what happens with sales and income tax. It is something they are watching pretty regularly. They do have options for inter‐fund borrowing and options to tap into reserves. There are also tax anticipation warrants that can be done. All those things are typical things used by governments, particularly local governments and local governments that are dependent on property taxes such as schools. Property taxes is the single largest tax source at the County. They will know more when they have sales and tax revenue in a couple weeks. For right now, they are keeping their heads above water.

Chairman asked for a roll call vote on Resolution 1. Upon the roll call vote, there were 26 Yeas – 0 Nays. Mr. Hall was not present for the roll call vote.

MOTIONS CARRIED 

RESOLUTION ADOPTED

RESOLUTION 2

2. Resolution temporarily granting to all liquor licensees the option to pay liquor license fees in two installments.

A motion was made by Mrs. Hills, seconded by Mrs. Scaife, to place Resolution 2 on the floor. Mrs. Hills explained that this resolution mirrors other things they are doing for businesses to be user friendly. It allows bars to break up their liquor license payments into two installments.

A motion was made by Mr. Preckwinkle that the roll call vote for Resolution 1 stands as the roll call vote for Resolution 2. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTIONS CARRIED

RESOLUTION ADOPTED

RESOLUTION 3

3. Resolution temporarily extending existing food permit expiration dates during the COVID‐19 disaster and extending the date upon which related renewal permit fees are due.

A motion was made by Mr. Stumpf, seconded by Mr. Melchin, to place Resolution 3 on the floor. Mr. Stumpf explained during this time of diminished income for all food service establishments the County desires to postpone the requirement to renew licenses and the requirement to pay for food service establishment renewal license fees. So, until the County Board issues a resolution stating that the coronavirus disaster has ended, the licenses of existing food service establishment licensees, regardless of the expiration date stated on their current license, shall not expire; existing food service licensees shall not attempt to renew their licenses; and no license fees shall be deemed due from existing food service establishment licensees. Within 60 days after the County Board issues a resolution stating that the coronavirus disaster has ended, existing licenses of food service establishments with licenses whose stated expiration dates have passed, shall apply to renew their licenses. If granted, the effective term of the renewal license shall begin on the expiration date of the license being renewed. If granted, the fee for the effective term of the renewal license shall be paid at the time the renewal license is issued. Also, if the existing licensees of food service establishments who fail to renew their licenses as allowed by this resolution, shall be subject to all requirements of Chapter 5.20 of the Sangamon County Code. This is a good way to help the businesses at this time of need.

A motion was made by Mr. Preckwinkle that the roll call vote for Resolution 1 stands as the roll call vote for Resolution 3. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTIONS CARRIED

RESOLUTION ADOPTED

OLD BUSINESS

There was no old business.

NEW BUSINESS

A. Resolutions

There were no new resolutions.

B. Appointments

Appointment of Anthony Mares to the Sangamon County Zoning Board of Appeals for a term expiring April, 2025.

Appointment of Lee Bloome to the South Sangamon Water Commission for a term expiring May, 2021.

The nominations for appointment in May were also submitted.

A motion was made by Mr. Bunch, seconded by Mrs. Williams, for approval of the appointments. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTION CARRIED 

APPOINTMENTS ADOPTED

C. Ratification of Court Services Collective Bargaining Agreement

Mr. Smith stated it is his pleasure to bring to them tonight and ask for ratification of the contract between the Court Services unit, represented by the Fraternal Order of Police, with the County. This contact is negotiated by the court system with their legal counsel. They have achieved a significant agreement that results in some savings for the employer in the upcoming years and maintains their CPI plus a half salary formula, and to their credit, reached a six‐year contract agreement. There are some benefits in the unit out there that was negotiated that would be removed for first 2 years of a new hire’s time at the Juvenile Detention Facility. By removing those benefits for those initial two years, they will achieve some savings. There were also some other types of languages that will mirror the Sangamon County Employee Policy. There are some new procedures for how overtime is handled that will be more efficient and beneficial to management’s operation of the facility. There was some language to help keep more senior employees on the shift to make sure they keep experienced employees working. This is a benefit, especially to the second shift employees. Overall, he believes this is a very fair and good agreement for all and one that will serve them for a total of six years. He would appreciate approval of this contract.

A motion was made by Mr. Preckwinkle that the roll call vote for Resolution 1 stands as the roll call vote for the ratification of the Court Services contract. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTIONS CARRIED

CONTRACT RATIFIED

D. Procurement/Grant Notifications

Auditor’s Office

‐Troxell‐Cyber Insurance $44,403 ‐Troxell‐SMART Insurance $75,648 ‐Troxell‐Countywide Vehicles Insurance $59,435

Highway Dept.

‐Contech Engineered Solutions $45,370 ‐Warning Lites of Southern IL $34,193 ‐IRC Inc. $914,052

‐Illinois Valley Paving Co. $305,962 ‐Macoupin County Asphalt Inc. $124,452 ‐Louis Marsch Inc. $118,410

Public Health

‐Truax‐Narcan Replacement $86,550

Community Resources

‐DCEO Grant for CSBG $487,791

REPORTS OF COUNTY OFFICIALS, REPORTS OF SPECIAL COMMITTEES, REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES, COMMITTEE REPORT ON CLAIMS

A motion was made by Mrs. Williams, seconded by Mr. Bunch, to place the reports on file with the County Clerk. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTION CARRIED 

REPORTS FILED

Mr. Bunch stated he has a bell that belonged to Abraham Lincoln and tonight and until this is over with, he will be ringing the bell on behalf of the County Board. It has not been rang for five years. This is for all the people including doctors and nurses who have put 100% of their time in trying to fight this terrible disease. He hopes the good Lord will hear the bell because he will be ringing it loud at about 7:00 p.m. God bless everyone.

RECESS

A motion was made by Mrs. Williams, seconded by Mr. Bunch, to recess the meeting to May 12, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTION CARRIED

MEETING RECESSED

https://www.sangamoncountyclerk.com/County-Board/documents/April132020.pdf