Sangamon Sun

Sangamon County Board met April 10

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The Sangamon County Board met in Reconvened Adjourned September Session on April 10, 2023 in the County Board Chambers. Chairman Van Meter called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Mr. Stumpf gave the Invocation and Mr. O’Neill led the County Board in the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Stumpf asked for a moment of silence for Mr. Madonia’s mother and for former board member Rose Ruzic, who is not doing good.

ROLL CALL

Chairman Van Meter asked County Clerk Gray to call the roll. There were 26 Present – 3 Absent. Mr. Madonia, Mr. Preckwinkle, and Ms. Williams were excused.

HEARTLAND GREENWAY PRESENTATION

Chairman Van Meter stated they have a number of speakers who signed up to speak tonight and some of them signed up without the appropriate notice that their rules require. He asked for unanimous consent to allow them to speak. He thinks the change in the date of the meeting disrupted their plans to notify the board of their desire to speak. There were no objections. He asked for unanimous consent to move the public comment section of the meeting directly after the presentation. There were no objections.

Danielle Anderson, residing in Bloomington, IL, addressed the County Board. She is with Heartland Greenway and is here to share information about their project and the partnerships they share with ethanol and fertilizer facilities across the Midwest. She has spent a majority of her career working for the ethanol producers and farmers in this state. In her current role, she is focused on meeting with folks like yourselves to ensure the project processes and values are communicated to you. Heartland Greenway is a 1,300 mile CO₂ pipeline that goes from South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, with a little leg in Minnesota, and then to Illinois for deep sequestration. Their initial routing was around eight ethanol plants, but they have since expanded that route to include Poet, Big River Resources, OCI Fertilizer, and Sulan Ethanol’s facilities, so there are about 30 ethanol plants in that one fertilizer facility on the project footprint.

What is carbon capture? While it is newer to the Corn Belt, it is not new technology, and has been in operation since the 1970’s. There are currently over 5,000 miles of CO₂ points in the US dating back to 1972. If you have ever been to the Farm Progress Show, you have been walking on an active sequestration site for ADM’s plant that has been active for about 10 years over there. They work with the ethanol facilities to install carbon capture equipment on site. They take the carbon that would normally be emitted into the atmosphere and dehydrate it by taking out all the water. Then they compress it and put in a CO₂ line in liquid form, so they are operating at a 1,300 PSI. To keep it into that liquid form, it has to remain a 1,200 PSI to be put into the system. Their carbon management platform plans to be a very dynamic piece of infrastructure, so it has multiple on ramps with different facilities and multiple off ramps. That kind of alleviates the supply chain issues of the past. With CO₂, while it is currently being trucked next to you while you’re on the highway or you’re at a brewery where the compressed CO₂ is right there, they want to be able to have the option for the people on their line to be able to choose whether they want it to go to the utilization market or to sequestration.

They operate as a common carrier, so any tax incentives or marketing premiums stay with those ethanol facilities in those local communities. They do not dip into that. They are paid by the producer for a fee per ton of CO₂ that they sequester or utilize. They have almost 40 miles represented in Sangamon County. All of this is on their website at heartlandgreenway.com. Go to the landowner tab and you can pull up any of the county maps in this presentation.

She discussed the environmental benefits of this. At capacity, they will have 15 million metric tons of CO₂ that will be on the line and will ultimately sequester. That is the equivalent of removing 3.2 million vehicles driven annually off the road.

Their initial project started in 2020 with that initial route optimization and design. They have since submitted to the Illinois Commerce Commission, and that is an 11 month process. They would give us the permit to construct within the State. They submitted that at the end of February and are looking for early next year around January or February to get that permit from the ICC, if they meet all those requirements. Right now, they are working with landowners and signing easement agreements with folks as well as finalizing the survey. If the weather is good again, they will be resuming surveys with landowners within the next week.

CO₂ transportation is the only product they will be permitted for and will be transporting. They are also non-exclusive easements, so if you want to put drain tiles or anything above or below the pipeline, you can. These will be 50-foot permanent easements, and during the construction, they will have an additional 50 to 75-foot temporary construction quarter easement. All of those will have different compensations for the landowners. They will be paid out prior to construction, so you will have 20% upon signing and the other 80% before they go into construction. They have options, so if someone doesn’t want that lump sum for tax purposes or whatever, they are able to choose to do that with an escalator over a 20-year term. There is the temporary easement, the permanent easement, and the crop loss. This is all paid out prior to construction on a 5-year average, which is 250%. Although they do not anticipate anyone ever reaching that 250% of crop loss, it is indicative of something greater if someone does reach that point. They are contractually obligated to make sure the landowner is justly compensated and the issues are taken care of.

They will be at least a foot under any other utilities or drain tiles as well. They will work with the landowners on that. Some landowners will not know where their drain tiles are, and if they hit one, they will restore that area. Either they will fix it for them or the landowner can use their own local contractor that they will compensate. They are operating under the Department of Transportation, Pipeline Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration. They are their regulator on the pipeline side. On the sequestration side, it is the US EPA. They exceed many of the standards put in place for the depth. While the federal depth is 3 feet, they will exceed that and will be at least at 5- foot minimum depth across the line. They have 6-inch diameter pipelines all the way to 20 inch. The main artery will be at 20 inches on some of those laterals to pick up some combinations from the plants. The pipeline will have an operating temperature of 40 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. It comes out of the ethanol facility at around 100 degrees and quickly takes on the temperature of the underground. They will have one station in Illinois and three in Iowa as well to keep the pressure that they have.

Safety is the most important part. Safety is not a variable of one specific thing. They account for a variety of items and determine which of those variables are knobs they can turn to help improve the safety. There are specifications on their valves and how far apart they have to be. They are going to be 6 to 7 miles apart. They are working with emergency response teams, and had some CO₂ safety training in person and virtually. The will have monthly aerial surveillance and fiber optics. Everything will be maned 24/7 for 365 days per year.

Mr. Stumpf stated their committee will be talking with ICC and are going to ask many questions regarding safety, property values, and things like that. The Zoning Committee will have a special meeting because it is hard to get everything in with all that they do.

Mr. Cahnman stated their local utility CWLP is dealing with carbon capture. He asked if any of the carbon they will be transporting is coming from power plants or all from ethanol plants. Ms. Anderson stated it would all come from ethanol plants and currently one fertilized plant.

Mr. Cahnman asked if they are going to prevent accidents, such as the CO₂ leakage and rupture that happened in Mississippi, from happening with their pipeline. Ms. Anderson stated there were things that the operator didn’t do correctly in that case. Her company is doing everything to prevent things that could happen in the worst-case scenarios to make sure they are definitely prepared for that. Mr. Cahnman asked if they have secured all the places they need to secure the CO₂ in the ground. Ms. Anderson explained that they are looking at multiple sequestration sites. There will be multiple wells and they are working on those easements with landowners. They will all be in Illinois. You cannot do this elsewhere simply because of the geology.

Mr. Thomas asked if it is every six miles for the valves. Ms. Anderson stated they would be six to seven miles, which is the average across the footprint. Mr. Thomas asked how much volume it is. He asked if they would consider areas that are developed to put more vales into so it can be shut down more quickly if there are problems. Ms. Anderson explained when you are in more highly populated areas, the valve location specifications on the federal level will change, so it becomes 7 ½ miles apart. They do agree with them on valve locations. They work with the counties on valve locations when they come closer to a populated center. Mr. Thomas asked if there would be more CO₂ rules released in the next year or two. Ms. Anderson stated they are fully regulated under Part 195 for CO₂ pipelines, but they do expect some enhancements to a couple of things.

Mr. Hall asked if they could go through their properties without any permission. Ms. Anderson stated that is part of the ICC application. If they grant you permission to construct, that would be part of it. It is just not a good business decision on their businesses part. It doesn’t save them any money or time, and sure doesn’t make them any friends, so that is a means of last resort. Typically, with a project this large, it is usually a title issue. Either you can’t find the landowner, they are out of state and you have exhausted efforts of trying to find them, or there are multiple folks on a title and they can’t come to an agreement. Those are the typical cases for eminent domain. Mr. Hall asked if a company like this has eminent domain rights. Assistant State’s Attorney Joel Benoit stated it is going to be determined by what the government has granted them. That is how you get eminent domain rights.

Mr. Hall stated he would like to introduce them to the people in his community because they do not want them in their area. There are signs in people’s yards that say they do not want you. They have communities, neighborhoods, township leaders, and mayors that don’t want you, but you are still coming. Ms. Anderson stated she is happy to talk to them to make sure they have information from them. They want to be collaborative in this process. It is a sensitive topic, like you mentioned. They want to turn the land to its condition so you can farm on top of it as you always have for decades and decades to come, and to be good neighbors with you. Those are contractual obligations they want to fulfill. Mr. Hall stated it just smells bad to them in their community and don’t want them there. Ms. Anderson stated they have been tasked by over 30 ethanol plants to build this infrastructure piece, and they know some people have different opinions on it. They are happy to have the conversation. Mr. Hall stated he thinks that is a very smooth explanation to something that no one wants.

Ms. Fulgenzi stated sequestration is a newer thing. She asked what the history is of sequestration. She asked if there are examples of sites and how long they have been in existence. She is concerned, just by basic physics, that you are displacing something when you are injecting something into the soil. Ms. Anderson stated ADM in Decatur is a great example. They have their own carbon capture sequestration site that they have worked with the Illinois Department of Energy on. They have been injecting their CO₂ for over a decade. This is newer to the Corn Belt and to the Midwest, but it has been studied extensively here in Illinois.

Mr. Mendenhall stated that most of his issues are safety issues. He asked if they would be providing training and equipment to all of the EMS and first responders in Sangamon County. Ms. Anderson stated they would provide training to all that show up. Mr. Mendenhall asked if they are aware that Illinois had several earthquakes in southern Illinois and they can feel the tremors up here. They are on the list to have more severe earthquakes coming. He asked if that is a potential problem for the pipeline. Ms. Anderson stated they have all kinds of products underground right now for the pipeline, so they take that into account just like any other pipeline company and operator. If you are talking about the sequestration side of things, they do 2D and 3D seismic studies to make sure they are not going into an area where they see faults.

Mr. Mendenhall stated one of their injection sites was over in the Stonington and Mt. Auburn area. He asked if that is still a potential site. Ms. Anderson stated it is a potential site over in Christian County. Mr. Mendenhall asked if there are potential faults in that area. Some people have said there are geological faults very close to your injection site in that area. Mr. Mendenhall asked how long it would take before it becomes a hazard if there is a leak. Ms. Anderson stated you would have to ask the engineer. They have engineers that come and talk to the counties, and they invite them to informational meetings and public informational meetings so questions like yours can be answered.

Mr. Mendenhall stated some of these locations are just slightly over 1,000 feet from where your pipeline is going to be, including some residences. There are also some livestock facilities that are close. The hogs, pigs, and cattle will not be able to escape. He asked if they are under a bigger risk. Ms. Anderson explained that safety has many different variables. When they look at safety, they are not just looking at setback distances. They are looking at valve locations, thicker wall piping, and depth. There are so many different variables they can put on the system for additional safety measures.

Mr. Mendenhall stated they are going to run a pipeline from Iowa for over 1,000 miles. He asked if there was another spot closer to the ethanol plants that would save millions of dollars. Ms. Anderson stated there is not and that is why they are doing it here with them. There are two big projects including theirs going from South Dakota to Illinois and another one going from Iowa to North Dakota. Illinois has been more extensively researched so that is why they are coming here to this state. Mr. Mendenhall asked if the State of Nebraska has been involved in this at all. Ms. Anderson stated they do have a few of their facilities in Nebraska on their project. Mr. Mendenhall asked if there are injections sites there. Ms. Anderson stated there are not with their project, but she can’t say for other projects. Mr. Mendenhall stated it is his understanding that Nebraska has put a long-term moratorium on it. Ms. Anderson stated she could not speak for what Nebraska has done.

Mr. Mendenhall stated there is a large pipeline that runs for miles along I-55. He asked how big of a problem it would be for the traffic along there if there were a rupture there. Ms. Anderson stated they would have to look at all the different variables. Mr. Mendenhall stated he knows there are a lot of pipelines running through the State of Illinois, but there is a big difference between a crude oil pipeline and a natural gas pipeline, and all of those questions and concerns have been answered by those companies. He has been involved with pipelines for a long time. He has also been involved with the geological structure of a lot of land in Sangamon and Christian Counties. One of your injection sites absolutely has faults. He tried to drill some oil wells over there and couldn’t because it was close to a fault. Should he have a rupture, it would have a negative impact on the aquifer. What he can’t figure out is why CO₂ is okay if he can’t drill on the oil well there and the crude oil could have a negative impact on the aquifer.

Mr. Stumpf asked Ms. Anderson to have engineers on hand to answer questions when they set up these meetings. Ms. Anderson said they could do that.

Chairman Van Meter stated the company has expressed willingness to answer all questions. He appreciates the forum Mr. Stumpf will be setting up so they can get their questions answered.

Chairman Van Meter stated they would proceed out of the regular order of business to public comment, as previously mentioned. They have three members of the public who asked to speak.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Kathleen Campbell, from Glenarm, addressed the County Board regarding the Navigator Pipeline. She thanked the County Board for ICC intervention and a moratorium. It is now time to move to full formal opposition of the Navigator Heartland Greenway Pipeline with a resolution, the ICC, and to extend the moratorium. They have listened to Navigator. She formally requests equal time for those of us opposing this dangerous, toxic waste, hazardous pipeline to have equal presentation time before the full Sangamon County Board. In Sangamon County, every single township along the pipeline has signed a formal resolution opposing the pipeline including New Berlin, Loami, Chatham, Ball, and Cotton Hill Townships. Also opposing are the Sangamon County Farm Bureau, the Faith Coalition, Sierra Club, Resistor Sisterhood, and Sustainable Springfield. They have multiple Sangamon County members and citizens against the Heartland Greenway Pipeline and the coalition to stop CO₂ pipelines. Every one of these groups are represented here tonight on short notice and during planting season with beautiful weather. As of last week, by Sangamon County records, only 1.77 miles in all of Sangamon County is under voluntary easement. Every other Sangamon County landowner has refused month after month. Your citizens of Sangamon County do not want this pipeline. She took a minute to address the plumbers and pipefitters who are apparently in favor of this. She grew up in a plumbing company out of her home in Sioux Falls. She knows how hard they work, and she thoroughly respects it, but she can recognize a bad project when she sees it. This would be the longest most complicated CO₂ pipeline ever built in the world, but Navigator has never installed a CO₂ pipeline before. Her dad would turn down any project that would endanger people’s lives or that was done by an inexperienced company. If this pipeline ruptures in Sangamon County at its proposed setback levels, people would be exposed to CDC immediately dangerous to life and health CDS levels within five minutes. Tell me how EMS would rescue us within five minutes. She is asking that they do what her dad would do, and turn down this project. She is asking that the Sangamon County Board move to full opposition and extend the moratorium. She thanked those people in opposition for showing up.

Larry Kovalichuk, residing in Rochester, addressed the County Board regarding the pipeline. He stated they have no idea where they want to go with this. At 20 miles per hour of a shut off, that is death for somebody because this is a mechanical item. It is just like your car. It is going to break and is just a matter of when. There are four natural gas lines there where they are coming over by him. If they have any fault problems and it breaks this, or it just has a mechanical problem and leaks, then he doesn’t know what it will do to the gas line. It can blow holes in the ground like dynamite. If they say, “It will not do that”, that is not true. This is under severe high pressure and it is not that deep. With those gas lines, they may not only get gas, but they would also be burnt. There are people that come talk to me and it is like threats, and he does not like it.

Nick Dodson, residing in Springfield, addressed the County Board regarding the pipeline. He stated he is a home and landowner in both Sangamon and Morgan County. He is also the chair of the Sangamon Valley Sierra Club, which is an environmental safety and advocacy organization. As a resident of Sangamon County for the past 14 years, he is here to speak on behalf of the health, wellness, and safety of Sangamon County residents, wildlife, and agricultural animals in the surrounding communities. Specifically, he is here to urge the County Board to reinstate and extend the pipeline moratorium, which expires soon. This quote is directly from the September 1st Sangamon County website press release. “At this time, a moratorium is justified given unresolved issues involving public health and safety concerns. Continued research on zoning guidelines, potential impacts, and remedies to the common highway system, and proposed changes in State law, we feel that a moratorium will allow for a full review of these issues and give the County the information and answers they are seeking on those matters”. Nothing has changed since then, as they know. They as a community should wait for more guidance from the federal government on these pipelines, which are currently regulated like oil pipelines. Carbon Dioxide has a different physical property from products typically moved in hazardous transmission pipelines. Those differences pose unique safety hazards and greatly increase and endanger the public. CO₂ pipeline ruptures can impact areas measured in miles not feet. CO₂ is essentially a lethal asphyxiate, which means it will choke you when released from a pipeline. CO₂ will be heavier than air. It can form clouds of cold dense glass fog. CO₂ can flow considerable distances from the pipeline unobserved since it is invisible and they can’t smell it. It can travel over terrain while displacing oxygen while settling in lower areas. Oxygen displacement by CO₂ gas can cause asphyxiation, shut off gas engines, including first responder equipment. This project will cross 1,800 rivers, streams and wetlands primarily through open trench excavation. The pipeline would also pass under navigable bridges such as the Mississippi, Illinois, Missouri, Des Moines, and more. This pipeline is truly unprecedented. While Navigator Heartland may be persistent in its attempts to endanger Illinoisans through the construction of this pipeline, they are up against people like myself and others who will not let greedy corporations take their land through eminent domain without a fight. Again, he is here to simply ask them to please reinstate and extend their pipeline moratorium, which is about to expire.

Brian Zilm, District Director for Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski’s office, addressed the County Board. He stated he is present with Angela Foxworth Everett from their office. They have been in the office for about 100 days now and wanted to reach out to the communities. They are here to put some faces to the names and want to be a resource to you going forward for anything you may need on the federal level, including grants. They have an office here in Springfield and are at the Resource One building on South 4th Street. They also have offices in Champaign, Decatur, and Belleville. They are across this district and are happy to help any way they can, so if you have any questions feel free to reach out.

MINUTES

A motion was made by Mr. Bunch, seconded by Mr. Fraase, for approval of the Minutes of March 7, 2023. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTION CARRIED

MINUTES ADOPTED

CORRESPONDENCE

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

RESOLUTION 1

1. Resolution approving the low bids for the FY2023 County miscellaneous materials supply contracts.

A motion was made by Mr. Fraase, seconded by Mr. Mendenhall, to place Resolution 1 on the floor. Chairman Van Meter asked County Clerk Gray to call the roll. Upon the roll call vote, there were 25 Yeas – 0 Nays.

MOTIONS CARRIED

RESOLUTION ADOPTED

RESOLUTIONS 2 - 8

2. Resolution approving the reappointment of the County Engineer.

A motion was made by Mr. Bunch, seconded by Hall, to place Resolution 2 on the floor. A motion was made by Mr. Bunch, seconded by Mr. Tjelmeland, to consolidate Resolutions 2 – 8. Chairman Van Meter asked County Clerk Gray to read Resolutions 3 – 8.

3. Resolution approving an Agreement between Sangamon County and the Illinois Department of Transportation to transfer Surface Transportation Program Funds for State Funds.

4. Resolution approving a review of County Highways with seasonal posting requirements.

5. Resolution approving the procurement of goods and/or services for ETSD from Watson Consoles for the purpose of new dispatch furniture consoles in the amount of $454,262.

6. Resolution approving the procurement of goods and/or services for the Supervisor of Assessments from South County Publications for the purpose of publishing the quad year assessment notices in the amount of $88,000.

7. Resolution approving a grant application for Community Resources from DCEO for the LiHeap Program in the amount of $774,000.

8. Resolution approving a grant application for Community Resources from DCEO for the 2023 DOE Weatherization NIL Grant in the amount of $846,407.

A voice vote was unanimous on the consolidation.

Chairman Van Meter pointed out that on Resolution 6 the payment is to South County Publications and the State Journal-Register.

Mr. Cahnman asked how many consoles they are getting for half a million dollars on Resolution 5. County Administrator Brian McFadden explained that these are the consoles the actual dispatchers sit at, and they are specially manufactured. He is not sure how many they have, but he can get back to him on that. Mr. Cahnman asked if this went out for bid. Mr. McFadden stated it does have to go out for bid. Mr. Cahnman asked how many stations they have. Mr. McFadden stated they have 11 or 12 and it will include the backup center as well. Mr. Cahnman stated it does seem kind of high. Chairman Van Meter explained that this type of equipment is always extremely expensive as it is very specialized equipment. Mr. Hall stated there are 11 out there at 911. He pointed out to Sam that he is on that committee along with himself and others. You can take a tour of that facility. There is under the cabinet harnessing and wiring that is pretty detailed. These people are in there 24 hours per day, so it is used more than your normal office of 8 hours, so make sure you have oranges and apples on this issue.

Mr. Cahnman asked on Resolution 6 if this is just to publish the notice of assessments of each property in the County. He asked how this compares to what they have spent in prior years. Chairman Van Meter stated it is about the same and it is required by law. Mr. Cahnman stated it seems like a lot of money. He asked if it is required to publish in both newspapers. Chairman Van Meter stated he does not know the answer to that. Mr. McFadden stated he is not sure if it is required for two newspapers, but they have published in both for some time so that all areas of the County will see the notices. This is the quadrennial, so it is different from what is done with the normal yearly assessment.

A motion was made by Mr. Stumpf that the roll call vote for Resolution 1 stands as the roll call vote for Resolutions 2 – 8, as consolidated. A voice vote carried. Ms. Fulgenzi abstained on Resolutions 7 & 8.

MOTIONS CARRIED

RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED

WAIVER OF TEN-DAY FILING PERIOD

A motion was made Mr. Stumpf, seconded by Mr. Bunch, to waive the ten-day filing period. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTION CARRIED

TEN-DAY FILING PERIOD WAIVED

RESOLUTIONS 9 – 13

9. Resolution approving a grant application for SMART from IDOT for the Downstate Operating Assistance Program in the amount of $779,500.

A motion was made by Mr. Bunch, seconded by Mr. Constant, to place Resolution 9 on the floor. A motion was made by Mr. Bunch, seconded by Mr. Constant, to consolidate Resolutions 9 – 13. Chairman Van Meter asked County Clerk Gray to read Resolutions 10 – 13.

10. Resolution approving a grant application for SMART from IDOT for the 5311 Formula Grant in the amount of $152,586.

11. Resolution authorizing the execution and amendment of the Section 5311 Grant Agreement for SMART.

12. Resolution approving a grant application for Court Services from the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority for the Adult Redeploy Illinois Program in the amount of $490,804.

13. Resolution approving the procurement of goods and/or services for the Circuit Clerk from various vendors for the Illinois Court Technology Modernization Program in the amount of $512,627.72.

A voice vote was unanimous on the consolidation. A motion was made by Chairman Van Meter that the roll call vote for Resolution 1 stands as the roll call vote for Resolutions 9 – 13, as consolidated. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTIONS CARRIED

RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED

OLD BUSINESS

There was no old business.

NEW BUSINESS

A. Resolutions

There were no new resolutions.

B. Appointments

Appointment of Frank Vala to the Springfield Airport Authority for a term expiring May, 2028.

A motion was made by Mr. Stumpf, seconded by Mr. Bunch, for approval of the appointments. A voice vote carried.

Mr. Ayers and Mr. DelGiorno voted no on the appointment to the Springfield Airport Authority.

MOTIONS CARRIED

APPOINTMENTS ADOPTED

The nominations for appointment in May were also submitted. Mr. Fraase stated they need to replace the name Michael Long with Larry Kane for the Pleasant Plains FPD. A voice vote was unanimous on the amendment. Also, Mr. Hall stated his name should be removed from the Extension Board. A motion was made by Mr. Bunch, seconded by Mr. Stumpf, for approval of the appointment nominations, as amended. A voice vote was unanimous.

C. Procurement/Grant Notifications

-Resolution 14 - Authorization for Recorder to implement a mandatory $9.00 increase in the RHSP fee.

-Resolution 15 - Approving the procurement of goods and/or services for Information Systems from Sam, LLC for the acquisition of aerial photography in the amount of $105,500.

County Administrator Brian McFadden explained that the Building & Grounds Committee was not able to act in a timely basis to approve the fly over to do the aerial mapping. He approves that under emergency notifications. Also, the $9.00 fee increase for the Recorder is still unresolved. They may or may not be coming back to see if the County Board needs to act on that. Mr. DelGiorno asked if it is possible to just vote for that now without having Building & Grounds vote on it. Chairman Van Meter stated that is what the State’s Attorney is trying to find out. They do not generally vote on things the State has told them to do, so they are trying to figure out what they are supposed to do. They are going to give the State’s Attorney more time to look into it. They are very likely to have a special meeting in the next couple of weeks. As Mr. McFadden said, it was necessary to approve this fly over expenditure without the committee’s approval because they could not get a quorum. He emphasized that they can set the committee meetings at any time that is convenient for the majority of the committee, but it is critically important they get a quorum for these meetings, particularly now with all of the building projects going on. There are so many deadlines and timelines they have to meet. The Building & Grounds Committee is overloaded with stuff to approve, but this is true of all the committees. It is critically important that they get a quorum so they can act and stay on schedule.

Chairman Van Meter asked Mr. McFadden to fill them in on the schedule and why they may need several special board meetings within the next couple of months. Mr. McFadden explained what is driving this is the timing on the construction projects. Days can really make a difference as far as getting things approved and getting materials ordered. He can say with confidence, they will need to have a special Building & Grounds meeting and a special County Board meeting the week of April 24th. Mary will be working on a time. The purpose will be to approve the bids for the Coroner’s work. They are trying to get started right away. They have a low bidder and are working with them on some adjustments to try to get the cost down a little bit. That will take a little bit of time and we weren’t ready tonight, but they don’t want to wait another month.

Chairman Van meter stated they are also likely looking at special meetings for Building & Grounds and County Board that same week in May. The purpose will be to accept bids on the Helping Hands Project, to secure the services of a construction manager for the HUB project, and an unrelated non-construction project for Broadband. They have a deadline for Internet providers to send proposals to the Growth Alliance. There will be a review committee that will make a recommendation to the County Board as to which projects the County would provide matching funds to for Internet providers and appeals for State grants. The deadline to apply to the State for grants is June 1st, but they do not feel they will have the time to review those by the May meeting. They will likely have another meeting towards the end of May for those three things. Chairman Van meter stated they would get proposed dates out to everyone to make sure they can get a quorum to meet. They are contracting with the SSGA to operate the RFP process for the Broadband project. They have asked us to put together a board committee with board staff to review all of the submittals. There are around 40 providers, and it is rather dry work reviewing all of the proposals from the different Internet providers in the County. They are looking for at least one more volunteer to serve on that committee. It would be short but intense work. Let Mary or Brian know if you are interested.

REPORTS OF COUNTY OFFICIALS, REPORTS OF SPECIAL COMMITTEES,

REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES, COMMITTEE REPORT ON CLAIMS

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

MOTION CARRIED

REPORTS FILED

RECESS

A motion was made by Mr. Stumpf, seconded by Mr. Bunch, to recess the meeting to May 9, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTION CARRIED

MEETING RECESSED

https://countyclerk.sangamonil.gov/County-Board/documents/MinutesApril102023.pdf