[0:00] [Music]
you call the meeting to order all rise
[0:03] for the pledge of allegiance please
i pledge allegiance to the flag of the
[0:08] united states of america
and to the republic for which it stands
[0:14] one nation
under god indivisible with liberty
[0:18] and justice for all
[0:22] [Music]
[0:29] first item on the agenda is roll call
please mr keena
[0:33] president mr wyatt president chairman
holder president
[0:37] all three being present none are absent
a quorum exists so the meeting can
[0:41] begin uh there are two approval of two
sets of minutes so
[0:46] i'll entertain a motion on the first
seven minutes for the meeting of
[0:51] august 21st 2020.
all right made that motion second we
[0:57] have a motion and second for approval of
the minutes of the meeting on
[1:01] august 21st 2020. is there any further
discussion
[1:07] here none call for the vote all in favor
any opposed uh minutes are approved
[1:14] the next item is the approval of the
minutes on september 1st
[1:18] 2020. uh do we have a motion
second we have a motion and a second for
[1:24] approval of the minutes on september 1st
2020 any further discussion
[1:32] caring none call for the vote all in
favor
[1:35] any opposed minutes for the meeting of
september
[1:39] 2020 are approved
next item on the agenda is the highway
[1:45] department claims
mike good morning i just said with you
[1:49] okay all right
[Music]
[1:57] we plan on showing uh mowing
tuesday
[2:05] we do have a couple more days of world
war i like to help
[2:09] districts with but we'll work it in as
it comes up
[2:13] yeah if we could try uh think mediocre i
got another
[2:17] complaint on that one on the grass
this week so if we could maybe put that
[2:23] in
the topic maybe hopefully appreciate it
[2:29] glad to see how many hundred plus we've
had yeah
[2:42] [Music]
[2:49] highway department claims second we have
a motion a second to approve the highway
[2:53] department claims
any further discussion carrying none
[2:58] call for the vote all in favor
any opposed highway department claims
[3:02] are allowed
mr riegling the deck work on the bridge
[3:06] on uh mill creek is at the beginning it
will start the tuesday that's actually
[3:11] the replacement
yeah the bridge will replace it okay now
[3:14] i wasn't sure exactly how much my banner
is going to start
[3:30] and you said there be two months
[3:35] okay thank you next item on the agenda
is the general assistance general
[3:40] assistance for the period was three
hundred dollars there were no recorded
[3:43] expenses
do we have a motion to approve
[3:48] we have a motion in a second to approve
the general assistance 300
[3:51] for the period and further discussion
[3:56] carrying none call for the vote all in
favor any opposed
[4:00] general assistant is allowed thank you
very much mr evelyn thank you
[4:08] next item on the agenda the care of
center claims michelle
[4:37] we tested everybody yesterday um
[4:49] and anything else you'd like to say as
far as
[4:53] current rules of visitors and all that
we still have no visitors
[4:58] we're still no outside visitors um
we have gone back to uh no
[5:05] but we're working on that see if we can
get that
[5:20] [Music]
foreign
[5:30] thank you mr chairman i would move to
approve the care center claims that
[5:35] president
second we have a motion a second to
[5:38] approve the care center flames as
presented
[5:40] for the discussion
[5:43] hearing none call for the vote all in
favor all right
[5:46] any opposed care center claims are
allowed thank you very much
[6:07] next item on the agenda of the health
department
[6:11] good morning barn angela your report
please
[6:18] if
[6:23] [Laughter]
[6:30] um well we're still battling calico 19
we went back into the orange or actually
[6:34] never came out of that health status
region 4 took a step back as everyone
[6:40] knows we had some further mitigation
that took effect on wednesday
[6:46] in spite of feedback and input from the
local health department administrators
[6:50] in this region the governor still chose
to close
[6:53] indoor bar and dining
that's going to be in effect for the
[6:58] next two weeks hoping that our numbers
will
[7:02] maybe get a little better as far as
statistics and numbers
[7:05] um yesterday we received 20 new cases
only uh four of those were menard
[7:14] inmates
two of those are two households are now
[7:19] positive
which made up nine of those cases um
[7:23] seven are children under the age of 16.
i know that the cbc put out a report
[7:29] that kids don't
spread the disease as much as adults
[7:33] we have proof that children will become
infected and they will spread the virus
[7:37] so
we are very very cautious about the
[7:41] schools
we are in contact with schools every
[7:45] single day
they're calling us about any scenario or
[7:48] situation that they have
and we are trying to give them as much
[7:53] guidance
and advice as we possibly can to help to
[7:56] prevent the spread of that virus
as far as the new mitigations
[8:05] i'm going to follow my same process
if if we get a complaint or we feel like
[8:11] that somebody's making a lot of
compliance i'm going to make a phone
[8:13] call to that person
i'm going to follow up with a written
[8:16] letter just to validate that we have
that conversation
[8:19] so that we can try to work together and
rectify any situation or concerns
[8:23] that the business owner has
okay are there any questions within the
[8:30] courtroom
for uh health departments
[8:36] do you count these see it makes it
renoir
[8:42] actually currently we have about 60 plus
active cases inmates at menard
[8:49] they're making up about half of our
active cases right now and i do want to
[8:54] let some
the press and everyone know that the
[8:58] warden wills and the leadership
at menard has worked very diligently
[9:04] to get this mitigated they put in
several different strategies they have
[9:08] separated
individuals into their own house
[9:12] they segregated anybody that has been
identified as a positive case or close
[9:17] contact or is exhibiting any symptoms
and starting to reflect down their
[9:21] numbers
for a while we were getting anywhere
[9:24] from 10 to 12 new inmates
now it's becoming a couple a day so
[9:29] we're hoping to get that mitigated
pretty quickly
[9:32] so the transfers are still in effect
transfers are still in effect the
[9:36] governor
actually approves transports to come
[9:39] into both chester middle health
and to the prison
[9:46] i noticed that yesterday's report you
started breaking it down
[9:50] that's why yeah yeah i think it's
important that everyone
[9:53] understand how this virus
impacts different age groups um so i'm
[9:59] breaking down our statistics a little
further
[10:01] and i think it's very important since we
now have the majority of our schools in
[10:05] randolph are in person
i want the community to understand
[10:09] how it does impact that age group so
that if we are making some decisions
[10:15] or working with the schools to make
decisions on potentially closing
[10:18] classrooms
or having to close a school for a period
[10:21] of time
i want the parents and the community to
[10:26] understand
the children can spread that virus and
[10:30] with all of our experiences in the past
with this virus
[10:34] it doesn't take long whenever you have a
large group of people together
[10:38] it will spread like wildfire so
we are doing everything we can to
[10:44] protect the schools and to ensure that
the kids can be
[10:47] in person learning as much as possible
we do understand
[10:50] that that is the best environment for
learning
[10:54] but we also have to consider their
safety as well
[11:13] i know you're not a fan of it i'm not a
fan of it at all
[11:16] but um it came straight from the
governor's office and um
[11:20] in spite of everything that we've said
you know i feel like that i have spoken
[11:23] to every single person that i can
and i was basically told that i don't
[11:28] have the authority and it's outside of
my scope
[11:31] so i want to let you know that i talked
to my director too and she
[11:35] supposedly but again we're holding up
with the judges
[11:40] right and that was what the illinois
sheriff's association
[11:43] finally stood this isn't that what
started that that
[11:48] legally they have to accept inmates from
the county jail
[11:52] yeah if you're looking at the top tier
sheriff's department mainly cook county
[11:56] wanting to get people out but we were to
the point where we were
[12:01] over capacity here yeah it wasn't just
cook county
[12:04] randolph county we had a real problem we
didn't get rid of those enemies we were
[12:08] outright
[12:12] [Music]
mental health and menard um the
[12:18] leadership
recognizes that if they have anybody
[12:22] that's new and incoming that they will
segregate them for the two-week period
[12:26] to ensure that they're not affected
and keep them away from general
[12:29] populations so that they are not a
threat
[12:32] so they are doing that they do recognize
that that is an important
[12:40] okay i've asked jeremy walker our state
attorney
[12:44] to come this morning that
if people have questions for him or if
[12:50] he'd like to make a statement about
what's going on the governor's new rules
[12:53] if it changes anything
with how we're approaching um
[12:59] any of this yeah mr white
uh not really i mean
[13:05] to me and angie and i think these
conversations
[13:09] over the last few weeks whenever we
could see what was coming
[13:12] you know our enforcement plan is not
changing
[13:16] it's no different than it was in may
whenever the rope started to unravel
[13:21] it is no different than it was in july
it is no different than it was in august
[13:28] two days ago we
there is no criminal enforcement
[13:34] of the latest mitigation efforts
in that if a bar chooses to stay open
[13:41] they are not going to face criminal
penalties i know that may disappoint
[13:45] people because it literally
does seem like people want to be
[13:48] arrested or
once they fight or wants us to do
[13:52] something
but we're not nobody is going to be
[13:56] arrested
for violating the latest mitigation
[14:00] efforts that just went into effect
to close indoor dining that closed
[14:04] indoor bar service
it just isn't going to happen and it
[14:08] can't happen
there is no criminal penalty for
[14:12] violating
this lattice the latest mitigation
[14:16] the only criminal penalty that exists at
this point as it relates to
[14:21] any of this coveted issue is the face
mask
[14:25] and that is not against an individual
there is a criminal penalty that if a
[14:30] business
operates and is not making their
[14:33] customers
wear a mask there's a three-step process
[14:37] that you have to go through
they first get a verbal warning from the
[14:41] health department
they then get a written warning and if
[14:45] there's a third violation
then they could be sent to my office
[14:49] where there could be a criminal
proceeding against the business
[14:53] not an individual the business and they
could be fined up to 2 500
[15:00] that's been in effect for a lot of
months now
[15:03] and we have never i have never received
any complaints in my office so i think
[15:09] we're doing a good job there
but there is no criminal penalty
[15:14] for businesses that choose to violate
this
[15:18] the enforcement mechanism is going to be
complaints for the illinois liquor
[15:22] commission and or the illinois gaming
board
[15:25] and that a business that chooses to
continue to operate
[15:30] and if there is a evidence to
show that they are in violation of these
[15:35] mitigation efforts
that can be forwarded on to the gaming
[15:39] commission and the board and then they
will take whatever action that they want
[15:42] to
that is a state issue that is not a
[15:45] county issue
you know we be in the county are not
[15:49] going to be around
looking for people that are open uh
[15:53] chief deputy peters is here from the
sheriff's office
[15:56] i can assure you that i can speak for
him that our deputies do not have time
[16:00] to go around
and look for violations look for
[16:03] complaints
now if a neighbor called sees that a bar
[16:08] is open and at one o'clock in the
morning when they should be closed
[16:13] anyway
and that person calls the police and
[16:15] says hey there's a business that's in
operation
[16:18] if there's a deputy available would that
person drive by there
[16:22] and see if they are open i know that
that and then that report could get
[16:25] forwarded onto the gaming commission if
people
[16:28] ask for it but we are not going to kick
in the door
[16:32] we are not going to call anybody out on
the carpet and arrest them
[16:36] it just isn't going to happen if people
feel that their constitutional rights
[16:41] are being violated by these latest
mitigation efforts
[16:46] open up and see what happens you can
it's your call nobody is telling you
[16:52] that you can't do that
and if you want to run the risk of
[16:56] losing your license
do it i hold a license by the illinois
[17:01] attorney registration and disciplinary
if they were telling me you can't do
[17:05] something i personally would choose not
to do that because i value my law
[17:10] license very much and i'm not going to
do anything to lose
[17:13] but if you're a small business and feel
that you're up against the wall and
[17:16] you've got no choice but to open up your
doors
[17:19] again we're not going to kick in the
door we're not going to arrest you if
[17:22] you want to run the risk of losing your
license
[17:25] you do so at your own peril but the
county of randolph is not telling you
[17:29] that you can do that
the health department is not telling you
[17:32] that you can do that
the only other enforcement mechanism
[17:36] that exists
is that there is a law that's been on
[17:39] the books since 19
oh i wrote it down
[17:49] i think it was the early 2000s
which is the culture the health
[17:54] department does have the ability to
close down a business
[17:59] that is operating in an unsafe manner
that's causing a risk to the general
[18:03] public
that has nothing to do with code that
[18:06] was not put on the books because of copa
it existed years before we even knew
[18:10] what program was
so if there is a business that is doing
[18:14] something
that is a problem there is the ability
[18:19] the health department could say look
you're going to
[18:21] close down then that is obviously a very
big power the health department has to
[18:27] get consent from that business and say
yes
[18:29] we did mess up and we agreed we should
stay close or we have to go to court we
[18:33] have to file a petition within 48 hours
to have a court to determine that the
[18:38] health department's actions were
reasonable
[18:41] given the information that we have
you know so now and then that is
[18:47] then violated there's a possibility of a
criminal uh charge as well too but again
[18:52] we have not had to take that steps we
don't
[19:00] as far as the enforcement goes if that
answers everybody's questions
[19:07] okay any questions mary dan
is there any questions from anyone who
[19:13] is listing in on the phone at this time
[19:21] this is deb lewis can you hear me
yes good morning
[19:29] i appreciate everything jeremy has said
and also the health department the rest
[19:33] of you
um i don't i'm not a small business
[19:37] owner
i do live in the country and i support
[19:40] all the services around me and we need
those services
[19:43] i think that we have a lot of karen's
that are calling people in
[19:47] for some reason i don't understand if
they're
[19:50] afraid to be out in public then they
need to stay home
[19:54] but people need to quit drinking the
kool-aid and realize that there are
[19:58] hundreds of people
in our walmarts and big department
[20:01] stores that are being allowed to stay
open
[20:04] when there may be 10 people in our small
businesses
[20:09] and we need to know what course of
action we have to affect this
[20:13] we've been calling senators and
representatives in prisoner's office
[20:17] and everybody says their hands are tied
what can we do to support our businesses
[20:26] thank you
[20:29] thank you thank you for your comment
anything on it jeremy well
[20:36] i mean as far as people's recourse
the old saying goes elections have
[20:41] consequences you know
if you don't like what is going on right
[20:45] now
uh jay pritzker if you're jp brisker if
[20:48] he runs for re-election is going to be
up for re-election in two years
[20:51] i certainly can tell from people's
sentiment where that may go at least in
[20:55] southern illinois
you know your state legislatures
[20:59] everybody is up this time around uh i'm
up for re-election though luckily i'm
[21:03] unopposed
but you if you don't like what's going
[21:08] on
you need to make sure that you exercise
[21:11] your constitutional right to vote in the
upcoming election
[21:15] elections have consequences and
uh we're dealing with uh those
[21:20] consequences right now
and i just would ask the people please
[21:24] get out and exercise your rights
here in november and as far as small
[21:28] businesses goes they're still open for
outside it's a beautiful evening
[21:32] my wife and i talked about it tonight
we're gonna go find a place to go eat
[21:37] so any other comments on the people
listing in
[21:42] yes play
hello what's your name sir hello
[21:51] my name is james
[21:55] good morning your comments yes sir
and fellas i'm a truck driver i drive
[22:00] over many different states
i see many different places and like deb
[22:05] lewis says
you all are saying we don't really have
[22:09] restrictions go ahead and eat outside
can you say anybody didn't realize it's
[22:12] going to get mighty cold eating outside
it is a crock of crap and if people
[22:17] don't feel safe
don't go out in public lift these
[22:20] restrictions all weekend i realize your
hands are somewhat tied
[22:23] but somehow we got to be able to push
the issue to get our places back
[22:26] open so we can run a normal lifestyle
and not lose our tax money because
[22:31] people are going to other states to buy
goods and i'm one of them if i have to
[22:35] go to another state
i do go to it so i am not supporting
[22:39] pritzker's
so i'm another one i would love to find
[22:42] another way to help push the envelope to
get rid of some of
[22:46] the stuff that's going on if you have
any ideas i understand election
[22:50] i'm all for it elect him out if we can
push the issue before that let me know
[22:54] how i can help
i think i've seen some petitions or at
[23:00] least one petition
from redbud being circulated
[23:05] excuse me that's uh that's one way
that our voices can be heard we
[23:10] circulated or
we didn't the business of owners
[23:16] circulated a petition for reopening and
uh
[23:20] maybe uh some petitions from the public
would be an order
[23:25] to help get the governor's office to to
listen to us this time also
[23:29] and just one other comment i'd like to
make is people as
[23:33] you know we have three commissioners in
randolph county and people act like if
[23:36] it has to do with randolph county we
have the authority
[23:39] to make whatever decision and do
whatever we want that's just not the
[23:42] case
our authority only goes so far we cannot
[23:46] make decisions that override
what the governor says you know this is
[23:52] a battle with the governor's office
and we've all uh all
[23:57] advocated for our local businesses for
our local citizens
[24:01] including angela the health department
who has her hands down by the illinois
[24:05] department of public health
she she was not an advocate for closing
[24:09] the restaurant
she uh she fought with them and
[24:14] and i've spoken with representative
rice with uh terry bryant
[24:21] and representative terry bryant and
representative paul
[24:25] or senator paul chen and
and they're all telling us that they're
[24:30] advocating for us
but all all the talk is just falling on
[24:34] deaf ears
so um as jeremy said i think it's very
[24:39] good idea that we all remember this in
two years when
[24:42] mr pritzker is up for election decide
you know if that's the kind of authority
[24:50] figure we want as our leader of the
state
[24:54] so there any questions on any of that
[24:59] hopefully don't have to wait two years
[25:06] any further comments from individuals
listening on the phone please
[25:17] okay hearing none i suppose we will
close this discussion at this point in
[25:20] time and move on
down the agenda do we need a motion
[25:27] okay mr chairman i would love to approve
the health department claims
[25:31] i would say that we have a motion this
second
[25:35] excuse me promotion the segment of
approved health department claims any
[25:38] further discussion
perry nunn call for the vote all in
[25:43] favor any opposed
health department claims are approved
[25:48] next item on the agenda is approval of
the courthouse claims has everyone had a
[25:52] chance to review them and do we have a
motion
[25:56] and i would make a motion if we agree
with the courthouse i would second that
[25:59] motion
we have a motion a second to prove the
[26:01] courthouse claims is there any further
discussion
[26:05] carrying none call for the vote all in
favor any opposed
[26:09] courthouse claims are allowed next item
on the agenda we have an appointment
[26:15] for the chester memorial hospital board
[26:20] and i recommend for appointment
one moment please
[26:27] thank you uh recommend for appointment
is um christina
[26:34] okay christine of bubbles for a term
that expires july
[26:39] 1st 2022.
mr chairman i would make that motion to
[26:44] approve christina
with the thought and appreciation of the
[26:48] board
to mary alice welke for her time on the
[26:52] board
certainly she struggled with the death
[26:54] of her husband don
and working with the family as changes
[26:58] go not only with the family but in the
company
[27:01] so let me said today in this meeting
that we appreciate all that mary has
[27:06] done for the memorial hospital board and
with that i would make a motion to
[27:10] approve christine
i was thinking we have a motion a second
[27:14] recruit christina
for the chester memorial hospital board
[27:18] for a in in july
1st 2022
[27:23] uh any further discussion
carrying none roll call vote please
[27:29] commissioner keen empty
mr white hey chairman holder hey with
[27:34] three a's and no nays
the appointment is hereby approved next
[27:38] either on the agenda is public comment
does anyone else wish to make any
[27:42] comments
[27:47] anyone on the phone
[27:52] carrying no additional i would like to
make a count please okay i just want to
[27:56] thank angela for all her hard work i've
been dating her the busiest woman in
[28:00] randolph county
and i want to commend her and her
[28:04] department
because it is very difficult from their
[28:07] position to try to deal with
not only all the co-vacations that they
[28:11] have to monitor but also deal with the
businesses and all that
[28:15] so i want to thank you very much and
uh mike holster is here this morning i
[28:20] want to thank him
um he's been going to bat for us getting
[28:24] us ppe
[28:28] um
nancy have been awesome too so uh we
[28:33] thank ema
for all their hard work and all this and
[28:36] uh
jeremy walker thank you so much for your
[28:39] comments and jared peters from the
sheriff's department thank you for being
[28:42] here
and we appreciate everybody's support
[28:46] and clarity
on the rumor mill is wound up tight
[28:50] right now so
we want to make sure and we appreciate
[28:53] you guys in the paper
i'm getting all this down because all
[28:57] these things are so important at the
time
[28:59] that we get a good communication that
people understand
[29:02] where we are with all this so thank you
very much
[29:07] thank you thank you for your comments
anything else
[29:14] hearing none this concludes public
comment first item in our new business
[29:18] a proclamation for constitutional week
[29:23] oh please mark okay well welcome i know
we have members of the
[29:28] liberty bell of the west chapter with us
this morning good morning
[29:32] so uh we have a proclamation in front of
us for constitution
[29:36] week uh whereas uh liberty belt west
chapter illinois state
[29:41] the national society daughters of the
american revolution is requesting the
[29:45] randall county board commissioner
to issue this proclamation for
[29:50] constitution week
whereas september 17 2019
[29:56] this should be 2020. yes
okay march the 230
[30:06] third anniversary of the drafting of the
constitution of the united states of
[30:11] america
by the constitutional convention and
[30:14] whereas it is fitting and proper to
accord
[30:17] official recognition to this magnificent
document
[30:21] and its memorable anniversary and to the
patriotic celebrations which will
[30:26] commence
commemorate the occasion and whereas
[30:30] public law
915 guarantees the issuing of a
[30:34] proclamation each year by the president
of the united states
[30:37] designated september 17th through 23rd
as
[30:41] constitution week now therefore by
virtue of the authority of vested in
[30:45] randolph county board of commissioners
of the state of illinois to hear by
[30:50] proclaiming the week of september 17-23
as constitution week and asked our
[30:56] citizens to reaffirm the ideals that the
framers of the constitution had
[31:01] in 1787 by
vigilantly protecting the freedoms
[31:06] guaranteed to us
through this guardian of our liberties
[31:10] remembering that lost rights may never
be regained
[31:14] and asked our citizens to ring their
church bells and or
[31:18] school bills at 2 p.m central daylight
time
[31:22] september 17 2020
as part of a nationwide commemoration of
[31:28] the signing of the u.s constitution in
1787.
[31:32] in witness thereof i here to unto set my
hand and cause the seal of account
[31:37] of randolph state of illinois to be
affixed this fourth day of september of
[31:41] the year of our lord
2020. mr chairman i would live to
[31:46] approve
the proclamation for constitutional week
[31:50] all right
okay we have a motion and a second to
[31:53] approve the reclamation for
constitutional week
[31:56] any further discussion comments or
questions
[32:02] no we appreciate it we strongly support
our constitution
[32:06] and uh following up on jeremy's comments
and so forth
[32:11] of what we should be following so we
appreciate for everyone respecting each
[32:15] other's rights
[32:18] thank you thank you very much and emily
do you have a
[32:21] text in a text format that you can send
to joe so we can make that correction
[32:26] and get all the signatures
[32:33] [Music]
[32:40] okay
[33:03] [Music]
[33:08] i do believe that regardless of the year
it is always set on the 17th
[33:14] it is it's always on the 17th yes okay
now that's that's the only thing
[33:20] in the the third actually
some anyhow we've recently received from
[33:27] our state
uh people that it was the
[33:32] 233rd and i think there may be a
there's been a problem there in the past
[33:38] and but we have it down corrected
[33:43] okay thank you very much okay we're
ready for the boat roll call vote please
[33:49] okay uh michigan state commissioner
hey chairman holder hey
[33:56] for free and no names of proclamation is
hereby adopted
[33:59] next item on the agenda is a raffle
license for that's unlimited
[34:03] the rule the continuing process
they apparently are you know they're
[34:08] doing a separate raffle for each item
that they are uh i have no issue with
[34:15] supporting this we've supported them in
the past they're a good organization
[34:19] i would do to approve these applications
[34:24] i would second that as
as a grouping yeah
[34:35] we have a motion a second to approve the
raffle license for the eleanor dustin
[34:39] lemon in any further discussion
[34:42] hearing none call for the vote all in
favor any opposed
[34:54] [Music]
[35:00] okay
[35:05] i guess we can copy them
[35:31] if there's anybody left on the phone we
got a clean copy of the constitution
[35:35] week proclamation that we're signing
and then joe
[35:40] livery is gonna get them copying for us
we can always scan them and send them
[35:45] out if anybody wants one
[35:51] okay next item on the agendas utility
contract extension costello
[35:56] constellat energy new energy
uh uh mr white commissioner would you
[36:04] like to mention a few things about this
yes i
[36:09] a couple years ago when i was chairman
i kind of got tired of hearing from
[36:17] utility people constantly saying well on
this contract on that contract
[36:21] i can get you a better rate and so i
went to an energy seminar over at ren
[36:28] lake college
and met up with a company called ate
[36:33] affordable gas and electric who said
well we can take all your contracts i
[36:37] believe there's 11 of them for the
county
[36:40] hammer contract we can combine them all
and visit them all at one right
[36:46] to get the right way down getting so
much power at one time
[36:49] and we can lock it in for up to three
years so right now we are currently
[36:53] under
a three-year contract with uh
[36:57] aep energy that has
saved the county a lot of money
[37:04] now recently i
contacted our threat from
[37:10] age bruce wallace and he has
said that we could block in for another
[37:17] up to three years
from our contract that ends
[37:23] september of 2021 with the current
political climate
[37:28] and the hurricane coming in maybe
destroying some of the
[37:32] energy infrastructure in the united
states which would drive the prices up
[37:37] i felt it was good to look at the
current rate see what we could lock in
[37:42] and it would be my personal preference
looking at rates from 12 18 24 and 36
[37:50] months we could save a little bit more
money for the 18
[37:53] months which would and that's from our
current rate which are already a highly
[37:58] discounted rate
um over 18 months we could say one
[38:03] hundred dollars
that then over 24 months which includes
[38:06] that following summer
uh it's only about two hundred forty
[38:10] dollars but forty eight hundred ninety
seven dollars
[38:13] and fresh i'll give you this key so you
can see it
[38:16] my personal recommendation would be to
go with a 24 month
[38:23] contract so that we could stabilize our
rates for an extra two years
[38:28] past september of contract that we're
currently in
[38:34] so does anybody have any questions on
that
[38:41] i think it makes good sense we're being
stewards of the county's money
[38:45] we're extending the savings that we're
getting plus
[38:48] adding to the savings for a couple more
years i would make a motion to approve
[38:53] all right second and that's the 24-month
contract yeah they're reached for 24
[38:57] months
i would say that okay we have a motion a
[39:01] second the prayer of the 24 month
extension contract for utility rates
[39:11] is there any further discussion just the
clarification so we stay with the
[39:15] current rate we've got
until the what is september of 29th 2021
[39:20] and then these new rates kick into
effect for another 24 months
[39:24] yes so in effect we're going another
will be a full three years
[39:29] right and they did fit us out to 36
months but
[39:32] um the savings weren't that advantageous
so
[39:37] i think which they still are a little
bit better than what we're getting now
[39:42] but we're gonna
i think the best item for the county
[39:48] and everything would be 24 months
overall
[39:53] okay we have a motion and a second on
the table for the utility contract for
[39:56] 24 months it's been a further discussion
[40:01] hearing none call for the vote all in
favor all right
[40:04] he opposed the contract is hereby
adopted
[40:08] and just for a little clarification
there we are currently with aep
[40:12] energy constantly age bid us with four
um poor energy companies and
[40:20] constellation have the best rates
so the new contract will be able to
[40:23] constellation
[40:28] okay next item on the agenda is a
recession
[40:31] of resolution 20-16
you have a little information on
[40:44] [Music]
[40:51] yes and after this was done
we discovered that that parcel
[40:57] was part of another person
so that's why it needed to be
[41:04] so they'll bring it back to us if
there's anything i guess they will reach
[41:08] back if
there is a need yes okay
[41:12] mr chairman i would move to approve the
resetting of resolution 20-16
[41:24] 16. is there any further discussion
hearing done call for the vote at all in
[41:30] favor any opposed
the resolution 20x-16
[41:36] is hereby rescinded next item on the
agenda is
[41:40] is a discussion and a letter concerning
uh support of the pierre menard statue
[41:47] being removed from the
capitol in springfield and uh
[41:54] brought to randolph county do we have
mark you want to present it or ron would
[41:58] you want to present it or
discuss with any well
[42:03] this is ronnie and i've had a lot of
people
[42:06] uh calling for uh bringing the
airman art statue back to randolph
[42:12] county this is where pierre menard's
home
[42:15] was and still is
in our home not by forecast cassia
[42:22] or fort gage depending on
what title all of that
[42:42] supporting this i've gotten several
letters
[42:45] i saw i did see an article in the county
journal this morning
[42:48] that somebody asked would it not be
brought back during accounting so i
[42:55] guess we're open to discussion
[43:00] emily would you like to speak to this
that letter that i saw in a county
[43:04] journal
needs a little factory a lot of
[43:09] information that it was
completely accurate
[43:15] well certainly i think you've gotten
communications from the menard family
[43:21] now that is highly in support
of having the statute come down to
[43:26] randolph county
the home county preparing art where he
[43:29] is buried
where his house lies and
[43:34] his plantation let's say existed
and uh he spent his whole life
[43:40] in this area serving and
helping people certainly
[43:47] as we look at the
good work of hearing art certainly being
[43:54] a part of the indiana territory
being the president of the illinois
[43:58] territory where mississippi river was
the frontier
[44:02] edge of the united states where
his good work even extending into
[44:09] his family we know that
there was a man that was born on
[44:14] kazakhstan island
who was a free man of color by the name
[44:18] of john willis menard
who ended up being the first
[44:22] african-american elected to the us house
of representatives
[44:26] well-read wonderful graduate of iberia
college
[44:30] went to louisiana and florida served in
the state legislature in florida
[44:36] author of poetry just a well-read
member of the menard family and
[44:43] so there are so many positives
that it's hard for us to lift this
[44:50] statue go to another area of the state
who has requested it and with the
[44:56] with menard families
requesting many of our citizens have
[45:02] reached out to us and say bring it back
to randolph county so
[45:06] all right
[45:11] so with that so we've crafted a letter
and where the letter is right here
[45:15] oh okay read it into the record i can
thank you this is a letter to
[45:21] andrea eggert architect
of the illinois state capitol dear miss
[45:28] hackert
on behalf of the citizens of randolph
[45:30] county we would like to request
the pyramid arts statute we allowed to
[45:33] be placed in our french colonial
district
[45:36] pierre menard is buried in randolph
county and his beautiful home
[45:39] overlooks the site of the first state
capital of illinois on kaskaskia island
[45:44] bernard was a member of the indiana
territorial legislature from 1803 to
[45:48] 1809
and president of the illinois
[45:51] territorial council from
1812 to 1818. the illinois territory was
[45:57] a frontier region of the united states
formerly
[46:00] part of the illinois country a portion
of new france administered originally
[46:04] from
quebec and later transferred to
[46:07] louisiana
upon the admission of illinois as a
[46:10] state in 1818 the population of the new
state was divided between
[46:14] french-speaking and english-speaking
citizens
[46:18] to balance the ticket menard became the
state's first lieutenant governor
[46:22] serving from 1818 to 1822
with the first governor shadrach bond
[46:28] the menard family had earned a status as
fine
[46:31] public servants although pierre menard
was a slave owner during his years in
[46:35] randolph county
he earned a reputation for treating his
[46:38] extended family well and giving of
himself to the kaskaskia community
[46:42] as an example one of his family members
john rose menard was born a free person
[46:46] of color in cass casket
in 1838 he clerked in the department of
[46:51] the interior during abraham lincoln's
administration
[46:54] and became the first african-american to
be elected to the u.s
[46:58] united states house of representatives
he later served in florida's state
[47:02] legislature
and as a justice of the peace randolph
[47:05] county is willing and able to transport
the statute
[47:08] as and has the resources to properly
mount
[47:11] and maintain the statute we understand
the statute will need to undergo
[47:15] regular maintenance and must be placed
in a secure environment
[47:19] we believe that it would be most fitting
for the statute of care of an arch be on
[47:22] display in the area
where he served as illinois's first
[47:26] lieutenant governor
and his family lived respectfully the
[47:29] commissioners
[47:32] i'd just like to make a comment my
understanding
[47:36] that this these letters will go
before a committee um in springfield
[47:43] that will vote to either allow the
statue to go
[47:48] to an area which the other
most likely place would be starved rock
[47:54] where pierre bernard
his son had a home and that's another
[47:59] area that's
trying to to get the statue
[48:03] but the committee will make a choice
whether they allow
[48:07] the statute to go out or to put the
statute in storage
[48:11] and not allow it to go out to any of the
areas that are replacing it
[48:15] so that's just the process
that we're working within right now
[48:23] thank you very much so do we have a
motion to adopt said letter
[48:26] we'll move a second we have a motion a
second adopt said letter
[48:30] any further discussion
[48:33] harry none call for the vote all in
favor any opposed
[48:37] the letter is hereby adopted
thank you very much
[48:45] last item on the agenda the iea
pccr rule resolution
[48:53] this is a resolution requested party
i don't i didn't oh
[49:05] i have a copy here it's fairly sharp
it's a resolution requested
[49:10] uh by baldwin uh by the power plant it
has to do with the closure requirements
[49:16] for ash fills and storage versus either
closure in place and i'll hand to press
[49:22] the factory on it just a little bit
closure in place versus transporting the
[49:27] materials offsite
somewhere else so i put it before the
[49:31] board for
adoption and since i haven't read
[49:35] anything this morning i guess i can do
once for you
[49:40] the resolution by the randolph county
board in support of environmentally safe
[49:44] and balanced
requirements for the closure of coal
[49:48] combustion
residual surface impoundment okay
[49:52] whereas
randolph county illinois here in the
[49:55] county
buying through the elected county board
[49:58] has determined that it is in the county
and its constituents best interest that
[50:02] the county take an express position
in support of the coal-fired electric
[50:06] generating industry
here in the industry in randolph county
[50:10] illinois
whereas the industry provides revenue to
[50:14] the county through sales and real estate
taxes employment of many of its citizens
[50:18] and patronage of businesses and whereas
the industry has provided the county
[50:23] with an affordable and reliable power
for
[50:25] decades and whereas the illinois
environmental protection
[50:29] agency ilepa and the
environmental protection and the
[50:34] illinois pollution control board
dock at r 2020
[50:41] has proposed a rule making setting
requirement
[50:45] for the management and closure of coal
combustion residual
[50:48] surface impoundment that are broadly
applicable
[50:51] in illinois and environmentally sound
and whereas the illinois epa
[50:56] should be afforded adequate discretion
to approve closure applications taking
[51:02] into account site-specific conditions
science facts and
[51:06] state-specific analysis should drive
regulatory decisions and the rules
[51:11] should not create a preference for one
closure method over another
[51:15] and whereas the county supports balanced
rules providing options for the closure
[51:21] of ccr
surface empowerment that are
[51:24] environmentally protected economically
reasonable and sensitive to
[51:28] local needs and concerns and whereas a
mandate for closure of all
[51:33] ccr surface impoundment by removal
removal could be detrimental because it
[51:40] could result in increased truck traffic
and safety and risk for years to come
[51:44] higher carbon emissions unavoidable
fugitive dust and wear and tear on roads
[51:51] in the county and
its commitments now therefore for the
[51:55] consideration and foregoing recitals the
county hereby resolves that it supports
[52:00] the final real setting requirement for
safe
[52:02] economically reasonable environmental
protective closure of ccr service
[52:07] empowerments in randolph county
past this day of september 2020
[52:13] okay fact sheet on the material general
generally you're familiar with this yes
[52:18] i thought you were
this is the fly ash fly ash
[52:23] yeah that is what's left over after they
burn the coal
[52:27] um it's currently being stored basically
in the ground
[52:31] at the ballwin energy complex
and they're just basically asking to
[52:38] cap it and leave it in the ground
instead of getting it out
[52:42] creating a lot of dust and a lot of
commotion
[52:46] and i'm having a truck out of randolph
county
[52:52] so jeremy do you have any
i've got no knowledge about it okay very
[52:58] rarely
my speech was
[53:02] i would only add that this rule making
on behalf of the environmental
[53:06] protection association
basically only gives this two options
[53:12] we either find a landfill somewhere else
that will accept the fly hatch dig it up
[53:19] truck it's there and as a as we speak
there is no landfill
[53:24] around that is designed to handle that
amount of fly act
[53:29] now if we think about it the power plant
started around 1970-ish
[53:34] okay so we're here on 50 years worth of
fly ash
[53:38] that's been put in the ground out there
safely stored
[53:43] that type of thing so our option is to
send it somewhere else the county will
[53:49] have to bear the burden of all the truck
traffic and the citizens will have to
[53:53] deal with all the fly ash residuals
all that comes along with it or safely
[54:00] put a tap on what we have out there
that's designed to hold it and protect
[54:07] it and keep it where it's at
now the other thing i would add and it
[54:11] makes sense to me
that we would simply cap it
[54:16] we have been given proposals in
recent years stating that our flash is
[54:23] actually worth something
whether it be for building materials or
[54:27] whatever
there was a proposal not long ago for us
[54:31] to
allow a company to use that material to
[54:34] build
blocks road materials that type of thing
[54:38] that still exists and could be even more
important as the future brings whatever
[54:44] it brings
so i think it makes sense for us to have
[54:48] them
tap it not put those trucks on the road
[54:51] and keep it as a resource for
possible use in the future one last
[54:56] point i'll mention that you didn't they
were estimating it would take 20 years
[55:01] to truck it off site
[55:09] and think about the cost of that and the
raising of our utility rate
[55:14] because of it so i i don't know anybody
especially with the complaints i've been
[55:20] seeing lately
uh about utility rates in my hometown
[55:26] i don't think anybody wants to to deal
with higher utility rates or something
[55:30] that
doesn't have to be done mr chairman i
[55:34] would believe that we approved the
proclamation
[55:38] that would help keep the flash in place
and to donate resolution and record
[55:45] and support i would say that
we have a motion a second to adopt the
[55:51] resolution and support
uh as presented and read into the record
[55:55] any further discussion
harry none called for the vote all in
[56:00] favor aye any opposed
resolution is hereby adopted we have no
[56:05] need for executive session
so the next item on the agenda is reset
[56:10] until
the next meeting on september 18th two
[56:13] weeks from today
9am here in the courtroom i'll make that
[56:18] motion i'll second it
have a motion a second to reset any
[56:21] further discussion
uh before we share an issue yeah we want
[56:26] to no we'll do that in our next week
yeah
[56:38] we stand in recess until september 18th
9am
[56:42] right here in the fourth room thank you
very much thank you
[56:48] does anybody on the phone have anything
else to say before we
[56:52] close the meeting on the phone wonderful
[57:00] day