Chambana Sun

Champaign County Board met Feb. 24.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The County Board of Champaign County, Illinois met at a Regular Meeting at 6:30 PM in the Brookens Administrative Center, 1776 East Washington Street, Urbana, Illinois, and remote participation via Zoom due to social distancing necessitated by the Coronavirus, with County Executive Darlene Kloeppel presiding and Matthew Cross as Clerk of the meeting.

ROLL CALL

Roll call showed the following members present: Vanichtheeranont, Williams, Carter, Cowart, Esry, Goss, Harper, King, Lokshin, McGuire, Michaels, Paul, Rodriguez, Stohr, Straub, Summers, Taylor, and Patterson – 18; late: Wolken (arrived at 6:33 PM missing no votes) and Fortado (arrived at 6:33 PM missing no votes) – 2; absent: Passalacqua and Thorsland – 2. County Executive Kloeppel declared a quorum present and the Board competent to conduct business. Summers missed the first two votes due to connectivity issues.

PRAYER & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

County Executive Kloeppel read a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was recited.

READ NOTICE OF MEETING

The Clerk read the Notice of the Meeting, said Notice having been published in the News Gazette on February 10, February 17, and February 23, 2022.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA/ADDENDA

Board Member Wolken offered a motion to approve the Agenda/Addenda; Board member Esry seconded. The motion carried by unanimous roll-call vote. Yeas: Vanichtheeranont, Williams, Wolken, Carter, Cowart, Esry, Fortado, Goss, Harper, King, Lokshin, McGuire, Michaels, Paul, Rodriguez, Stohr, Straub, Taylor, and Patterson – 19

Nays: None

DATE/TIME OF NEXT MEETINGS

Standing Committees:

A. County Facilities Committee Meeting

Tuesday, March 8, 2022 at 6:30 PM

Shields-Carter Meeting Room

B. Environment & Land Use Committee

Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 6:30 PM

Shields-Carter Meeting Room

C. Highway and Transportation Committee Meeting

Friday, March 11, 2022 at 9 AM

1605 E Main Street, Urbana

Committee of the Whole:

A. Justice & Social Services; Policy, Personnel, & Appointments; Finance Tuesday, March 15, 2022 at 6:30 PM

Shields-Carter Meeting Room

County Board:

A. Regular Meeting

Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 6:30 PM

Shields-Carter Meeting Room

County Executive Kloeppel noted the county will resume in-person meetings in March 2022. She also noted the March 24, 2022 regular County Board Meeting will include the dedication of the Shields-Carter Meeting Room with a photographer; the photographer will also be available to take head shots of board members for the website.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

John Bambenek of Mahomet spoke about a recent report by Edgar County Watchdogs about Board of Review members eating a $140 Biaggi’s meal charged to the county credit card and Mr. Bambenek questioned the oversight of Auditor Danos.

CONSENT AGENDA

Board Member Taylor offered a motion to approve the Consent Agenda, comprising 25 resolutions (Nos. 2022-13, 2022-14, 2022-15, 2022-16, 2022-17, 2022-18, 2022-19, 2022-20, 2022-21, 2022-22, 2022-23, 2022-24, 2022-25, 2022-26, 2022-27, 2022-28, 2022-29, 2022-30, 2022-31, 2022-32, 2022-33, 2022-34, 2022-35, 2022-36 and 2022- 37); Board Member Michaels Vanichtheeranont. The motion carried by unanimous roll call vote.

Yeas: Vanichtheeranont, Williams, Wolken, Carter, Cowart, Esry, Fortado, Goss, Harper, King, Lokshin, McGuire, Michaels, Paul, Rodriguez, Stohr, Straub, Taylor, and Patterson – 19

Nays: None

COMMUNICATIONS

Board Member McGuire offered words of support for Ukraine in light of the Russian invasion the day prior.

Board Member Goss noted the Clerk’s Office was closed Thursday, February 17 and Friday, February 18, 2022, due to inclement weather without authorization from County Executive Kloeppel. He also complained about the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requirements at the Clerk’s Office.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Board Member King offered a motion to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of the County Board of January 20, 2022; Board Member Michaels seconded. The motion carried by unanimous roll-call vote.

Yeas: Vanichtheeranont, Williams, Wolken, Carter, Cowart, Esry, Fortado, Goss, Harper, King, Lokshin, McGuire, Michaels, Paul, Rodriguez, Stohr, Straub, Summers, Taylor, and Patterson – 20

Nays: None

STANDING COMMITTEES

HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORTATION

County Executive Kloeppel noted the Summary of Action Taken for Highway and Transportation on February 4, 2022, was received and placed on file.

COUNTY FACILITIES

County Executive Kloeppel noted the Summary of Action Taken for County Facilities on February 8, 2022, was received and placed on file.

ENVIRONMENT AND LAND USE

County Executive Kloeppel noted the Summary of Action Taken for Environment and Land Use on February 10, 2022, was received and placed on file.

AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

County Executive Kloeppel noted the Committee of the Whole (Justice and Social Services; Finance; Policy, Personnel, and Appointments) Summary of Action Taken February 15, 2022 Meeting was received and placed on file.

Board Member Taylor offered a motion to adopt Resolution No. 2022-38 directing the County Board to modify the Animal Control Ordinance; Board Member Rodriguez seconded. The motion carried by roll-call vote.

Yeas: Vanichtheeranont, Wolken, Carter, Cowart, Esry, Fortado, King, Lokshin, Michaels, Rodriguez, Stohr, Straub, Summers, Taylor, and Patterson – 15

Nays: Williams, Goss, Harper, McGuire, and Paul – 5

NEW BUSINESS

Board Member Fortado offered an omnibus motion to adopt Resolutions No. 2022-39 authorizing payment of claims and No. 2022-40 authorizing purchases not following purchasing policy; Board Member Summers seconded. Auditor Danos and Board of Review Chair Bergee were invited to join the discussion. Auditor Danos noted the county purchasing policy is not comprehensive and compared a recent compliant purchase (Regional Planning Commission [RPC] gifts) and a non-compliant purchase (Board of Review meal) and he noted the Board of Review reimbursed the county for meals from Biaggi’s and Jimmy Johns. Board Member Goss asked Board of Review Chair Bergee about the meal purchases; Board of Review Chair Bergee noted these were working lunches and he was under the impression that all county purchases were to be on the county credit cards. Board Member Goss asked about the fourth meal, as the Board of Review has three members; Board of Review Chair Bergee stated all Board of Review members’ spouses were invited but only his spouse, Auditor Danos, was available to attend. Auditor Danos acknowledged his attendance and stated this was at the discretion of the Board of Review. Board of Review Chair Bergee noted the stress and difficulty of the job and offered to present a report at the March regular County Board Meeting. Board Member Rodriguez stated the reward of the job is the paycheck and noted she was a recipient one of the RPC gifts and offered to reimburse the county for the expense. Board Member Esry asked about the RPC gift purchases; County Executive Kloeppel noted that RPC has its own purchasing policy and own credit cards, and the County Board does not have oversight of RPC; Auditor Danos noted the RPC gift purchases were not on the non-compliant list. Board Member Paul asked about the $20,000 Clerk website expense; Auditor Danos stated the expense was non-compliant because the Clerk’s Office did not initially seek three separate bids. Board Member Michaels asked about the non-compliant American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) emergency purchases; Auditor Danos stated it was a technicality caused by the timing of the expense. Board Member Fortado noted the county needs a clear credit card policy with training. Board Member Williams asked about County Executive Kloeppel’s deauthorization of the Board of Review’s meal purchase; County Executive Kloeppel stated the county purchasing policy regarding meal purchases is clear and can be found in the travel policy. Board Member Williams asked about the credit card used in the purchase; Board of Review Chair Bergee stated he used the County Assessor’s credit card, which he had previously borrowed for a purchase and then copied for future use. Board Member Williams asked why, if the purchase was made on December 30, 2021 and reimbursed on January 10, 2022, the County Board was not informed of this earlier, as both the purchase and the reimbursement occurred prior to the January 20, 2022 regular County Board Meeting; Auditor Danos stated the credit card bill did not arrive until January 19, 2022, which was too late for its inclusion in the January 20, 2022 County Board Meeting. Board Member McGuire noted the county’s meal purchase rule is well known and expressed concern about the Board of Review having copied the Accessor’s Office’s credit card. Board Member Rodriguez asked about the $3.12 tip on the Biaggi’s meal; Board of Review Chair stated it was a carry-out order and he was unsure of tipping in that circumstance. The omnibus motion carried by roll-call vote.

Yeas: Vanichtheeranont, Williams, Wolken, Carter, Cowart, Fortado, King, Lokshin, Michaels, Rodriguez, Stohr, Straub, Summers, Taylor, and Patterson – 15

Nays: Esry, Goss, Harper, McGuire, and Paul – 5

OTHER BUSINESS

Board Member Straub offered a motion to adopt Resolution No. 2022-41 authorizing Intergovernmental Agreements with: The Urbana & Champaign Sanitary District, The Village of Mahomet, and the Sangamon Valley Public Water District for assistance with residential water/wastewater account balances; Board Member Lokshin seconded. Board Member Williams thanked County Executive Kloeppel for taking the initiative on these agreements. The motion carried by unanimous roll-call vote.

Yeas: Vanichtheeranont, Williams, Wolken, Carter, Cowart, Esry, Fortado, Goss, Harper, King, Lokshin, McGuire, Michaels, Paul, Rodriguez, Stohr, Straub, Summers, Taylor, and Patterson – 20

Nays: None

Board Member Vanichtheeranont offered a motion to adopt Resolution No. 2022-42 authorizing award of contract to NICE Systems, Inc for a Digital Evidence Management System, pursuant to RFP 2021-011; Board Member Williams seconded. The motion carried by unanimous roll-call vote.

Yeas: Vanichtheeranont, Williams, Wolken, Carter, Cowart, Esry, Fortado, Goss, Harper, King, Lokshin, McGuire, Michaels, Paul, Rodriguez, Stohr, Straub, Summers, Taylor, and Patterson – 20

Nays: None

DISCUSSION/INFORMATION ONLY

Brad Uken, Broadband Task Force Chair, gave an update. Board Member Carter expressed agreement with Mr. Uken’s report, applauding its transparency and accessibility. Board Member Fortado praised the work of Mr. Uken and Board Member Carter on the Task Force; she noted the board will soon need to decide on retaining Finley Engineering for grant writing services and stated her support for public meetings paired with County Board study sessions.

ARPA Project Manager Kathy Larson provided updates on various ARPA projects. Board Member Fortado asked that future reports contain a simplified, accessible summary, rather than the very detailed report presented in the Agenda Packet. Board Member Summers thanked Ms. Larson for her work as the ARPA Project Manager.

Board Member McGuire asked Clerk and Recorder Ammons about the permanent Vote By Mail list regarding the more transient student population. Clerk and Recorder Ammons was invited to join the discussion and stated the voter roll maintenance procedures are the same for all voters, regardless of age or educational status. Board Member McGuire asked how the party is chosen for voters on the permanent Vote By Mail list; Clerk and Recorder Ammons stated the voter will select a party when submitting their application and the party will remain as such until the voter informs the Clerk’s Office of a change in party. Board Chair Patterson and various board members called a point of order, stating that questioning Clerk and Recorder Ammons was not on the Agenda nor was it appropriate to do so in an impromptu manner. Board Member Rodriguez applauded the Clerk’s Office staff for educating student voters, who are a primary target of voter suppression efforts. Board Member Rodriguez allowed Clerk and Recorder Ammons to address the accusations made by Board Member Goss during the earlier Communications portion; Clerk and Recorder Ammons stated the Clerk and Recorder’s Offices were, in fact, open on Friday, February 18, 2022, and processed three marriage licenses, and the issue with the FOIA request was because it was directed at the incorrect office, where the request was under the purview of the County Treasurer.

ADJOURNMENT

County Executive Kloeppel adjourned the meeting at 8:08 PM.

https://www.co.champaign.il.us/CountyBoard/CB/2022/220224_Meeting/220224Minutes.pdf