County Board Acts on Several Items Related to ARPA Funds

Effingham County Board members Tuesday acted on a number of items related to the county's remaining ARPA funds.

The Board approved disbursement of funds for acquisition of a vehicle for the animal control department and for the Supervisor of Assessments office. The Board also followed up on a decision recommended in committee last week and reduced the amount of earmarked funds for the Effingham Regional Career Academy from $330,000 to $77,000. The amount of funds earmarked for Heartland Human Services were also reduced to $14,000 from the earlier earmarked $50,000.

Board members approved $81,200 in ARPA funds to the Effingham City/County Special Response Team, and approved $130,000 in ARPA funds for the County Courthouse Gazebo and grounds on the lawn of the County Courthouse Museum downtown.

A matter of $9,400 in ARPA funds for the county website was sent back to the board's Tax and Finance Committee for further review. There was discussion as to whether the county needs a new website or whether the current site needs renovated, so that will be considered in committee. There was sentiment among some board members whether there should be more outreach to local vendors on the project.

Former county board member and chairman Jim Niemann was approved as EMA Assistant Coordinator. A project involving hazardous materials is involved, but there could be some additional duties. There were questions raised by some board members as to whether the job was posted. It had been, so the appointment was approved.

The Board approved what will be known as the Chairman's Commendation Award. Board Chairman Josh Douthit said the award will be presented to those going above and beyond what is required in normal job performance. The award will be presented by the chairman with the consent of the board.

The first three recipients presented the award Monday are Tony Hille, Chad Walls and Jeff Baker. Their work over the bitterly cold Christmas weekend to inspect the county buildings led to detecting a water main break that could have done major damage to the Effingham County Government Center.

The Board approved the trade-in of a probation department van toward purchase of the vehicle for the supervisor of assessments office, approved a boost to $3,000 as the County's investment in the County Chamber of Commerce, approved a presentation by a vendor to county employees regarding retirement plans and invited any others interested to apply for the same opportunity, and approved a capital improvement list. On the list: replacement of server and computers as needed, replacement of copiers, sprinklers in the elevators, replacement of the County Building roof, replacement of windows in the County Building, replacement of the air conditioner compressor, and audio-visual equipment for the County Board Meeting Room.

Shannon Griffith was named to the County 708 Board succeeding Sue Ann Minor, but action was delayed on appointing Sheriff Paul Kuhns to the 911 Board until an opinion is received from the Attorney General's Office whether sheriffs can be appointed to such a board.

The Board approved a bridge aid petition from Liberty Township, and approved an ordinance amendment concerning bidding and contract procedures. Also approved was an amended e-Environmental Solutions memorandum of understanding. Also approved was an ordinance for a county budget amendment to include opioid settlement fund revenues, and an ARI Fund inclusion as a budget amendment. A line item was included in the county budget for the supervisor of assessments office vehicle and maintenance, and intergovernmental agreements were approved with the City of Effingham, Village of Teutopolis, and City of Altamont for law enforcement automatic mutual aid, but tabled for review by the State's Attorney an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Effingham for a Multi-Agency law enforcement Special Response Team.

The Board also met in closed session to review an intergovernmental agreement with the Southeast Illinois Drug Task Force regarding an undercover informant.