Logan County Board June briefs:
Elected official salaries balanced, food health code modified for more practical inspections and reports, action against dead beat hangar renter, Prevailing Wage passed, July evening committee meetings temporarily relocated

 

[July 09, 2018] 

LINCOLN 

At the June Logan County Regular Board meeting the board voted on a number of matters.

Finance Committee update

The board unanimously approved five motions brought forward by Finance Committee Chairman David Hepler:

Earlier in the month at the Finance Committee meeting, Board Chairman Chuck Ruben said he would like the circuit clerk’s salary to be the same as the county clerk’s salary. Currently, the salary is $65,000, which is $500 less than the county clerk’s salary.

Vice Chairman of the Finance Committee Janet Estill, motioned to set the salary at $65,500 per year, which would be in effect until end of term.

Also approved was a bid of 2.70 percent for a two-year credit line of $350,000 from State Bank of Lincoln.

At the Finance Committee meeting Hepler said three other bids were received. State Bank’s bid was the lowest.

The credit line will be kept in reserve for the Logan County Department of Public Health. Two years ago, there was a credit line set up for the Health Department to help restore services interrupted by circumstances beyond their control and they paid the county back.

Thirdly, the food sanitation ordinance was amended.

Logan County Department of Public Health Administrator Don Cavi said the Board of Health approved the ordinance change that adopted the FDA code which has more comprehensive inspections. He said the FDA food code is recognized nationally and puts more emphasis on food handlers.

Cavi said the big difference is the FDA does not use the scored method, which does not always tell the whole story. Though the FDA does not use scores, they do look at violations and tiers of severity.

The Health Department will post violations on their website and tell why they are violations.

Director of Environmental Health Ryan Williams said these inspections will be a lot more one-on-one with more conversations rather than just checklists, and more information about the issues.

Fourthly, $2,000 was allocated for a new County Board Office computer.

Lastly, receiving unanimous approval was a motion to authorize the treasurer to pursue the transfer of unallocated funds to the state treasurer.

Insurance/Legislative/Liquor Committee update

Insurance/Legislative/Liquor Committee Chairman Annette Welch brought forward three motions.

These motions included:

1. A motion to approve legal holidays in 2019. This motion passed 10-2. Emily Davenport, Janet Estill, Bob Farmer, David Hepler, Gloria Luster, Gene Rohlfs, Chuck Ruben, Bob Sanders, Scott Schaffenacker, and Annette Welch voted yes. Kevin Bateman and Dave Blankenship voted no.

2. A motion to approve a resolution for Prevailing Wage.

Schaffenacker said one of the conditions of the Hilltopper Wind Farm project is following the prevailing wage act.

Ruben reminded the board that this act must be passed, or it could mean legal trouble for the board.

This motion passed 9-3. Emily Davenport, Janet Estill, Bob Farmer, David Hepler, Gloria Luster, Chuck Ruben, Bob Sanders, Scott Schaffenacker and Annette Welch voted yes. Kevin Bateman, Dave Blankenship and Gene Rohlfs voted no.

3. A motion to approve the renewal of the following Liquor Licenses pending all final paperwork being received for Sugar Creek Lodge, Aper Management, OutKast, The Elks, Korn Krib and Irwin Entertainment.

This motion was unanimously approved.

Airport/Farm Committee update

Airport and Farm Committee Chairman Gene Rohlfs brought forward two motions:

1. A motion to approve a three-year contract with Facer Insurance Company of Rantoul for liability insurance at a cost of $3,965 per year was unanimously approved.


2. A motion to approve a resolution authorizing our state’s attorney to file suit for current and past due rents and fees and to evict the tenant from Hangar #21 and tie-down space passed with Kevin Bateman, Dave Blankenship, Emily Davenport, Janet Estill, Bob Farmer, Gloria Luster, Gene Rohlfs, Chuck Ruben, Bob Sanders, Scott Schaffenacker and Annette Welch voting yes. David Hepler abstained from the vote.

Transportation Committee update

Bateman said he went before the Lincoln City Council about putting transportation signs by the train depot. The signs will be on a pole and not the building as they originally planned.

The meeting recessed until Thursday, June 28 at 6 p.m. in the Blue Room of the Safety Complex for the board to interview candidates for the position of Supervisor of Assessments.

No candidate was chosen at the June 28th meeting.

At the start of July, evening committee meetings that meet in the basement of the Logan County Safety Complex were moved. The Airport, Road and Bridge Committee met at the Logan County Highway Department. Subsequent committees met at the courthouse.

The move was due to mold found in the Safety Complex. An air conditioner had dripped water.

The issue has been resolved. Servpro came in and shampooed a carpet and cleaned a drain that was part of the issue.

The next Regular Board meeting will be Tuesday, July 17 at 7 p.m. in the Logan County Courthouse.

[Angela Reiners]