Logan County Board to hire economic director as full time, continuing to seek zoning officer

 

[July 18, 2022] 

At the July Logan County Board Workshop, the board heard committee updates and set the agenda for Tuesday’s voting meeting.

Planning and Zoning Committee update

On Tuesday, Planning and Zoning Committee Chairman David Hepler will motion to move Logan County Economic Development Director Beth Kavelman into a full-time position. Kavelman has been doing the job part-time in the Zoning Office since she was hired a few months ago.

One question board member Keenan Leesman asked was whether Kavelman would be doing the economic development work full-time or whether part of her time would be spent on zoning matters.

With grants and other things Kavelman is working on, board member Dale Nelson said there is a lot to get done.

If a new zoning officer is hired, the economic development position may be changed back to a part-time one.

The board is seeking a new person for the position of Logan County Zoning Officer after recently terminating George Mencken.

Board Chairman Emily Davenport said she has posted the [requirements for] Zoning Officer position on the Logan County Board website, social media and the state’s Zoning Officer Association. The zoning officer position is being posted as full-time.

The person hired may also need to work with the Geographical Information System (GIS).

The Regional Planning Commission Chairman Blair Hoerbert told Davenport they have money in their budget that could be put toward the zoning officer salary. Logan County Highway Engineer Bret Aukamp said that would depend on the qualifications of the person hired and what service they could provide for the Regional Planning Commission.

Finance Committee updates

Finance Committee Vice Chairman Janet Estill said Tuesday she will motion to approve the state’s attorney salary adjustment at $21,822.71.
 

This salary adjustment has been brought forward the past couple months and sent back the Finance Committee for more discussion.

The state of Illinois sets salaries for state’s attorneys and covers two-thirds of the costs.

When a county’s census falls below 30,000, the state no longer reimburses the county. Board Chairman Emily Davenport said because our county census is below 30,000, the state is pulling six months salary from Logan County State’s Attorney Brad Hauge.

What Hauge has asked is that the board to keep his current salary as budgeted through this fiscal year.

Doing what Hauge has proposed will cost the county just under $22,000.

Other Illinois counties similarly affected by census changes are McDonough and Montgomery Counties. Both have had to adjust their state’s attorney salaries.

To get an idea of how Montgomery County handled this issue, Davenport talked to one of their county officials. She said they decided to pay their state’s attorney the same amount through the end of the year.

If approved, the salary adjustment will come out of the salary line item.

At the Finance Committee meeting earlier this month, committee members approved budget worksheets for Fiscal Year 2022/2023 being sent out to department heads.
 

Courthouse restoration updates

At the July Building and Grounds Committee meeting, courthouse restoration updates were given by project manager Bill Walter:

Walter said restoration is continuing for the copper work. Demolition of the old copper and its coating is nearing an end. As this work progresses, all areas are “dried-in” to prevent any water from entering the interior.

A couple of change orders are needed in areas of the dome subbase affected by the years of water leakage through the copper dome area. One is fortification of a water table with plywood. The other is four clock dormers that need reinforcement with plywood.

The change orders will be brought forward for approval Tuesday.

The Construction Technical Committee continued to go over the project documents and review the status of the performance contract in their recent meetings. Walter said there has been some dialogue about where prices may end up considering the time between their initial contacts and now.

Additionally, the Construction Technical Committee is looking over Construction Management Project specifications and documents. Soon they should be able to go out for bids. Walter estimates that date may be within a month.

A storage trailer will soon be put at the base of the tower steel scaffolding. Fencing will go around the storage trailer. Walter said fencing will begin to establish parameters for the lay down area for contractors. The purpose is to keep pedestrians and courthouse employees from entering a restricted area, maintaining a safe atmosphere.

The action items will be voted on at the Regular meeting Tuesday, July 19 at 6 p.m. in the Orr Building.

[Angela Reiners]