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Logan County Board
November Safety Committee Meeting
[November 07, 2025]
On Thursday, November 6th, the Safety Committee of the larger Logan
County Board held their monthly meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the Blue
Room of the Logan County Safety Complex. Three of the five committee
members were present. Chairman Kevin Knauer, Vice Chairman Kathy
Schmidt, and Lance Conahan were all present. Absent were Bob Sanders
and James Glenn. Also present were Sheriff Mark Landers,
Administrative Assistant Madelyn Hinton, Jane Whiteman and Will Hall
with Logan County Animal Control, and Josh Pharis.
After attendance was taken and guests introduced themselves, the
committee voted to approve the previous month’s meeting minutes.
After this, and with there being no old business on the agenda,
Knauer moved the committee on to new business. The first item was
the Energy Transition Grant that Sheriff Landers spoke on. He stated
that he sent out public notices to shareholders about the grant. He
also stated that his department got about $77,000 from the grant and
was wanting to use that money for infrastructure at the Safety
Complex and the Logan County Courthouse. The funds, Landers said,
should be given to his department sometime in the spring.
Schmidt then stated that she thought that the grant was for more.
Landers explained that his department and a couple of other
departments in Logan County received this grant. Each was for the
same amount. Conahan asked for what the funds would be used for
specifically. Landers stated that they would have to wait and see.
He pitched the idea of installing a key card entry system at the
Safety Complex, but he would want to have more discussions on this
topic once the money comes in.
Next was the Sheriff’s Report. Landers stated here that they were
waiting on some things relating to the expansion of the Safety
Complex. One of the delays was with detention grade drains. O’Shea
Builders, the company working on the expansion, has been doing a
good job keeping the work going even though they have to wait on
things, according to Landers. He then explained that the detention
grade drains were drains that are tamper, escape, and self-harm
proof.
The Sheriff continued, stating that they are currently trying to get
a corrections transport vehicle due to having to hold on to inmates
from the state for an extended period. He also stated that they
moved forward with purchasing another drone. Landers currently has
two drone pilots at the Emergency Management Agency (EMA) and one in
his office. He shared that one of his officers is currently getting
certified in search and rescue training.
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The next item on the agenda was reworking the current Animal
Control contract that the county has with the city of Lincoln
and potentially other cities in the county. Whiteman stated
that, with the previous contract they had with Lincoln, they
were paying about $8,000 per month for their services. In the
contract since 2020, however, they have been getting $4,000.
Conahan stated that they have a meeting with Lincoln Mayor Tracy
Welch to discuss the details of a potential new contract. He
stated they are also trying to get contracts with Mt Pulaski,
Atlanta, and possibly Middletown. Other areas that are not
located in Townships will be on a per call basis.
Conahan continued, saying that he met with Young Security Systems,
Inc. to discuss getting a new alarm and fire alarm system for the
Animal Control building. He stated that the old fire alarm is “spray
foamed in,” so they need to investigate replacing it.
This was followed by Whiteman’s Animal Control Report. She stated
that things have been hectic, but relatively quiet. She also shared
that there has been an outbreak of canine parvovirus at their
building. They have been working on keeping the dogs quarantined and
healthy, but things are calming down.
Landers told Conahan that he wanted him to share whatever company he
decided to go with to replace the fire alarm. He was hoping that the
same company could replace the fire alarms at the courthouse.
Conahan also gave a compliment to Animal Control. He stated that his
Corgi got loose, and that Whiteman and her team helped track him
down and return him home safely. He called Whiteman and her team
“wonderful to work with,” and stated that this “shows why Animal
Control is a good thing.”
It was shared that the Coroner Report was in the committee member’s
packets. The committee voted to go into a brief executive session,
and then immediately adjourned afterward.
[Matt Boutcher]
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