 Central Illinois Ag buildingSteve McClure was present to
inform the board members of potential new construction for Central
Illinois Ag. Recently the company lost a portion of their property
to a fire. McClure said they are now looking to invest $6 million in
new construction.
"This will retain the 25 jobs they had, as well as create another
five jobs over the next couple of years," said McClure.
He said that the existing area of the enterprise zone will need
to be expanded so the company can continue to be a part of it. The
company is looking to extend their property to 19 acres in the
future.
Multiple board members questioned how much room Central Illinois
Ag will need in the next few years. McClure said the company hopes
to keep growing financially, though he did agree that much of the
land will likely still be untouched.
"I would defer to what the zoning officer thought was
appropriate, but I don't see the reason to have an enterprise zone
for tractors to sit on," said Chuck Ruben.
McClure said he will return to speak with the board members again
in the future after the company begins to finalize their building
plans.
Health department budget
The subject of the health department budget was discussed by the
whole board. In 2013 the health department was faced with the choice
of whether or not to continue offering services via the Illinois
Breast and Cervical Cancer Program. Initially, the state denied the
county health department's request for financial aid to continue the
program.
In late November, the state reversed their decision, granting the
aid to the health department to extend the program through the end
of July. As a result, a change would need to be made in the budget
to reflect the incoming revenue. With this money, the health
department will be able to continue offering the IBCCP services.
The committee members voted to approve the changes, and the
county board will need to provide a two-thirds majority vote for any
motion to pass this month. The tax levies will not be altered as a
result of these changes.
The board members approved the changes in a straw vote to be
voted on officially this month.
Animal control
The animal control committee brought forward three motions. Two
were for reappointments: Julie Parker as animal control warden and
Maurice Tierney as assistant animal control warden.
In addition, in a straw vote the board members approved the
purchase of a new vehicle for animal control at a final cost of
$20,098.
[to top of second column] |
Legislation matters
The board members voted to approve the appointment of Rick Sheley
to the zoning appeals board. They also voted to reappoint Bill Graff
to the regional planning commission.
The last resolution for approval was on the adoption of the new
plan for hazard mitigation. Board member Rick Aylesworth said that
this plan comes after years of effort, and he thanked Terry Storer,
the EMA and everyone else involved for their hard work on getting
the plan put together.
Road and bridge
Board member Bill Martin briefly announced that the highway
department will soon be celebrating 100 years since its creation in
Logan County. The board members voted to acknowledge the recognition
of the milestone.
Board member resigns
Before the meeting ended, board member Terry Carlton announced
his resignation from the Logan County Board, effective the end of
January.
Carlton said his new job outside of the county office has taken a
great deal of his attention.
"My new job that I started in December has put a whole lot of
strains on me, and I have not been able to make a lot of committees.
I felt like I was not really serving the board. … With that in mind,
I have tendered my resignation effective this month," Carlton said.
"It's been a pleasure serving with you these past five years," he
added.
Carlton said being on the board was a lot of hard work, and he
feels that they have made some effective changes for Logan County.
"We've had the deficit, we've had the under-budgets, but instead
of going out and raising taxes, spending money on ourselves, we bit
the bullet and reduced our spending, made tough decisions over the
years," he said. "I just want to say thanks for serving together."
With a bit of a laugh from those in the room, Carlton made the
motion to adjourn the meeting.
Board members present for the meeting were vice chairman David
Hepler, Bill Martin, Andy Anderson, Andy Meister, Kevin Bateman,
Rick Aylesworth, Chuck Ruben, Gene Rohlfs and Terry Carlton. Pat
O'Neill, Robert Farmer and Jan Schumacher were absent.
[By DEREK HURLEY] |
