McLean County Board Property Committee met Aug. 1.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
The Property Committee of the McLean County Board met on Thursday, August 1, 2019 at 4:45 p.m. in Room 400 of the Government Center Building, 115 E. Washington Street, Bloomington, IL 61701.
Members Present: Chairman Josh Barnett, Members Jacob Beard, Lyndsay Bloomfield, Elizabeth Johnston, Logan Smith, Gerald Thompson, William Friedrich
Members Absent: None
Other Members
Present: Chairman John McIntyre, Susan Schafer, Shayna Watchinski, Catherine Metsker
Staff Present: Camille Rodriguez, County Administrator; Eric Schmitt, Assistant County Administrator; Jessica Woods, First Assistant State’s Attorney – Civil Division; and Ms. Julie Morlock, Recording Secretary;
Department Heads/Elected Officials Present: None
Others Present: None
Chairman Barnett called the meeting to order and declared a quorum. He welcomed Mr. Friedrich to the County Board and more specifically to the Committee.
Chairman Barnett presented the minutes from the July 3, 2019 regular meeting and June 18, 2019 special meeting of the Property Committee for approval.
Motion by Smith/Johnston to approve the July 3, 2019 regular meeting and June 18, 2019 special meeting minutes of the Property Committee. Motion carried.
Chairman Barnett confirmed there were no appearances by members of the public.
Chairman Barnett presented for action a request to approve an Emergency Appropriation Ordinance Amending the McLean County Fiscal year 2019 Combined Annual Appropriation and Budget Ordinance (Facilities FF&E). Mr. Schmitt went over items purchased for the renovation and new medical area that were covered under this request.
Motion by Thompson/Beard to recommend approval an Emergency Appropriation Ordinance Amending the McLean County Fiscal year 2019 Combined Annual Appropriation and Budget Ordinance (Facilities FF&E). Motion Carried.
Chairman Barnett asked Ms. Rodriguez to go over information items on the Agenda. Ms. Rodriguez provided information on the Government Center space utilization with the City of Bloomington. She indicated it was the desire of the City to become more customer facing, so County Administration had been in discussions with Bloomington about moving the more customer-oriented operations to the Government Center Building. She indicated nothing had been finalized and they are not ready for public announcements about the move but wanted to update the Committee know. Mr. Schmitt indicated the City will be utilizing the Auditor’s old office and revamping the current parks and recreation area and relocate Bloomington Elections to the first floor. Mr. Beard asked if this would involve moving of walls. Mr. Schmitt indicated they might need to add walls to divide off election commission from parks and recreation. Ms. Johnston asked about financial impact. Mr. Schmitt indicated there will be some expense but he did not think it would be significant.
Ms. Rodriguez provided an update on the Behavioral health space utilization at the 200 W. Front Street building. She indicated FUSE staff is located there now in a space that was not being utilized before so no one was disrupted. Ms. Rodriguez next discussed that the Triage center would be located in office space just off the parking lot. Ms. Rodriguez also stated space has not yet been set aside for tele psychiatry.
Ms. Rodriguez let the Committee know that Mr. Schmitt was also a Department Head over Facilities as well as an Assistant County Administrator and so under his department were the screeners in the front lobby of the Law & Justice Center. Mr. Schmitt confirmed that currently the three screeners at the front of the Law & Justice Center they fall under the budget and management of the Facilities Department. He stated they discussed with the Sheriff moving the management of the screeners under the purview of the Sheriff’s department since the Sheriff’s department is right there and they have a higher level of understanding of security needs. Mr. Schmitt stated that the Sheriff is on board with this change in management. Mr. Schmitt indicated budget would stay under Facilities. Mr. Thompson asked why they would keep the budget where it was. Mr. Schmitt indicated the budget comes from the Public Building Commission levy and not through the General Fund, so would like to keep that funding the same. Mr. Friedrich asked him to confirm there were only three officers. Mr. Schmitt confirmed. Ms. Metsker asked if the individuals would be become part of union negotiations. Mr. Schmitt stated they would have to request to join a bargaining unit. Ms. Rodriguez reminded the Committee there are other members in the Sheriff’s office that are not part of a bargaining unit. Ms. Metsker asked if there would be need to organize. Mr. Schmitt indicated they are not sworn officers and a lot of them started in custodial staff and were promoted, so he was not concerned.
Ms. Rodriguez indicated that one position was filled under the purview of the Property Committee.
Chairman Barnett asked if there was any other business. Mr. Beard asked about status of elevator in 200 W. Front Building. Mr. Schmitt stated it would be done next month. Ms. Rodriguez indicated there is one working elevator in the building right now.
The Chair recognized Ms. Watchinski. She asked Staff about the Zagster bike rack at the history museum and a request from a constituent to have it bolted down. Mr. Schmitt indicated they have not bolted it down because there is an old tunnel under that sidewalk they did not want to damage. He stated they received permission from Zagster to move bike rack. Mr. Smith asked if the rack was Town of Normal. Mr. Schmitt confirmed agreement was with Town of Normal.
Chairman Barnett presented the bills from the Auditor in the amount of $195,485.39.
Motion by Smith/Thompson to approve payments of bills from the Auditor in the amount of $195,485.39.
Motion Carried
Chairman Barnett indicated that the Committee would next go on a tour of the Nursing Home and thanked Cindy Wegner, Chairman McIntyre, Susan Schafer and Brian Runge for joining them. The Committee went on a tour of the facility. Ms. Wegner indicated the room they were currently in was a resident lounge they would recommend updating for outpatient rehab. She then showed rooms on the 200 wing outside of the resident lounge they would recommend converting to private rooms for rehab patients as well as for speech and occupational therapy.
Ms. Wegner pointed out the new nurse’s stations and new medicine cabinets installed for each resident as most of the facility had Jack and Jill bathrooms. Mr. Friedrich asked how many residents the facility could service. Ms. Wegner indicated it was a 150-bed facility. Mr. Friedrich asked about current census. Ms. Wegner indicated it ranges between 90 and 100 residents. Mr. Friedrich asked if she saw that changing with new services. Ms. Wegner said she did see that increasing if they could add outpatient and more inpatient rehab services.
Ms. Wegner next took the Committee on a tour of the current rehab section and the 400 wing where some rooms had been converted to private short-term therapy rooms. Mr. Smith asked about other facilities in the community that would offer these services. Ms. Wegner provided names of facilities that could provide those services in the community. Ms. Schafer pointed out the cinder block walls in the rooms and that a smooth look to them had been accomplished in the halls. She asked Mr. Runge how long it took and process. Mr. Runge indicated that he was not aware of how long the mudding process took but based on what they had to do for fixes he was sure it was a long process. Mr. Thompson asked if the mudded walls held up well. Mr. Runge indicated they did. Ms. Schafer indicated this would be something to consider for aesthetic purposes, but would have to be done in phases. Ms. Johnston asked about lighting as she felt lamps or other lighting might help. Ms. Schafer indicated that would be considered but they would have to look at the overall project to determine timing. Mr. Beard suggested they put together an ideal room, determine the cost for that, and then break it down into what we could afford. Ms. Rodriguez indicated they would be looking at what needed to be done physically, but would also work on the revenue side to make sure the Nursing Home was viable.
Ms. Schafer noted the Nursing Home project would involve Health, Finance and Property Committees. She also noted the Blue Ribbon Panel tried to lay out changes and improvements in stages. Ms. Metsker stated the nurses stations was one of the first things the Blue Ribbon Panel said needed to be done and commended Ms. Wegner on getting those taken care of. Ms. Wegner next pointed out there were nice court yards to each wing but they needed to have security key pads added to those doors so family members could take residents out there during their visits. Ms. Wegner next took the Committee to the Front entrance. She stated the Blue Ribbon Panel had listed as one of their first changes an upgrade to the front entrance to make it more open and welcoming. There was discussion of cinder block walls and old piping and difficulty moving or opening area.
Ms. Wegner indicated that was the end of the tour. Ms. Schafer thanked them for coming and hoped this gave them a better of understanding of needs and work that would need what that might entail. Mr. Friedrich commended Ms. Wegner on the cleanliness of the facility. Mr. Schmitt indicated the next step would be to contract with an architect to determine work that could be grouped together and cost.
Mr. Beard suggested having a list of all the items that needed to be done that could be prioritized. Ms. Rodriguez indicated they are working to put together the entire picture they could then share with all committees. Mr. Barnett reminded the Committee this would be a project that would span several years and would require input from multiple Committees. Mr. Schmitt provided example that the piping would take several years because of the cost and the work that would be involved gaining access to the pipes. Ms. Rodriguez also reminded the Committee of her earlier comment that they were also working on internal processes to make sure those are in place. Ms. Johnston asked them to keep in mind when working out a time line that she felt those projects that would bring in more revenue to the nursing home should be contemplated first.
Chairman Barnett asked if there was any other business to come before the Committee; hearing none, he adjourned the meeting at 5:53 p.m.
https://www.mcleancountyil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/6856
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