McLean County Times

McLean County Property Committee met April 2.

Here is the minutes provided by the committee:

The Property Committee of the McLean County Board met at 4:45 p.m. in Room 404 of the Government Center Building, 115 E. Washington Street, Bloomington, Illinois.

Members Present: Chairman Josh Barnett and Members Laurie Wollrab, George Wendt, Gerald Thompson, Logan Smith and Shayna Watchinski (via remote attendance)

Members Absent: Member Lyndsay Bloomfield

Other Members

Present: None

Staff Present: Ms. Cassy Taylor, Assistant County Administrator, Ms. Cathy Dreyer, Assistant County Administrator, Samantha Vasquez, Assistant State’s Attorney – Civil Division; Ms. Julie Morlock, Recording Secretary, (in person) Camille Rodriguez, County Administrator and Chris Spanos, First Assistant State’s Attorney – Civil (via remote attendance)

Department Heads/ Elected Officials Present: Mr. Tim Daugherty, Facilities Management, Mr. Michael Steffa, Parks & Recreation (via remote attendance)

Others Present:

Chairman Barnett called the meeting to order at 4:45 p.m. and declared a quorum.

Chairman Barnett presented the minutes from the March 4, 2021 regular meeting of the Property Committee and the Bills and Transfers with a Prepaid Total and Fund total amount of $217,794.95.

Motion by Smith/Thompson to approve the March 4, 2021 regular meeting minutes of the Property Committee and Bills and Transfers.

Motion carried. Roll Call Vote – all members present voted yes including the Chairman.

Chairman Barnett confirmed there were no members of the public to appear.

Mr. Michael Steffa, Parks and Recreation Department Director, presented an update on activities at the Park. He went over partnerships with Illinois Natural History and the Illinois

Department Natural Resources on their surveys conducted at the park. Mr. Steffa indicated they had issued the RFP for the sewage treatment plan and were getting prepared for the busy season by updating brochures, conducting burns of the prairie and pollinator fields, preparing mowers for grass cutting and performing maintenance on park vehicles. He stated they would start taking reservations for the camping at the park and boat rental and bait shop would open on April 3, 2021. He also went over other projects including cleaning out wood duck houses, replacing trees in the park, installing new recreational signage, and taking applications for summer positions. He stated they were still waiting on word about opening the beach. Mr. Steffa also mentioned three interns from the Illinois State University working with the park this summer. Ms. Wollrab asked if there was a program to plant native plant species at the park. Mr. Steffa confirmed there were and went over the two programs at the park. Chairman Barnett asked if there were further questions or comments, hearing none, he thanked Mr. Steffa.

Mr. Tim Daugherty, Facilities Department Director presented for action a request to approve the low bid of $23,358.00 to US Mechanical Services, Inc. for HVAC replacements at the Animal Shelter. He stated there were two proposals received to take out all three old systems and put in new systems at Animal Control and this was the lower bid. Ms. Wollrab asked him to confirm number of bids received. Mr. Daugherty confirmed they received two bids.

Motion by Smith/Watchinski to recommend approval of low bid of $23,358.00 to US Mechanical Services, Inc. for HBAC replacements at the Animal Shelter.

Motion Carried. All members presented voted yes including the Chairman.

Mr. Daugherty presented his monthly report to the Committee and went over activities in each of the County buildings including routine maintenance items for Government Center, Animal Shelter, Health Department, Juvenile Detention Center, Law & Justice Center, Metcom and additional items for Jail Annex and Museum. He also provided an update on elevators, personnel, and vehicles.

Ms. Wollrab stated Mr. Daugherty had listed items at the jail annex at a previous meeting that needed to be fixed and asked for an update. Mr. Daugherty indicated they had one contractor in last week, but overall, it was a slow process. Ms. Wollrab asked about responsibility of builder. Ms. Rodriguez provided history indicating when warranties were nearing expiration dates they wrote a letter to the general contractor, schedule a meeting to go over those items and all parties including architected and general contractor have noted

items they need to fix. She stated Administration, Mr. Daugherty and legal have been working diligently to try to fix the issues without making it a legal matter. Ms. Wollrab asked if she felt it might be at a point to start some legal action. Ms. Rodriguez indicated they have kept legal advised of the progress and legal counsel had not advised them to enter into any legal actions.

Ms. Rodriguez asked Mr. Daugherty to provide an update on capital improvement plan for this year. Mr. Daugherty went over projects for the Government Center, Law and Justice Center, Animal Control, and Metcom.

Mr. Barnett asked about replacement of sheds at Metcom. Ms. Rodriguez indicated she would reach out to staff at Metcom as they were responsible for that improvement. Mr. Barnett asked about a start date for the roof at the Old Courthouse. Mr. Daugherty indicated there was a meeting scheduled for next week and while he did not have a specific start date he felt work would probably be started by the next meeting. Mr. Barnett asked about water conditioning systems at the JDC and Law & Justice. Mr. Daugherty indicated those projects had been moved to the second quarter. Mr. Barnett asked about replacing chiller at nursing home. Mr. Daugherty indicated he would follow up with Mr. Runge as that fell under this area. Ms. Rodriguez indicated she would bring back to the Committee an update on work at Nursing Home. Mr. Barnett indicated he wanted to stay on track with plan for this year.

Ms. Rodriguez provided an update on solar directive from the Committee. She indicated Administration had been working with one of the approved vendors, Solar for All. She stated a tour was conducted, past energy bills pulled and there had been several meetings. She stated they learned there is a section of downtown Ameren does not allow solar panels because of surges when electricity is not in use. She indicated the Government Center is located in one of those areas. She went over options to pay for installation including financing and grants. She stated grants are only for an “Environmental Justice area” and the Law & Justice and 200 W. Front buildings are not in those areas. She indicated there is an application that would take about 25 to 32 work hours to complete to be considered for an Environmental Justice Area determination. She indicated if the Board wanted to go forward with the application, Administration would have to juggle some projects to work on that application. Ms. Rodriguez indicated they would ask if Solar for All would have information ready to present at the next Property Committee meeting. Ms. Wollrab thanked them for the time they had put into this project. Mr. Barnett asked if there was any other questions or comments, hearing none he thanked Ms. Rodriguez.

Under other business Mr. Barnett mentioned a plan to tour County facilities in May. He went over a couple of options for tours including an entire day or two half days. He stated they would contact Committee members about possible dates.

Chairman Barnett asked if there was any other business to come before the Committee; hearing none, he adjourned the meeting at 5:39 p.m.

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