The Wayne County Board met in regular session last (Thursday) night at the Wayne County Courthouse with Vice-Chairman, Gene Kollak presiding over the meeting in absence of Chairman, Daryl Hargrave. The meeting proceeded with approval of previous meeting minutes without revisions.
Kevin Kern and Brett Williams from Hope Trust presented positive news regarding the Hope Trust employee health insurance program. Williams announced that Wayne County had achieved exceptional performance with only a 1% increase in renewal rates, which is considered phenomenal in the industry. As a result of the county’s excellent performance over nine years of participation, the Hope Trust executive board approved a dividend payment of $12,420 to Wayne County. Williams expressed gratitude to Liz Ann Woodrow for maintaining trends and Yvette Anderson in the Treasurer’s Office for managing employee enrollments effectively. The representatives also announced plans for regional client meetings in southeastern Illinois as a thank-you gesture to their partners.
Ethan Keyser presented on behalf of the Wayne County CEO program, accompanied by students , Grant Jennette, and Jaycey Smith. The program serves Wayne County high school juniors and seniors, teaching hands-on business and entrepreneurial skills with approximately 12 students currently enrolled. The program operates independently without funding from local schools, meeting with businesses before school hours and returning to classes around 10 AM. Both Jennette and Smith described their learning experiences, including building individual businesses and conducting a class business project involving a basketball half-court shot raffle for $10,000 with insurance coverage. Both students shared their future interests…Jennette in sports photography and Smith in dog grooming. Keyser requested a $3,000 investment over three years ($1,000 annually), matching the county’s previous 2018 contribution. The board unanimously approved this funding commitment.
During public comments, Sandy Beeson raised concerns about an ongoing personal issue with the State’s Attorney’s office, stating she had been refused appointments five times.
Lambri Morse, a resident in the Boyleston area spoke to the county board members regarding complaints about neighboring dogs – a golden retriever and corgi – that she alleged were being neglected, left outside continuously without proper care, food, or grooming. Morse reported multiple unsuccessful attempts to get the Humane Society to intervene, despite providing statements and photographic evidence on January 28th. County Board member, TJ Vaughan responded that the animal warden had confirmed the dogs had been brought in multiple times, with owners coming to retrieve them, and that the Humane Society had been responding to other emergency calls when contacted. Vaughan informed Morse the board has a couple of issues to address with the Humane Society and this issue would be discussed at a future meeting.
Highway Department Superintendent, Dennis Seidel presented several infrastructure projects requiring board approval. He outlined a resolution to appropriate funds for County Highway 13 north of Keenes, utilizing a $1 million NOFO grant with an 80-20 funding split requiring county contribution of 20% for construction costs. Additional items included construction engineering agreements with HLR for asphalt testing and materials evaluation, and a contract for the North Enterprise intersection project totaling just under $578,000, which includes approach improvements and box culvert replacement. The board unanimously approved items one, two, three, and five from Dennis’s proposal list, excluding item four which lacked the necessary agreement documentation.
State’s Attorney, Kyle Ellis introduced newly hired Assistant State’s Attorney Jim Hanson, a former public defender from Mount Vernon with 35 years of legal experience. Hanson described his diverse background including six years as a school teacher, extensive business law practice, and representation of counties on various matters including jail construction and employee issues. Ellis noted that Hanson’s addition had already significantly reduced the office workload within two weeks of employment.
Circuit Clerk, Ellen Sitzes reported smooth operations with an upcoming jury trial scheduled for Tuesday. Stizes announced the hiring of Elizabeth West to replace a position in the office, noting her previous experience eliminated training requirements. Sheriff Chris Otey provided updates on significant achievements and ongoing initiatives. He announced that two Wayne County correctional officers, Kenny Drake and Donovan Lee, received life-saving awards from the Illinois Sheriff’s Association for preventing an inmate suicide attempt. Only six counties out of 102 received this recognition. The sheriff also described the formation of a major case squad involving 15 surrounding counties to pool investigative resources for complex cases, reducing reliance on understaffed state police. He reported substantial progress on drug distribution cases, burglary arrests, and a lengthy pursuit resulting in drug and firearm seizures.
County Clerk, Liz Ann Woodrow reported successful property deed transfers through sealed bids, with Nick Shiever purchasing three parcels in Barnhill Township for $820 each. Woodrow said she conducted election judge training classes with 89 attendees across two sessions, expressing pride in her experienced judges and excitement about three new high school student judges. Early voting had commenced February 5th with 61 in-person votes and four mail-in ballots returned. Woodrow emphasized urgency for mail-in ballot returns due to postal service changes affecting ballot priority status.
County Treasurer, Yvette Anderson reported office relocation to the basement due to complete floor stripping, revealing original wood flooring. She filed the final tax season report to the state and presented a time clock proposal for employee attendance tracking, including two time clocks and magnetic badge systems with 50 remote cell phone clock-in capabilities. The board deferred action pending further committee discussion to determine implementation scope across various county departments.
Vice-Chairman Kollak spoke on behalf of Supervisor of Assessments, Jodi Poole who was out of town
by stating the news computers in her office have been installed and the migration to the ARC GIS Pro, the new mapping program has begun. Training on the new software is set for next week.
Wayne County Coroner, Shari Winter reported on updates including successful cooler repairs with both compressors operational and ongoing resolution work with other coroner offices. The coroner praised Dennis Seidel and the highway department for snow removal assistance and acknowledged Jeff Jake for ID card production. A positive interaction with the Humane Society was noted regarding four cats recovered from a deceased person’s residence.
The finance committee resolved billing issues and recommended bill payment approval, which the board unanimously approved. Building and grounds updates included successful asbestos tile removal with minimal dust and debris, and HVAC system progress with most second/third floor units operational. EMA Director, Jeff Jake announced a National Weather Service weather spotter training class scheduled for March 19th at 6 PM at Bob Boyles Hall, offering official spotter certification and direct reporting capabilities to the National Weather Service.
The Humane Society committee reported on after-hours fee structures and emergency response protocols. A significant discussion centered on authorizing the Animal Control Officer to issue citations for animal welfare violations. The officer, working under Department of Agriculture authority, would have discretion to issue municipal-style violations similar to traffic tickets, with fines processed through collections agencies if unpaid. The board approved this authority following a 9-3 vote after confirming support from the Sheriff and State’s Attorney, despite some concerns about enforcement mechanisms and workload implications.
A motion was made and approved for payment of phase 12 of the heating and air installation in the amount of $29,500 to Haye’s Plumbing, Heating and Cooling of Fairfield.