CLAY COUNTY BOARD MEETS (4/11/25) pg The Clay County Board met Thursday evening at the
courthouse. The meeting is normally held on the second Tuesday of each month.
The State of Illinois requires all townships to meet on the second Tuesday of
each April, so the county moved their meeting Thursday night. Once the meeting was called to order, the board approved the
meeting agenda and moved on to visitor comments. The first to speak was Louisville American Legion Commander
Roy Smith. He noted that suicide claims the lives of over 6.000 American
Veterans each year, or around 16 per day. To help draw attention to the
problem and to seek remedies, The, Be The One Suicide Awareness Walk is again
scheduled in Clay County. The event is set of Saturday, May 12th
starting at 8:00am at the World War II Memorial at Flora’s Library Park and
will proceed on Route 45 for 8 miles to the Veterans Memorial on the Courthouse
Square in Louisville. Last year they raised $7,000 for their Veterans and
Children’s funds and Smith added that there were some 100 marchers
participating and they hope to do that again and encouraged people to join
them. Next, Xenia area resident Crystal Baumgartner addressed the
board to discuss a flooding issue on her property. She presented information
that she claims a culvert was improperly installed by Xenia Township and is
causing floodwater to stand in her pasture and will not properly drain. While
she did provide documentation that shows the area, it was not specifically
identified other than stating the roadside ditches would effectively drain
water in the area to what she referred to as Sand Creek. She asked the county
to help her correct this issue. The board asked no questions, and the meeting
moved on. The board approved the past meeting minutes and then
approved the Claims Committee Report. Janice Brooks went over the individual
departments paid and unpaid claims for the Clay County Hospital, Clay County
Highway Dept., the Health Dept., Clay County, 911, Public Safety Tax and Animal
Control. Paid Claims totaled $5,620,202 and Unpaid Claims added up to $281,641. Clay County 911 Coordinator Jennifer Brown presented the 911
Report, which noted Bruce Dickey’s retirement from the board after 26 years and
was a founding member of Clay County 911. He was thanked for his years of
service and was presented with a plaque for his dedication to duty. Dickey
started on the board in January of 1999. Clay County Hospital President Bob Sellers presented the
hospital report and took a moment to highlight the strong performance of the
CCH Pharmacy. Since it began just a few short months ago, it has filled 1,996
prescriptions or about 77 per day, with 831 filled since April 1st.
They have 1,154 transfers with 400 on a waiting list to get into the system.
Next, the board approved the Medical Staff Credentials for professional staff.
Sellers said due to the pharmacy’s success, they need to purchase additional
locking bank bags to continue making night deposits and the board approved his
request. The board also approved his request to approve the purchase of a
Steris Instrument Washer/Decontaminator for the surgery dept., at a cost of
$65,094. Sellers also asked for permission to open a separate bank account for
their HTCI Grant funds. The $12.1 Million Healthcare Transformation Capital
Investment Grant will be used for the construction of the new Clay County
Health Department building on the CCH Campus as well as a 9,000 square foot
hospital extension (to move all employees to the property), the extension of
dietary for the addition of a walk-in freezer and cooler, renovation of all
inpatient rooms and renovation of surgical rooms. The Clay County Board of Health Report was presented by Lyn
Waller. She briefly went over the delays in state funding and how its
impacting things locally and also noted that volunteers are needed for the CEFS
Board. One member needs to be an educator and the other needs to be low
income. Inanna Weller with Clay County Animal Control noted that
they had taken in 54 animals and adopted out 25 while 7 animals were reclaimed,
mostly dogs. They have over 20 cats and 20 dogs currently and have 24
transfers out. She said they are working with other counties to find animals
new homes. She said she has been taking 5 animals at a time up to Mattoon,
where they have success adopting animals out, since the local agencies are not
interested in doing so. Next, Coroner Bryce Henry reported that while they already
cooperate with surrounding counties, the state is asking coroners statewide to
enter a mutual aid agreement in the event it is needed. The board approved his
request unanimously. In the absence of Supervisor of Assessments Kindal Eastin,
Board Chairman Joe Goodman asked, and the board approved the re-appointment of
Kevin Logan to the Board of Review for a two-year term. And they also approved
the Re-appointment of Don Delaney to the Farmland Assessment Review Committee
for a three-year term. Goodman also announced there is a vacancy on the
Farmland Assessment Review Committee. They are looking for someone who is both
a landowner and is involved in agriculture. Clay County Circuit Clerk Crystal Ballard stated that her
office has lost employee Leslie Spitzner and she was replaced by Sandra Romero
who will work 6 hours a week with a maximum of 10 hours. While Romero will
earn less, her hiring will mean Ballard’s office will be over budget. The
board approved Romero’s part-time PRN position. Ballard also went over the
fines collected so far this year with the first quarter producing $124,624.
She says that figure is significantly lower since the state adopted its no bail
policy. Even though her office collects less money now than before, the state
is demanding more of what is collected. Highway Engineer Darin Koelm presented his report that did
not include action items but did include an update on three projects. The
bridge on Campground Road is nearing completion but it needs to fully dry out
before the final push can begin. The design phase for Frazier Bridge is near
completion and up to three projects on Kneff Cemetery Lane should start soon.
Koelm also announced that weight limits on Clay County Roads will end on April
15. In Executive Finance matters, Terry Hronec stated that with
the agreement to move animals to Coles County, they are asking for a new bank
account for Animal Control. The board approved opening an account at the Clay
County State Bank. A brief discussion arose when a proposal to create an
intergovernmental agreement between Clay County and Harter Township to share an
Assessor hit a snag. The county is asking $10,000 for the one-year agreement.
Harter Township leaders would like to pay over the course of the year that is
prorated from this point forward. The issue was tabled and may result in the
need for a special meeting at the end of the month. Clay County Sheriff Andy
Myers indicated that due to the increase in narcotic activity by people they
process through the jail, the county would be well served by the addition of a
full body scanner. With larger amounts of drugs being possessed by prisoners
when they are arrested, it significantly increases the liability danger for the
sheriff’s office and the county. At present, Myers said they take people
through the full body scanner in Marion County. He said when considering the
purchase of their own unit, the insurance company says it would pay for itself
with the reduced liability claims. He said they could purchase a Tek 84 demo
model for $152,500, saving roughly $30,000. Myers says there is $15,000 in
grant money available from the insurer and they can use $30,000 from the Opioid
Fund for law enforcement purposes leaving $107.500 that can come from the Tort
Fund. The board approved the sheriff’s request. In Chairman Joe Goodman’s report, a number of appointments
were made with the board’s concurrence. Evan Thackrey was appointed to the 911
Board to replace Bruce Dickey for a three-year term that ends in September
2028. Laren Erwin was appointed to the North Clay Fire Protection District for
a three-year term ending in May of 2028. Kevin Henry and Robert Simpson were
both appointed to the Clay City Fire Protection District for three-year terms
ending in May of 2028. The board also approved the recognition of Discover
Downstate Illinois Tourism as Clay County’s State Certified Tourism Bureau for
Fiscal Year 2026. It was noted that Anna Rounds and Stephen Smith represent
Clay County on that board. The final action item of the night came when four designs
were considered for a Clay County Flag. The board voted to approve option #1,
which features a navy-blue background with a red Clay County shaped figure in
the center of the flag with a white star representing the county seat at
Louisville and a circle of white stars representing the 12 townships
surrounding the red figure in the center. Sheriff Myers says once the Clay
County Bicentennial is past, he will fly the new flag on the courthouse lawn and
perhaps incorporate it use in some other areas as well. Before the meeting ended Goodman read from a statement that
announced the resignation of Chris Rinehart from the Clay County Board.
Goodman and others said they were sorry to see him leave after many years on
the board including his service as chairman of the finance committee. Rinehart
was elected on April 1st as the new mayor of the Village of
Louisville. With all business complete, the meeting adjourned.