McHenry County

Administrative Services - Public Meeting

MINUTES

Tuesday, July 02, 2024 at 8:30 A.m. - 10:30 A.m.

County Board Conference Room

Administration Building, 667 Ware Rd., Woodstock, IL 60098

Members Present:

• Joseph Gottemoller, 
• Theresa Meshes, 
• Matt Kunkle, 
• Pamela Althoff, 
• and Eric Hendricks 

Members Absent:

• Gloria Van Hof 
• and Terri Greeno 

Full comments on all agenda items are included in the video recording of this meeting.

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1.

CALL TO ORDER

Meeting called to order at: 8:34 A.M.

Also present: Peter Austin, County Administrator; Alicia Schueller, Director of Public Affairs; Tom Burroughs, Director of Facilities; Suzanne Ziebart, Director of Human Resources; Kelly Scimeca, Director of Office of Special Projects; Adam Letendre, Director of Procurement and Special Services; Kerri Wisz, CFO. 

2.

MINUTES APPROVAL

• Mover: Althoff
  Seconder: Kunkle

  Approve previous minutes of the June 5, 2024.

  Aye (4)	Althoff, Gottemoller, Kunkle, and Hendricks
  Absent (3)	Meshes, Van Hof, and Greeno

  Recommended (4 to 0)

2.1

Administrative Services Committee - Public Meeting - June 5, 2024 8:30 A.M.

3.

PUBLIC COMMENT

None.

4.

MEMBERS' COMMENTS

None.

5.

PRESENTATION

None.

6.

NEW BUSINESS

None.

7.

ROUTINE CONSENT AGENDA

• Mover: Althoff
  Seconder: Kunkle

  To approve the remaining items of the routine consent agenda.

  Aye (4)	Althoff, Gottemoller, Kunkle, and Hendricks
  Absent (3)	Meshes, Van Hof, and Greeno

  Recommended (4 to 0)

7.1

Resolution Adopting Amendments to the McHenry County Board Rules (12)

• Mover: Althoff
  Seconder: Kunkle
  Recommended
• Mover: Althoff
  Seconder: Kunkle

  Board / Committee Action Requested: Adoption of a resolution amending the McHenry County Board Rules.

  Recommended

7.3

Resolution Authorizing a Workers’ Compensation Settlement for Claim #21-6100-01 (19)

• Mover: Althoff
  Seconder: Kunkle
  Recommended
• Mover: Althoff
  Seconder: Kunkle

  To authorize settlement of a pending Workers’ Compensation claim.

  Recommended

7.4

Resolution Authorizing a Workers' Compensation Settlement for Claim #23-3200-10 (19)

• Mover: Althoff
  Seconder: Kunkle

  To approve a resolution authorizing a Worker’s Compensation settlement for claim# 23-3200-10.

  Recommended

7.5

Resolution Authorizing the Acceptance of Grant Award from the McHenry County Community Foundation and the Creation of One Employment Specialist Position in Court Administration and an Emergency Appropriation Court Administration FY2024 Budget (42)

• Mover: Althoff
  Seconder: Kunkle

  Approve a resolution authorizing the acceptance of a grant award from the McHenry County Community Foundation in the amount of $75,000.00, the creation of one employment specialist in the Court Administration roster and an emergency appropriation to the Court Administration 2024 budget.

  Recommended

7.6

Resolution Authorizing the Acceptance of Grant Award from the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Creation of One Treatment Clinician Position in Court Administration and an Emergency Appropriation Court Administration FY2024 Budget (42)

• Mover: Althoff
  Seconder: Kunkle

  Approve a resolution authorizing the acceptance of a grant award from the Illinois Department of Transportation in the amount of $111,456.37, the creation of one treatment clinician in the Court Administration roster and an emergency appropriation to the Court Administration 2024 budget.

  Recommended

7.2

Resolution Amending the Construction Budget for the Election Center, 410 Eastwood Drive, Woodstock, Illinois (18)

Pulled for discussion by Mr. Kunle. 

Ms. Meshes arrives at 8:37 A.M.

Kerri Wisz, Chief Financial Officer, joined the committee to discuss the resolution.  

Mr. Kunkle stated he is never happy when a construction project goes over budget but the fact that the other projects came under budget in order to move forward with the current, which he appreciated.  

Ms. Wisz stated the capital budget was $4.2 million spread over about twenty projects, and when they set the budget a year ago some of the projects were estimated at about $700,000 to $800,000.  So absorbing $40,000 into that instead of inflating the budget by adding more it was better to look at the projects as a whole because they are in the same line item.

Mr. Kunkle stated he understands that which is part of the issue but he also knows that after forty years in construction, he appreciates the fact that they have been watching the other projects stay on time and budget in a difficult time for construction and materials are nice to see and appreciated.  -

• Mover: Althoff
  Seconder: Kunkle

  To approve a $45,000 increase to the Election Center Construction Budget.

  Aye (5)	Althoff, Gottemoller, Meshes, Kunkle, and Hendricks
  Absent (2)	Van Hof, and Greeno

  Recommended (5 to 0)

8.

OLD BUSINESS

None.

9.

REPORTS

9.1

Capital Plan Update

Tom Burroughs, Director of Facilities Management, joined the committee to discuss the report.  

• Crystal Lake Public Health ARPA project engineering design is complete.  The budget looks to be where is was expected to be based on early programming and estimating.  There are a couple of alternates that are going to be designed into the bid process so that they have room to move down if needed.  He stated they hope to release the project for bid in late August, with September bidding, October approval, and a December commitment for completion.  
• Coroner Suite and Laboratory Renovations design and development is complete and they are now in the engineering stage.  Last week they met with mechanical/electrical engineers who have considered specific equipment, but there have been some under-slab challenges, which they have to cut out to increase the size of the freezer and coolers and be able to add a shower and toilet to the lab space.  The Coroner is happy with the way the work is being programmed and they estimate December bids for that.  
• The Administration Parking Lot survey work is being completed and they have a kick-off meeting next Thursday.  They estimate that project to be a winter bid with a spring startup date, but they are still looking into whether they want to start with the front or back.  
• Valley Hi Memory Care Unit temporary walls have been taken down that separated the spaces.  The new floor is going in and the painting is almost complete and they are still aiming for a late October or November completion of the construction.  Afterward, Mr. Annarella and his staff will need to train staff and develop new processes and procedures with the State. 
• He stated there are multiple other smaller projects that are being worked on. 

Mr. Austin stated that Mr. Hartman though not in attendance wanted the committee to know how anxious he was about the vote on the election center and was certainly appreciative of their support.  

9.2

Human Resources Update

Suzanne Ziebart, Director of Human Resources, joined the committee to discuss the report.  

Ms. Ziebart began stating the Compensation Study results are in and took effect as of yesterday so that project is complete.  

• She stated there are some things she will be bringing forward over the next few months.  They have opened FOP 1 (patrol), and FOP 2 (corrections), and the Court Services Unions will be up for negotiations in the fall as their contract expires at the end of November.  

Mr. Austin stated the County handles the FOP 1 and FOP 2 negotiations, and Court Services the State is the leading negotiator. 

• Discussions have begun for planning the Open Enrollment and performance reviews, which will happen in the fall but there is a lot of anticipation that they have to get ready for those events to happen.  
• She will be meeting with Chief Financial Officer Kerri Wisz later in the afternoon on budgets.
• Wellness events are continuing to happen, with the most recent pickleball challenge and ice cream trucks.  They hosted a Bike Safety training last week.  They watched the Salvation Army school drive supply, and there is a blood drive at the end of July.  
• Gabrielle Johnson will be back on Friday to conduct another talk on Mental Health, which are recorded videos in case some staff cannot attend.  

9.3

Communications

Alicia Schueller, Director of Public Affairs, joined the committee to discuss the report.  

Communications Strategic Plan Update

EMA has connected Administration communications personnel with the Village of Huntley which will be sponsoring an active shooter drill. Communications personnel will discuss potential videography and editing services in collaboration with D158 and village communications personnel for this joint drill. This collaboration will strengthen the relationships in McHenry County’s PIO network and better prepare all participating parties in the event of an emergency.

Communications Collaborations

County Administration staff has collaborated with the following departments, offices, and entities during
this period:

• Treasurer to disseminate two press releases regarding property tax payment methods and due dates along with supporting social media and newsletter communications
• The Planning & Development to disseminate a press release regarding an upcoming Talk and Tour event and record the same
• McHenry County Economic Development Corporation to announce the hiring of Mark Piekos as its new Executive Director via press release, social media, and newsletter communications
• EMA regarding the scheduling and cancelling of Field Day
• Court Administration to amplify messaging regarding the 22nd Circuit’s recent open house and spoofing call scams
• Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning to amplify its speed safety messaging alongside the McHenry County Division of Transportation
• The Department of Health and the EMA collaborated on a joint release regarding cooling centers and best practices for staying healthy in the heat. The data was eventually incorporated into the Illinois Emergency Management Agency’s statewide map of cooling centers.

Communications of Note

The Department of Health, in coordination with Veterans Path to Hope and the Division of Transportation, successfully completed Operation Dropbox collecting 8,283 pounds of goods for veterans over last year's 5,466 pounds. The story was covered in the Northwest Herald here.

The Department of Health also completed a successful paid public awareness campaign relating to the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program which generated 2.4 million impressions and 14,000 clicks through Google advertisements. The $4,463.88 invested in Google advertisements was provided through grant funding.

Follower Growth and Reach

During the months of May and June, all County Administration social media channels have increased their followings by these numbers: Facebook: 101, Instagram: 23, Twitter 24, LinkedIn: 90.

Reach for Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have increased compared to last month, but Instagram has decreased.

Reach and Engagement Metrics

ADD METRICS TABLE HERE!

9.4

Administrator Report

Peter Austin, County Administrator, joined the committee to discuss the report.  

Mr. Austin stated there would be a celebration of the internship program on August 8 at McHenry County College (MCC) at 6:00 p.m.  He stated they had 93 interns as of the last five weeks.  Another victory was making the program exciting and accessible for employers to want to continue into a fourth year.  

Mr. Austin introduced Samantha Jelen, an intern in the County Administration office, who volunteered her time with the County for the next four/five weeks as she will be a Senior at Coastal Carolina University in Charleston.  

Last month the Board approved of the seeking of a paid internship that would begin in the fall and they were able to secure a candidate that will start on October 20.

There are about 75 spongy moth traps disbursed through McHenry County.  

10.

FUTURE TOPICS

None.

11.

EXECUTIVE SESSION (AS NECESSARY)

None.

12.

ADJOURNMENT

• Mover: Althoff
  Seconder: Kunkle

  To adjourn the meeting at 9:00 A.M. -TCCazares

  Aye (5)	Althoff, Gottemoller, Meshes, Kunkle, and Hendricks
  Absent (2)	Van Hof, and Greeno

  Recommended (5 to 0)