Rock Island County Public Works and Facilities Committee met June 12.
Here is the minutes provided by the Committee:
1) Call to order and roll call
Committee members present: Chair Larry Burns, Richard Morthland, Luis Moreno, Robert Reagan, Jeff Deppe, Ed Langdon, Bob Westpfahl
Others present: Dave Ross, John Massa, Jerry Clyde, Greg Thorpe, Mike Steffen, Pat Koranda, Bill Long, Dewayne Cremeens, Louisa Ewert, Josh Boudi (8:31 a.m.)
2) Public Comments
There were no public comments.
3) Approval of the minutes from the May 8, 2016 meeting
Motion to approve: Bob Westpfahl 2nd: Luis Moreno Voice vote Motion carried
4) Reports to the Committee
Mr. Boudi gave his monthly GIS department report. He explained that they finished up the annual updates of tax parcel maps and mailed request forms. This Friday is the deadline. Recorder fee revenue was over $20,000 for May which is a good thing. He added that regarding the Enterprise Zone, they haven’t started reviewing the applications yet but will start next month. Hopefully next month we will have some more information on that.
Motion to approve: Jeff Deppe 2nd: Luis Moreno Voice vote Motion carried
Mr. Thorpe gave his monthly Zoning and Building report. The department had 138 total receipts for a net revenue of $33,110.20. The estimated value of that work was just over $2.5 million dollars. Compared to last year, we were a little bit busier with almost twice as much money in evaluation. We had more receipts last year, but fees were ahead this year, we are ahead on evaluation and residences. We are right on track budget-wise. He presented a new resident report showing where the houses are being built. There are 16 total with 6 being in Bowling and the rest scattered. There was a zoning training and a handful of County Board member’s showed up. Mr. Steffen asked if the fees were raised. Mr. Thorpe explained that they are just up and haven’t raised the fees in a while.
Motion to approve: Richard Morthland 2nd: Bob Westpfahl Voice vote Motion carried
Mr. Massa gave his monthly Public Works report. He explained that they have been replacing several culverts on three to four roads. They have been busy with that. As well as, weed spraying and striping the roads. They have been making one pass of the mowing and haven’t heard any complaints. The bridge construction project on Joy Road is moving along well. Last night there was a concrete blow up on the Milan Beltway so forces were called in and they did what they could do last night and are back out this morning, trying to fix it so it can be opened up the whole way. Mr. Westpfahl asked if they were just mowing one stripe on the roads now. Mr. Massa confirmed and added that it seems to be working well. The State is doing the same. They are mowing 15 foot out. They are having a big push for the pollination for the butterflies and the bees because they think they are decreasing and there is a vital need. They are trying to keep some of the flowers and milk weeds, they want them to keep growing up so they have done the same thing just doing one pass in hopes to bring back some of the bees and butterflies. Mr. Steffen asked if we take care of the County portion of interstate 88. Mr. Massa explained that would be the State.
Motion to approve: Richard Morthland 2nd: Jeff Deppe Voice vote Motion carried
5) Consider Prevailing Wage Resolution
Motion to approve: Jeff Deppe 2nd: Ed Langdon
Opposed: Bob Westpfahl and Richard Morthland Motion carried
6) Consider closing portion of County Highway 59, Loud Thunder Road, for fundraiser Chair Larry Burns explained that we do this every year.
Motion to approve: Richard Morthland 2nd: Jeff Deppe Voice vote Motion carried
7) Consider ZBA Requests:
a. RZ-17-109, George Hull, Ag-2 to B-4, Hampton Township
Mr. Thorpe explained that this is to split an acre off for a business along 80. There were no objectors present and the board’s recommendation was to grant. Mr. Moreno asked what business it is. Mr. Thorpe explained that it is Dave’s Doors.
Motion to approve: Luis Moreno 2nd: Richard Morthland Voice vote Motion carried
b. SU-17-202, Top of the World Ranch, Residential Care Home, Rural Township
Mr. Thorpe explained that there was an extensive hearing on this. He added that the members may have received a certified letter. He added that he would like to remind the members that unless you attended that hearing, the only evidence you have in front of you is the resolution from the zoning board of appeals. That is the only legal information that you can use to make your decision based on. The board’s recommendation was to grant the request. Mr. Steffen asked which hospital it is. Mr. Thorpe explained that it is Unity Point. Top the World Ranch is made up of Top of the World Ranch, LLC. out of Canada and Mark Sadler is the owner of that. Robert Young center is the 49% owner as well.
Motion to approve: Luis Moreno 2nd: Richard Morthland Opposed: Bob Westpfahl Mr. Westpfahl explained that they had a chance to come out there to meet with those people and talk to them and be a good neighbor and they never held up. There is going to be quite an increase in tax money coming into the County and some of that tax money ought to go back to rural township so they can get their polling place back. Mr. Moreno added that he supports it. He added that the Abbey in Bettendorf, they have been successful and have been good neighbors there with no issues. Motion carried
c. SU-17-205, Clint Zimmerman, Density Increase, Rural Township
Mr. Thorpe explained that this is a special use permit for a density increase in Rural Township. They are splitting off 1.5 acres. There were no objectors and the board’s recommendation was to grant.
Motion to approve: Luis Moreno 2nd: Jeff Deppe Voice vote Motion carried
8) Consider options for mitigating mold issues in the County office building
Mr. Ross gave an update on the County office building. Two mold tests have been done after complaints from employees with respiratory related health issues. Both tests came back showing rather significant amounts of mold in the building. The types of mold are almost entirely molds that you would find naturally in the outdoor environment of the quad cities. The mold is coming in through the doors, windows, vents, and it is getting trapped in here. It is getting trapped in our carpet, on the chairs, anything that can’t be easily wiped off and cleaned. In talking with the second company who did the test for us, she didn’t recommend a full mediation. She said it wasn’t necessary because of the types of mold. The company recommended steam cleaning the chairs, carpets, and getting duct worked cleaned. You can buy the HEPA filters. She said there is something you can put in the windows to draw the air out and create a little more circulation. He added that they looked at cost to do these things. At this point, it is just an update. The State’s Attorney’s office is still reviewing it to see if the liability insurance fund is able to legally cover this if we were to do it. If the answer is yes, then it will be brought to the committee to see if we want to move forward with something. Otherwise, we don’t have money to do it right now. As a brief overview, if we wanted to replace the carpet which was the recommendation if we were able to do it. It would cost between a half a million and 1.2 million depending on the type of flooring that we use. These are just quotes to give a general idea. We would have to go out for bid. To replace all of the non-plastic type chairs that we have in the building, it is, give or take, $10,000. For air purifiers, we would probably go with ozone generators. They are a little bit easier to use and cover a larger square footage, $1,400 would cover the entire building. Getting the duct work cleaned would be about $700 to $800. Mr. Thorpe asked if what is under the carpet was taken into consideration. Mr. Ross added that the quotes are if we do not have to worry about and cracking into the asbestos that is under the carpet. If we do, it will be more than that. In the meantime, we are slowly starting to do a little more thorough cleaning. Until we hear back from the State’s Attorney’s office, it is just an update. Mr. Reagan asked about the acceptable level of mold and where we are at. Mr. Ross explained that there isn’t an “acceptable” level and it depends on who you talk to. According to OSHA’s website, if you are under 10,000 they don’t worry about it. Other professional organizations say any level over 500 is something you should remediate. In our building the highest from 7-8 places that were checked, the highest concentration of mold was in the County Administration office and was 1,300. It depends on who you ask but people in the building have been getting sick. Mr. Westpfahl asked about the status of the elevator. Mr. Ross explained that the motor and generator and both at the repair shop and we are waiting on them to tell us what it is going to cost to fix it, of which we do not have the money to fix it.
9) Committee member opportunity for brief comments (no decisions will be made)
There were no brief comments.
10) Adjourn
With no further business, Jeff Deppe made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Luis Moreno seconded that motion. Meeting adjourned at 8:51 a.m.
http://www.rockislandcounty.org/CountyBoard.aspx?id=40517#PWF
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