County Board Schedules Friday Meeting to Act on Elevator

The Effingham County Board has scheduled a special meeting for noon on Friday to consider proposals for repairing the elevator in the Effingham County Office Building.

State's Attorney Bryan Kibler said since the work involves emergency repairs to get the elevator operating, and not purchasing a new unit, that it is alright to go ahead with the project without taking formal bids.

Chief Deputy Sheriff Paul Kuhns has obtained five proposals for repairs. The board members plan to review the proposals before Friday's meeting.

County Board Chairman Jim Niemann said the County's Americans with Disabilities Act officer has checked with ADA officials, and said "they want to get (the elevator) up as quickly as possible."

Kuhns noted that the proposals do not all cover the same work. Also, a suction truck might be needed, which could cause noise and smoke while at work. As to the County's current elevator maintenance firm, they will inspect the work once completed and if they don't like the way it was completed, they can cancel their maintenance agreement.

Since the elevator stopped operating correctly, the stairs have been utilized for those who can use them, and county officials have met with others on the main floor to complete County business.

Also Tuesday, the Board approved Public Defender Scott Schmidt's contract. Under state law, the public defender's salary is to be 90% of the state's attorney's salary. Since the state's attorney's salary was raised by the State, Schmidt's salary goes up, too.

The Board amended the salary schedule for non-union employees; agreed to create a part-time website administrator position likely to be filled by a police telecommunicator; agreed to start the bidding process through Smartwatt for an energy savings plan; named Amber Willie, Abbey Nosbisch, Bill Elving and Brian Hayes to new terms on the Waste Management Committee; named Deb Murbarger to the Ambulance Oversight Committee; and honored maintenance department staffer Dave Bloemer and highway department staffer Jackie Miller on their retirements; and honored Supervisor of Assessments Pam Braun as she has worked for the County for 25 years.

Board members Joe Thoele and John Perry were not present for the meeting.