County Board Hears About Action by Employees to Stop Flooding in Courts Building

Three Effingham County employees were commended at Tuesday's County Board for their efforts to minimize damage in the Effingham County Government Center over the Christmas holiday.

County Sheriff Paul Kuhns said Tony Hille, Chad Walls and Jeff Baker came up with a plan to monitor the Government Center and the County Office Building during the brutally cold conditions over Christmas. During one of those inspections, the crew discovered a burst heating coil in the jury room on the second floor of the Government Center. Water began spreading through portions of both the second and first floors of the building. The sheriff said the three took steps to get the water shut off. He said had the men not being keeping an eye on things, the damage would have been much worse.

The Board voted to endorse a plan by Kuhns to acquire patrol vehicles through Enterprise Leasing. The move is designed to have newer vehicles in the fleet, and to lessen maintenance and replacement worries. The program should save about $70,000.

Board members, though, decided to send another initiative back to committee. The vote was 4-1 to refer back to the Board's Tax and Finance Committee an effort to earmark $40,600 of ARPA funds for the Effingham City/County Special Response Team. 

Board member Norbert Soltwedel said he'd like to have an agreement drawn up as to how the SRT will work, to make sure there is a plan in place if there is a divergence of opinion as to how the team's equipment should be used. The three members of the County Board who are city police department employees...Sandra Gillet, Jeremy Kyle and Board Chairman Josh Douthit...abstained from the vote.

Also Tuesday, the County Board:

--named Debra Murbarger to another term on the Ambulance Oversight Committee, and reduced the number of members on the committee from nine to seven

--named county board members David Campbell and Sandra Gillet as deputy liquor commissioners

--named board member Doug McCain to the Agricultural Area Committee

--approved the 2023 request from Senior Services of Effingham County for $15,000

--approved Jim Niemann as the Hazardous Material Emergency Preparedness Planner

--renewed affiliation with the State's Attorney's Appellate Prosecutor Service

--approved a resolution for ARPA oversight

--approved a job notice for an ECPT Program Compliance Oversight Monitor

--approved release of certain closed session minutes including the minutes from the December 14, 2015 meeting of the Board's Legislative Committee of the Whole

County Treasurer Debra Ruholl reported that the County Tax Sale last week resulted in 153 parcels of property being sold for a total of $643,377.21, and that the final distribution of county property taxes should be coming soon.

State's Attorney Aaron Jones introduced former Shelby County State's Attorney Gina Vonderheide as an Effingham County Assistant State's Attorney.