Will County Executive Committee Met Feb. 4.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
I. CALL TO ORDER
II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
Mrs. Ogalla led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
III. ROLL CALL
Chair Mimi Cowan called the meeting to order at 10:03 AM
| Attendee Name | Title | Status | Arrived |
| Mimi Cowan | Chair | Present | |
| Meta Mueller | Vice Chair | Present | |
| Herbert Brooks Jr. | Member | Present | |
| Mike Fricilone | Member | Present | |
| Kenneth E. Harris | Member | Present | |
| Tyler Marcum | Member | Present | |
| Jim Moustis | Member | Present | |
| Judy Ogalla | Member | Present | |
| Annette Parker | Member | Present | |
| Margaret Tyson | Member | Present | |
| Joe VanDuyne | Member | Present | |
| Rachel Ventura | Member | Present | |
| Denise E. Winfrey | Member | Present |
Present from State's Attorney's Office: M. Tatroe and K. Meyers.
IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1. WC Committee of the Whole - Regular Meeting - Dec 14, 2020 10:00 AM
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Rachel Ventura, Member SECONDER: Jim Moustis, Member AYES: Cowan, Mueller, Brooks Jr., Fricilone, Harris, Marcum, Moustis, Ogalla, Parker, Tyson, VanDuyne, Ventura, Winfrey |
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Herbert Brooks Jr., Member SECONDER: Mike Fricilone, Member AYES: Cowan, Mueller, Brooks Jr., Fricilone, Harris, Marcum, Moustis, Ogalla, Parker, Tyson, VanDuyne, Ventura, Winfrey |
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Judy Ogalla, Member SECONDER: Margaret Tyson, Member AYES: Cowan, Mueller, Brooks Jr., Fricilone, Harris, Marcum, Moustis, Ogalla, Parker, Tyson, VanDuyne, Ventura, Winfrey |
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Joe VanDuyne, Member SECONDER: Herbert Brooks Jr., Member AYES: Cowan, Mueller, Brooks Jr., Fricilone, Harris, Marcum, Moustis, Ogalla, Parker, Tyson, VanDuyne, Ventura, Winfrey |
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Meta Mueller, Vice Chair SECONDER: Judy Ogalla, Member AYES: Cowan, Mueller, Brooks Jr., Fricilone, Harris, Marcum, Moustis, Ogalla, Parker, Tyson, VanDuyne, Ventura, Winfrey |
VI. NEW BUSINESS
1. Presentation on the Illinois Assist Program
(David Rasch)
Mr. Rasch was not on the call and this matter was continued until the February 11, 2021 Executive Committee meeting.
VII. COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENT REQUESTS
A. Land Use & Development Committee
T. Marcum, Chair
Mr. Marcum reviewed the Resolution and added the Committee is still working on the Building Code.
1. Highland Ridge South PUD PreAuthorization to Foreclose
(Scott Killinger)
B. Finance Committee
K. Harris, Chair
Mr. Harris reviewed the Resolutions.
1. FY2021 Budget Overview
(Presentation)
2. Transferring Appropriations within Various County FY2020 Budgets (ReShawn Howard)
3. Transferring Funds within the County Executive's FY2021 Budget for Grants Manager Position
(ReShawn Howard)
4. Transferring Appropriations within the CARES/COVID Support FY2021 Budget and Various Departmental FY2021 Budgets
(ReShawn Howard)
5. Appropriating Grant Funds in the Health Department Budget for IDPH Contact Tracing Grant
(Susan Olenek)
6. Assignment of Tax Sale Certificates
(Julie Shetina / Jennifer Alberico)
7. Authorizing County Executive to Execute Necessary Documents for Delinquent Tax Program
(Jen Alberico / Julie Shetina)
C. Public Works & Transportation Committee
J. VanDuyne, Chair
Mr. VanDuyne reviewed the Resolutions.
1. Authorizing an Intergovernmental Agreement between the Village of New Lenox and the County of Will for Placement of License Plate Reading Cameras Located on County Highways in the County of Will
(Jeff Ronaldson)
2. Confirming Award of Contract to Homer Tree Service, Inc. ($73,370.00), Let on January 20, 2021, Countywide Tree Removal, All County Board Districts
(Jeff Ronaldson)
3. Improvement by County Under the IL Highway Code for the Countywide Tree Removal, using MFT Funds ($100,000.00), All County Board Districts (Jeff Ronaldson)
4. Confirming Award of Contract to "D" Construction, Inc. ($226,644.28), Let on January 20, 2021, River Road (CH 44) Safety Improvements, County Board District #6
(Jeff Ronaldson)
5. Confirming Award of Contract to P.T. Ferro Construction Co. ($540,962.56), Let on January 20, 2021, Jackson Road District Cherry Hill Road over Jackson Creek, County Board District #2 and District #6 (Jeff Ronaldson)
6. Authorizing an Intergovernmental Agreement between the County of Will and the Crete Township Road District for Improvements at the Intersection of Exchange Street (CH 49) and Burville Road/Stoney Island Avenue, County Board District #1
(Jeff Ronaldson)
7. Authorizing Approval of Supplemental Professional Services Agreement for Design Engineering Services (Phase II) with Crawford, Murphy & Tilly, Inc. on Laraway Road (CH 74) from Cedar Road (CH 4) West to Stonebridge Drive, County Board District #12
(Jeff Ronaldson)
8. Authorizing Approval of an IDOT - County Joint Agreement for Improvements on Bell Road (CH 16) from 159th Street to 151st Road, County Board District #7
(Jeff Ronaldson)
9. Authorizing Approval of the Expenditure of REBUILD Illinois Funds ($3,650,000.00) for the Improvements on Bell Road (CH 16) from 159th Street to 151st Street, County Board District #7
(Jeff Ronaldson)
10. Authorizing an Intergovernmental Agreement between the County of Lake (IN), Crete Township Road District, and the County of Will for
Engineering Services and Construction of Traffic Signals at the Intersection of Exchange Street and State Line Road, County Board District #1
(Jeff Ronaldson)
11. Authorizing an Intergovernmental Agreement with the County of Cook for Improvements of 80th Avenue (CH 83) from 191st Street (CH 84) to 183rd Street, County Board Districts #2 and #12
(Jeff Ronaldson)
D. Diversity & Inclusion Committee
E. Public Health & Safety Committee
R. Ventura, Chair
Ms. Ventura stated we had reports at our Committee. I am getting requests from the newspapers and constituents regarding what we are doing with homeless and what we can be doing moving forward. I am not sure if that should be on the Public Health agenda or if it belongs somewhere else. If someone could give guidance, that would be great.
Speaker Cowan stated that is a good point. We can discuss that and determine exactly what the agenda items would need to discussed. Talk with Mr. Palmer and we will figure out a way to move forward.
F. Legislative & Judicial Committee
D. Winfrey, Chair
Ms. Winfrey stated the Legislative & Judicial Committee will meet next week and get an update on the Federal agenda and the Bills recently passed at the State.
Speaker Cowan asked are we expecting to move on the Federal agenda this month?
Ms. Winfrey replied I hope to move forward this month. I should hear later today if that is possible.
G. Capital Improvements Committee
H. Brooks, Jr., Chair
Mr. Brooks reviewed the Resolutions.
1. Discussion Re: Proposed Morgue Project
(Discussion)
2. Discussion Re: Proposed Air Quality Projects
(Discussion)
H. Executive Committee
M. Cowan, Chair
Speaker Cowan reviewed the Resolutions.
1. Appropriating Funds in the Veterans Assistance Commission FY21 Budget for COVID-19 Marketing Campaign
(Discussion)
2. Appropriating Funds in the County Board FY21 Budget for Health Department Public Relations Firm/Communications Manager for COVID 19 Vaccination Communication Strategy
(Discussion)
3. Authorizing the County Executive to Negotiate with Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) for a Coordinated ERA (Emergency Rental Assistance) Program
(County Executive's Office)
4. Authorizing Transfer of Surplus Real Estate Located at the Southeast Corner of Old Chicago Road and DeSelm Road a.k.a. Manteno Road (CH 8) to Wilmington Fire Protection District
(Jeff Ronaldson)
5. Authorizing the Issuance of General Obligation Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source) of the County of Will, Illinois, in an Aggregate Principal Amount not to Exceed $55,000,000 for the Purpose of Financing a Renewable Natural Gas Facility
(Discussion)
6. Establishing an Agricultural Area Committee for Will County
(Colin Duesing)
7. Awarding Bid for LiDAR Data Collection Services
(Greg Johnson)
8. Awarding Bid for Electronics Recycling Collection - One Day Events
(Marta Keane, Kevin Lynn)
9. Renewing Contract for Electronics Recycling Turn Key Collection
(Marta Keane)
VIII. OTHER NEW BUSINESS
Speaker Cowan asked to have three requests added to the Executive Committee: Authorizing the County to Submit an Application for JULIE; Reawarding the Bid for Security Services at Sunny Hill and discussion of a funding request and plan submitted by Ms. Olenek.
Mr. Moustis stated we had a discussion at the Finance Committee and moved forward with some items. I want to make sure everything we did at the Finance Committee is reflected in this report. I would like the Committee to know we are moving forward on some things. We are moving $1 million to the Health Department so they can start some of their programming. Madam Speaker do you want to touch on that so people know what we did at the Finance Committee? I want to make sure the Resolutions moving forward reflect what we did at the Finance Committee.
Speaker Cowan replied I appreciate your attentiveness to those details since we changed a few things. Ms. Howard has assured us that the changes requested at the Finance Committee have been made on the attachments, so they reflect the changes the Finance Committee made regarding the Resolution Transferring Funds in the Executive’s Budget.
Mr. Moustis continued we transferred money for moving a contracted employee to an in-house employee, which I am fine with. I am specifically talking about the Health Department transfer, which was a much larger request; we are going to move $1 million to the Health Department so they can continue their programming around the vaccine delivery and so forth. I want everyone to know we moved money so they can keep going.
Speaker Cowan stated Director Olenek sent an attachment that goes through line-by-line and shows the items and proposed costs for everything they think they need. This is definitely going to be on the agenda.
Mr. Moustis stated I want the world to know the County Board is engaging in COVID delivery and giving additional support so Will County residents can start getting vaccines. At the Public Health Committee meeting, Ms. Olenek went over a lot of these items. I want everyone to know we are moving forward to enhance our COVID vaccine delivery system. The world should understand the County Board was fairly limited on this because the requests were not coming from the Health Department. It is the Health Department’s responsibility, which is a separate unit of County government with a separate Board and takes direction from that Board, not the County Board. After we made inquiries and our citizens have shown frustration there became more dialog between the County Board and the Health Department on what their needs were. We were always supportive, but we are getting more involved and moving money over for additional programming we fund at the County Board, but the implementation is done by the Health Department.
Speaker Cowan stated I appreciate that. Our primary concern, like everyone’s right now and I think I speak for the entire County Board, is we want to make sure our residents can get the vaccine as expeditiously as possible. We know there is a vaccine shortage, that is the main issue; but we want to make sure our County has everything in place to deliver this vaccine once it starts coming in in large numbers. The County Board is definitely committed to making sure we provide any support the Health Department will require. Doing our due diligence is to make sure the process is transparent and open to the public as well. I think we are doing a good job in ushering those requests through and keeping communication open.
Ms. Howard stated I wanted to answer Mr. Moustis’ questions, the attachments have been updated and attached to reflect the recommendation of the Committee.
Ms. Olenek stated I want to assure you the information I provided you regarding the budget; at this time, is our best estimation of our costs. We looked at the current costs for PPE and equipment we have been purchasing. We looked at the personnel numbers from our H1N1 clinics. The numbers may change because I am not sure I have exactly what I need in each pot, but it will give you are good idea on what we intend to spend the money on. We respect and understand transparency as well. As we spend funds or have the needs to make additional requests, we will provide you with whatever information is needed.
Speaker Cowan stated we appreciate you taking the time to provide us with an outline. I am looking at it right now and it detailed, thorough and we understand this is your best estimate. As we have learned over the last 10 months, things change week-to-week; day to-day and sometimes hour-to-hour. We will expect you to keep us updated if you need more funding in a certain areas or if funding is not needed in some areas. Just keep up the communication and we are here to support.
Mr. Harris stated at the Finance Committee there were quite a few other requests the Committee felt we did not have enough information on or were not vetted properly. I would like to request those items be added to the CARES agenda for next Thursday. I think there was a list of items totaling over $600,000 for various requests. We would like to address those items, get moving and make decisions.
1. Motion to Add Three Additional Requests to the Executive Committee Agenda for February 11, 2021
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Jim Moustis, Member SECONDER: Mike Fricilone, Member AYES: Cowan, Mueller, Brooks Jr., Fricilone, Harris, Marcum, Moustis, Ogalla, Parker, Tyson, VanDuyne, Ventura, Winfrey |
X. ACCEPT COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENT REQUESTS
1. Motion to Accept Committee Assignments as Amended
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mike Fricilone, Member SECONDER: Meta Mueller, Vice Chair AYES: Cowan, Mueller, Brooks Jr., Fricilone, Harris, Marcum, Moustis, Ogalla, Parker, Tyson, VanDuyne, Ventura, Winfrey |
Mrs. Ogalla stated I have a situation in my district regarding property leased from the State they purchased for a someday airport that might happen before 2075. The Will Township Road District, a taxing body, has leased a pole barn on a property for 10 years or more. They lease it, maintain the road going in, they put gravel down, a stone base by the barn and mow it so they can get their equipment up and down. They use the building in the winter to store their summer equipment and in the summer they store their winter equipment. They also store slag in there so it is not frozen in a solid pile because you can’t put salt down. It is imperative they are able to do this. They received a 30-day notice to vacate from the State due to tax liabilities incurred on the premises. After a conversation with the Road Commissioner, my thought is the amount of money paid to lease the property is not significant enough to cover the whole tax bill. This is a large piece of property the previous landowner had put into a conservation tree farm. There are thousands of trees planted there with an area where there was a house, a pole barn and a couple of other buildings that have since been knocked down. It is not a separate PIN from the others so I think they are having to pay more because of that. I am looking for a solution because a 30-day notice is not sufficient time for them to find another location, buy the property and build. Will Township has very low tax dollars due to the fact it is completely rural and has a lot of their property bought by the State for the airport. I would like to see if we could help them. Could Ms. Novak explain the increased tax liabilities? After Ms. Novak comments I would like to talk about a couple of solutions.
Ms. Novak clarified IDOT is pulling back the lease with Will Township has. What still exists on the property?
Mrs. Ogalla replied just the pole barn and the trees.
Ms. Novak asked is there any farmland?
Mrs. Ogalla replied I don’t know if it is all trees or if a portion is farmland.
Ms. Novak stated I will have my farm specialist and IDOT specialist look that up. We would put a value on that property that would be sent to IDOT. They would have a parcel number, and depending on what they are using the property for, the pole building would be valued at a market value based on the 2018 Legislation we were able to get through. Instead of properties being valued based on whether they were rented or not and going back to a 2002 value, everything is now assessed at market value, whether they rent it for three or five months. It sounds like the property you are speaking of, they would be paying the value of the pole building. If they decide to farm the parcel, in additional to the conservation, they would receive a tax bill based on the same productivity index we value any farm and the value the conservation is valued at. IDOT is going to pay based on its use just like they pay for the residential properties now, based on a market and assessed value. With conservation they have to have a certificate that says it is conservation. That is something we would have to work with IDOT on and find out what exactly what their intention is to do with that property; the property is going to have a value. Anything IDOT owns, whether it be residential, farm, Bult Field or a pole building, they receive an assessment on the market value and on the farm parcels they will get a separate tax bill. For the residentials, Bult Field and a pole building, Hanson Professional Services receives one, certified from my office on the valuation and tax amount, based on the valuation as 100% on each property, just like any other property anyone else would pay on.
Mrs. Ogalla continued I understand all of that. Why would there be an increase in the tax? Is there a different market value with the legislation? The previous owners planted the trees with CRP/NRCS dollars so tax dollars put these trees in as a tree farm for conservation. I don’t know what the airport plan will be or if it will ever come to fruition. This is a very old pole barn and it is nothing fancy. They said if they don’t lease this property to anybody, then they will not have to pay any taxes on it.
Ms. Novak replied that is incorrect, they will pay just as they pay on any other farm. They will pay based on the conservation or the productivity of the farm and what that is per acre and based on the conservation. The notion it would be tax exempt is incorrect.
Mrs. Ogalla stated it does not make sense because they are going to lose dollars. They paid the taxes through their lease dollars. If they eliminate the lease they are losing money. Is there any other way to do this since Will Township is a taxing entities? Could we create an IGA so they can use the property? I am looking for a solution. February 28th is less than 28 days from now.
Ms. Novak stated both entities are considered tax exempt. Because of the way the legislation is written, anything that is a farm or conservation stewardship, IDOT is still going to get a tax bill on those properties whether they are leased or not, they exist, so they are going to pay, based on the 2018 legislation. With regard to losing dollars I don’t believe that is the situation. When Will Township leased it, Will Township would have been tax exempt because they are like any other township, municipality, city or village. When IDOT takes over the property and its use is conservation stewardship or farm they are going to pay. They will be assessed on that and a bill will be calculated.
Mrs. Ogalla continued a bill will be calculated no matter what. I will have to talk to you more about this. I am not sure if an IGA could be created to find a way around this.
Ms. Novak stated I am not sure why you need an IGA.
Mrs. Ogalla stated I am trying to find a way for them to continue to lease this property. The property is perfect and the building is suitable for their use; there is no electricity and just a dirt floor, besides stone that may have fallen down. It is cost effective to the community because there is no large outlay of money for rent. They pay rent yearly to the State for the property they are using.
Ms. Novak stated IDOT leases several farm parcels to individuals and they will still receive a tax bill. Just like they do on any other farm. We can look up the parcel number. We should look at this before we talk about doing an IGA, unless Mr. Palmer or Mr. Schaben want to weigh in. I believe our office will look at this and be able to handle this.
Mrs. Ogalla stated I am totally aware they lease land to farmers because my husband leases property from the State. We used to lease it from the property owner before the State bought so I know that goes on everywhere. There are also existing homes people rent from IDOT. I don’t know if Mr. Palmer or Mr. Schaben have any input. I can forward a copy of the letter to you, I just received it last night.
Ms. Novak stated typically we deal with IDOT as we are valuing all of these properties. That would be our first step unless Mr. Palmer or Mr. Schaben have a different opinion. I can work with both of them on this situation once I have the parcel number.
Mr. Palmer stated we will get the information from Mrs. Ogalla and work with Mr. Schaben and the Executive’s Office. In the past we have worked with you and IDOT District 1 central office. Mr. Quigley has retired and there is a new District 1 engineer. We can work through our IDOT contacts and see what we can find out.
Ms. Novak stated in the past, we have always worked on the residentials and Bult Field with Hanson Professional Services. On the Agricultural or farms we worked with Terry Tapenbeck, I don’t know Mr. Quigley. That could be who took Mr. Tapenbeck’s spot because I know he retired.
Mr. Palmer stated Tony was the guy for the Chicagoland region. There is now a guy named Mr. Jose Rios who is the head of the Chicagoland region. Ms. Schneider, who is our consultant, was a former IDOT Secretary and she has a lot of contacts in the administration. She would be a good resource for us to talk with. Hanson Professional Services is a vendor IDOT and the State have a contract with to manage the South Suburban Airport footprint. We can check with folks there and see what we can find out for Mrs. Ogalla.
Ms. Novak stated I will share the legislation with Mr. Palmer, Mr. Schaben and Mrs. Ogalla and anyone else who is interested in reading the legislation.
Mrs. Jakaitis announced there were no public comments.
XII. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT/ANNOUNCEMENTS
Speaker Cowan stated we are planning a second orientation for new members, any existing members who want to attend, along with the public, because it is a public meeting, on February 19th. We have not set the exact time, but I wanted to get the word out so you can put a block on your calendar. We are nailing down the details of what the content for the program will be. It will be stuff that will be useful to new members. On February 24th Moving Will County, the organization working on land use strategies in the County is have a virtual public workshop at 6:00 p.m. I need your help getting this information out to constituents so they can join in and feel like they are being heard and their desires, wishes and comments can be on the record. You should have received an e-mail from the Lakota Group about this. Mrs. Adams will forward what I received to all Board Members. Mr. Palmer printed out flyers and is distributing them to Board Members. There are a number of ways you can get this information out, but we really need Board Members’ help in advertising this virtual public workshop on February 24th at 6:00 p.m.
Mr. Palmer stated yesterday was the last steering committee meeting for this study. This is the CMAP land use and truck routing study, but the focus of the public workshop is the land use portion. A number of County representatives were on that call. Last night and this morning we got some toolkits for Board Members. This was talked about in the past and we will be sending it out to you. We will have this flyer printed and Board Members who are willing and able, could distribute this to entities within your districts; coffee shops, barber shops, libraries, township offices or any other places would be helpful. Virtual meetings are tougher but virtual meetings opens it up to a larger audience who may not attend an in-person meeting. We requested and received information to promote this and we have a few weeks, so this would be great to get out to people. If you have questions, let us know and we can give you more details.
Mr. Moustis stated perhaps you should ask all the townships to put it on their websites. They all have websites and I think they would be happy to do that. Send it to Frankfort Township and we will put it up on our website. I am sure some municipalities would be willing to put it on their website. I think it is a good way to get the word out.
Mr. Fricilone asked are we getting the Will County Governmental League involved?
Mr. Palmer replied the Will County Governmental League is one of the steering committee participants along with a number of municipalities. Unfortunately, we have not had in-depth participation of all the key people we would like. This study will complete its work in September. The ideal situation would be for the County to adopt or accept it formally. The point of this was best practice land use planning, land use preservation and the truck routing. Before we get to the end of the study, it might be helpful for the Board to take another look at this and take the opportunity to comment before the final report is done. I can work with the Speaker and get this on an agenda. The Will County Governmental League, IDOT, a number of municipalities and a number of the preservation groups are involved in this work.
Speaker Cowan stated to learn more and participate you can go to MovingWillCounty.org or you text the word moving to 63566. We will make sure Board Members have the e mail that came this morning and the packet of materials. We will distribute the information to the townships and municipalities and ask them to help.
Mr. Moustis stated the genesis of this really comes out of Will County and our efforts for movement of freight, truck routing, land use and quality of life issues. This came out of the efforts to best address the truck congestion or congestion cause by the movement of freight. This is about Will County. We should do as much as we can to promote this and get people involved.
Mr. Palmer stated this is based off of the Will County Community Friendly Freight Mobility study, an award winning study, done by Will County years ago. It is the foundation to better planning. There is an executive summary and a detailed report available for your review. We went to Washington DC and talked not only to our Illinois delegation, but other national legislative leaders on this issue. Will County is unique with our inland port and the numbers are pretty staggering; not only in our role regionally, but in the national economy. If you want more information I am happy to talk to anyone off line.
Speaker Cowan stated I know a lot of you are getting questions from constituents about vaccine rollouts. Please, make sure you are reading the updates from Ms. Olenek. Sometimes they don’t come directly from her, Ms. Tammy Reiher has been sending some out. Make sure you are looking at your e-mails and going through them. I know it is tough to stay on top of all the e-mails we get, but this situation is changing day-by-day. If you want information about the vaccine rollout, make sure you are focusing on e-mails from the Health Department. We get some pretty regular questions as Board Members and there are answers we can be on the same page about right now. I sent out an e-mail asking what the most common questions are you are getting. I will put together responses or what you can say for those questions. I hope to get that out by tomorrow. I want to thank Mr. Gould for his work and suggestions about this. If you have not sent me the list of questions you have been getting, please e-mail me as soon as possible.
Mr. Moustis stated I will be happy to send you an e-mail; but when it comes to COVID, the only questions people are asking is; how can I get vaccinated, when do I go and where do I go. We are working on that. The Health Department is working on that. It is one of the reasons we are giving additional funding so we can take additional volumes of calls so people are not waiting for hours at a time. It is all about people getting the vaccine and getting answers. If you told someone their appointment date, even if it is three or four weeks from now, they are fine because they know when they are going to get it. That really is the focus at this point, especially amongst seniors.
Speaker Cowan agreed and stated the main reason everyone is not vaccinated yet is because we have a lack of vaccines. That is a production issue and production needs to be ramped up. Meanwhile, we are getting a process in place in Will County to be able to handle the vaccines when they come in. One reasons the Health Department can’t schedule people three weeks from now is because they don’t know how many vaccines they will have three weeks from now. They get very little notice on their next shipment and then they have to work very quickly to schedule those appointments just in a few days. They can’t schedule three weeks out because they don’t know if they will get no vaccine doses, 300 or 10,000 vaccine doses that week. That is part of the problem our Health Department is burdened with and they cannot control that until the flow of vaccines is increased and they know they can count on a certain number of vaccines coming in at a certain time. We need to make sure people can get answers to the questions and even when the answer is “we don’t know yet” they are feeling heard and they know that the Health Department is creating a system for vaccine distributions so when we get vaccines we will be able to get them in arms.
Ms. Ventura stated Ms. Olenek talked about creating an automated system where people could go on-line and schedule their own appointments and that could alleviate the phone traffic for those who are able to make appointments on-line. It may create its own issues, but we are taking steps to make this a smoother process. The Health Department is hiring. You can share their website willcountyhealth.org/careers. Ms. Olenek said they were hiring for 24 positions. I don’t know where those are posted, but they are hiring process. I know some people are hurting for jobs so please make sure your constituents are aware.
Mrs. Traynere stated I get calls, e-mails, texts, Facebook Messenger asking how do I get an appointment, how to do I get the vaccine. You are correct, it is the shortage of the vaccine. Other people tell me they have an appointment at Walgreens in Romeoville. What is the best route for them?
Ms. Ventura replied the Health Department partnered with several different public and private partnerships as Biden is doing at the federal level. They partnered with Meijer’s, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, the schools and the fire department so when they make an appointment they are telling them which facility they can go to. The Health Department brokers our vaccines to Will County locations. They can make an appointment through the Health Department and then that is the appointment they are going to, they are not making the appointment at Walgreens.
Mrs. Traynere stated I get that we have brokered with 40 different organizations, it was in the paper. What people don’t understand is that the appointment was only given to them because they registered with the County. I just wanted to know if that is the only avenue. Other people are telling me how they are getting their appointment from their personal physician. Is it just the 40 partner organizations or can it be anywhere? Should people be talking to their physician?
Speaker Cowan replied these are great questions and I want to make sure we are giving out specifically the right answers. I have heard the same thing, and I have a hunch I know some of the answers, but I want to make sure we are giving out accurate, up to date information. Get the questions to me and we will get the right answers and we will get them out to people.
Ms. Mueller stated whoever is answering calls at the Health Department needs to do a better job with their customer service. I understand this is a frustrating time, but they need to do a better job because I am getting a number of complaints about the way people are being treated. I will let Ms. Olenek know.
Mrs. Berkowicz stated in the Naperville Sun newspaper on February 3rd, they had a picture of a person at the Joliet High School where vaccines were available. In the story, they had a picture of a middle aged person getting the vaccine and talked about they had a spot open up, he heard about it and grabbed it. People are upset about the picture because this was not an elderly person, not a doctor or medical person, according to the article. I don’t know how that happened, and I don’t know where they got the vaccines, if they came from the Health Department or not. That is the kind of thing frustrating people. I don’t know if anyone else saw the article, but they had a nice big picture of this young man getting the shot and that is not helping us. When I saw it I thought how did this happen. It is really a difficult situation because we have family and neighbors who have not gotten the shot; neither of my parents have received it and they are in their middle 80’s.
Speaker Cowan asked Mrs. Berkowicz to send the article to her.
Ms. Ventura stated my understanding was done because someone did not show up for their appointment and they did not want the shot to get wasted, it was a fluke thing. I agree with Mrs. Berkowicz this does not help our case, but throwing the vaccine away would not have been the correct thing to do. My understanding was this gentleman was at the right place when the opportunity presented itself. It is not the norm practice, this is what happened and it was to prevent wastefulness.
Speaker Cowan stated certainly we don’t want vaccines to go unused, but when there is a situation when suddenly someone doesn’t show up for their appointment, when people start making last minute decisions and calling whoever they know to come and get a vaccine, that could create some deep disparities in who is able to get the vaccine and who is not. I know the Health Department is aware of this situation and that they are trying to streamline the process as much as possible so these type of things don’t happen. Mrs. Berkowicz your point is noted. Please send me the information and I will try to follow up.
XIII. EXECUTIVE SESSION
XIV. ADJOURNMENT
1. Motion to Adjourn at 11:04 AM
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mike Fricilone, Member SECONDER: Denise E. Winfrey, Member AYES: Cowan, Mueller, Brooks Jr., Fricilone, Harris, Marcum, Moustis, Ogalla, Parker, Tyson, VanDuyne, Ventura, Winfrey |
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