County approves sheriff appointment • Kaylor to be sworn in Friday

Commissioner Jeff Brugger made a motion to approve the recommendation, with Commissioner Jerel Childers seconding the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Massac County Circuit Court Judge Cord Wittig will officially swear Kaylor in Friday at noon at the Massac County Courthouse Annex.

During the meeting Farmer presented Holder a plaque commemorating his 20 years of service with Massac County Sheriff’s Department and his 40 years of experience and service in the law enforcement field.

During Kaylor’s report to the board, he said the air conditioning units at the annex had been checked and seem to be running better. He brought up the subject of having the elevators cleaned. The commissioners pointed out he may have to reach out to a cleaning company like Servall or similar company to deal with cleaning residue from bird droppings.

The only other item he mentioned was the fire alarm system at the annex. Kaylor said the batteries had been replaced, but the company which services the fire alarm system discovered a problem with one of the boards in the system malfunctioning. The company is supposed to send him information on how much it will cost to have it replaced.

Also visiting the meeting Tuesday morning were Lara Dawson of RQAW and Dale Rudloff, with Heartland Mechanical to discuss the status of the Phase Two courthouse renovation. Dawson said the mechanical punch list is supposed to be done today.

Installation will begin on Monday, Sept. 9 on new doors. Rudloff said there was a problem initially in starting the air conditioning units, but they are working properly now. His crews had changed the filters in the air conditioning units after two weeks, and says there should not be as much dust as there has been.

According to Rudloff, the gas line has not been re-connected at the meter yet. Brugger said he would make a call about that.

Dawson explained to the commissioners some money from the contingency fund could be credited back to the county. She said the money could also be applied toward adding more time to the service agreement with Heartland Mechanical Systems. Rudloff said the county had purchased a year of service, but they could extend the maintenance agreement at the same price.

Massac County Treasurer Jody Haverkamp gave the board the weekly financial report, which indicated a county general fund balance of $8366, which she explained is lower because the reimbursement from the highway department is not included in the balance.

She said as of Monday, the treasurer’s office has collected $5.4 million in real estate tax money and about $21,500 in mobile home taxes. Of the $5.4 million close to $500,000 has been collected at City National Bank and $100,000 has been collected through the new online payment system.

She also reported Thursday is the due date for the first installment of property taxes.

The commissioners approved a motion modifying the Massac County Highway Department’s County line item for materials in the Unit Motor Fuel budget. County Highway Engineer Joe Matesevac explained he will transfer $36,789 out of the department’s reserves in order to increase the line item for materials to $233,814. The purpose of the increase is to purchase and install approximately three loads of road oil and chipping material for the maintenance operations on road district roads.

Matesevac told the board the department is about two-thirds finished with the oil and chipping.

In other business, the board:

• Signed routine paperwork for General Assistance Supervisor Lori Walters.

• Approved a resolution allowing the sale of the surplus property located at 802 Ferry Street to Mike and Karla Souders for $100, with the stipulation they will tear down the house. According to Farmer the Souders’ plan is to construct a commercial building on the lot.

• Approved a lease with Shawnee Development Council for office space in the Massac County Courthouse. The amount is $350 per month and will be valid from September 1 through December of 2020.

• Spoke to Highway Department employee Kevin Foss, who said he still has a couple of outstanding medical bills. Haverkamp returned to the meeting and said she had released all medical bills that were outstanding last month and she told Foss she would contact Baptist Health and Mutual Medical to see where these bills came from. The total was around $500.

• And, approved the appointment of Brian Bunting to the Fort Massac Water District. The term began Aug. 20 and will expire May 1, 2020.