Carbondale Reporter

Jackson County Legislative and Public Safety Committee met July 11.

Here is the minutes as provided by the committee:

Call to Order (5:00 PM)

Members Present: Comparato, D. Bost, Larkin, Maxwell, Mendoza, Jr. and Mueller

Members Absent: Burke

Also Present: John S. Rendleman, Julie Peterson, Liz Hunter, Andrew Erbes, Tamiko Mueller, Robert Burns, Mike Carr, Dan Brenner,

Jeff Whitbeck, Derek Misener, Sarah Parker, Bart Hagston, Analisa Parker, Jesslyn Jobe, Georgeann Hartzog, Chris Drung, Stacey Ballard

Approval of Minutes

I. 17-2613 June 13, 2017 Minutes

A motion was made by D. Bost, seconded by Maxwell, to approve the June 13, 2017 minutes as

presented. The motion carried by unanimous vote.

Health Department & Solid Waste

II. 17-2614 Jackson County Health Department

Parker reported that the State budget veto was overridden and IDPH (which is 44% of the JCHD

budget) was funded at $54.65 million, including a small gain i the local health protection

funding. The news is positive, including an additional $40,000 to reduce death and ill health

effects of tobacco use, but the specific impact for JCHD is unknown at this time. Mosquito

trapping and testing for West Nile Virus (WNV) has been going on for about a month. No WNV

has been detected through this trapping. The behavioral health action committee of the

Healthy Communities Coalition is planning a town hall meeting on addiction and the opioid

crisis so pleas mark your calendars for September 12 at 5:30 pm at the Carbondale Civic

Center. The third annual "You Have the Right to Be Happy" even Saturday, October 14 will be

from 1-3 pm and serves as a mental health resource fair at the Carbondale University

Mall. Both events will be reinforcing a regional position to make mental health stigma

free. Eclipse planning continues, with JCHD continuing o participate in regional planning with

multiple partners. A graphic of estimates of visitors by location is attached. Jennifer Fuller at

WSIU is planning a public health series of interviews to highlight public health news changes

over time. One piece will be on "HIV/AIDS Then and Now" to highlight the 19-county successes

JCHD has helping people with HIV suppress the virus, as well as new efforts to increase the

number of health care providers using PREP-a daily pill-to keep high risk HIV negative people

from contracting the virus.

III. 17-2615 Solid Waste Enforcement

Mr. Terry completed two inspections or field visits at open dumping/open burning sites, they

were revisits. No citizen complaints were received, one landfill inspection and one landfill field

visit were completed. Mr. Terry's last day was July 6, 2017. The Health Department has hired

Deborah Johnson on June 26th, 2017 to replace Mr. Terry. Also, Kyle Scerena, the JCHD food

and sewage inspector has been trained and received his IEPA certification.

IV. 17-2616 Solid Waste Fund Update

See attachment.

V. 17-2617 Solid Waste Management Plan Update

Nothing to report this month.

VI. 17-2618 Recycling Program

Mr. Gale licensed twelve waste haulers and two renderers in accordance with the Jackson

County Waste Management Ordinance; this is the same number as last year. Ms. Gale sent a

couple of licensing packets to new haulers in the area.

Emergency Management

Ambulance Service

VII. 17-2619 Approval for Medicare Provider Enrollment Validation

A motion was made by Maxwell, seconded by Comparato, to authorize the Ambulance Director

to sign the Medicare Provider Enrollment Validation. The motion carried by unanimous vote.

VIII. 17-2620 Ambulance Monthly Claims

A motion was made by D. Bost, seconded by Comparato, to approve the Ambulance monthly

claims in the amount of $31,082.09. The motion carried by unanimous vote.

IX. 17-2621 Ambulance Director's Report

a. Accounts Receivable Cash

b. Activity Report

See attachment.

Legislative

X. 17-2622 County Raffle Ordinance

The committee reviewed the requested changes to the ordinance.

A motion was made by Comparato, seconded by Maxwell, to approve the Ordinance

Establishing a System for the Licensing of Organizations to Operate Raffles and Poker Runs in

the County of Jackson, Illinois. The motion carried by unanimous vote.

XI. 17-2623 Safe & Welcoming Communities Resolution

Larkin started the discussion by stating that original resolution is from the Southern Illinois

Immigrant Rights group and the State's Attorney's Office has made some revisions and the

committee has that one. Maxwell made a motion and Mueller seconded to adopt the State's

Attorney's Office revised resolution. Carr began by reminding the members that the County

Board has no authority to tell the Sheriff what to do. He went on to remind the members that

the county currently has a contract with the US Marshall's and a COPS grant they just approved

last month that may be affected by this resolution. Carr also stated that the board can, of

course, pass the resolution but the Sheriff is under no obligation to comply with the policy. He

agrees that dealing with immigration rights is a tremendous problem and a political issue that

the federal government is tasked to deal with. The State's Attorney's Office removed sections

two and five because they may pose a legal risk. Comparato inquired about what the potential

conflicts may be and Carr gave several examples. Comparato asked if the resolution is

inconsistent with current policy and if there are any specific laws that deal with section five;

both response were no. Carr then pointed out that some circumstances may require that the

Sheriff's office do the things mentioned in section five. Comparato pointed out that the

Sheriff's Office is not required to assist federal officers and Carr disagreed. Larkin explained that

the officer cannot be separated from the Sheriff's Office and section five may put the them in

positions where an officer does something in the course of their job that could leave the office

open for liability. Carr reiterated that he cannot advice his clients to become involved in

anything that may generate a potential for a lawsuit. Larkin stated that he does not disagree

with the spirit of the original resolution but that removing sections two and five does not

change the spirit of the resolution. Comparato explained that he was looking for clarification

from the State's Attorney's Office because the suggested changes to resolution did not come

with explanations to the committee. He went on to say that he believes the board does have a

right and responsibility to make policy and to make a statement to the community about law

enforcement in the county. He continued by emphasizing that it is clear that the county does

not have a role in enforcing immigration that is the job of the federal government, but there

are stories everyday in the news about local law enforcement taking it upon themselves to

become involved in the issues addressed in section five. Comparato stated he thinks it is

important to have section five in the resolution and that is why the Southern Illinois

Immigrant Rights group proposed section five. Maxwell agreed with what Comparato

stated. Mueller stated that she would like to see a small group work together to reword

sections two and five so they can be incorporated with taking a way the importance of not

discriminating against anyone and allowing the Sheriff's Office to "do their job". Larkin stated

that he does not think there is a local problem with the Sheriff's Office doing any of the things

mentioned however there is merit in stating it out loud and he is comfortable with leaving out

sections two and five. He also reminded the citizens that they have a say in how the Sheriff's

Office is run each election since the Sheriff is an elected official. D. Bost gave some history

about the jail expansion and the Build America Bonds and how working with the federal

government allows the bond payments to be made. He stated he is concerned about this

resolution will affect that relationship. D. Bost also thanked the group for submitting the

information on the process for becoming a citizen. Rendleman stated that he thinks it is

important for the County Board to say Welcome whether or not section two and five are in the

resolution. He went on to say that the message is getting lost in the discussion, the message

that the county wants to send is that Jackson County is a welcoming place to those who want to

come here and when you come here know that we enforce the law equally because that is the

law. Peterson stated that she appreciates everyone comments and wants to remind everyone

that being fair on every level does not create democracy. Also, this county should have

something that tells our citizens that we welcome them. Jim Chapman of Carbondale began by

stating that he is an attorney also and does not want to get into a discussion with Carr but he

has a specialty also, he is a Federal Courts advisory and teaches lawyers about bring civil rights

cases against the county jail and others. He thinks it is important to remember that the

Sheriff's Office is and independent office and no one can tell him how to run his office. When

he met with Carr and Burns he was told that those things are already being done and that the

housing of prisoners is completely separate issue. Then he said that everyone should be frank

about the fact that this resolution has no legal significance, it is a wish from the community that

the county board say what the concern is, the impact on the community and the need for

people from all walks of life to be part of the community. This is a clear welcome that people

will not be persecuted, a strong statement and he encouraged the board to pass the original

resolution. A student from Carbondale read a prepared statement about what the resolution

means to her and those she knows and she asked the committee to pass the resolution. A

doctor from Center for Medical Arts spoke about the fear of families to participate in health

services, fear of driving, fear of calling a police when a crime has been committed because they

do not know what will happen to them. She asked the committee to pass the resolution as it

was written. Mueller requested to amend the motion to include section five but she would like

to see more collaboration and communication before this gets to the board. Maxwell withdrew

his motion and made a new motion to approve the orginial motion and Mueller

seconded. Comparato addressed the committee and asked that regardless of how an individual

member feels he encourages everyone to put this forward to the full board for discussion. A

roll call vote was taken.

A motion was made by Maxwell, seconded by Mueller, to approve the Resolution Establishing

Jackson County as a Safe and Welcoming County. The motion carried by the following vote:

Yes: 6 - Comparato, D. Bost, Larkin, Maxwell, Mendoza, Jr. and Mueller

Absent: 1 - Burke

XII. 17-2624 Animal Control Contract, Ordinance and Policies

Larkin stated that he would like to see the county create an RFP and go out for bid for the

contract that is currently with the Humane Society. He would also like to see clearly defined

expectations. Brenner stated that the ordinance covers a lot of what the committee has been

discussing. Ballard with the Illinois Department of Agriculture stated that she and Nelson have

been working on some wording regarding temperatures and shelters. Larkin asked her to have

something to the committee coordinator by August 7th and that it be sent to the Health

Department, State's Attorney's office and the committee prior to the August Committee

meeting.

Citizen Comments

Old Business

New Business

Adjourn (6:17 PM)

Maxwell moved and D. Bost seconded to adjourn, motion carried.

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