Carbondale Reporter

Jackson County Legislative and Public Safety Committee met May 12.

Here is the minutes provided by the committee:

Call to Order (5:00 PM)

Members Present: Basden II, Calandro, Comparato, Erbes, Mueller and Snyder

Members Absent: Morris

Also present: Sheriff Robert Burns, Jennifer Lindsey, Orval Rowe, Bart Hagston, Kenton Schafer

Approval of Minutes

I. 20-5008 Approval of April 14, 2020 minutes

A motion was made by Comparato, seconded by Erbes, to approve the April 14, 2020 minutes as presented. The motion carried by unanimous vote.

Animal Control

II. 20-5009 Animal Control Monthly Update

The County Administrator updated the committee on the number of animal incidents that have been reported for the last month to the County office. She also noted that interviews for an animal control officer were being completed this week and the goal is to have a person hired, trained and ready to begin work by May 26th.

Health Department & Solid Waste

III. 20-5010 Jackson County Health Department

Hagston reported that the Health Department has been dealing with COVID-19 and he relayed the following information:

169 cases to date in Jackson County; 10 deaths; 112 removed from isolation; 47 active cases. 86 total cases from Jackson County residents from either employees or family members of Gilster Mary Lee in Randolph County. The Health Department has had no new cases from Manor Court in 19 days. 3 people there are still in isolation.

Hagston noted that the Health Department has been working tirelessly to update their social media pages, website, and news releases.They have also been pushing out PPE to healthcare providers.

Erbes questioned if the Health Department has dealt with much defiance of the Governor's current Executive Order. Hagston responded that for the most part, people were complying and that the Health Department is spending time educating people on the current issues and easily the disease can be spread.

Mueller questioned whether masks were really effective and whether there was a FAQ on the departments website. Hagston replied that any mask will provide protection and that yes there was a FAQ on the website for people to read.

Calandro commented that he had spoken with Chairman Larkin and noted that the County is following the Governor's Executive Order when it came to re-opening the County.

IV. 20-5011 Solid Waste Enforcement

Hagston reported that there were 7 inspections to open dumping sites last month. 2 were revisits to existing sites, 5 were new site visits. There were also 5 citizen complaints and no landfill inspections.

V. 20-5012 Solid Waste Fund Update

Hagston reported that there was no Solid Waste Fund Update this month.

VI. 20-5013 Recycling Program

Haston reported that the current collection events scheduled for June have been postponed to the fall and decisions will be made at a later date on whether those events will occur.

Emergency Management

Rowe reported that this was day 56 of the operation of the Emergency Operation Center at the Sheriff's office. So far they ha ve received 148,074 items of the 134,883 that have been ordered.

Ambulance Service

VII. 20-5014 Ambulance Monthly Claims

A motion was made by Erbes, seconded by Comparato, to approve payment of the Ambulance Monthly Claims in the amount of $21,831.92. The motion carried by unanimous vote.

VIII. 20-5015 Director's Report

Schafer reported the following:

Monthly Claims: $21,831.98 Accounts Receivable Cash: $424,948.57 Activity Report: 684 patient care reports for 656 incidents. 0 livery (May 2019 numbers: 841 patient care reports for 811 incidents for EMS. 30 Livery transports)

Other Information: COVID-19 has definitely affected the call volume, as it has with most EMS agencies across the nation, with the exception of the identified hot-spot areas.

The Ambulance Service received $90,761.98 from HHS (Federal Medicare) as a supplemental grant to offset costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic specifically related to decreased call volume. HHS based this amount on the Medicare billable calls in 2019. For accounting purposes this has been marked as grant money and the office will be required to submit cost reports at the discretion of HHS to justify how this money was used to offset the response to this pandemic. Preliminary numbers indicate a significant reduction i n revenue of approximately $84,000 taking into account only the hospital to hospital transfers compared figures from March 18-April 18 of 2019 to 2020 respectively. It did not account for emergency calls, which would have far surpassed the amount of the grant money received. Additionally, HHS has opened up another grant opportunity to help further offset costs associated with other payers, including auto, private pay, and commercial insurance.

The Department is working on a cooperative regional grant through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant in cooperation with Carbondale and Murphysboro Fire Departments.

Carbondale has agreed to be the host agency for the grant. They have submitted a request for PAPRs (Powered Air Purifying Respirators). The grant was s pecific to PPE purchase or replacement, as a group it has been determined the best investment for the communities would be the availability of these devices. Any shortages in PPE availability would not interfere with the ability to provide safety equipment to staff and respond to emergencies. These devices are approved to replace the N95 fit tested disposable masks, and no longer require annual fit testing.

The Department has installed UVC lamp air purifiers in all of the stations HVAC systems. These purifiers clean the air and make the environment safer for all of the staff. The total cost with installation is $1,797.00. There was sufficient money budgeted in building maintenance to cover this unexpected cost. Air conditioning units are being installed in the apparatus bays at Carbondale and Murphysboro. This budgeted expense is a result of the IDPH temperature control requirements that were instituted last year to protect the drugs carried on our ambulances from ambient temperatures exceeding 85 degrees Fahrenheit.

Legislative

IX. 20-5018 Board By-Law Changes

Calandro suggested that the committee take the notes of the suggested changes and review them so the committee would be able to make a decision on whether to approve the changes or disregard the topic. Basden commented that this item has been on the agenda for 3 months and that this item should not be pushed off any further. Comparato agreed, but understands the situation with the COVID-19 Pandemic. The final agreement was to review the suggested changes, move to next months agenda, and make a final decision in June.

Citizen Comments

Old Business

New Business

Executive Session

Adjourn (5:38 PM)

Comparato moved and Snyder seconded to adjourn, motion carried.

https://www.jacksoncounty-il.gov/Home/Components/MeetingsManager/MeetingMinutes/ShowPrimaryDocument/?minutesID=5178&isPub=True&includeTrash=False