County Board - Regular Meeting

Good evening everyone. It is 5:30. So I'm going to call the MLAN County uh regular board meeting to order. Uh and we will start with item number two, invocation or moment of silence. That is uh member Leia Klein.

Yes. my apologies. Um, this evening I want to sort of extend women his women's history month by a little bit. Um, and bring you some information from a woman named Jane Adams who was a Chicago based reformer, social worker, and Nobel Peace Prize laurate who dedicated her life to public service and the idea that democracy depends on our responsibility to one another. I offer you a few words from her book, Democracy and Social Ethics, written in 1902. The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life. The lesson of democracy is that we are bound together not only in what we achieve but in what we fail to achieve. We cannot be content in our with our own advancement while others are left without opportunity.

I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the stands one nation indivisibley and justice for all. Thank you all. Madam clerk, if you'll call the role. Val Layman, present. Ryan Leler, Mike O'Neal here. Adam Reeves here. Jim Rogal, present. Natalie Roseman Mendoza, present. Jeff Tommpkins here. Andy Zeber, here. Brian Bankert, here. Corey Burn, present. Beverly Bell, present. Mark Claus, present. Leah Klene, present.

Alex Duffy, present. Sean Fagan present. Buck Farley here. William John Frederick here. Eric Hansen is absent. William Beasler here. Chair Elizabeth Johnston. And I am here. All right. That means we do have a quorum. So we will proceed with the meeting. Um item number five, appearance by member of the public or county employees. Miss Taylor. We have had one request this evening. I'd like to call up Kelly Lei. If you'd like to come up to the microphone, you'll have three minutes. Welcome. Thank you. Can you hear me? Yes.

Lovely. Uh I'm here to speak to you today. You'll be um have an item from the zoning board in front of you tonight. Um I ask uh that you consider Mlan County's goals when we're considering zoning. Uh this is an azoned area. Uh, I have been advocating for the last several years for small food and farm businesses, specifically those whose guiding Northstar is feeding healthy, highquality food to MLAN County in how that they can make sure that their businesses are resilient and growing. One of those ways is by adopting some light public appearances and activities on their farm. This is not a agurism full-fledged. We're not talking about farms that have the capacity or desire to grow to raiders, but rather farms that would love to be able to teach a class about how to prune your fruit trees. Perhaps have a class on canning tomatoes or to sell extra plants from their own uh plant growing for their own fields to the same people who would grow them in their gardens and have that nutritious food. uh in the zoning uh code, MLAN County sets out agriculture as a guiding northstar for the county and it has a uh paragraph about um residential drift. So, we're talking about folks that buy a home to enjoy all of the benefits of rural living and then end up living next to farms. I think when you review your zoning uh agenda, you'll find a farm like what I'm talking about, the Shire of Illinois, who asked for a special use permit in order to have small classes, self-limited themselves to just 14 days of events to make sure they were not unduly burdening the residences next to

them and asked to have a plant cell so that my own farm and theirs could sell the extra plants from our own production to the public. The zoning board chose to uh deny the plant sale for a property that is zoned agg that has adequate onfarmm parking for a permit that is void if there is off-farm parking for the stated uh reason that there might be offfarm parking but they did approve uh classes. I'm hoping that when you review that, you'll consider what uh you as a county board uh believe to be your guiding northstar in protecting agriculture in MLAN County.

Thank you. Thank you. All right, moving on. Item number six, the consent agenda. May I have a motion? Motion by Farley, second by Burn. Any comments or questions on the consent agenda? Yes. Member Friedrich. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'd like to pull uh item 6 C1D as David off of consent for discussion. Thank you. Any other comments or questions? Seeing none, all in favor of item six say I. I.

Any opposed? Motion passes. All right. So that brings us moving on to item number seven and that is our standing committee. So 7A executive committee with vice chair Rogal. Thank you madam chair. The executive committee brings four items tonight for action. The first one is 7 A1A which is request approval emergency appropriation ordinance amending the MLAN county fiscal year 2025 combined annual appropriation budget ordinance fund 00001. And I so moved.

Thank you. You may have a second by member Fagan. Comments or questions? Seeing none, all in favor of item 7 A1A say I. I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Next up, we have 7A1B. Request approval of an emergency appropriate appropriation ordinance amending the MLAN County fiscal year 2026 combined annual appropriation and budget ordinance fund 0007. And I so move. Thank you. May I have a second? Second by member Leler. Comments or questions? Yes, member Bler.

I will need to abstain from this item due to a conflict of interest with my employer. Thank you. Any further comments or questions? Seeing none, all in favor of item 7 A1B say I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Next we have 7 A1C which is request approval of an intergovernmental agreement with the US Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration charging and fueling infrastructure program. And I so move. Thank you. May I have a second? Second by member Bessler. Comments or questions? Seeing none, all in favor of item 7 A1C say I. I.

Any opposed? Motion passes. And last up we have 7D1D, request approval of an proposed MLAN County Board strategic plan. And I so move.

Thank you. May I have a second? Second by member Duffy. I do have a quick comment about this. This is our strategic plan. Um this was a plan that was the development process occurred between October 2025 and February 2026. There's a process that included hiring consultant to lead the process. Our consultant conducted 37 interviews with board members, elected officials, and department heads. Additionally, we had 10 employee focus groups that were facilitated. Two public openhouse meetings were held as well as stakeholder meetings with over 20 community leaders to initially get feedback. Information from all these sources sources was synthesized by our consultant into a framework that was reviewed by our steering group. Our steering group was comprised of 11 functional uh members of staff cross functional members of staff and if they are present tonight I would please ask them to stand when their name is announced and be recognized for their work on this. It was quite a hall and quite a time commitment and I appreciate everyone who was there. Rebecca McNeel, Tim Wy, Jerry Stokes, Rhonda Flegel, Tim Gorzac, Rachel Nicler, Susanna Montoya. Unfortunately, she was out of training, so she is not here tonight. uh Matt Lane, Sheriff Matt Lane, Hadley Welsh, John Albby, and Cassie Taylor. Thank you so much for your work. Any comments or questions about the strategic P plan? Seeing none, all in favor of item 7 A1D say I.

I. Any opposed? Motion passes. The executive board has no more items for action tonight. Um, and we have no items to be presented. Uh, our general report can be found on pages 28 to 38 of the unapproved minutes and I can answer any questions if anyone has any. Thank you so much. All right, moving on to item 7B and that is finance committee with finance chair Val Layman. Thank you very much, madam chair. Uh, the finance committee has one item to be presented for action this evening. Item 7B1A is the request approval of an emergency appropriation ordinance amending the MLAN county fiscal year 2025 combined annual appropriation and budget ordinance for the county clerk and ISO move.

Thank you. May I have a second? Second by Farley. Any comments or questions? Seeing none, all in favor of item 7B1A say I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Chair Lman. Thank you, Madam Chair. The finance committee has no other items to be uh presented for action this evening. We do have our general report that can be found on pages 17 to 27 of the unapproved minutes packet. Thank you so much. Moving on to item 7 C, Health Committee with uh Health Committee Chair Burn.

Thank you, Chair. Health Committee brings two items for action tonight. Item C1A request approval of an emergency appropriation ordinance amending the MLAN County fiscal year 2025 combined annual appropriation budget ordinance. This is for the nursing home end of year funds and I so move. Thank you. May I have a second? Second by member Tomkins. Any comments or questions? Seeing none, all in favor of item 7 C1A say I. I. Any opposed? Motion passes.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Moving on. Uh item 7 C1B request approval of an emergency appropriation ordinance amending the MLAN county fiscal year 2026 combined annual appropriation budget ordinance for one 0105. This is the health department and I so move. Thank you. May I have a second? Second by member Bell. Comments or questions? Seeing none, all in favor of item 7 C1B say I. I. Any opposed? Motion passes.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Health Spyron brings health committee brings no other items for action today. Uh a couple announcements, a couple uh updates. Uh the health committee had a relatively light agenda this month, but a busy and consequential one at that. Uh the MLAN County nursing home is in its third and final phase of its construction. It is well underways. This phase encompasses the 400 wing and general admin wing, which includes the kitchen, laundry, and most of the offices. Again, we are grateful to the city of Bloomington for assisting us with our temporary temporary kitchen facilities and the MLAN County Jail assisting with temporary laundry facilities. Jail med staff at the uh continues to provide medical and mental health care services to residents of the jail. Would like to congratulate nurse Melissa. She was recently honored with a compassion award in recognition of her exceptional commitment to patient care. She demonstrated extraordinary dedication by exceeding standard expectations to support a patient in need reflecting the core values of the health care team. The health uh department has released its annual report highlighting its commitment to community health initiatives, data-driven decisions, and workplace development. Board of Health did not meet in April, but will meet in May. And two very big uh announcements I'm very excited about. Uh funds raised with our shared sales tax partnership with the town of Normal and the city of Bloomington are again being distributed to several community mental health and social service partners through the behavioral health coordinating committee. With the passage of several items in the consent agenda, we're pleased to finalize the support of these agencies in the amount of over $1.7 million in through including $300,000 to the Home Sweet Home, $650,000 to Lifelong Access, $130,000 to the Babyfold, $170,000 in the MLAN County Center for Human Services among many other partners. Heartfelt thanks to our partners with the town and the city. We look forward to continuing to support these agencies for years to come. Lastly, I'm very pleased to announce that our funding request the federal government last month for upgrading water infrastructure in east side neighborhood Colonial Meadows has moved to the next step. After meeting with Republican Congressman Darren Lehood, we've learned that repres Senator Le Hood has approved our funding request

and will include it in his list of requests for appropriation. Uh this is step one of about six. There's still a long way to go, but we are very pleased that the congressman heard us and is moving our request forward. Thank you so much. All right. Um with no other business, we will move on to item 7D, justice committee with uh vice chair Roguel. Thank you again, Madam Chair. Justice Committee brings three items tonight for action. First one is 7D1A, which is request approval and emergency appropriation ordinance amending the MLAN County fiscal year 2026 combined annual appropriation and budget ordinance for the court services department. And I so move.

Thank you. May I have a second? Second by member Fagan. Any comments or questions? Seeing none, all in favor of item 7D1A, say I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Next up, we have 7D1B, request approval of the CASA VOCA continuation grant agreement with the state of Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority. And I so move. Thank you. May I have a second? Second by member Farley. Any comments or questions? Seeing none, all in favor of item 7D1B, say I. Any opposed? Motion passes.

Last up, we have 7D1C. Request approval of an intergovernmental agreement between the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services and MLAN County States Attorney. And I so move. Thank you. May I have a second? Second by member Zebarth. Any comments or questions? Seeing none, all in favor of item 7D1C say I. I. Any opposed? Motion passes. The justice committee has no other items for action. Our general report can be found on pages 13 through 16 of the unapproved minutes and I can answer any questions if anyone has any. Thank you. I will move on to item 7E and that is property committee with property chair Valman.

Thank you chair Johnston. The property committee has six items to be presented for action this evening. The first is uh 7E1A, the request approval of an emergency appropriation ordinance amending the MLAN County fiscal year 2025 combined annual appropriation and budget ordinance EOY and I so move. Thank you. May I have a second? Second by member Duffy. Comments or questions? Seeing none, all in favor of item 7E1A say I. I.

Any opposed? Motion passes. Right. Item 7E1B is the request approval of a grant agreement between the state of Illinois Department of Commerce and the Economic Opportunity and County of MLAN and ISO move. Thank you. May I have a second? Second by member Leler. Comments or questions? Seeing none, all in favor of item 7E1B say I.

Any opposed? Motion passes. Item 7E1C is the request approval of an emergency appropriation ordinance amending the MLAN County fiscal year 2025 combined annual appropriation and budget ordinance for the DCEO grant. And I so move. Thank you. May I have a second? Second by Rosema Mendoza. Any comments or questions? Seeing none, all in favor of item 7E1C say I.

Any opposed? Motion passes. 7E1D takes us to the request approval of an emergency appropriation ordinance amending the MLAN County fiscal year 2025 combined annual appropriation and budget ordinance for the EECBG grant and ISO move. Thank you. May I have a second? Second by member Bler. Comments or questions? Seeing none, all in favor of item 7E1D say I. I.

Any opposed? Motion passes. And 7E1E is a request approval for the emergency appropriation ordinance amending the MLAN county fiscal year 2026 combined annual appropriation budget ordinance for the EE CVG grant and I so move. Thank you. May I have a second? Second by member Fagan. Comments or questions? Seeing none, all in favor of item 7E1E say I.

Any opposed? Motion passes. And finally, 7E1F is a request approval of the emergency appropriation ordinance amending the MLAN County fiscal year 2026 combined annual appropriation and budget ordinance for the animal services building. And I so move. Thank you. May I have a second? Second by member Klene. Comments or questions? Seeing none, all in favor of item 7E1F say I. I.

Any opposed? Motion passes. Chair Johnston, the property committee has no other items to be presented for action this evening. Do want to bring your attention to our uh general report, which is pages 39 to 41 in the unapproved minutes packet. Happy to answer any additional questions. Thank you. Uh moving on to item 7F, that is land use and transportation. Uh with that, committee chair Leah Klein.

Thank you so much, Chairperson Johnston. Um the land use and transportation committee brings two items for action this evening. The first item F1A is the request approval of documentation for an Illinois Department of Transportation FY2027 section 5311 formula applica application for rural areas operating assistance. Subsection one, resolution authorizing execution and amendment of sub of section 5311 grant agreement for fiscal year 2027. Subsection two, public transportation applicant ordinance. and subsection 3 acceptance of labor protection special warranty resolution and I so move.

Thank you. May I have a second? Second by member Duffy. Comments or questions? Seeing none, all in favor of item 7F1A say I. I.

Any opposed? Motion passes. Okay. F1B approve the application of Tanda Renewables LLC by next camp in case SU2605 on parcel 166400-001. It is requesting a special use to allow a commercial solar energy generating facility and a battery energy storage system or BES in the agricultural district on property in Blue Mountain Township immediately northwest of the intersection of 1900 North Road and 2500 East Road. And I so move. Thank you. May I have a second? Second by member Bessler. Comments or questions? Yes, member Friedrich.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, if it would please the board that we could send this back concerning u fire hazards, runoff, um, and maybe they could do a little corrective wording on our zoning. That's my request. Okay. Further discussion, comments, questions? Yes, I would just comment for the good of the board that this has been discussed with the chairperson of the ZBA so they are aware of this.

Thank you. Any other comments or questions? I believe there were some concerns uh from a timing standpoint with some of the new rules and I wanted to consult our assistant states attorney to make sure that we from the time of the first hearing that we can meet the deadline. Is that correct? We still have We now have timing requirements. Not yet. Not till is that June 1st or June? After the public hearing, um the statute states that the county needs to make a decision within 30 days of the conclusion of the hearing. Um

is is that correct for best at this point? because the rules for I thought that pertains to the solar uh application when they're all wrapped into one application as this one is. Um I'm assuming that that rule would apply but I didn't look into that specific question.

Okay. In that case, forgive me. In that case, can we advance in part and deny in part? potentially. I'm not 100% certain off the top of my head, but I can look into that for you. Comments and questions on on how we want to move forward given that we don't have a clear answer on the ability to split approval of one piece with the deadline. Yes, Vice Chair Regal.

So, probably a question for u Mr. RDE. Um, what date was this then approved by zoning and when would it h when would that 30-day ending date be that would have to be acted upon? The uh zoning hearing for the case involving the solar farm was on uh April 7th, the evening of April 7th. Um, so looking at the calendar, it looks like it would be uh May 7th would be that 30-day deadline,

which I believe would require to go through the zoning and to have a special board meeting to meet that ex that deadline. If we send it back for specific questions on the issue of fire hazards and things like that, does that impact that 30-day since we're asking for specific clarification? the the statute simply says upon the conclusion of the hearing uh the county must make a sighting and permitting decision uh no longer than 30 days from the date of the hearing. Um so the hearing has been held so I would think that uh that clock is running uh despite any additional questions that there might come up in the meantime. So I suppose my bigger my my question is maybe get into a deeper discussion of what are the concerns that we feel require sending it back for clarification.

Yes, Mr. Ber. Um over the time that these bests have come into existence, there's been some confusion I believe as to fire control for different battery technologies and that that is a moving uh fluid uh discussion because different batteries require different types of suppression and I think there does exist some confusion with the different fire departments um volunteer or in m municipalities and the the fire suppression technology is also changing and I I feel like there would be an opportunity to clarify how to move forward on these best systems that would help all the different fire protection districts and the communities better understand what it looks like to suppress the the fires. And not to mention, you know, we are we're are dealing with something that is located in rural districts with obvious uh different types of forage adjacent to and it the wind does like to blow in Illinois. So, um I think I think some clarification would help uh bring to light um the opportunities that exist um to help everyone out

given the tight Thank you for that explanation. I appreciate and your expertise from being on the board for so long uh for the zoning board of appeals. Um, is there an opportunity to have a zoning board of appeals meeting sooner than the regular scheduled one? It's already on the 5th. It's within the 30 days, but it still needs to come back to this board. Correct. So, we would need to schedule on the 6th or the 7th. Member Burn, if the meeting is on the 5th, would that restart the timeline? That's what we were saying. We don't believe it does. The hearing has concluded. Therefore, the clock has started. Sending it back does not restart the clock.

Member Klein,

a question for the states attorney. Um, we have in the past approved recommendations from the zoning board of appeals and added our own stipulations. Can we would it be possible to add a stipulation that they return the applicant returns to the zoning board of appeals on the question of their best to provide further evidence and information about their fire safety plan on the best alone not on the solar part? I'm not certain I have a concrete answer. I haven't actually seen the application. So it's my understanding that they are kind of uh merged into one. It's not a separate application for best and separate application for solar as as I understand it. Um I know with the wind and solar applications, the statute lays out the the different standards and and rules that the county can apply. Um, and we can't really include any uh stipulations that are beyond the scope of what's contained in the statute. Um, but with it being aimed towards the best, that does add an extra uh nuance to it. But with them being wrapped up in the same application, I'm not sure if uh if that would be in line with uh the language of the statute.

Okay. So, a second possibility. Correct. We have um uh Mr. Dick here. I think if we have a question, but could we add a stipulation for that same presentation of information before they are before they may be issued a building permit? That is to say, accept the special use permit, but to provide the stipulation that before they can be issued a building permit, they have to provide that. It

it's just additional information about the the safety measures pertaining to the vest. Is that my understanding? Yes, that that's what they're asking for. Is that is that something that is seems feasible, Mr. Dick, to ask for that additional information before Mr. Dick, if you could join us, come to the podium, please. I would appreciate it. We're gonna show up again. I think you have to wave the rules before you can let me speak.

Uh I believe the chair may invite anyone in the room to participate. Okay. Uh one of the things I was concerned about is if you would send it back to the zoning board, we would have to republish that. We have to p so we couldn't make it to the May 5th uh zoning board meeting. We we already have those published last Saturday or though they actually are going to be in the paper on this Saturday. Okay. Is it feasible to add the stipulation or request the applicant to provide this additional information um before the issuance of the building permit?

I think you could add stipulations at this point without sending it back if that's your question. So, I don't know if Mr. Banger or um Mr. Friedrich want to think of some language that we could

I that's it. Um I'm not an expert on fire suppression um and codes per se. So I couldn't other than lay out a very broad and general request for the latest techniques. Uh the issue is a lot of these batteries they they're of different makeup and composition and the first couple we passed were different than the ones we are currently or may have in the future and they all require different methods of treatment to put the fire out. One guy says or one is uh you can put it out with fire. One is absolutely no fire and chemicals. They're a unique animal. Uh it's common in Europe. They've they're way ahead of us on techniques and safety protocols. So I just want the latest and greatest international fire suppression code

if that's possible. A point of information, Mr. Mr. Petri, the the the fire district is the MLAN fire district. Is that right? That's there. Well, all rule. No, I understand. But in this specific case, what fire? This is Blue Mound. Blue Mountain. Yeah. Yeah.

If you would look at the stip one of the stipulations, it says it will be designed and installed accordance with the international fire code, national electric code, and relevant UL standards for battery systems. So it and they submitted a a 75page uh safety uh plan for this best facility. So I it it was it was actually a very thorough plan. This is actually the first time that we ever had a stipulation that it had to be in accordance with the international fire code. And I think that's partly Miss Klein uh what you came up with with uh discussing this with the Bloomington fire chief.

Right. Thank you so much. Did they do you know, Mr. Dick, did they provide that information to the Blue Mound Volunteer Fire Department? They have met with the Blue Mound Fire Department and they will have to do more uh before they would actually get a building permit. I had remembered putting that in that that we had passed that and discussed using the international fire codes to address this particular issue. We had it. We Yes. In the last case, correct. and and they actually included that in their application that they wouldn't meet that,

which we did that for the explicit purpose because we can't keep up with when they're making changes. And so to reference the their latest version as the safety standard was meant to kind of bypass needing to continually update um our standards and just apply their standards to us. Is that that's that's what we had completed before and that is what they are intending to adhere to. Yes, that's what they put in. Yes, Vice Chair Rogal,

just a question for you, Mr. Dick. Um, you said they have to do a lot more. Does that mean like training and and things like that for that fire department or what is that does that I guess I'm I'm guessing that that's part of the the questions from the township and the the fire protection district is they're not up they themselves aren't up to speed on different ways to put out the fire or how they should address it. Does that is that going to be is that part of it? I haven't read the application so I'm not positive. Uh, as far as they've done so far, what we wanted to make sure of is that they'd been in communication with the fire district and before they get a building permit, they'll have to show that they've met with them and and come up with some kind of a plan uh to deal with fires if and when they occur.

Yes, Mr. Member Zebarth. Thank you. Uh, question in regards to the stipulation outlining uh that they will meet the current international fire codes. Is is there a process to which post building um or uh you know finishing the the site that there's a validation that all aspects require that called out and required in the code are present in their design and the capabilities would function as intended. Is is that is that part of the process? Yes. Okay. Further comments or questions? Yes, member Banger.

Yes, Mr. Dick. Um, if if Blue Mound was involved with the case and being brought up to speed with this, is there any situation where outside fire districts could be called in for a fire that they may not be as wellversed as in this in this blue mound? Or is it is all the fire districts going to have the same information? I don't think they'll all have the same information. I think it's Octavia that's the district that this is in. Uh but uh they will have to at least meet with them and uh I I believe they have that arrangement where they call other uh fire uh agencies if they have a serious fire.

Okay. I'm just in case there's an issue where the left hand and the right hand don't know if if more than one district's called in, we want to make sure that the right and left hand are able to be on the same page and they're all fighting the same same fire, the same way, I guess. So I don't know else

I I think the thing that you brought up earlier that is the main concern would be if there was a grass fire or that kind of a thing and that's what what they would have to mainly deal with so that the if there is a fire on the side it wouldn't go and and cause uh some of the corn stalks or whatever to start burning and then also that no one would be injured and that's the training that they would basically be doing. Okay. Thank you.

Okay. Any other further discussion, thoughts about uh sending it back given the time constraints, given the uh hurdles that have to be jumped in order to try to meet that time constraint. I don't think that it's even feasible from a time w timeline perspective. Member Klein, I would just sort of say after this discussion, um, I respect the reason for pulling it, but I'm satisfied that if they're following the international fire codes and they have already been in communication with this responding fire department, that that sort of meets the higher standard that we set the last time we approved one of these.

Um, so from my perspective with that further information and I thank you, Mr. Dick, I feel comfortable accepting it to move forward. Other comments or questions? Seeing none, the vote on the the motion on the floor is to advance this to pass it um and move it forward rather than send it back to the ZBA. Um so all in favor of item 7 F1B, say I.

Any opposed? motion. One opposition motion passes. All right, check line. Okay, that's like the longest land use and transportation has ever taken. Um, so just to sort of say, um, our general report can be found in the unapproved minutes packet, pages 5 through nine. And I'm happy to answer any other questions that you may have. Thank you. Moving on to item 7G, and that is county administrator, Miss Taylor. Thank you. I have nothing to present this evening.

Thank you. Uh moving on to other business and communication. Um I do want to thank the um immense amount of work that our behavioral health team has put in uh to our shared sales tax as was mentioned by member Burn. Um I also want to thank our local providers. Um when we put out the notice of funding opportunities uh they came and they showed up. uh they created plans for uh expanding and enhancing services for the benefit of our community and I'm grateful to them for their service to the county. Uh the other piece that I wanted to bring bring up was um MLAN County had our our first legislative lobby day. Um we took our legislative subcommittee down uh the majority of it down to Springfield to lobby part of our legislative agenda. Um, and I if if Vice Chair Rogal would like to speak on that, I feel like we had a very um successful meeting. I do want to uh thank in particular the members who took time out of their absurdly busy day um to meet with us. Um, so we met with uh member Chung, we met with Senator Kaylor, we met with um uh member Daring, member Bunting, member Balka, uh Senator Balka, um member Tips Hord, and I am blanking on district three, the doctor

Howder. Yes, member Hower um took time out of their day. Um and at the end of the day, the capstone to our day was um we did get a chance to sit down with the Senate President um Harmon um to talk about our concerns and to talk about kind of the highlights of what we felt would be um most likely to be successful uh during the session. So, Vice Chair Regal, did you have anything to add?

Sure. I I think it was a good step in the right direction. In the past, I think the legislative subcommittee has gone down and testified against bills or in favor of bills, but have not engaged our uh legislative caucus um on a regular basis. Um so, in addition to the breakfast that we did at the beginning of the year, this is actually going down after a lot of the bills that we said we wanted or supported. Um um whether or not they've gotten out of committee at this point, we're down to that point where third reading deadline is. So, our list of things that we wanted or support was much smaller and it was more focused. Um, and I think both sides of the aisle were very receptive to what we were asking them for and what we were trying to support and get done. So, I think in the long run it'll be a good thing for the county.

Excellent. Any other communication? Yes, vice chair. Me again. Um, so it is now spring. Um, in addition to watching out for the farmers as they begin planting, um, next week is actually work zone safety awareness week. So, as the farmers are putting in their crops, we also see the cropping up of the orange cones, which is our other big, uh, harvested crop this year. Um, so watch out for workers as they begin working on the road. Um, slow down when you see the orange signs and cones. Uh, remember they're trying to work and they need to get home safe to their families as well. Thank you, Vice Chair Gal. Any other comments? Member Tomkins?

Yes. It's uh with deep sorrow that I just want to inform the board that former board member, longtime serving board member George went, has entered hospice care as of last night. We'll be thinking of his family. Thoughts and prayers if you would. Thank you. Yep. Thinking of his family for sure. Yes, member Fagan.

Thank you, Chair. Uh I would like to remind everybody that the traditional workers Memorial Day is April 28th. There will be a service at 6:00 am at White Oak Park. Uh during that service, the names of all the workers who have died on the job or because of job related illness is read every year. Uh it's a solemn service. Uh it's really nice. If you have a chance, uh I encourage everybody to attend. Thank you. Any other communication for the good of the community, the good of the board? I thank you for your service and we are adjourned.