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Logan County Board
August Building and Grounds meeting - part 2
[August 12, 2026]
This article is a continuation
of the August Building and Grounds Meeting report. You can read Part
One by clicking here
The eighth item on the agenda was regarding purchasing a 2008 Ford
F-150 from the Logan County Highway Department for $1,000. Conahan
shared that County Engineer Bret Aukamp had more work to put into
the vehicle, but it was mostly ready. This vehicle would be for the
newly hired part-time Facilities Maintenance worker.
Nelson asked why they would have to purchase a vehicle from the
county since the county’s money was used to purchase the vehicle in
the first place. Conahan explained the truck was purchased from the
Highway Department's budget, and Wessbecher stated that, at the
state level, different departments will charge each other for
things. Nelson did not understand why they would have to purchase
the truck “from themselves.” Wessbecher stated that Aukamp has to
replace the funds he spends out of his budget, and Nelson stated
that all department’s budgets come from the general fund each year,
which in turn is filled from tax levies.
A motion was made to purchase the truck, and the motion was passed
four to one, with Nelson being the only ‘no’ vote.
The next item also involved the part-time Facilities worker. Conahan
shared that the employee would need a gas card to fill up the truck,
should it be passed at the full board meeting, as well as to fill up
the lawn mower. A motion was made for this item and was passed
unanimously.
Fitzpatrick then brought forward an
idea to allow kids to draw on the sidewalk at Scully Park during the
Balloons Over 66 weekend. Fitzpatrick said that Pharis would be
interested in helping. It would be on Friday and Saturday, and the
county would provide the chalk. Conahan stated that they would make
the purchase out of the Community Benefit Fund (CBF).
This was followed by a discussion on a U.S. 250th celebration
mentioned by Wessbecher. The event would be on September 27th and be
hosted by the County Board. They would get the 33rd regiment Civil
War band, as well as a special guest. A motion was made and
unanimously approved.
The next item started simple but became the most contentious issue
of the evening. Walter shared a proposal that B&B Electric had made
for lights on the courthouse dome. The project would put LED lights
in the clock faces. Additionally, they would place flood lights at
the four corners of the courthouse that would shine onto the dome.
This way, the flood lights would not interfere with the clock
lights. This proposal totaled $73,270. Walter referred to this
amount as “fair and legitimate” for the work that would be done.
Conahan shared that they did budget for this item. All the work B&B
has done for the county so far has been good, referencing the lights
at Latham Park.
Nelson asked if they posted an RFP and went out for bid since it
exceeds $30,000. Walter stated that the company CTS was going to
oversee the work as B&B completed it, but now it is just a B&B
project. Nelson stated he wanted to make sure that the county was
doing this in the legal way.
Conahan said he did not think they needed to go out for bid since
this item was approved as part of the initial courthouse renovation
years ago, before he was on the board. This discussion continued,
with Nelson sharing that he felt the county needed to go out for bid
and Conahan sharing that he did not. Walter suggested they take the
item to the State’s Attorney for consideration so they know which
path to go down.
The exchanges continued to get more heated between Nelson and
Conahan. Conahan kept telling Nelson that he was cutting him off,
and Nelson kept making points and interjecting. Nelson made a
comment about people “skirting” around the rules, while Conahan
stated that some people wanted to “nit-pick” their plans. Conahan
stated that they were not going to turn this meeting into a “witch
hunt.”
The exchange came to a head when Nelson began to make another
comment and Conahan slammed his fist on the bench, yelling “excuse
me!” Nelson told Conahan not to “slam your fist at me,” and Conahan
yelled that Nelson was “out of order” and “not recognized by the
chair.” The two continued to go back and forth until Conahan stated
that he would have Pharis remove Nelson from the room. Nelson told
Conahan to have him removed, asking Pharis if he wanted to remove
him.
Things settled back down after that and the committee moved forward.
Turner stated that he agreed with Nelson. Conahan asked if they
wanted to wait to hear from the State’s Attorney and Turner agreed.
The item was then added to old business for next month.
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The 13th item on
the agenda was about a possible expansion to the pickleball
court at Scully Park. Conahan stated that he sees a lot of
people playing pickleball at the court, and Turner said that he
liked the idea. Wessbecher shared he had reached out to the
builder of the first one for a price. He shared the second would
be a bit smaller, as it would not need as much space around the
court. The current court has so much space for people to put on
and take off their skates when the county converts the court
into an ice-skating rink. This item was also added to old
business until a quote was received.
The final two items under new business
were regarding 12-month service contracts with companies working at
the courthouse. The first was with DHM for continued quarterly
maintenance of the heating and cooling systems. The county already
has this contract but it is increasing from $20,000 for the year to
$29,500. The second contract was with Jaytech Water Solutions for
maintenance on the geothermal system in the amount of $3,800.
Conahan stated this contract was also the same as their current but
was increasing as well. Both contracts were unanimously passed to
the Workshop meeting.
The last action item on the agenda was a single use of grounds
request for the use of Scully Park on September 17th for Recovery
Oriented Systems of Care’s annual Walk 4 Recovery. The committee
stated that the only item they were waiting for with this was proof
of liability insurance. The committee approved it and sent it on to
Workshop.
Conahan then invited Nelson to give an update on Latham Park. Nelson
was not present for this item when it was briefly discussed at the
start of the meeting. Nelson shared that the work is expected to be
done by this Friday. There was an issue with the foundation for the
vista spinner that was corrected. Nelson was told there may be
additional cost but has not received anything on that.
Conahan shared that the part-time facilities worker Chris Neaville
was working on the Scully Park fountain today and had to call the
police. According to Conahan, someone came over to the fountain,
started yelling, and then jumped in and started taking some of the
money that was at the bottom of the fountain.
Public comments followed and there were two. Elias shared some
information and opinions. She stated that Kevin Bateman sent out an
email about a parking ban around the courthouse that is going to be
in place on August 27th and 28th. She also offered her office as an
alternative space for the Sojourn when tile work is being done
outside the Sojourn’s office.
Additionally, she asked the committee to re-evaluate its wants and
needs list. She said that she felt that lights were less important
than the interior elevator that needs work. Conahan spoke for a bit,
stating that not all money is able to be spent on all other
projects, and that the committee has moved things around,
referencing the exterior elevator work that was started months ago
and is wrapping up now. Turner stated that he liked the idea of a
wants and needs list, and Walter stated that they have one, but can
certainly update it since things have changed since it was made.
The second and final comment was from
Nelson. He started by stating that all board members are the same
and have the same right to challenge decisions being made. No one
has the right to cut other board members off or threaten to kick
them out for doing this. They should not “let a position get to our
heads.” Nelson repeated his point about thinking that the county
should go out for bid on the lights.
After Nelson’s comment, Conahan repeated that they were going to
wait to hear back from the State’s Attorney. He told Nelson that, if
he feels that he is not doing a good job as chair, he would gladly
step down and let Nelson take the role. He wanted everyone to be
respectful and have decorum. Nelson went to speak again, but Conahan
entertained a motion to adjourn. No one brought forward that motion,
and Turner stated that he felt they should let Nelson have one last
say before they adjourned. Nelson made one more comment, and Turner
made the motion to adjourn and Nelson seconded.
[Matt Boutcher]
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