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Logan County Board
August Safety and Finance Committee meetings
[August 12, 2026]
The Safety and Finance
Committees of the larger Logan County Board held their monthly
meetings on Tuesday, August 11th. The meetings were held
back-to-back in the first-floor courtroom of the Logan County
Courthouse. Three off five committee members attended the Safety
meeting including Chairman Kevin Knauer, Vice Chairman Kathy
Schmidt, and Lance Conahan. JR Glenn and Bob Sanders were absent.
Fellow board member Dale Nelson was also in attendance but not a
member of the Safety Committee.
Knauer started the meeting with the approval of the previous month’s
meeting minutes. He then asked if any of the committee members had
any items for old business. Seeing there were none, he moved on to
the one item under new business.
The item was a resolution to approve Logan County Animal Control
contracts with Logan County cities, towns, and villages. These
contracts do not include the city of Lincoln. Conahan asked if these
contracts were month-to-month, and Knauer informed him that they
were. Knauer stated that, ideally, in December, each of the
contracts would become year-long contracts, but each area could
choose to keep it monthly. A motion was made to pass this
resolution, and it was approved unanimously.
Knauer moved on to the Animal Control report. He stated that Jane
Whiteman was on a horse rescue and unable to attend the meeting but
had submitted her report in writing. There were no comments about
the report.
The Sheriff’s report followed presented by Chief Deputy Josh Pharis.
He started with the county jail expansion, stating that they are
hoping to finish the expansion by mid-September. After that, they
would be working on connecting the existing structure to the new
structure. Cell doors are in place, painting work is being done, and
the padded room is complete.
The next item was an issue the
Atlanta Police Department is having at the golf course. Complaints
have received from golfers that someone living in a home on the golf
course has been shooting off firearms. Pharis stated that, because
the golf course nor the resident’s home are within city limits, they
are legally allowed to shoot so long as they are not doing so in an
“unsafe manner.”
Pharis’ explained that the Atlanta PD were wondering if the county
would consider entertaining an ordinance that would disallow this.
Knauer asked how this would differ between situations like the one
described and situations where the property owner did not live near
anyone. He wanted to know what neighboring counties do regarding
these types of issues. Pharis did not have a clear answer to either
question.
Pharis then moved on to his next item, stating that the Sheriff’s
Department was getting two new graduates from academy, which is
partially reimbursed by the state. They have also got two new
telecommunicators. They had finished their fair detail with the
Lincoln PD and things had gone really well.
Pharis shared that the Sheriff’s Department recently worked with the
state police and received a call from them that their department did
great work.
Knauer asked about vacancies that Pharis has and if the new hires
will fill them. Pharis stated that he will still have vacancies.
Pharis next talked about the Emergency Management Agency (EMA). The
EMA put together their command post at the fair, and they want to
expand that for next year. He said EMA coordinator Josh Gasparini
has done great work.
The coroner’s report was next. Don Peasley was present to give the
report. He stated that there had been three autopsies and nineteen
deaths in the last month, and that this was about average.
Nelson next spoke up. He had spoken to Judge Wright, and he
mentioned the number of felonies in the county was down this year.
According to Nelson, Judge Wright explained that normally at this
point in the year the county is sitting at around 350 felonies. This
year that number is around 100. Knauer asked Pharis if the new
Safety Act changes previous felonies to misdemeanors. Pharis said
that it does, and that this could be part of the reason, but there
were a few other things that could be causing the number drop as
well.
Nelson additionally stated that Judge Wright said the number of
orders of protections had almost tripled since last year.
After the discussion ended, the bills were approved and Knauer
opened the floor for public comments. There were none and a motion
was made to adjourn.
After a short break the finance meeting began just after 6:00 p.m.
This meeting was attended by four of the five members, including
Chairman Joseph Kuhlman, Vice Chairman Schmidt, Nelson, and Conahan.
Keenan Leesman was absent. Knauer stayed for this meeting.
The previous month’s Finance meeting minutes were approved. There
was no old business on the agenda, so Kuhlman moved right on to the
seven items under new business. He started with the last two items
on the agenda, a Logan County Tourism Bureau (LCTB) quarterly report
and a request for an additional $10,000 of annual funding for a
two-year contract.
Molly Pickering, the president of
the LCTB, gave the report. She started by mentioning LCTB’s
accomplishments, starting with the hiring of a new executive
director. She emphasized that this is a requirement to keep their
Certified Visitor’s Bureau status, which gives them the ability to
apply for grants they otherwise would not have access to.
Pickering shared they expanded their board by adding representatives
from Atlanta, Elkhart, Lincoln, and a New Holland board member who
is set to be voted on in August. They were listening to feedback
from locals to help guide their decisions.
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Pickering spoke on
advertising stating that they had received a $32,000 grant to
advertise Lincoln and the surrounding communities. They
advertised outside Logan County, and the ads were well received
by those who saw them both inside and outside of the county
Pickering continued that they had secured a Route 66 grant in
the amount of $455,000. This grant was only given to a few
select groups with LCTB being one. This money was used to
restore the windmill at The Mill, purchase Route 66 benches in
Elkhart, two new murals, and to help pay for the Route 66 museum
in Lincoln.
There were also LCTB “mini grants. She stated that they put up
$10,000 in small grants that community organizations could apply
for. According to Pickering, the interest “greatly exceeded”
what they were expecting, and over $20,000 of requests were
filed.
Pickering shared some of the returns the county was getting for
their money. She said that, for the $30,000 they gave, they were
able to acquire approximately another half million dollars in
funding. The LCTB’s goal is to reduce their “long term reliance
on public funding,” such as the funding from the county and the
city.
This then brought Pickering to the LCTB’s request for an
additional $10,000 of yearly funding. Their rationale was to
create a "competitive" salary for their executive director
position. Their hope is to attract someone who will be able to
write effective grants and secure additional future funding for
them. With their budget what it is, they are left with $57,000
per year for all operational costs of the LCTB, including the
salary of the executive director.
Nelson asked Pickering if the LCTB was eligible for the Viper
Mine Grant. She stated that they would be, and are interested,
but would need to apply under a taxing body such as the county.
He also asked where the additional funds would be coming from,
and Conahan stated from the Community Benefit Fund (CBF). Nelson
stated that this could be a problem since the CBF does not have
any source of revenue to refill it at this point.
Conahan stated that Nelson’s point was a good one. Both he and
Kuhlman are on the LCTB board, and they have been hearing good
things from the surrounding communities on what the LCTB has
been doing. He shared that there is something coming down the
pipeline that could serve to allow for future funds for things
like the LCTB without having to rely on taxpayer money. Conahan
declined to speak on the item any more specifically.
Pickering and the committee then began to speak on some upcoming
projects around the county, with Conahan sharing that Elkhart
proposed a mural to be placed on grain bins, and Pickering
stating that Atlanta is going to place some of the original
Route 66 bricks in the road outside of the Giants Museum. Knauer
spoke up, and said he met with some representatives from
Sangamon County and determined they were very interested in
working with Logan County on the bike path they are looking into
continuing from Williamsville up through Atlanta and to the
county line.
A motion was made to approve the two-year funding agreement with
the LCTB with an additional $10,000 in funding. The item was
unanimously approved and moved on to the Workshop meeting on
Thursday.
Kuhlman next went back to the first
item on the agenda, that being a CBF request for the Logan County
Fair by Glenn. It was shared that the fair board had selected a
night to run the rides from 4 to 7 p.m. with the lights and sounds
off for kids with sensory issues. The county agreed to contribute
$1,500 to help cover the overtime that the fair workers would have
for starting early. This was a formality to just get all the
paperwork in order since the fair was already over.
The next item was a Logan County Soil and Water Conservation
District Request for $4,000. Kuhlman explained this was a yearly fee
the county pays. Conahan asked Treasurer Penny Thomas, who was
present, if this is something they have had on the budget before.
Thomas said it has been for several years. A motion was made and the
item was unanimously approved.
The committee then discussed items three and four together. These
were cost of living adjustment (COLA) increases, one for the Sheriff
and one for the Public Defender. Thomas stated that the COLA
increases are set by the state every year. They fill out a voucher
and send it to the Illinois Department of Revenue for the increased
amount. The state then reimburses the county for approximately
two-thirds of the cost. Both items were voted on separately and both
were approved unanimously.
The final item on the agenda was a discussion about Illinois House
Bill 4537. Thomas spoke once more, stating that the county has two
choices. Either they can continue tax sales as they always have, or
they can choose to have all the parcels go to the trustees, which
would be Joseph E Meyer & Associates out of Edwardsville. The
trustees then manage all the paperwork on the properties for the
county. Thomas stated that the tax sales are usually posted in the
first week of October, and the decision would have to be made at
least two weeks before then.
There was no public comment, which brought the committee to the end
of the meeting. Before the committee could adjourn, Conahan made a
motion to go into executive session under personnel matters.
Everyone was then asked to leave as the committee finished its final
order of business.
[Matt Boutcher]
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