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Logan County Board
July Safety Committee Meeting
[July 15, 2026]
On Tuesday, July 14th, the
Safety Committee of the larger Logan County Board held their monthly
meeting in the first-floor courtroom of the Logan County Courthouse
starting a little after 5:30 p.m. All members of the committee were
present including Chairman Kevin Knauer, Vice Chairman Kathy
Schmidt, Bob Sanders, JR Glenn, and Lance Conahan.
After guests and the previous month’s minutes were approved, Knauer
moved the committee on to the only item under new business, an
animal control contract with townships and villages. Knauer shared
that he did some research and had come up with increases.
Schmidt asked about the contract with Lincoln. Conahan stated that
the contract was already worked out and was $50,000 or $52,000. The
committee discussed termination dates for the contracts, with Glenn
warning that, should the county have contracts that all expire at
different times, the committee may miss renewing one. The idea of
renewing them all around the fiscal year so they can budget for it
was brought up. A motion was made to move this item on to the
Workshop meeting and passed unanimously.
Next was the report from Animal Control. Animal Control Warden Jane
Whiteman stated that things were going well. The only items of
concern were finding someone to pick up the bodies of animals and
finding a freezer. Whiteman said she had a lead on the former.
Knauer then asked Whiteman about a
few budget items that were brought to his attention by Bellwether.
Bellwether is the company the County Board hired last year to assist
in the creation of their fiscal year 2026 (FY26) budget. Knauer
stated that the budget items for their phones were almost at their
limit for the year and asked about her two phones. Whiteman informed
the committee that there was only one phone, and it was determined
that someone should investigate why the county was paying for two
lines.
Knauer asked about their electric bill jumping in price. Whiteman
stated that she also noticed this jump, but that gas usage was down.
Schmidt brought up the fact that the county was being charged a late
fee on some of the bills and encouraged Whiteman to make sure to get
the bills paid on time. Whiteman responded by informing the
committee that the bills do not get paid when she is not in the
office. She stated that she has not been in the office due to the
amount of work she has been doing around the county. Whiteman was
asked about the veterinarian she works with and she shared that, due
to not having a contract with a vet, they currently use Timbercrest
at a discounted rate.
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Knauer moved on to
the Sheriff’s report. Chief Deputy Josh Pharis was once again
present to give this report. He started by giving “kudos” to
Animal Control, stating that a county resident had brought a
lost dog to his house. He called Animal Control and they got the
dog back to its owner very quickly. He then stated that, due to
some issues with the sewers and a few other things, there was a
setback to the Logan County Safety Complex expansion. While
O’Shea Builders was originally set to be finished around the
middle of August, they are now projected to finish in
mid-September.
Pharis stated they were looking at
purchasing some new vehicles and had found them for around $63,000.
Additionally, he shared that the county has two deputies who are
halfway through training, with one being at the top of her class and
the other being in the top ten. Pharis ended his report by sharing
that, from now on, the Sheriff’s Department is going to have two
officers present at the courthouse for all county board meetings,
himself being one.
After Pharis’ update, Glenn asked about the possibility of giving
Board members a tour of the expansion once it was complete, to which
Pharis stated that it would be possible. Glenn also wanted to know
about how O’Shea was to work with, and Pharis described them as
“nothing but delightful.”
Pharis next gave the Emergency Management Agency (EMA) report. He
started by sharing the date and time for a hazard mitigation meeting
that is going to be held later this week. Pharis explained that they
are working on emergency plans for the Logan County Fairgrounds and
the Balloons Over 66 Festival. He was sure to give a shoutout to EMA
volunteers that worked to inform the public of the severe weather
that the county experienced over the last few weeks. He said that
the county has “great volunteers in EMA.”
The coroner’s report was the final report. Logan County Coroner Don
Peasley was present and shared only two pieces of information.
First, there had been four autopsies in June, bringing the total for
the year up to fifteen, and that there had been 23 deaths last
month.
After all the reports, the budget review was conducted and then the
committee approved their bills. Since there were no public comments,
the meeting was adjourned.
[Matt Boutcher]
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