The Administrative Services Committee of the DeKalb County Board met Wednesday, July 3, 2002 at 7:00 p.m. at the DeKalb County Government Administrative Building’s Conference Room East. Chairman Steimel called the meeting to order. Present were Ms. Conway, Mr. Hoffman, Mr. Hutcheson, Ms. Leifheit, Mr. Morreale, Mr. Pritchard, Ms. Tobias, and Mr. Wilson. Also present were Ms. Joan Berkes-Hanson, Mr. Ray Bockman, Mr. Ken Campbell, Mr. Terry Hannan, Mr. Gary Hanson, Ms. Christine Johnson and Mr. Greg Millburg.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Mr. Hutcheson moved, seconded by Ms. Tobias to accept the minutes of June 5, 2002. Motion carried unanimously by a voice vote.

 

Mr. Wilson moved, seconded by Mr. Hoffman to approve the agenda. Motion carried unanimously by a voice vote.

 

Chairman Steimel offered Mr. Hanson time go over the 2003 Budget Calendar (a copy of which will be placed on file along with these minutes in the Finance Office). Mr. Hanson, briefly went over the calendar and noted the timeline of events from the July 3, 2002 Administrative Services meeting through November 20, 2002 when the budget is adopted by the County Board. This procedure uses the same process as the past several years. There are two opportunities early in the process for Board members to be involved in the process. The first is to meet individually, if desired, with the County Administrator and the Deputy County Administrator and discuss any budget concerns that the Board member may have. These should be done by August 9^th. The second opportunity is to submit study issues (Form "O" due by August 7, 2002) for items which the Board member should receive special focus during the budget process.

Mr. Wilson moved, seconded by Ms. Leifheit to approve the 2003 Budget Calendar. Motion carried unanimously by a voice vote.

 

                The committee was mailed a letter from Terry Hannan, Forest Preserve Superintendent dated June 18, 2002 proposing a finance plan for the Kirkland property (a copy of which will be placed on file along with the minutes in the Finance Office). The Finance Plan states that the 293.3 acre Kirkland property be purchased at the end of July. DeKalb County would loan the $1,2000.00 to the Forest Preserve District for the land purchase and be reimbursed with $674,500 O.L.T. grant money (assuming I.D.N.R. certifies the appraisal), the $150,000.00 I.C.E.F. grant money, $50,000.00 Forest Preserve District money and $5,000.00 from the DeKalb County Community Foundation. (This $879,500 in grant and donation money will be reimbursed to the County by November 1, 2002). The balance of the $320,500.00 would be asked to be a 2 year no interest loan from DeKalb County Special Funds. The Forest Preserve District and others would try to reduce the balance any way it can. If at the end of 2 years the balance has not been paid off, the Forest Preserve District is responsible to mortgage the balance through a bank or through the County.

                Mr. Hannan also distributed a pamphlet on the DeKalb County Forest Preserve District and a handout detailing the "Acquisition Project." (The Acquisition Project and map are on file in the Finance Office with these minutes.) The property is located along the South Branch of the Kishwaukee River northwest of Kirkland, Illinois and is the former Calumet Council Boy Scout Camp. It was bought by a developer several years ago, and is now available for sale for conservation purposes. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) has acquired 582 acres of the former camp located south of the river, and the Forest Preserve District will acquire 300 acres as an addition to the 48-acre MacQueen Forest Preserve located on the north side of the river.

                Mr. Morreale gave the committee background information into the history of the Forest Preserve Districts steps to acquire the property and the efforts to raise the $3.7 million of which they are short $330,000.00. To purchase the property he listed three alternatives. 1) Ask the County for a loan; 2) Get a mortgage; 3)Public Mortgage with an interest-free loan. Mr. Morreale and Mr. Hannan displayed a map of the area diagramming the proposed land acquisition.

                He stated that the Forest Preserve District has very limited taxing capabilities, and has pursued this project with the understanding that it will need to form a partnership with the State I.D.N.R. and other groups to acquire and restore the land. Many benefits can come from this partnership such as the road. The District has submitted an application to the IDNR for an Open Land Trust grant to fund one-half of the fair market value to help acquire the land located north of the river. The Natural Land Institute has committed to provide part of the match for the Open Land Trust grant to help the Forest Preserve District acquire the 300 acres. The Forest Preserve District is seeking other public and private funds to help share in the acquisition cost for the land.

            Mr. Hannan detailed the ecological importance of the project by summarizing the importance of the natural vegetation that exists (Floodplain forest, Upland forest, Sedge meadow/wet prairie, Sedge meadow/wet prairie, and Oxbow marsh). He also reported on fish and wildlife occupancy of the land. The Kishwaukee River is rated a "Class B" (highly valued aquatic resource) by IDNR. He stated the district currently owns 792 acres of land, but falls short of the national standard of 10 acres of regional open space lands for every 1000 people. This acquisition of the 300 acres of land will close the gap in the recreational standards set by the National Park and Recreation Association in meeting open space recreational requirements. Mr. Hannan stated that Jerry Paulsen of The Natural Land Institute will present a slide show at the July 16, 2002 meeting at 6:00 p.m. for more information on the property.

            Chairman Steimel asked for discussion. Entry ways, parking, gates, on-site manager, future development, and activities all were discussed. Ms. Tobias informed the committee the Midweek newspaper had a beneficial article about the acquisition in this week’s paper.

Joan Berkes-Hanson, Director of the Information Management Office mailed the committee background information needed for her update of IMO (a copy of which will be placed on file along with the minutes in the Finance Office). She noted some trends since the creation of IMO in 1999. The trends include:

1. Significant levels of dependency to the Internet, intranet, and e-mail

2. Users expect more network service

3. Departments are moving to a more centralized view of IMO’s function which changes frequently.

She described the major areas of responsibility which included:

• Administrative

• Network Services

• Web

• Training

• GIS

• Department’s Databases/Developments

• Challenges of the Department

            Ms. Berkes-Hanson, reported the biggest projects were the Infrastructure Upgrades which now offers gigabit speed, and upgrades to the Circuit Clerk’s Office, Sheriff’s Office, Finance Office and Updating the Disaster Avoidance/Recover Plan for the County. GIS completed work on the E911 map project and is progressing with the ability to view maps through the Property Tax System, transfer maps via .pdf (Adobe Acrobat) files and have had an increase in data orders. Database designs are being looked at for Mental Health, State’s Attorney, and Nursing Home. Training is on-going and includes e-mail, phone system, as well as Infocenter and Internet instruction.

            Upcoming projects include the HAN (Health Alert Network) Build-Out Grants who offer to enable local health agencies to create or "build out" existing network for stable internet access. These monies are for response preparedness planning as a result of the 9-11 terrorist attack last year. The Health Department will receive a significant amount of funding to upgrade their network and that will benefit the entire County’s network. Another upcoming project will be to move the Information Management Office to a centralized location at the Administration Building from the Public Safety Building. Chairman Steimel thanked Ms. Berkes-Hanson for her report.

Respectfully submitted,

_____________________
Roger Steimel, Chairman

_____________________
Lisa K. Sanderson
Secretary