Kendall County Times

Kendall County Health & Environment Committee met July 11.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

CALL TO ORDER

The meeting was called to order by Chair Robyn Vickers at 8:30a.m.

ROLL CALL

Attendee	Status	Arrived	Left Meeting
Robyn Vickers	Here
Ruben Rodriguez	Here
Elizabeth Flowers	Absent
Scott Gengler	Here
Judy Gilmour	Here

With four members present, a quorum was determined for the conducting of committee business.

STAFF PRESENT: Matt Asselmeier, Brian Holdiman, Scott Koeppel, Aaron Rybski, RaeAnn VanGundy

APPROVAL OF AGENDA – Member Rodriguez made a motion to approve the agenda, second by Member Gengler. With four members present in agreement, the motion carried by a vote of 4-0.

APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MONTHS MINUTES – Member Gilmour made a motion to approve the June 13, 2022 meeting minutes, second by Member Gengler. With four members present in agreement, the motion carried by a vote of 4-0.

STATUS REPORTS

⮚ Board of Health – Health Department Executive Director Van Gundy reported that they have completed their five-year Strategic Plan including goals and funding, and will present it to the board of Health next week, and the County Board in August. She said they began in February, gathering results from the Health Department workforce, outside entities, and their leadership team.

⮚ Health Department – No report

⮚ Kendall County Soil and Water District – Alyse Olson stated they had the used oil drive in June with Illinois Recovery Group from Coal City and collected over 1300 gallons of used oil, anti-freeze and filters.

They also hosted a webinar on the use of covered crops in gardens and small acre farms. With guests Ashley Hammock, a soil scientist and Jason Hong, Farm Manager with Green Organic Farms in Naperville. There were 19 attendees, the recording was posted on their website.

Ag in the Classroom Update: Arial Beauchamp has been busy with summer camps, conferences and other activities. Arial will begin with her lessons for the upcoming school year soon.

⮚ Water Related Groups – Matt Asselmeier reported that CMAP continues to work on their water demand forecasts, and the Northwest Water Alliance continues to work on their sensible salting committee. Asselmeier stated that on a local level the County sent out the annual NPDS surveys at the end of June, which are due back on July 28th. They normally receive five or six township responses each year.

⮚ 708 Mental Health Board – No report

OLD BUSINESS – None

NEW BUSINESS

⮚ Discussion of 1539 Collins Road Property – Scott Koeppel reported that PBZ personnel have visited the property with a very old, dilapidated house on it, as well as abandoned vehicles, mattresses, broken glass garbage, etc. It appears that random people are routinely dumping on the property, and the property is not being made by the owners.

Koeppel stated that there have been judgements already in court against the owners, but the owners have not been responsive to the Health Department or the County. Koeppel stated that there is money owed for the fines that have been assessed, but remain unpaid. Another issue is the taxes that remain unpaid, that were purchased in the past by two separate buyers in the two previous years, but the first payment this year has not been paid.

Code Official Brian Holdiman provided an overview of the letters reviewed the citations that were served, and that the discovery of assets showed that the owners of the property do not have no income to make payments.

Aaron Rybski, Environmental Health Director reported that their investigation revealed that the property in its present state is a violation of the Public Health Nuisance Ordinance, and other concerns included an abandoned well on the site that could contaminate ground water, a ladder going up to the roof, etc. The Health Department has also gone through the court system with citations and fines, but also discovered the owners have no income to pay the fines, or means to care for the property.

Mr. Rybski stated that the building is unsecured, and there is evidence that there have been visitors on the property. After following their traditional channels, they have discovered that nothing further can be done by the Health Department at this time.

Mr. Koeppel reviewed the options that the County can take regarding the property including

1st Option: The County can declare that the property is abandoned and seek an abandoned order from the Court, and if that is done, the County would take title/ownership of the property

2nd Option: The County would not take ownership, instead the County seeks to get a demolition or repair order from the court, the County does the repairs and then puts a lien on the property for the repair costs incurred.

If someone else was interested in purchasing the property, they would have to pay off the liens. There are already likely to be other liens on the property since there have been judgements in the court. Koeppel stated the issue surrounding too many liens, it implies that no one will be interested in purchasing the property, and it will be left vacant and abandoned. If the County takes ownership and cleans it up, they could probably sell it in the future. Other issues to evaluate would be the property taxes, any liability, and continued dumping on the property.

3rd Option: The County could use the judgements already on the property to foreclose and take ownership of the property.

Mr. Koeppel asked the committee for direction on which option they would like to pursue or if they would like to wait until someone might become interested. Discussion on the safety of the property, ongoing damage and dumping, demolition, condemnation, the abandoned well, and possible cost for sealing the well, cleaning up the property, etc.

The committee asked staff to get obtain a true assessment of the condition of the well, the property, the home, and any costs and scope of work that might be associated with getting on the property and cleaning it up. Staff will consult with the State’s Attorney’s Office on next steps and options, and report back at a future meeting.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT – No report

PUBLIC COMMENT – None

ITEMS FOR COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE – None

JULY 19, 2022 COUNTY BOARD MEETING ACTION ITEMS - None

EXECUTIVE SESSION – Not Needed

ADJOURNMENT – Member Gilmour made a motion to adjourn the meeting, second by Member Gengler. With four members present in agreement, the motion carried 4-0, and the meeting ended at 9:22a.m.

https://www.kendallcountyil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/24566/637939079184830000