South West Illinois News

Monroe County Board of Commissioners met Aug. 4.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The meeting of the County Commissioners of Monroe County, Illinois was called to order at 8:15 am. by Chairman George E. Green.

The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Chairman George E. Green, Commissioner Vicki Koerber and Commissioner Doug Garmer were present.

Others present included County Clerk Jonathan McLean, Deputy Clerk Kara Etherton, State's Attorney Ryan Webb, Health Department Administrator John Wagner, EMA Director Kevin Scheibe, Stringtown Levee Chairman Lynden Prange, County Engineer Aaron Metzger, Circuit Clerk Lisa Fallon, Deputy Clerk Julie Rusteberg, Pat Kelly, Sidney Horn, Scott Woodsmall from the Republic Times, and Sheila Wetzler.

Commissioner Koerber made a motion to approve the minutes of the regular and closed meetings held on July 21, 2025. Second by Commissioner Garmer. All voting Aye. None Nay. None Absent. Motion carried.

Chairman Green asked if there were any public comments.

Pat Kelly asked why there could not be more letters sent out per month concerning the 9-1-1 addressing project. Commissioner Green stated that EMA Director Kevin Scheibe would be the one to talk to about that since he is the one overseeing that project.

There were no other comments.

Commissioner Koerber made a motion to approve the consent agenda. The following items were on the consent agenda:

a. Appointment of Martha Wortmann and Nina Lindhorst to the Monroe County Board of Health for a term of three years to commence on August 4, 2025, and expire on June 30, 2028. Resolution #25-51

b. Reappointment of Pamela K. Poetker to the Southwestern Illinois Metropolitan and Regional Planning Commission Executive Committee for a term of one year to commence on August 5, 2025, and expire on August 4, 2026. Resolution #25-52

Second by Commissioner Garmer. All voting Aye. None Nay. None Absent. Motion carried.

Commissioner Koerber made a motion to approve the invoices $10,000.00 or greater. Second by Commissioner Garmer. All voting Aye. None Nay. None Absent. Motion carried.

County Engineer Aaron Metzger appeared before the Board to update the status of the Southwest Connector project. He said that this project is still just in the information gathering phase and that there is a website that has information about the proposed project, southwestconnector.com, where the public can find more information and leave their feedback.

EMA Director Kevin Scheibe and Stringtown Levee Chairman Lynden Prange gave a presentation on the Stringtown Levee scour hole progression. This scour hole will eventually cause the levee to fail and he is hoping to acquire the resources to fix it before that happens. He has applied for a grant but all IEMA and FEMA grants have been put on hold until December 2025. Director Scheibe is asking the community to reach out to their state representatives to get the word out about this situation and hopefully speed the grant process.

Circuit Clerk Lisa Fallon and Deputy Clerk Julie Rusteberg appeared before the Board to ask for approval to spend $171,447.89 out of the Circuit Clerk Document Storage Fun to pay for a project to digitize and index paper records. Commissioner Koerber made a motion to approve the project. Second by Commissioner Garmer. All voting Aye. None Nay. None Absent. Motion carried.

Treasurer Kevin Koenigstein asked the Board to decide on the dates to hold the budget hearings. It was decided that they will be held on October 7th, 8, and 9th 2025, and a notice will go out to all department heads informing them of those dates.

Commissioner Koerber made a motion to approve going into closed session for the purpose of sale, acquisition, or lease of real estate. Second by Commissioner Garmer. All voting Aye. None Nay. None Absent. Motion carried.

Meeting closed at 9:16 a.m.

Commissioner Koerber made a motion to come out of closed session. Second by Commissioner Garmer. All voting Aye. None Nay. None Absent. Motion carried.

The meeting adjourned at 11:46 a.m. The next regular Board meeting will be on Monday August 18, 2025.

Minutes approved on August 18, 2025, and filed for record in the County Clerk's office.

https://monroecountyil.gov/download/702/2025/251767/08-04-24-county-board-meeting-minutes.pdf