Thursday, September 11, 2014
Serving Bureau County Since 1847
County votes to hire consultant
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Consultant will find county administrator candidates
By Donna Barker dbarker@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — The Bureau County Board has voted to hire a consultant to help in the county’s search for a county administrator. At Tuesday’s meeting, the board decided, on a 16 to 6 vote, to spend up to $20,000 for the consultant who would do the initial contacting, interviewing and screening of candidates. The consultant will then recommend the Top 3 to 5 candidates to the board, with the county board proceeding with further interviews with the top candidates. Voting against the motion were John Baracani, Joe Bassetti, Tom Dobrich, Jim Donarski, Deb Feeney and Jim Thompson. Absent from Tuesday’s meeting were Jane Piccatto, Mary Jane Marini, Tom Giordano and Tom Ptasnik. Prior to the vote, Bassetti expressed his concerns about hiring a consultant, saying that $20,000 is another employee. Some county employees are making $18,200 a year. He questioned spending money on a consultant, if the county board had not yet made a final decision that it wanted a county administrator. In response, Fees and Salaries Committee Chairman Marshann Entwhistle, who presented the motion to hire the consultant to the full board, said the county board had previously directed the Fees and Salaries Committee to go forward with the process of searching for another county administrator. Either the county board has to do the search itself, or it needs to hire a consultant to find the candidates. If the county board does not want to start the search, it should withdraw now from looking for an administrator at this point and time, she said. Year 168 No. 109 Two Sections - 32 Pages
Looking at the costs, Fees and Salaries Committee member Steve Sondgeroth said the consultant fee and expenses would not be more than $18,000. The travel expense is an unknown amount for a candidate or candidates. Dan Rabe said the county board does not have to accept final candidates who would be coming from a distance in the nationwide search, thus saving on some travel expenses for the final candidates. Bassetti also requested to know what the committee was considering as a ballpark figure for the salary of a county administrator. The administrator’s salary would be in the $85,000 to $100,000 range, depending on the individual, Entwhistle said. Though he had made the motion at the prior board meeting to look into hiring a consulting firm to help in the search, board member Tom Dobrich said he now has concerns about the cost of hiring a search firm and then hiring an administrator. After further discussion, Sondgeroth said the board should make its decision that night whether to go forward with its county administrator search and, if so, then he would vote to hire a consultant to help in that search. After the vote, the board also heard from Henry County Administrator Colleen Gillespie, who had been asked to talk with the board about her duties and accomplishments as a county administrator. The Bureau County Board hired its first county administrator, Austin Edmondson, in December 2005, on a 19 to 6 vote, at a starting salary of $66,000 plus benefits. Edmondson resigned from the position about 15 months later, to accept a similar position in another Illinois community. Comment on this story at www.bcrnews.com.
This picture-perfect rainbow actually came a couple of days before Wednesday morning’s downpour, where Douglas Elementary kindergarten students Makya Clark (from left), Benny Larson and Layla Ford handle the rain just fine with their umbrellas in hand. Though Bureau County residents may have to keep their umbrellas handy through today, Thursday, the skies should be clear for the weekend’s Homestead Festival activities in Princeton. However, some people may want to grab a jacket for Saturday’s parade, as temperatures are expected to reach only into the low-to-mid 60s.
BCR photo/Becky Kramer BCR photo/Donna Barker
Princeton out; SV still in Company no longer interested in possible Princeton location By Donna Barker dbarker@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — Princeton is no longer in the running as a possible site for a medical marijuana cultivation center. Princeton City Manager Jeff Clawson said the company, Largo Meds LLC, which had contacted the city about building a cultivation center, is no longer interested in using Princeton. The company feels it cannot apply for more than one site, and apparently, Princeton was second
on the list of priorities. The developer feels the state has changed the criteria which has forced the company to remove Princeton from its list, Clawson said. At this time, Clawson said the city does not expect any other interest from other companies in building a cultivation center in Princeton. Based on previous discussions, the deadline for applications may already be past. “It is disappointing that they (Largo Meds)
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Not so fast ... Tiskilwa discusses ATVs, four-wheelers, on village streets By Lyle Ganther lganther@bcrnews.com
TISKILWA — Will motorized vehicles be allowed to operate on the streets of the village of Tiskilwa? Some residents approached the Tiskilwa Village Board Tuesday night asking that an ordinance be enacted by the board to allow all-terrain vehicles, four-wheelers and utility-terrain vehicles to operate legally in the village with some stipulations. They asked that any ordinance approved by the board charge owners of motor vehicles $25 per unit per year, and no driv-
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er under 16 years old be allowed to operate these vehicles in the village. They proposed having a curfew prohibiting the use of these vehicles between 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. and citations be issued for failure to abide/obey the rules and regulations for an ordinance. Nick Oertel served as spokesman for the four residents who attended Tuesday’s meeting. He presented a petition with 133 signatures on it asking that an ordinance be passed to allow these vehicles to operate in Tiskilwa. He also presented copies of ordinances
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