County Board 1/18

[UPDATE: Video is now available from the County Clerk YouTube channel here and I will be adding a direct link below for the financial report jump-to.]

In an unusually short County Board meeting last night - right at a half hour - there wasn't much in the way of controversy. On all the measures passed on the agenda it was difficult to make out any nays, even in the roll call votes.

The News-Gazette hit the highlights today:

County board approves panel to evaluate bids for nursing home

URBANA — Champaign County Board members have approved a nine-member special committee that will evaluate any offers submitted for the purchase of the county nursing home.

The committee will begin meeting in February to establish a grading process to assess offers made for the financially troubled home, said board Chairman C. Pius Weibel.

Last week, the county board voted to put the nursing home on the market, with any proposals for the purchase of the home due by Feb. 28. The county board has set a minimum bid of $11 million for the property, which has been losing money and owes the county and some of its outside vendors more than $5.5 million.

After offers are submitted, said Weibel, the evaluation committee will review them and make a recommendation to the county board.

...

Also Thursday night, the board voted to extend until May 31 its existing contract with SAK Management Services, the nursing home's management company. SAK began working at the nursing home July 1, 2017.

And it voted to put into effect a request from the nursing home advisory board to eliminate the $45 per diem paid to members of the advisory board. The panel made the suggestion as a cost-cutting gesture.

There was a financial presentation for FY2016, which was the final audit worked on by our now former auditor who thanked the staff at his old office. UPDATE: That video is now up, I'll link to that presentation here. There was an added vote for a budget item having to do with the rural transit system, that passed without controversy as well. It adjourned at 7:02 PM by my watch, which Chair Weibel said may be a record. Certainly the shortest one I've sat through (including a six and half hour marathon Committee of the Whole).