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Logan County Board
April Workshop Meeting
[April 20, 2026]
On Thursday, April 16th, the Logan
County Board held their monthly Workshop meeting in the second-floor
courtroom of the Logan County Courthouse at 6 p.m. This meeting is
held each month before the Board’s regular meeting to work on and
discuss items the various committees have brought forward for wider
consideration and a possible vote.
Of the twelve-member board, eleven were present, including Vice
Chairman Dale Nelson, Chairman JR Glenn, Lance Conahan, Michael
DeRoss, Hannah Fitzpatrick, Kevin Knauer, Joseph Kuhlman, Keenan
Leesman, Kathy Schmidt, Gil Turner, and Jim Wessbecher. Bob Sanders
was absent.
The Board started by approving the minutes from their previous
month’s Workshop meeting, followed by committee reports. The first
committee was Building and Grounds, whose chairman is Conahan. The
first item brought forward was a quote from a company called Blinds
Galare for $39,614.40. Conahan shared that some of the blinds in the
courthouse are broken, and the company is going to match what the
courthouse currently has.
Next was a proposal from Foster Construction for a bench in the
first-floor courtroom. The plan for this bench is to be mobile and
provide an area where board members can sit during committee
meetings and still be behind the bench, rather than sitting in front
of and below. The idea is to help that courtroom become a
courtroom/board meeting room. The quote was $25,147.07.
Next was a request from the city of Lincoln to place signs on the
courthouse lawn advertising monthly 3rd Friday events. The city
requested to place the signs there for the duration of the summer.
The Building and Grounds Committee decided to reduce that usage to
the week before each of the three 3rd Friday events.
Next was a use of grounds request for the National Day of Prayer.
The group putting on this event are requesting the use of the
rotunda inside of the courthouse. This is planned for May 7th.
There were two more items from Building and Grounds that Conahan
took off the floor. The first was a proposal from Heart IT for a
D-LAN system needed for the new cloud phones in the amount of
$1,630. The second item was a proposal from B & B Electric to put
new lighting in the memorial wall for $780.
The next committee was Executive
and Personnel, with Turner bringing forth the committee’s items.
Their first item was a raffle for the Logan County Railsplitting
Association. The second was the appointment of Annie Fitzpatrick to
the Logan County Highway Authority. These were the only two items
this committee had, neither of which garnered any discussion.
Next was the Transportation
Committee with chairman Wessbecher presenting their items. The first
was an engineering agreement on County Highway 25. Their second
motion was adding an additional $14,851 to an already approved
project. There was no discussion over either of these items, but
Wessbecher had some more items to bring off the floor. The first was
a grant dealing with public transportation. The second was a
resolution to go out for a contract with the lowest responsible
bidder using money from the Motor Fuel Tax fund. Next was another
resolution for a contract with the lowest responsible bidder, this
time for “roadway recycling project” on Highway 22. The final item
was an engineering agreement for work that needs to be done at the
Top Hat Windfarm. Wessbecher stated that Top Hat would be paying for
this work.
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The next committee
was Zoning and Economic Development, whose chairman is DeRoss.
DeRoss shared that there were no items for his committee to
bring forward. Nelson had a question for the committee regarding
the moratorium on battery storage and data centers. He stated
that the moratorium is set to expire this month and wanted to
know if the committee intended on extending it until the
ordinance is passed or not. DeRoss stated that, since counties
are going to be limited on their ability to turn away battery
storage facilities starting in June, he sees no reason to
continue the moratorium. DeRoss stated that he thinks they
should get rid of the moratorium and move forward.
After this was the Finance Committee.
Vice Chairman Kuhlman was the one presenting these items. The first
item was regarding using a different company for the county’s
liability insurance. Two representatives from a company helping the
county find new insurance were present for a brief presentation.
Their company works with thirty counties in central and southern
Illinois. The representative stated that they also have law
enforcement liability and they often work with law enforcement. He
stated they can provide the county legal counsel in the cases of
hiring or firing employees if it ends in a lawsuit. He additionally
said that he feels they have broader coverage than their
competition.
Following the presentation, a motion was made to go out for bid on
the county insurance. The second item was a motion to approve a 2025
audit, and Conahan stated that the auditor will be present at the
regular board meeting next week. There was a motion to approve a
Community Benefit Fund request from the Atlanta Public Library. Some
discussion was had on their 501(c)3 status, with Nelson stating that
it was explained in the committee meeting that they were no longer
associated with any taxing body.
Next was a donation being made to the summer reading program in the
amount of $500. After this was the purchasing of an advertisement in
the Logan County Fairbook, with Leesman stating that the committee
decided to do a full-page ad for $250.
The next committee was Safety with Chairman Knauer presenting the
items. The first two items were two appointments to the Lincoln
Rural Fire Protection District Board. The third item was an
appointment to the Logan County ETSB.
Once all the committee reports were finished, Glenn gave his Chair’s
Report. He shared that there is going to be a protest in opposition
of the data center on Monday. Following this, and with the lack of
any public comments, the meeting was adjourned.
[Matt Boutcher]
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