McHenry Times

McHenry County Law & Government/Liquor Committee met Nov. 30.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

1. CALL TO ORDER

Meeting called to order at: 8:30 AM by Jeffrey T Thorsen.

PRESENT: Thorsen, Nowak, Althoff (8:30 AM - 11:00 AM), Jung Jr., Von Bergen, Wegener (Remote), Wilbeck

ABSENT:

Also present was: Peter Austin; County Administrator, Scott Hartman; Deputy County Administrator, Alicia Schueller; Communications and Project Manager, Kevin Bueso; Chief Financial Officer, Michael Rein; County Coroner, Sandra Salgado; Business Manager/Sheriff, Jana Blake; Principal Assistant State's Attorney, Chalen Daigle; County Coordinator, Adam Letendre; Director of Purchasing, Bill Prim; County Sheriff, Robert Ellsworth; Chief Deputy Director of EMA, Jeffrey Schwartz; County Board Member.

After the Roll Call Chair Thorsen called for the acceptance of member Wegener into the meeting via webex. A Motion was made by Ms. Althoff, Seconded by Ms. VonBergen, the Motion passed on a voice vote of all present members voting aye.

2. MINUTES APPROVAL

1. Law & Government/Liquor - Public Meeting - Oct 26, 2021 8:30 AM

RESULT: ACCEPTED [UNANIMOUS]

MOVER: Robert Nowak

SECONDER: John Jung Jr.

AYES: Thorsen, Nowak, Althoff, Jung Jr., Von Bergen, Wegener, Wilbec

3. PUBLIC COMMENT

None.

4. MEMBERS' COMMENTS

None.

5. PRESENTATION

Chair Thorsen began stating this morning they wanted some communication with local legislators regarding McHenry County being the single county in the State of Illinois that is subject to the dissolution of townships by referendum and ramifications of that and how they can affect the County. He stated that the discussion has gone through multiple committees to determine what the fall looks like in McHenry County and what they can do, so they are relying on the representatives to be aware that they are running into some difficulty and they want some discussion on potential alternatives to the current situation. Before doing so, Chair Thorsen stated that the committee would like to have each of the representatives have an opportunity to speak briefly, as the agenda is made up they would begin with John Picchiotti, District Operations Director for Senator Dan McConchie on behalf of him not being in attendance.

The full presentation can be heard in the media section on the McHenry County meeting portal.

1. Senator Dan McConchie

District Operations Director, John Picchiotti, represented Senator Dan McConchie in his absence.

2. Senator Donald P. DeWitte

3. Senator Craig Wilcox

4. Representative Steven Reick

Representative Steven Reick joined the committee members remotely.

5. Representative Tom Weber

6. Representative Daniel J. Ugaste

Representative Daniel Ugaste joined the committee members remotely.

7. Representative Suzanne Ness

8. Representative Martin McLaughlin

9. Presentation of Draft 2022 Legislative Program & Discussion

Chair Thorsen thanked the Senators and Representatives and invited them to join the members at the main conference table to continue their discussion. He stated he would like to give everyone an idea on where the County is headed, he referred back to Ms. Althoff stating she had compiled everything at the last meeting after asking a main question. We are one County that is affected by legislation in that state and he inquired if Ms. Althoff could bring forward the same points.

Ms. Althoff stated she is not too clear on what she mentioned previously but it seems to her that it is an unfair advantage and the choice is either to resend it and don't make McHenry County special or they apply it to everyone in the State of Illinois there should be no reason to specifically site what County and in particular, McHenry. She stated it is not the largest or smallest County in the State, and with the Legislators at the meeting the ask is one or the other, take the burden away from McHenry County or apply it to the other 101 Counties that are in the State of Illinois.

Chair Thorsen thanked Ms. Althoff and stated it is as simple as that, the County would like to get its hands free of this legislation or stay a part of the legislation that is administered statewide. He stated each committee has had an opportunity to review the matter to some extent and there is no proclamation before the Board to discuss, this committee wanted to reach out to the legislators and explain the quandary. With that he would like to open the discussion and who ever would like to participate is welcome.

Representative Ness stated that there was a bill brought forward almost exact to the Township discussion they have had only it was broader referencing the State of Illinois and no fundamental changes made to it, because she was on the Board at the time and she knew there were issues with it. She stated at the time she had opposed it in committee but it did go forward, but her opinion remains the same unless fundamental changes were going to be made to it, go to McHenry County get feedback and find out why it is not good legislation but she does not believe it should be applied Statewide.

Ms. Schueller wanted to make a comment, stating there are ways they can improve the legislation, the County has engaged in over two years of looking at the township consolidation legislation and in the handout there are three main items needed, one would be to apply it to all counties, second being taxation remedies and third efficiency measures. She stated there are eleven different items on the handout that would improve the legislation drastically but if they are going to expand the legislation the items in the handout are the metrics that are needed to make it viable in McHenry County.

Senator Wilcox stated on the township district levy, if they get the opportunity to modify the bill he inquired if McHenry County would be supportive of tighter control in the sharing mechanism with the municipalities. In other words the road district commissioners have a bit of flexibility, they certainly have one that has seemed to maximize the dollars that are put into the fund that the township controls and minimize the funds that are put in that are shared between municipalities. He inquired if McHenry County would be accepting of language that is stricter on how that sharing mechanism would have to play out if any of these were to dissolve and the County would take over.

Mr. Nowak inquired if that would be considering sharing it across that State of Illinois or if that is just a suggestion solely for McHenry County. Senator Wilcox stated it would be a recommendation under the taxation remedies on the handout and making sure that all the levy authorities vested in the County, that is one issue that is occurring in McHenry County and maybe in a couple other places in the state. Whether they get a bill that makes this applicable statewide or it remains applicable only to McHenry County, he is really looking for thoughts on that because he is looking to file a bill that will address the dollar sharing in townships across the state.

Ms. Schofield stated that the point they were aiming to make before involved consolidation, the point Senator Wilcox made in asking the County for their view and when the legislation was passed the County was never asked or engaged in the process and she thinks that is a fundamental issue. It was presented in a pilot program, a test, so being test subjects without knowing about it and the whole concept of a pilot program is to work together.

Ms. Althoff stated that there were additional questions with regards to what should be done with the assets. There has been a whole host of questions that the Board has investigated, thanks to staff, but with a whole list of them there is no direction from the statute on how to apply any of those whether its thirty days or ninety days it is unrealistic without any direction.

Ms. Wegener stated this has been discussed in two bubbles one in Springfield, not knowing those who voted on it and what the repercussions are going to be. As well in McHenry County which is applying to the county only because that is what the legislation states. She is hoping that the legislators can form something for committee to research and include not only representatives from the County but additional counties who are interested or who it would affect, that way the Board can look at the overall effect on the counties and items the county has not thought of that work in other places.

Chair Thorsen stated that he was on the committee at the time this was passed, which they only learned about after it was passed, and it was very embarrassing because it directly affected McHenry County. By design there was no communication between County Board and Legislators, perhaps it was a failing on the Board but the Law, Government & Liquor committee finds out that the State has passed specific legislation that pertains only to McHenry County and are unaware of it, not giving the Board any input or an opportunity to discuss the matters. Regarding the 10% even if it is a segregated type of levy the Board would still be able to do things under PTELL and in a few years that 10% would quickly be washed away. He almost takes Mr. Reicks comments as an insult, he simply wants the legislators to understand the Board frustration because the whole thing occurred without their input and now as they go through committees, which Mr. Hartman can attest to, they have an entire list of unintended consequences that are very concerning to the Board as they should be. He looks forward to hearing more discussion but he really hopes they send home the message that the State has put McHenry County in a very precarious situation, because not only is the County trying to invent how they are going to design this idea of what the township used to be to implement the absorbent of it, there might be legal issues that could occur that the County is subject to and that has not been thought about too much. As well there could possibly be someone out there who feels like their township got mishandled over a consolidation because if there are seventeen townships in McHenry County and only one of them consolidates, and there is a potential commingling of funds which they can work on but there are all different types of aspects that can overlap and the potential inequity that McHenry County residents would have to absorb, that is not a situation he feels is equitable by any means.

Senator Wilcox asked Mr. Austin a question regarding the state level with counties he wanted to know if they have discussed this bill or looked at it. Mr. Austin stated he is not aware of that, and to be fair McHenry County is in a position where the discussion is being generated. Ms. Althoff stated it is not a part of their legislative agenda. He inquired if they can come up with language on the types of assets that would make sense to be freely shared, a way to define the types of assets that are being looked for to both protect the residents and to allow for efficiencies if that is the intent.

Representative Weber stated he keeps hearing members reference the statement that "they are trying to pass good legislation". He wanted to point out in often, when you have representatives such as the ones who were pushing this township dissolution who do not live in the areas that it affects, are purely political. They have seen that, he stated as a County Board Member in McHenry County for six years they seen language such as "for any county that borders Wisconsin, Lake Michigan and Cook County, this County has to do that" which is known as special legislation and it is unconstitutional in the State of Illinois, in his opinion this legislation is unconstitutional. He stated that he and Representative Reick fought this matter in the House and with people in their own party as well because there are so many unanswered questions, there are a lot of issues he has but like he mentioned often times these types of legislation are political, especially those who were pushing due to them not being someone who represented McHenry County. Chair Thorsen stated he thinks the bare bones of expectation would be that McHenry County would only be able to provide services that are statutorily required meaning everything else is going to be out the window. One of the issues that was brought up that he wanted to address before the conclusion of the meeting was a discussion of a potential case of someone running for township office with the idea of dissolution and achieving dissolution which would occur about two years into their term and the constitutionality of their salaries. Ms. Althoff questioned a county constitutional office if that individual is removed because the state pays that salary, would it then remain in place or is it stopped and applied to the new individual who takes over that position. Chair Thorsen stated it would be ironic if a someone went in with the intention of creating chaos then two years after the chaos occurs, they would still be collecting a salary. Representative Ness mentioned House Bill 268 was passed to attempt to stop contracts from being signed to an affidavit before municipal election so that the issue would not be happening, she stated it is in the Senate stuck in assignment. As well she stated two elections to consolidate and get rid of townships failed, voter overwhelmingly supported townships and she feels that is an important test of the entire conversation. Ms. Schofield thanked Representative Weber and Reick for their comments, but she stated they need to find a way to resend this issue. They have responded to anything that has came up, they had found efficiencies, so they do not need people to tell them to do it because they are. She stated that local government works if you allow it to, so the state needs to stop thinking of ways to tell them how to do it and just let the County do it and respond appropriately, even if it is a pilot program what happens in McHenry County is not going to be applicable throughout the state. Letting each County respond in their own way, and the state opening the regulations to allow the County to function and implement things they need. The true restriction point is Legislation that exists at the state level and it goes back to Ms. Althoff’s point that it needs to be removed and let the County function how they know to and they do not need the state to tell them how.

Senator Wilcox wanted to confirm if the theory behind the request is if it applies across the state that it would force the legislators to get the bill right because every county would be arguing the same stuff and separate from that move the request to repeal would be another desire. Chair Thorsen stated that selfishly if it was statewide it probably would not happen in McHenry County first which is okay with him. Ms. Wegener stated she agrees with Chair Thorsen, it is very hard to come up with solutions and many times all they have found were more questions. She appreciates Senator Wilcox giving those options because her question now is what next, they are presenting the legislators with the questions and possible solutions so where they move from this point or what should the County expect. Chair Thorsen stated that they are headed to some form of proclamation to send the message to the state and at the end he does not know how it would look or whether the Board would be in agreeance to send one. Representative Reick stated any message the County sends to Springfield would first go against the prevailing rims of the supermajority wanting to do this, it would not have any affect anyways but stated he is willing to continue this fight down in Springfield. Chair Thorsen inquired if Mr. Reick wants the Board to perform a cost benefit for the savings, he does not think that should be on their table. He stated they have a lot of work as is, and that should be apart of the reasons why they need the legislators to help. Ms. Althoff stated that McHenry Township has had four referendums on consolidation and lost all four. She stated there have been conversations in township consolidation legislation six years ago that requires the County and the township that is requesting the consolidation to conduct a financial study and share that cost. She stated she does agree and does not see why the County needs to share that or why the County would spend resources to conduct a study before anyone has even asked them to do so.

Representative Weber requested a County proclamation to highlight the number of times the votes have voted on this; the Boards view and opinion on the pilot program has run its course and it is time to be removed. Then what they need to find is who was with Representative McSweeney on the majority party side and confirm that they are accepting of a repeal and ask if they be the initiators of that repeal. Ms. Althoff stated she remembers at the time it occurred, that the Chairman appeared at that committee and indicated that there was support for that action, so as they move forward she would suggest that the current Chairman take advantage of the same ability to articulate that all the attempts at consolidation in McHenry County have failed. Chair Thorsen wanted to be sure that the present Legislators are on the same page with the message down state. With that he wanted to thank everyone for joining the committee and receiving their message and he hopes the Board will have a more formal message for the Legislators in the very near future so they can move from point a to point b.

Alicia Schueller joined the committee introducing herself and stated that in addition to the Township discussion there are seven total issues on their draft legislative program. Chair Thorsen wanted her to give them the most important ones, she stated Townships and the Regional Office of Education. As the statute currently stands there are six separate requirements to become a Superintendent of a ROE across the State of Illinois and from her understanding the requirements do not comport anymore for Superintendents across the state. They have been updated and traditionally in McHenry County they have had difficulties trying to recruit qualified candidates to take on the position, so they are asking for alternate experience requirements be incorporated into the statute or at least update it so that more people can essentially qualify and guide educators across the County. Representative Webex inquired if Ms. Schueller had any suggestions on what the changes should be, Ms. Althoff informed him that Senator Wilcox has been working with the committee and has several suggestions and the state of Illinois had done this before it is not new.

Before the conclusion of the meeting, Chair Thorsen requested if Sheriff Prim can provide the committee with a synopsis of what is going on in the Sheriff’s Office, McHenry County in particular. Mr. Prim wanted to give the legislators and the committee an overview of a project they have begun and are excited about. He stated they have partnered with local law enforcement to create a training center that they had originally begun working on five years ago. With a mandate for consolidating services and how they can become much more efficient and provide a better product from law enforcement in general. With the new mandate and legislation that occurred over the winter they now require extended training hours and other requirements with no funding available. He mentioned one of their partners in the beginning was Cary and they have graciously offered them their City Hall and Police Department for a new training facility, which he believes they are going to accept and start the process of training there. The County would be responsible, but they would bring additional partners in from multiple communities that have been supportive of this process since the beginning and they are very excited to see it come together. With the final approval from the Board they should be taking over that facility within the next sixty days to begin construction projects, not only would there be a new substation for County Sheriff’s to operate out of but it will allow them to respond in a more timely fashion to calls from that part of the County.

Senator Wilcox stated with the smash and grabs that have been happening, the news is saying that the criminal enterprise is moving out to the suburbs and they believe if they can get onto I-90 and cross a couple of County lines that they are safe to get back to Cook County. Whether it is under the Safety Act rules or in general he inquired what pursuit they are authorized to do beyond County lines. Mr. Prim stated that their policy has not changed it is up to each individual entity to decide as to how they want to handle traffic pursuits, which is a fine line because it is a cost benefit. He stated they have jurisdictional authority, but most places hit specific mandates to maintain accreditations. Ms. Wegener thanked Sheriff Prim for the update and wanted to inquire about the changes and stated they hear on the news about the different events that occur around the Country and in Chicago and they specify how it is moving to McHenry County. She inquired if he has seen a change in crime rate in McHenry County or if there has been a change in the personal safety of residents. Mr. Prim confirmed yes things are changing here and all over it seems to be the evolution in the culture of the Country itself. As far as the safety component he feels they do a very good job in McHenry County as an industry in handling violent crime, there has not been an increase in violent crime but there has been regarding property crime. Ms. Wegener thanked him and stated that residents should not feel any different when it comes to their personal safety. Concluding Chair Thorsen thanked everyone who attended the meeting and gave their time to assist in the matters of importance to McHenry County. With that he called the meeting into a break at 10:10 A.M. The meeting was called back to order by Chair Thorsen at 10:20 A.M.

6. NEW BUSINESS

A. New Liquor License, Manager and/or Amusement License Requests

1. Motion: 10:00 am – Sammy’s Bar & Gaming (formerly Lizzard Lounge)

Suchit Shah (Sam), Owner of Sammy's Bar & Gaming, joined the members to inform them he purchased the business and intends to keep it similar but wants to clean it up a bit.

Ms. Althoff states she appreciates that and it is important to make an investment back into the community by cleaning up the property and making it look appropriate.

Mr. Nowak stated as fas are the application everything has been approved by the Commission, Health Department as well as obtaining Basset training and Insurance. He stated everything is in order and Jana Blake has approved everything as well.

RESULT: RECOMMENDED [UNANIMOUS]

MOVER: Pamela Althoff

SECONDER: John Jung Jr.

AYES: Thorsen, Nowak, Althoff, Jung Jr., Von Bergen, Wegener, Wilbeck

B. Interviews

1. 10:10 am - Edward Weskerna - Marengo Recue Squad

Committee members introduced themselves and interviewed Edward Weskerna for consideration for appointment to the Marengo Rescue Squad. It was noted that Mr. Wekerna meets the requirements as a member for the Marengo Rescue Squad.

2. 10:20 am - Caryn Beisner - Marengo Rescue Squad

Committee members introduced themselves and interviewed Chief John Kimmel Caryn Beisner for consideration for appointment to the Marengo Rescue Squad. It was noted Chief Kimmel that Ms. Beisner meets the requirements as a member for the Marengo Rescue Squad.

3. 10:30 am - Eugene Carroccia - Marengo Rescue Squad

Committee members introduced themselves and interviewed Eugene Carroccia for consideration for appointment to the Marengo Rescue Squad. It was noted that Mr. Carroccia meets the requirements as a member for the Marengo Rescue Squad.

4. Deliberation and Selection of up to Three Candidates for Recommendation to the County Board Chairman for the Marengo Rescue Squad with a Term to Begin on January 1, 2022, and Expire on December 31, 2025.

A motion was made by Mr. Jung, seconded by Mr. Nowak to recommend the appointments of Edward Weskerna, Caryn Beisner, and Eugene Carroccia as members of the Marengo Rescue Squad with terms to begin January 1, 2022 and expire on December 31, 2024.

C. Resolutions

1. Resolution Authorizing a Three-Year Agreement with Compassion Funeral Services for the Removal of Decedents

Michael Rein, County Coroner, joined the committee to discuss the resolution. Mr. Rein stated it is for body removal services, they have used Compassion Funeral Services for a while now. He did bring it forward because of that $30,000 standard that they have, they went over it this year and they probably will in the future as well. As far as transparency he wanted to bring it forward, and it did secure a three year contract which he thinks is beneficial long term for the office. Ms. Althoff stated it is a three year contract and inquired if there is any provision in it that states they can come back and request additional funds. Mr. Rein confirmed no. Mr. Nowak thanked him for bringing it forward.

RESULT: RECOMMENDED [UNANIMOUS]

MOVER: John Jung Jr.

SECONDER: Robert Nowak

AYES: Thorsen, Nowak, Althoff, Jung Jr., Von Bergen, Wegener, Wilbeck

2. Resolution Authorizing the McHenry County Board to enter into a contract with FGMArchitecs for Architectural and Engineering fees for phase one and phase two of the McHenry County Training Facility Capital Improvement project, including construction manager cost and fees for phase one. Funding for the Training Facility Capital Plan project will include American Recovery Plan fund not to exceed $6,200,000 and Sheriff discretionary funds for remainder of project. (Leadership and Governance), (Quality Infrastructure)

Sandra Salgado; Business Manager, Bill Prim; Sheriff, Adam Letendre; Director of Purchasing and Kevin Bueso; Chief Financial Officer, joined the committee to discuss the resolution. Ms. Salgado stated this has been a team effort since the beginning of last year and as the Sheriff mentioned previously they have been looking at a regional training facility for a long time. In 2018 the Sheriff's office put together a white paper to give to the Lobbyist group at the time to take it to Washington and try to secure funds, meanwhile they were looking locally for partners and on that paper they had the Chief's of Police in McHenry County and many more regional partners signing it give it the muscle showing its need at that time. Now being almost 2022, they are very excited to bring it forward to the Board and this option is the one that makes the most sense for McHenry County, after bringing in Adam and Kevin and working with the Village of Cary they discovered they were working with a design architect who was able to bring things to the table on what they had planned on doing there and the cost associated. The resolution puts in place the FGM as well as the design and construction managers for both phases, it also commits funding from American Recovery Funds and the Sheriff's Discretionary Fund, which is outside the general fund that they can use to make up the balance of the project. Mr. Wilbeck stated that this is about 10% of the ARPA funds and inquired if they are approved to begin spending them now. Mr. Bueso stated that it opens the door for that and the way they are allocating this starting with the Discretionary funds then move to the ARPA funds afterwards. Mr. Wilbeck inquired where the $3.1 million comes from, Mr. Bueso confirmed from the Discretionary funds. Mr. Prim stated when they mention the use of the Discretionary funds he wants it to be known that the County Audits and has complete viewing privileges, but they are statutorily prohibited from spending. Mr. Nowak inquired about the bidding for the FGM, he wanted to know if Mr. Letendre approves that or does it go to the Board to approve those contracts. Mr. Letendre stated for design and construction does go to the Board, what this resolution is doing is bringing them onboard as the architect and designer, so anything they present will go out for bid and they will go back to the Board for approval.

RESULT: RECOMMENDED [UNANIMOUS]

MOVER: Pamela Althoff

SECONDER: John Jung Jr.

AYES: Thorsen, Nowak, Althoff, Jung Jr., Von Bergen, Wegener, Wilbeck

3. Resolution Authorizing the Acceptance of a State of Illinois Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) Program Agreement for FY2021 (Leadership and Governance)

Robert Ellsworth, Chief Deputy Director of EMA, joined the committee to discuss the resolution. Mr. Ellsworth stated they have been receiving this grant for the last fifteen years and they are allowed to receive the maximum that they can from the County based on performance costs for personnel, administrative expenses and equipment travel.

After the vote of the resolution, Chair Thorsen moved to Old Business to briefly discuss a matter.

RESULT: RECOMMENDED [UNANIMOUS]

MOVER: Pamela Althoff

SECONDER: Robert Nowak

AYES: Thorsen, Nowak, Althoff, Jung Jr., Von Bergen, Wegener, Wilbeck

D. Other

7. OLD BUSINESS

Chair Thorsen stated there is an issue with regards to the timing of the proclamation that they want to pursue for the state regarding the Township Consolidation. He understands that they need to hear from the Board prior to January in order to keep the ball rolling. Alicia Schueller stated that Representative Ness was very clear that January 14, 2022 is the deadline to file bills so they need it done quickly. Ms. Althoff made a motion to direct administration to draft a Resolution according to the perimeters that they were discussed at the Law, Government and Liquor committee and present it directly to the Committee of the Whole for comment and have it placed on the County Board agenda in December for approval. Chair Thorsen stated since the item was not published on the agenda they only need a consensus of the committee to continue. Mr. Hartman then read what he currently had drafted for the resolution that the committee was looking for stating, "WhereAs Public Act 101-230 was signed into law in August 2019 with the intent to provide voters in McHenry County Townships with a path in which they can dissolve their township; and WhereAs Public Act 101-230 is specialized law exclusive to McHenry County was enacted without confirming with, consulting or engaging with the McHenry County Board in any way regarding legislative intent or in the course of due diligence to examine the implications; and WhereAs a careful examination of the legislation has found it to be considerably flawed and problematic due to lack of clarity, conflicts, undue burden, dubious presumed deficiencies, residual liability, and significant potential for unintended consequences; and WhereAs historically referendum questions pertaining to Township dissolutions have failed at least four times which is an undeniable testament to the voters desired to maintain the townships and the services provided; and WhereAs given the flaws in the exclusive application and implementation of this legislation, the McHenry County Board implores the Illinois General Assembly to consider repealing this legislation or as a less desired alternative make significant improvements and clarifications to address the practical challenges and apply this legislation statewide. Now Therefore Be It Resolved By this McHenry County Board that is preys for the repeal of Public Act 101-230 by the 102nd General Assembly due to its problematic nature and exclusive application to McHenry County; and Be It Further Proclaimed that the McHenry County Board vehemently supports the voters to have a choice in their government and if the legislative intent is to provide voters with a path to dissolve their township remains, the McHenry County Board asks that this opportunity be applied to all the voters of all townships across the state and would welcome an opportunity to work with legislators to craft viable and practical legislation accordingly; and Be It Further Resolved that the County Clerk is asked to spread this resolution across the record of McHenry County and to distribute a copy to each Senator and Representative in 102nd General Assembly." Ms. Althoff requests that Mr. Hartman flips it, having it apply to the state and minimally to correct the issues, seeing as how that was the order they initially wanted to handle matters. They want it gone or spread through the state then to correct all the short comings.

8. DISCUSSION

Ms. Althoff left the meeting at 11:00 a.m.

1. Liquor Ordinance Update

Peter Austin, County Administrator and Jana Blake, Principal Assistant State's Attorney, joined the committee to discuss the Liquor Ordinance Update. Mr. Austin stated that mid summer they discussed changes that they wanted to suggest to the liquor ordinance to modernize it and react to what is being seen in the world. Ms. Blake stated she does not have proposed language for the committee today but she does want to feel the temperature and see if there are any suggestions the committee would like them to focus on. She stated the main area of focus is the expansion of liquor sales or service in the tourism sector in McHenry County as well as expanding the Winery license that they currently have to include Brewery distinction which they do not currently have. They want to ensure that the liquor ordinance is up to date with what people are expecting of restaurants right now. Chair Thorsen wanted to know what having a Brewery and Distillery distinction does for the County. Mr. Austin stated if Crystal Lake Brewery wanted to start a Heartland Township Brewery right now they do not have a tool for that. Ms. Blake stated they can have businesses or restaurants that serve beer but they cannot have onsite production. Mr. Austin stated on the definition of the Winery, when the license was created about ten years ago it was a big step, he feels it should be revisited. Ms. Blake wanted to reconfirm she is there to see what the committee is looking for, she would then work on draft language to bring back to the committee to make changes before it moved to the full County Board. Ms. Wegener inquired if Ms. Blake has planned to talk with the Conservation District and if she is coming up with a specific ordinance for them or is she would like her to talk with them and relay ideas to her. Ms. Blake stated they can work together and she does anticipate on bringing forward an amendment that would contemplate a special category of licenses for the Conservation District and the fairgrounds to accommodate their unique needs.

9. REPORTS

None.

10. EXECUTIVE SESSION (AS NECESSARY)

None.

11. ADJOURNMENT

Mr. Wilbeck made a motion, seconded by Mr. Jung to adjourn the meeting at 11:15 a.m. The motion passed on a voice vote of all members present voting aye. (Absent was Althoff) -TCMcKinnon

Full Comments on the above agenda items are included in the audio recording of this meeting, which can be found on the McHenry County Meeting Portal.

https://mchenrycountyil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=12&ID=4992&Inline=True