Commissioners hold Zoom meeting with county entities

(Rooks County guidelines are posted on Stockton Sentinel's website, www.stocktonsentinel.com and have been shared to their social media sites, Facebook and Twitter. The order can also be found on the Rooks County Sheriff’s Facebook page.)

At the weekly meeting on Tuesday, November 24th, the Rooks County Commissioners John Ruder, Greg Balthazor and Corky Hagan, along with county health nurse Lori Eichman, county attorney Danielle Muir and county emergency management director Butch Post, held a Zoom meeting with members of the county entities including the Cities of Stockton and Plainville, the Rooks County Health Center doctors and staff members, and representatives from the school districts to discuss Governor Kelly’s mask mandate that was to take effect at 12:01 a.m. that evening. Present through Zoom were Jenny Maciazek, Nathan Grebowski, Stacey Green, Mandi Dobson, Courtney Flower, Ruthmary Muir, Gail Gibbs, Lisa Gehring, Sheriff Gary Knight, Chris Rhinehart, Megan Zahn, Troy Rudman, Quinton Meyers, Anthony Thomas, Larry Lysell, Jen Brull and Mike Oller. The Rooks County medical staff had submitted a letter to the commissioners requesting that they not opt out of the mask mandate for Rooks County.

Lori Eichman opened the meeting and recommended the commissioners follow the Governor’s order or come up with their own mandate.

Dr. Jenny Maciazek asked that the commissioners allow the mask mandate for the County since there are more and more positive results every week. She noted that they don’t have the resources in staff or beds due to the steady increase in positive cases. She urged the commissioners to reconsider their position to help slow the spread of the virus since they had opted out of the first mandate in July.

John Ruder asked if all the cases, which have been recorded as 134 a week, were all Rooks County residents, with the answer that the bulk of them are residents.

Greg Balthazor asked if the hospital is presently full, which it was not at the time.

Anthony Thomas that the hospital does have beds, but they may not have enough staff if any employees need to be quarantined. Maciazek stated that there are staffing issues throughout the state. Thomas also noted that patient transfer ability to other hospitals is hard.

Another concern is while the virus has not been transferred within the hospital, but it becomes a concern when the employees leave work and are out in the public.
Maciazek said another concern is the economic wellness of the community if businesses have to close again due to quarantine, etc.

Lisa Gehring stated that another reason to have the mask mandate in place is what would be best for the entire community since the main goal is to keep kids in school. She asked that the commissioners leave the mask mandate as presented, noting that the district schools have regulations in place for the students and staff.
Larry Lysell stated that the schools do have mask mandates in place and that the schools within the county have worked together on mandates, and meet each week to discuss updates, etc.

Stacey Green stated that Stockton has all things in place with safety for everyone as the goal. She asked for further support from the County.

Nathan Grebowski stated that the Plainville school board has implemented policies to keep the students in school with the focus on wellness for the entire community. He noted that Rooks County is in the top 20% in the nation and is concerned if no additional measures are taken, the virus will be knocking at our doors. If they have to close the schools and go to remote learning, parents will have to stay home, so businesses won’t be able to be open. He stated that the same measures need to be taken outside the buildings that they have inside the schools.

Quinton Meyers said he has been hearing from the people of Plainville, and they understand and are taking their own protocols like staying home when they feel bad, noting that this mandate has very little support from the citizens. He feels it would be a negative impact if the mandate stays in place, stating that the masks may slow the spread, but it doesn’t stop it. He noted that he had requests from a few people for the mandate, but most do not want to be told what to do. The city council had four out of five members not in favor of the mandate.

Courtney Flower said the Stockton Commission feelings are mixed, but there needs to be some kind of option. Trying to keep staff is another concern. When asked by Balthazor what the store owners’ opinions are, Flower stated that it is a mix, with the biggest concern is that they do not want to be shut down. Meyers noted that local owners and corporate owners have different opinions on the matter.

Megan Zahn is for a mask mandate for Redbud Village, noting that she does not want the virus to enter her facility again.

Ruder stated that the commissioners’ objective is to do what is best for Rooks County.

After everyone had given their reasons for or against the mask mandate, the commissioners held an open discussion with many of those present through Zoom staying online to listen to the discussion.

Corky Hagan stated he understands the spread, but his question was, “What comes next?” He is not in favor of giving up freedom of choice.

Balthazor stated he had visited with many Stockton businesses and about 99% of them are totally against a mask mandate. They don’t want to give up their freedom to make their own decisions. He did note that people do wear masks, and respect and follow the individual merchant’s protocol. He said he would follow the wishes of the people, so it would be a no vote from him to follow the Governor’s mask mandate.

Ruder said everyone has their personal opinions, but it is the opinions of the people they represent, they take into consideration. He noted that the commissioners are not the moral authority for the public.
The commissioners stated they would follow the advice of the county health nurse, also noting that whatever they do some people will not follow the mandate and there is not a lot of teeth behind it to enforce it.

Balthazor reiterated that the majority do wear masks because they respect the other person. He also stated that he doesn’t want to take a person’s right away with a mandate.

Ruder wondered if it would be putting a target on people who don’t want to wear masks if the mandate stays in place.

County attorney Danielle Muir noted that the Governor’s order is a good starting point if the commissioners want to modify the mandate as other counties have already done.

The commissioners voted to opt out of the Governor’s mandate and create their own guidelines for the citizens of Rooks County.

Before the Zoom meeting the commissioners held its regular business side of the meeting, first going over the paperwork for the upcoming tax sale for the County.

Hagan then gave his weekly report, stating he had driven some roads. He noted that the fall harvest was all but done.

Balthazor said he had traveled roads, which were in much need of moisture. He also stated that he had talked to business owners about a mask mandate, noting that most people were not in favor of it.

Ruder said he had a Redbud Village Zoom meeting scheduled for the following week. He had been busy talking and listening to people about the mandate, and had also talked with county health nurse Lori Eichman, and the Cities of Stockton and Plainville. The majority of the responses was that no one is crazy about getting told what to do. In the past, the commissioners have opted out of the Governor’s mandate. Ruder went over the numbers of people that have been tested with them steadily increasing over the past several months. He also wondered if the numbers were up for testing people because the County had more access to testing equipment.

Next, the commissioners, treasurer Kim Northup, Butch Post and Lori Eichman held a teleconference call with Witt O’Brien representatives, going over the updates dealing with the SPARK funds for the month of November. It was noted that the COVID-19-related equipment must be purchased and received by the end of the year. They also went over the billing for the consultant firm.

Northup asked if all the SPARK funds had been allocated since the clerk of the district court had asked if they had funds to purchase plexiglass dividers for the courtroom. The funds have already been allocated.
The commissioners called road and bridge supervisor Rich Bouchey for an update, with Bouchey stating the department is still working on the projects discussed at a prior meeting. All of the equipment was working well.

The commissioners then signed the $1,000.00 check for deposit from the State for the monthly rent for the Water Resources building.

Before the Zoom meeting was held, the commissioners broke the ties from the General Election by pulling a name out of a hat from those candidates for the following positions: Township #2 Trustee, Margaret Palmer; Township #2 Treasurer, Leslie Swazzo; Township #4 Trustee Theresa Kriley; and Township #5 Trustee Carol Roy.