Jail Museum Lease Talks Begin
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Perry County commissioner Sam Robb Thursday was asked to sit down with representatives from the Perry County Historical Society to negotiate a new contract for their use of the Perry County Jail Museum building.
In February, Historical Society member Bill Timpner approached the county about helping them pay for termite abatement in the building, which is owned by Perry County. The board agreed to pay $300 towards the termite eradication.
At that time, Robb discovered that the old Jail building was not listed on the county's insurance policy and immediately corrected that. He discovered a contract which called for the Historical Society to pay $50 per month in rent and the county to maintain the exterior of the property.
The rent had not been paid in a very long time. However, the Historical Society had instead been paying to maintain the exterior of the premises, as well as the interior.
Timpner said Thursday that the back rent would amount to about $10,200 since the museum opened. In that same time, the Historical Society has done $27,000 worth of work to the building.
Robb said he had not received any public comments about a tax levy to support the Jail Museum. Commissioners Jim Epplin and Bobby Kelly both said they had received a couple of calls from residents opposed to a new tax.
County Clerk Kevin Kern reported that state law allows the County Board to impose a $.002 tax to maintain a historical museum. It may be increased a maximum of $.004 with voter consent.
The Jail Museum would receive about $3,300 per year if the $.002 tax is passed and double that if voters agreed to increase it to the maximum level.
"This might be the smallest tax allowed by law," Kern said. "To put this in perspective the County's tax levy is about $1.39. When all taxes are applied, residents pay between $9 and $10 (per $100 of EAV). It is miniscule."
Robb said the tax levy would raise enough to pay for insurance on the building and set aside a little each year in a building fund. He said the County needs to carry property/casualty and liability insurance on the building.
In other business, the board:
heard from Epplin that a tax anticipation warrant to borrow funds is not necessary at this time. The county received payment for housing federal inmates and some state sales tax revenue.
heard from Assessor John Batteau that he has finished his work on the 2011 tax year. The final abstract was mailed to the Department of Revenue. A final multiplier should be received in one to three weeks. Kern said he has begun checking tax levies. His portion of the process takes about three weeks. He expects to have tax bills out on the same schedule as last year.
heard from Fred Pabst that a group of residents has raised funds to build a "Fallen Heroes" monument on the courthouse lawn to honor Police, Fire and Emergency Medical Services Personnel. The 18-foot long granite, limestone and brick monument would face northeast. It would five feet, seven inches high. Pabst said the bulk of the funds were raised through a Matrix program which offered haircuts on the street last summer. Pabst said he hopes to dedicate the monument June 23. The board agreed to place the issue on the next agenda for a vote. State's Attorney David Stanton said it would be a good idea to put together a committee to oversee maintenance of the monument at the same time the County Board approves putting it on the Courthouse lawn.