Perry County passes resolution adding Union & Alexander Counties to ROE
The Perry County Board passed a resolution incorporating Union and Alexander Counties in the the Perry-Jackson Regional Office of Education. The state has given ROEs until June 30 to consolidate into no more than 35 offices from the current 44.
The Perry-Jackson ROE had a large enough population that consolidation wasn't mandatory. However, the Union, Alexander, Johnson, Pulaski and Massac ROE does have to consolidate.
Donna Boros, Superintendent of the Perry-Jackson ROE, said adding Union and Alexander Counties makes sense, geographically. She believes Johnson County is planning to join the Franklin-Williamson ROE. She does not know where Pulaski and Massac Counties will go.
The representatives from Perry, Jackson, Union and Alexander are working on an intergovernmental agreement which will keep the main office in Jackson County and protect the local satellite office in Perry County.
Though the four counties are in agreement, the state could still make changes after the June 30 deadline.
In other business, the board:
• passed a resolution awarding contracts to the low bidders in a state program to replace highway signs and posts. The program is entirely state-funded. The low bidder for the sigs was MD Solutions of Ohio at $38,600 and the low bidder for posts was Decker Supply of Wisconsin at $80,033. County Engineer Brian Otten said the cost will cover replacing signs on County roads, Unit Road District roads and in Cutler, Willisville and Tamaroa. Old signs and posts will be stock-piled for recycling or re-use later. When the new signs are put up, 911 signs will be moved from the left to the right side of the road and will share poles with other signs.
• re-appointed Jim Grafton and Jim Epplin to the Emergency Telephone System (911) Board.
• heard from Otten that public hearings are set for Feb. 5 to accept public comment on vacating Buckeye Road and TR175A, an unnamed road north of Charlotte Hills. The roads were targeted for vacation after an IDOT road survey. Otten said neither road is maintained and the neighboring property owners are in favor of vacating them. The Buckeye Road hearing is at 10 a.m. and the TR175A hearing is at 1 p.m. He will bring recommendations to the board after the hearings.
• approved an ordinance changing a five-acre parcel south of the Government Building from R2 to Commercial. Ron Ridgeway will develop the property.
• heard from Zoning Administrator and Economic Development Coordinator Jeff Ashauer that residents in the incorporated areas of the county will see significant savings on energy supply. The bargaining unit to which they belong chose Homefield Energy as their electric supplier. Homefield is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ameren. Residential customers can expect to save 25 percent and small businesses 36 percent once the contract takes effect in March. Over all, savings for eligible Perry County participants is expected to be $865,000 out of a total $7.1 million for the bargaining unit. Pinckneyville and Du Quoin passed electricity aggregation in March 2012 and belong to a separate bargaining group. Tamaroa belongs to the same group as Perry County. St. Johns and Cutler residents will vote on electricity aggregation in April. They will be part of a separate bargaining group.