County Board approves construction of new cell tower

By Editor | April 13, 2022 |

By Caitlin R. King

Caitlin R. King/ Jersey County Journal
County Board Chairman Don Little looks through his notes following the board’s April meeting on Tuesday the 12th. Board members Mark Wagner, Mary Drainer and Brian Kanallakan, pictured left to right, talk with one another behind him.

The Jersey County Board held their monthly meeting on Tuesday, April 12, at 7 p.m., where they discussed a smattering of issues facing the county.

After the approval of the previous meeting’s minutes, the board opened the meeting up to public comments. Bill Goetten of Otterville was the only person to speak. Goetten requested that the board look into installing an LED stop sign at the intersection of Otterville Road and Route 16. Goetten cited “several instances where I, myself, have pulled people out of the north side of the road.” Goetten also added that given that the road is “a couple of miles of dark straight road, it’s easy to lose track of where the stop sign is.”
The board took note of Goetten’s request, but pointed out that given the intersection’s location, responsibility to install something like an LED stop sign falls on the Illinois Department of Transportation, not the county. However, requests can be made by the public to IDOT for the installation.

Following public comment, the board held a moment of silence for the family of Cindy Funk, who passed away last month. Cindy is the mother of long-time employee of the Jersey County Courthouse Brian Funk.

The board unanimously approved the Illinois Valley Economic Development Corporation’s request to apply for a grant that would allow for the Tri-County Transit Program to purchase new vehicles to replace those with more than 100 thousand miles on them along with additional vehicles.

The board unanimously approved Judge Allison Lorton’s request to establish the appointment of a jury administrator for the county. Currently, the county board oversees juries due to the county’s lack of jury administrator. Now that Judge Lorton has the board’s approval, she may appoint someone to the role.

Following up from the March meeting, plans to construct the 255 foot tall cell tower at 483 Bluff Ridge Drive in Grafton has finally been approved by the board. The issue was tabled in March after a St. Louis based firm, Cellective Solutions LLC, which operates the tower that currently serves the area, claimed that the company trying to construct the new tower, did not in good faith try to collocate with the existing tower.

After some back and forth in March, the issue was sent to the committee on Building & Grounds/Subdivision & Land Use, and then reviewed by the State’s Attorney, Ben Goetten. After the committee’s discussion and Goetten’s approval of the application, the board went through with approving the application for the new tower’s construction.
The board also approved the request to purchase computers and memory cards to help improve the new security cameras in the county jail. The system currently operates on a ten second delay, which, according to Sheriff Mike Ringhausen, “really defeats the purpose for public safety.”

Discussions regarding county officials compensation were tabled and will be discussed at next month’s meeting. The County Board meets on the second Tuesday of each Month at 7 p.m. at the Jersey County Administrative Building, which can be found at 200 N Lafayette St. in Jerseyville. Next month’s meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 10, at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. More information can be found on their website, jerseycountyclerk-il.gov/county-board.