County ups payment for economic development

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While the Grundy County Board approved an increase in its contract with the Grundy Economic Development Council Tuesday, it decreased it’s annual payment to the Heritage Corridor Convention and Visitors Bureau.

During its regular monthly meeting, the board approved seven professional service contracts. One of the county’s largest contracts is with the GEDC, which received a $6,000 increase, bringing its annual payment to $43,000.

“It’s been $37,000 for the last 10 years,” County Administrator Dan Duffy said after the meeting. “It’s based on $1 per person of the population data and we haven’t been at 37,000 in probably five or six years.”

The GEDC does all the county’s economic development work, Duffy said. Most recently, it worked on recruiting W.W. Grainger, Inc. to Minooka. The industrial facilities supply company announced Monday it purchased the 1-million-square-foot distribution building on Ferguson Boulevard.

The only outside service contract to receive a decrease was the Heritage Corridor Convention and Visitors Bureau. The county decreased its annual payment by $10,000.

“We felt $5,000 was a more-appropriate amount to give at this time,” Duffy said.

A new contract for $5,000 with the Canal Corridor Association also was approved Tuesday with the other annual contracts: Grundy County Extension Service for $58,000, Grundy County Historical Society for $10,000, Grundy County Chamber of Commerce & Industry for $6,875, and the Carbon Hill  Museum for $1,500.

Animal Control

An appointment for the Grundy County animal control administrator was expected from the board, but it and the contract approval were removed from the agenda.

For the last couple of years, the county has been making sure any outside employees are under contract and it was found that the animal control administrator did not have one, Duffy said.

By law, a licensed veterinarian is required to be an animal control administrator, and Dr. Nicolette Polson-Meade of the Animal Care Hospital in Morris has been doing it for at least the last 15 years, Duffy said.

The position has always been part-time and the new contract is currently being presented to Polson-Meade. The annual contract amount removed from Tuesday’s agenda was for $10,000. Duffy would not comment further on the contract details.

If Polson-Meade does not agree to the contract, another veterinarian will have to be found.

The appointment is expected to be on the Jan. 12, 2010, agenda, Duffy said.