Pennekamp appointed to sanitation district

Jim Pennekamp has been approved as the newest member and possible future chairman of the beleaguered Metro-East Sanitation District Board.

Pennekamp, recently retired as director of University Park and special advisor to the SIUE chancellor, was nominated by Madison County Chairman Alan Dunstan to replace Andy Economy on the district board. Economy resigned last month hours before the County Board was to vote on his removal, after a News-Democrat investigation showed that his auto repair shop had received tens of thousands of dollars in repair work from the district.

Also up for renewal was Frank Laub, a longtime board member whose term was up for a five-year renewal. The Madison County Board voted Wednesday to approve both.

Laub was approved, but not without reservations from some board members. Helen Hawkins (D-Granite City), whose name had been floated as a possible nominee, had said she believes the board needs more of a change after the controversy.

“While Mr. Laub might be a wonderful person, I think that entire board showed bad judgment several times,” said board member Michael “Mick” Madison (R-Bethalto). “We’re all adults, and we know what conflict of interest is.”

Dunstan said that after news reports appeared regarding Economy’s conflict of interest, it was Laub he contacted to request an immediate resolution clarifying that no board member can do business with the sanitary district. He said he chose Pennekamp specifically because of his experience dealing with flood prevention and economic development, and he hopes Pennekamp will be made chairman of the board when it meets next month to vote.

“This is such an important issue we are facing,” Dunstan said. “The number one issue I have faced as county chairman is to get the levees to a 100-year level and eventually to a 500-year level.” That will require serious oversight and more maintenance than has generally been done in the past, Dunstan said.

“I wanted to make sure we had the right person at the right place at the right time,” Dunstan said.

Laub’s reappointment was approved 23-5, with board members Judy Kuhn (R-Trenton), Stephen Adler (R-Alton), Tom McRae (R-Bethalto), Lisa Ciampoli (R-Collinsville) and Hawkins voting no. Pennekamp was unanimously approved.

Pennekamp said he did not seek the position, which pays $15,000 a year, but once Dunstan reached out to him, “It made sense.” He said the board will need to address design deficiencies and increased maintenance, as well as the fallout from the Economy scandal.

“If you have policies in place to guard against these kinds of things, and people who pay attention to those policies... you avoid these kinds of improprieties,” Pennekamp said.

The board also approved end-of-year transfers for unused funds into the capital development fund for repairs and upgrades to county buildings, including the Madison County Jail, Administration Building, courthouse, detention home and the Wood River Facility. The excess funds include $80,000 in information technology, $30,676 in the state’s attorney’s office, $25,000 in the county recorder’s office and several others, for a total of $3.2 million in unexpended general funds transferred into capital projects.

The county’s levy dropped by 2.3 percent this year, and Dunstan said next year the county likely will reduce its levy again. But the “elephant in the room,” he said, is the situation with the state of Illinois. If the state further reduces funds sent to the counties, they may have additional expenses in the new year, he said. “Until the state budget is approved and we know exactly what they’re doing, it’s pretty hard to cut any more,” he said. “We’re not trying to hoard money or anything, we’re just trying to meet our obligations.”

Two years ago, a referendum to issue bonds for the renovation of the jail failed. Opponents of the jail bonds at the time stated that the county should do the project over an extended period of time using surplus funds. County leaders had advocated selling the bonds so they could do the entire project all at once at lower prices.

“This is the way we can afford capital projects, by doing this at the end of the year,” Dunstan said. “We listened to the people who said they wanted the jail project done in-house, and this is how we do this in-house. We aren’t borrowing money.”

Dunstan’s opponent in the 2016 election, treasurer Kurt Prenzler, has gone on record opposing the procedure of transferring excess funds instead of rebating it to taxpayers. “It’s a deceptive practice year after year to shovel money into the capital projects fund,” Prenzler said. “At the end of the fiscal year there is money left over and rather than return it to the taxpayers the county board votes to transfer it.”

In addition, Dunstan said he is postponing a nomination for the empty seat on the county board. Last month, Terry Davis (D-Granite City) resigned, leaving the seat open until the next election. Three Democrats and one Republican are running for his seat. Dunstan said he intends to name an interim replacement next month, who will serve until the election.

This story was originally published December 16, 2015 at 2:33 PM with the headline "Pennekamp appointed to sanitation district."