The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
The Henderson County Board held its regular September meeting on Tuesday morning, September 9, at the Henderson County Courthouse in Oquawka.
Board members present were Dick Bigger Jr., Jon Corzatt, Patty Daniels, Kim Gullberg, Bill Knupp, Kurt McChesney, Todd Miller, Deborah Pflasterer, Janet Stubbs, and Brad Flatt. Absent was Will Pruett.
Jake Armstrong from the Warren-Henderson Farm Bureau was present and thanked the county board for its support over the past year, encouraging the board to pass the resolution to support Henderson County Agriculture.
“If you need any resources when it comes to agricultural governing or any land issues or water rights, whatever, we’re here to help,” stated Armstrong.
The board unanimously passed the two-year resolution.
Morgan Lewis, director of transportation for Warren County Public Transportation (WCPT), addressed the board about offering its services to Henderson County residents.
WCPT has been operating for over 40 years, but until March 2024, it was run by a third-party operator.
Since Warren County brought operations in-house, ridership has grown by more than 1,000 new riders and 5,000 additional trips. Last fiscal year, WCPT completed over 45,000 trips.
In October of the previous year, Mercer County approached WCPT to provide services there. WCPT began operations in Mercer County in July 2025 and, in the last two months, has seen an increase of 150 new riders with 600 completed trips.
Conventional public transit is not well-suited for rural areas like Henderson County, but WCPT offers a different approach.
“What we have is 14-passenger minibuses and (11) minivans, and we (provide) on-demand or curb-to-curb service,” stated Lewis.
“It’s more similar to an Uber ride or a taxi cab, but we ride share. So if we have three people that call us, one in Smithshire, one in Media, and one in the country between, we will send that bus and pick up all three along the way and take them to where they need to go.”
She went on, “You don’t have to walk several city blocks or go to a destination. We come to your property and take you to where you want to go. It’s very specific to your request.”
WCPT’s current service area covers all of Warren and Mercer Counties, with loops to Galesburg, the Quad Cities, and Muscatine.
They offer limited trips to Henderson County but cannot provide full service without a resolution from the county board.
All of WCPT’s buses are ADA-compliant. They operate from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Trips cost between $1 and $7.
“The important thing about public transportation is to have a reliable but affordable alternative that is far cheaper than getting an Uber or taxi if they were even willing to come to the area,” said Lewis.
WCPT is 100% state- and federally funded and will not require additional funding from Henderson County.
To expand service into Henderson County, the board would need to approve an intergovernmental agreement with Warren County.
Knupp asked about travel to Burlington, IA, as many county residents go there. Lewis responded that she wants to add Burlington and Iowa City to the list of destinations but would need Henderson County’s participation to make it feasible.
“Henderson is actually one of the only counties that does not have any tax funding (for public transit) going to it now, but on an individual basis, on average, a person in Illinois pays between $21 and $23
out of their taxes a year to go to transportation. So there is funding that our taxpayers in this county paid for, and it’s not coming here,” mentioned Lewis.
The board agreed that there was no downside to offering this program to Henderson County residents.
The only concern was whether this would conflict with services offered by the Henderson County Health Department, which provides free transportation to residents over 60 and can travel to Burlington and Iowa City.
“There are needs here. She’s very correct in that, but we do take care of the senior population. So that would be one caveat that I would like in any proposals that (the health department keeps) getting those dollars,” said Carla Ewing from the Henderson County Health Department.
Lewis was asked to send the intergovernmental agreement to State’s Attorney Kristen Petrie for review.
The board then entered executive session for litigation. Flatt left the meeting at 9:35 a.m. The board returned to regular session at 9:50 a.m.
After returning to regular session, the board approved the August 12 board minutes, claims paid in August, the Health Department’s claims, report, and meeting minutes, and travel expenses for Sheriff Matt Link.
The Highway Department presented a document showing that the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) found no issues with their review of the county’s Motor Fuel Tax Funds. The board unanimously approved accepting the review.
The board approved the use of Federal Aid Matching Funds to hire a firm to conduct investigative services on County Road 15 (Lock and Dam Road).
The board tabled the approval of the building permit for the solar farm south of Oquawka, as the company had not met all the county’s stipulations.
A representative from the solar company was present and stated that the company had allocated resources to begin construction this month.
Petrie noted that the approval of the permit was tabled until the next month’s meeting but could be reconsidered earlier. (A special meeting will be held Friday 9/26 at the Courthouse at 8:30 a.m.)
Approval of the County Treasurer’s report for August was also tabled until the next meeting.
The board unanimously approved authorizing tax deeds for the following parcels: 05-33-404-001, 05-33-451-006, 07-032-010-00D, 10-360-002-00S, and 07-220-005-00S.
The board also unanimously approved the following appointments: reappointing Zane Torrance as Commissioner for Henderson County Drainage District #1 for a three-year term, reappointing Caleb Covert as Commissioner for Henderson County Drainage District #2 for a three-year term, reappointing Chad Scott as Trustee of the MST Fire Protection District for a three-year term, reappointing Blake Bessine as Trustee of the MST Fire Protection District for a three-year term, and appointing Matt Gray as Tenant Member of the Henderson County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners to fill the vacancy left by Greg Mueller.
The resolution to move the Lomax Precinct polling location to the Lomax Community Center was passed, along with the approval of petit jurors and employee flu vaccinations. Ewing noted that the regular flu shot would remain $35, but the high-dose and FluBlok vaccines are more expensive.
The intergovernmental agreement with Mercer County for housing inmates was also approved. It was noted that the cost was considerably higher than agreements with other counties. Sheriff Link stated that Warren and McDonough Counties would be used first, but this agreement serves as a backup plan.
Corzatt mentioned that the ambulance service may require a tax levy increase, which would need to be tabled until the next meeting. It was noted that if the increase exceeds 5%, a public hearing would be required.
This process must be completed by the end of November to be included on the ballot. It would be discussed further in the Finance Committee meeting that followed.
The meeting adjourned at 10:11 a.m. The next Regular Henderson County Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 14, at 8:30 a.m. at the Henderson County Courthouse.