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 The members of the Logan County Board convened in Regular Board
session on the above date in the first floor Courtroom. Chairman
Dave Hepler called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. The pledge of
the Allegiance to the American Flag was led by Mr. Blankenship.
Members Present: Andy Anderson; Rick Aylesworth; Kevin Bateman;
David Blankenship; Emily Davenport; Bob Farmer; David Hepler; Pat
O’Neill; Gene Rohlfs; Chuck Ruben; Scott Schaffenacker; Jan
Schumacher
Absent:
Guests: Will D’Andrea; Dan Fulscher; Don Cavi; Jon Wright; Jessica
Lema; Tracy Bergin; Derek Hurley; Several Residents from Mt. Pulaski
Chairman welcomed citizens:
Welcome Citizens of Logan County and thank you for your attendance
at our Regular Board meeting. The Clerk will read a directive of
Rules and Procedure for speaking as well as courtroom demeanor.
Please place your cell phones on silent.
Chairman defers to Clerk Turner.
CLERK: Those that would like to speak must be signed in in order to
be recognized. The board secretary has the sign in sheet to do so.
Please note the issue you would like to speak on. Only those that
have signed the Request to Address the Board will be called upon.
Each will have a five minute opportunity to deliver their message.
Please state your name, and address for the Board record when
speaking. If you have any handouts, please deliver them to the board
secretary for circulation prior to speaking in order allow the
members to view your information. As to the voting process, the
chairman of each committee will make a motion, the board will
entertain a 2nd (if available), then the Chairman will call for
discussion amongst the board members. After the board members have
had discussion, the chairman will call on the individuals who have
requested to speak. Thank you for your cooperation.
A motion was made by Mrs. Davenport, seconded by Mrs. Schumacher, to
accept and place on file the minutes from the Regular Board meeting
on December 16, 2014. Motion passed.
A motion was made by Mr. O’Neill, seconded by Mr. Blankenship, to
accept and place on file the minutes from the Regular Board meeting
on January 6, 2015. Motion passed.
Recognitions: A motion was made by Mrs. Schumacher, seconded by Mr.
O’Neill, to approve LO 14-15 25-Recognition of Hartsburg-Emden
Girls’ Volleyball Team.
Appointments: None
Raffles:
LO 14-15 16 West Lincoln Broadwell School Booster Club
LO 14-15 17 Atlanta Memorial Park District
LO 14-15 18 Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce
LO 14-15 24 Lake Fork Community Center Consignment Sale
A motion was made by Mr. Anderson, seconded by Mr. Rohlfs, to
approve the raffles as presented. Motion passed.
Reports for the month of January, 2015 were read by Clerk Sally
Turner as follows: Sheriff’s report of fees collected: $2,062.87
Sheriff’s report of expenses: $403.55
Clerk of the Circuit Courts’ report: Collections due to County
General Fund: $64,141.19 Collection of funds due to others:
$53,909.56 Child Support: $49,317.07
County Clerk & Recorders fees collected: $31,515.75
Logan County Treasurer’s Cash Statement: December Revenue:
$848,795.79 December Expenses: ($1,293,910.23) December Balance:
$2,103,925.90 A motion was made by Mr. Aylesworth, seconded by Mr.
Carlton, to accept and place these reports on file as read. Motion
passed.
 Planning and Zoning:
A motion was made by Mr. O’Neill, seconded by Mr. Ruben, to
approve LO 14-15 22- WHEREAS, Meridien LLC has filed a petition
requesting approval for a Conditional Use Permit to allow the
construction and operation of a wind energy conversion system (wind
farm) in an Agricultural Zoning District which consists of turbines,
substations, meteorological towers, transformers, collector lines,
transmission lines, access roads and related appurtenances; and
WHEREAS, the Logan County Regional Planning Commission studied and
reviewed said petition of Meridien LLC at their regularly scheduled
meeting on November 5, 2014 and recommended approval of said
petition and; WHEREAS, the Zoning Board of Appeals held public
hearings at the Mt. Pulaski Christian Church Family Life Center on
November 20, December 4 and 11, 2014 and January 8, 2015 and after
hearing testimony from those present voted on a motion to approve
but failed to secure a concurring vote of 3 members and; WHEREAS, by
virtue of a 2-2 vote of the Zoning Board of Appeals the resolution
comes before the County Board of Logan County without a
recommendation as set forth in the attached Report of the Zoning
Board of Appeals to the Logan County Board; and WHEREAS, the County
Board of Logan County has considered the Zoning Board of Appeals
Report, applicable approval criteria, and public comments; NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the County Board of Logan County that
the petition of Meridien LLC for a Conditional Use permit to allow a
wind energy conversion system (wind farm) is hereby approved with
conditions as attached.
A motion to amend was made by Mrs. Davenport, seconded by Mr. Ruben,
that the County Board approves recommended conditions as found on
bottom of page 3 and 4 as found in the memo to the County Board
dated January 15, 2015.
Discussion held: Robert Paladino reminded the County Board members
of information they have been given to look at from last week’s
meeting. Mr. Paladino said of all the information that was provided
to the board members, none of it contains proof of negative effects
on health or surrounding property values due to turbines. Mr.
Paladino said the Rick James document does not exist. Mr. Paladino
said the project will pay $2.4 million in property taxes over the
life of the project.
Larry Cyrulik spoke in favor of the wind farms. Mr. Cyrulik is in
favor of the project because it will bring new jobs and new tax
dollars to the county.
Michael Nichols spoke against the project. Mr. Nichols reported last
week he talked about property values and health concerns. Mr.
Nichols tonight would like to talk about business practices. Relight
offered Mr. Nichols $500.00 a year for being in the footprint of the
project. Mr. Nichols wife told him it’s not worth $500.00 a year.
Mr. Nichols read a scripture from Psalm 15.
 David Trainor reported that before moving to Logan County he lived
in Bloomington. When Mr. Trainor was looking for a home in Logan
County, he and his wife looked at one in Emden but once they found
out how close the wind turbines were to their house, they decided
against the house. They also found one in the Middletown area but
after looking into the house they found the footprint for Sugar
Creek Wind Farms, they decided to keep looking. Finally they found
their house in Mt. Pulaski. Mr. Trainor said the wind farms might
not affect property value but they do affect salability.
Chris Cowan provided copies of a study called “acoustic solutions”
to the County Board members. Mr. Cowan reported a researcher from
Pennsylvania reported the wind farms of the same size and power
output as Religh’ts turbines cause infrasound and turbine noise and
will likely lead people to move out of their homes. Mr. Cowan also
talked about tax money. Mr. Cowan feels the tax money we would
receive from Relight is not necessary for the school districts or
the county to do well.
Cheryl Martin did a background check on Mr. Paladino. Mrs. Martin
questioned some of Mr. Paladino’s business backgrounds and
financials of the companies.
Lisa Leonard also spoke on property taxes. According to state tax
law, tax rates on wind farms in the state would go down after the
first year, due to current rates expiring in 2016. Current laws
allow for turbines to depreciate in value down to thirty percent,
which would reduce the taxes earned for the county. Mrs. Leonard
feels we have one year of guaranteed revenue.
Chris Martin reported he considers his family a foundational family
in the community and said they have never been more insulted by
anyone in their entire lives as they were the day Mr. Paladino came
into their home. Mr. Martin does not want to see the wind farms
outside his house every day.
Ryan Mott reiterated that General Electric, the manufacturer of the
turbines used by Relight, recommends a further setback from roadways
than the limits set by the county.
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Corey Leonard reported the zoning ordinance criteria make
this project ineligible. Mr. Leonard went over the zoning
ordinance and asked the County Board to please vote no against
this project.
Ashley Combs shared information that was just published in an
Australian newspaper yesterday and today. A pilot study, funded
by Australian wind turbine company, Pacific Hydro, has
identified a noise signature from wind turbines that they
believe will give new insights into medical research related to
the industry. Mrs. Combs handed out the study by Jessica Tapp.
Mr. Paladino stood up to defend himself.
The board took a vote on the amendment to the petition, Roll
call vote taken 7 yes 5 no motion to amend passed.
Mr. Ruben explained that he has towers on his property in Emden
and says that no one around him has voiced any concerns to him
about the turbines. Mr. Ruben says the aesthetics are in the eye
of the beholder. Mr. Ruben explained to everyone he will be
voting yes based on the financial end of things.
Mr. O’Neill reported there are a lot of opinions on the health
issues. He reported that he spoke to a U of I professor who said
it would take 10-22 years to determine if they had adverse
effects on surrounding people. Mr. O’Neill said he took an oath
to grow the community/county we are in. Mr. O’Neill feels we
should vote yes on this project.
Mr. Aylesworth asked Mr. Paladino about overhead power-line
agreements. Mr. Paladino explained the landowners are waiting to
see how the County Board votes.
Mr. Hepler asked Mr. D’Andrea if there would be bonding. Mr.
D’Andrea responded by saying bonding, road use agreements, and
decommission plans would need to be approved before a permit was
issued. Mr. D’Andrea explains that conditions cannot be changed
after they’re approved.
Mr. Fulscher asked if Relight planned on providing aid in
emergency situations should they arise on the wind farm.
Mr. Paladino said that every employee would all go to G.E
school. Mr. Paladino reported the company would consider an
inflation based decommission amount, to ensure sufficient funds
will be available at the end of the project to remove them.
A motion to amend was made by Mr. Ruben, seconded by Mrs.
Davenport, to add decommission inflation rate factor by the CPI
each year. Roll call vote taken 11yes 1 no motion to amend
passed. Mr. Hepler explained why he is voting yes. Mr. Hepler
reported he tries to make decisions based on facts and does not
feel there is enough facts not to vote yes. The board took a
roll call on the main motion as amended. Roll call vote taken
6yes 6 no amended motion failed.
Chairman of Committees reported the following:
Airport/Farm:
A motion was made by Mr. Rohlfs, seconded by Mr. Farmer, to
approve LO 14-15 26 Budget Amendment to remove $3,000.00 from
Balloon Fest funds and transfer into General Funds for CEDS .Roll
call vote taken 8 yes 2 no 2 abstain motion passed. A motion was
made by Mr. Rohlfs, seconded by Mr. Ruben, on approval for
Blankenship Electric to repair the PAPI Lighting system at Airport.
Roll vote taken 11 yes 1abstain motion passed. Nothing further to
report.
Animal Control:
A motion was made by Mr. Schaffenacker, seconded by Mr.
Blankenship, to approve LO 14-15 11 Approval of 2015 Animal Control
Ordinance Revisions. Roll call vote taken 12yes 0 no motion passed.
Nothing further to report.
Building & Grounds:
A motion was made by Mr. Bateman, seconded by Mr. Rohlfs, to pay
50% for the Logan County Safety Complex Air Conditioner Unit in the
computer room. Roll call vote taken 12yes 0 no motion passed.
Nothing further to report.
Finance: A motion was made by Mr. Ruben, seconded by Mrs.
Schumacher, to approve Digital Copy System Contract, new Canon
equipment, 60 month lease, $564.30 per month. Roll call vote taken
12 yes 0 no Motion passed. A motion was made by Mrs. Schumacher,
seconded by Mr.
Blankenship, to approve LO 14-15 19 Designated Bank Depositories.
Roll call vote taken 11yes 1 abstain motion passed. A motion was
made by Mr. Ruben, seconded by Mr. Rohlfs, to approve LO 14-15 20
Tax Anticipation Note. Roll call vote taken 12 yes 0 no motion
passed. Nothing further to report.
 Insurance & Legislation: Nothing to report.
Law Enforcement & EMA: Nothing to report.
Executive/Economic Development:
A motion was made by Mrs. Schumacher, seconded by Mr. Blankenship,
to approve removing straw vote language from the board policy and
divide Executive and Economic Development into two separate
committees, which had been previously been a single committee. Roll
call vote taken 11yes 1 no motion passed.
A motion was made by Mrs. Schumacher, seconded by Mr. Anderson, to
approve spending $13,500 to remodel interior of elevator car. Roll
call vote taken 8 yes 4 no motion passed.
A motion was made by Mrs. Schumacher, seconded by Mr. O’Neill, to
approve the committee assignment sheet that was presented at the
December meeting. Voice vote taken, motion passed. Nothing further
to report.
Road and Bridge:
A motion was made by Mr. Farmer, seconded by Mr. Blankenship, to
approve LO 14-15 23 Resolution for Logan County Section 11-00038-05
RS. Roll call vote taken 12yes 0 no motion passed. Nothing further
to report.
Community Action:
Mr. Anderson reminded everyone of Cheeseburger in Paradise is
March 14, 2015.Nothing further to report.
Health: Nothing to report.
Workforce Investment: Nothing to report.
General Assembly Liaison: Nothing to report.
Waste Management: Nothing to report.
Safety: Nothing to report.
Liquor: Nothing to report.
Personnel: Nothing to report.
Committee reports of claims were read by Clerk Sally Turner:
A motion was made by Mr. Rohlfs, seconded by Mr. Aylesworth, to
accept and place on file the reports as read. Motion passed.
Cha irman’s Report: Mr. Hepler reminded members of the Logan County
Workshop Meeting with the City on January 28, 2015 at the Lincoln
Rec Center. Mrs. Turner announced on March 17, 2015 at 6p.m Betsy
Pech will give a brief presentation over Robert’s Rule of Order.
Nothing further to report.
Communications: Mary Kelley Family Thank You Note and Richard Hurley
Family Thank You Notes and Christmas Card. Nothing to report.
A motion was made by Mr. Ruben, seconded by Mr. Schaffenacker, to
adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. Meeting ended at 9:08 pm.
[Copied from Logan County website] |
