|
 The members of the Logan County Board convened in Regular Board
session on the above date in the first floor Courtroom of the Logan
County Courthouse, Lincoln, IL. Chairman David Hepler called the
meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. The pledge of Allegiance to the
American Flag was led by Mr. Aylesworth.
County Clerk Sally Turner was directed to call roll.
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; and Jan
Schumacher.
Absent: None
Guests: See attached sheets.
A motion was made by Mr. O’Neill, seconded by Mrs. Davenport, to
accept and place on file the minutes from the Regular Board meeting
on Tuesday, June 16, 2015. Motion passed.
A motion was made by Mrs. Davenport, seconded by Mr. O’Neill, to
accept and place on file the minutes from the Special Regular Board
meeting on July 6, 2015. Motion passed.
Appointments: None
Raffles:
1) LO 14-15 86 Logan County Fair Foundation
2) LO 14-15 87 Audra’s Studio of Dance
A motion was made by Mr. Anderson, seconded by Mr. Bateman, to
approve the raffles as presented. Motion passed.
Reports for the month of June 2015 were read by Clerk Sally Turner
as follows:
Sheriff’s report of fees collected: 0
Sheriff’s report of expenses: 0
Clerk of the Circuit Court report:
Collections due to County General Fund: $65,030.44
Collection of funds due to others: $49,871.08
Child Support: $37,522.18
County Clerk & Recorders fees collected: $25,066.51
Logan County Treasurer’s Cash Statement:
June Revenue: $537,561.70
June Expenses: ($800,934.50)
June Balance: $1,039,204.14
A motion was made by Mr. Blankenship, seconded by Mr. Anderson, to
accept and place these reports on file as read. Motion passed.
Chairman of Committees reported the following:
Airport/Farm: Nothing to report.
Animal Control: A motion was made by Mr. Schaffenacker,
seconded by Mr. Farmer, and passed 12 yes – 0 no by Roll Call vote,
to approve Animal Control contracts from Middletown, Hartsburg,
Atlanta, Lincoln, and Latham.
Building & Grounds: Mr. Bateman reported an A/C Unit in the
County Clerk’s office is no longer working and needs replaced.
Finance:
LO 14-15 82 Resolution to Surrender Tax Sale Certificate at 1102 N.
Postville Drive, Lot 15, Lincoln, IL: A motion was made by Mr.
Ruben, seconded by Mr. Rohlfs to approve LO 14-15 82. Motion passed
by Roll Call vote of 12 yes – 0 no.
 LO 14-15 83 Logan County
Annual Budget Amendment FY 2015 Probation Budget: A motion was made
by Mr. Ruben, seconded by Mr. Farmer to approve LO 14-15 83. Motion
passed by Roll Call vote of 12 yes – 0 no. LO 14-15 85 Prevailing
Wage Act: A motion was made by Mr. Ruben, seconded by Mr. O’Neill to
approve LO 14-15 85. Motion passed by Roll Call vote of 10 yes – 2
no. Hiring of County Board Administrative Assistant: A motion was
made by Mr. Ruben, seconded by Mr. Schaffenacker to hire Michelle
Barr. Motion passed by Roll Call vote of 12 yes – 0 no.
Insurance & Legislation: A motion was made by Mr. Anderson,
seconded by Mrs. Davenport to authorize to close Logan County
Offices on December 24, 2015. Motion passed by Roll Call vote of 12
yes – 0 no.
Law Enforcement & EMA: Director Dan Fulscher spoke about the
flooding around Salt Creek as well as the safety regarding wind farm
workers, and tornadoes.
Executive/Economic Development: Nothing to report.
Planning and Zoning:
LO 14-15 81 Meridien LLC approval for a Conditional Use Permit:
The Board heard additional public comments regarding the Wind Farm.
Economic development of Logan County and Clean Energy are both
presented as reasons of support for the permit. A guest that lives
within a local Wind Farm in Emden, IL describes the living
environment: the towers are quiet, the flicker only lasts a few
minutes, and they are pleasant looking. However, another guest
presents the dense population of the town as a reason for opposition
for the permit, siting it as impossible to prove that it would not
adversely affect the residents in the residential area. A petition
with 899 signatures of opposition was submitted. Another guest in
favor of the permit defends the viability of the Relight Company to
truly be able to fund this project. Newer statistics from the last
submitted petition is presented: the opposition petition quoted that
it represented 71% of the Mt. Pulaski population, but was stated it
was actually a lower number. A resident of Mt. Pulaski in favor of
the permit listed a few town items that could use the donated money
from Relight to grow the town: the town pool can be filled, redo the
baseball fields, and hire new teachers for the school. In favor of
the permit, another resident explained that although there might be
health issues, many other sites have electrical power lines (cause
cancer, health issues) and/ or grain elevators (loud, fans run
constantly, DUST) and they managed to adjust to it in the interest
of economic development for communities.
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Relight’s representative, Mr. Woo, spoke about trying their
best to listen and respond and although he provided his email at
the ZBA, he did not get a single email so they’ve had to try and
react to the feedback in a vacuum. He states that the company
feels as if it’s gone above the call of duty. He said that he
has written a commitment letter and it is binding. He also wrote
a commitment letter for all the donations promised to each
resident.
Mr. Aylesworth asked Mr. Woo: What is genuine third-party
agreement sale?
Mr. Woo: They are trying to protect themselves by not allowing a
house to be sold to a family member at a deliberately
under-valued price in order to claim the difference from us. It
must be a genuine sale.
Mr. Aylesworth: Why use the Assessor’s office instead of a
qualified appraiser?
Mr. Woo: The Logan County Tax Assessor would be the most
independent party, whereas an appraiser can be influenced
positively or negatively. It is the claimant’s responsibility to
provide the evidence to justify why their claim is valid and
then the Assessor would decide if the claim is valid. Relight
will pay out any valid claim, and they have budgeted $1M a year.
(This will come from the cash flow of the product)
Mr. Aylesworth: The donations are between you and the person
receiving the money? The contract is direct.
Mr. Woo: Because it’s not a zoning issue, it cannot be part of
the application so that’s why we wrote the commitment letter to
each of the receiving entities.
Mr. Anderson: 2 Entities I do not see on the commitment letters
is the Mt. Pulaski Fire District and Lincoln Rural Fire
District.
Mr. Woo: They will receive money through property taxes, not
through donations.
Mr. Schaffenacker: The Sunset Clause – where did the time limit
of 5 years come from?
Mr. Woo: That came from the consultant for the opposing group.
That is just reactionary to a concern.
Mr. Rohlfs apologizes for his comments that were offensive or
untrue, but he also believes that this or any Wind Farm cannot
satisfactorily meet the first 3 of the 5 criteria for the
permit.
Mrs. Schumacher discusses that she feels more confident about
Relight’s credibility and more secure in the property values due
to the guarantee. She expressed her concern over the division
this topic created in the town of Mt. Pulaski. A motion was made
by Mr. Ruben, seconded by Mr. O’Neill to approve the Meridien
LLC Conditional Use Permit. Motion passed by Roll Call Vote of 8
yes – 4 no.
Road and Bridge: A motion was made by Mr. Farmer, seconded by
Mr. Blankenship, to approve LO 14-15 84 2015 County Maintenance
Bituminous Materials for County and Road Districts $85,284.88.
Motion passed Roll Call vote 12 yes – 0 no.
Community Action: A motion was made by Mrs. Schumacher, seconded
by Mr. O’Neill, to accept the agreement as presented. Motion
passed by Roll Call vote of 12 yes – 0 no.
Health: West Nile virus update by Don Cavi. There have been no
positive birds and no human cases in the area. We typically see
more W.N. during the later months of summer when it’s hotter and
drier.
Workforce Investment: Nothing to report.
General Assembly Liaison: Nothing to report.
Chamber of Commerce: Nothing to report.
Waste Management: The August 2nd Saturday glass recycling
goes to the 3rd Saturday because of the Logan County Fair.
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. Anderson, to accept
and place on file the reports as read. Motion passed.
Chairman’s Report: Please sign the board policies before
adjournment. Mr. Chairman expressed his pride in the Board’s ability
to work together even while disagreeing over major topics.
Communications: Nothing to report.
A motion was made by Mr. O’Neill, seconded by Mr. Bateman, to
adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. Meeting ended at 8:36 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Michelle Barr
for Sally J. Turner, Logan County Clerk
[Copied from Logan County website] |
