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 Present: Bob Farmer – Vice Chairman; Dave Hepler- Chairman; Andy
Anderson; Rick Aylesworth; Kevin Bateman; David Blankenship; Emily
Davenport; Pat O’Neill; Gene Rohlfs; Chuck Ruben; Scott
Schaffenacker; Jan Schumacher
Absent:
Guests: See attached list
Mr. Farmer called the meeting to order at 7:10 pm.
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mrs. Schumacher. A moment of
silence was observed for the Nashville tragedy.
A motion was made by Mr. Ruben, seconded by Mr. Aylesworth, to
approve the minutes from the June 11, 2015 meeting as printed.
Motion passed.
Airport/Farm: : Nothing to report.
Animal Control: A motion was made by Mr. Schaffenacker,
seconded by Mr. Ruben, to place approval of the 2015 Animal Control
contracts on the voting agenda for Tuesday night.
Building and Grounds: Nothing to Report.
Community Action: Mr. O’Neill discussed attending a community
focus committee meeting. Several citizens from the community were in
attendance to participate.
Executive: Mrs. Schumacher reported a revised agreement with
Community Action for the operation of public transportation will be
available Monday night for review and a vote to approve will be
taken on Tuesday night.
Economic Development: Nothing to report.
Finance: A motion was made by Mr. Ruben, seconded
by Mr. Rohlfs, to place tax sale LO 14-15 82 on the Tuesday voting
agenda.
A motion was made by Mr. Ruben, seconded by Mr. Aylesworth, to place
a budget amendment for probation (LO 14-15 83) on the Tuesday night
voting agenda.
A motion was made by Mr. Ruben, seconded by Mr. Blankenship, to
place the prevailing wage resolution (LO 14-15 85) on the Tuesday
voting agenda. He also reminded the Board that a vote will be taken
Tuesday night to hire an individual to fill the open Administrative
Assistant position in the Board office.
General Assembly: Nothing to report.
Health: Nothing to report.
Insurance/Legislation: A motion was made by Mr.
Anderson, seconded by Mr. Rohlfs, to place two raffles on the voting
agenda for Tuesday night (LO 14-15 86 and LO 14-15 87).
A motion was made by Mr. Anderson, seconded by Mr. Hepler, to vote
on Tuesday night to close County offices on Christmas Eve.
Workforce Investment: Nothing to report.
Law Enforcement and EMA: Nothing to report.
Liquor: Nothing to report.
Planning and Zoning: Discussion regarding LO 14-15 81.
A motion was made by Mr. O’Neill, seconded by Mr. Ruben, to place
this resolution on the voting agenda for Tuesday night.
Mr. Wu discussed the progress since January: increased setback
distances (average setback is 2,100 ft. roughly), 10% below county
ordinance for noise, limited hours of turbine operations, and
they’ve agreed to contribute $44M over a 25 year period to the
community.
They have offered an unsecured bond for $15M over the life of the
project to be distributed upon construction, but that would reduce
the amount by half.
In regards to property value concerns, they will issue an
insurance/tax guarantee.
They’ve also produced public information on Relight’s background.
Public Comments:
The size of the turbines is an eyesore for miles, negative health
effects, viability of the project due to supply & demand competition
is concerning, Relight’s background is not readily available,
concerns about proof of viability, reports from Relight regarding
noise/setbacks/etc are questionable because they are internal
studies/reports-- a professional, 3rd party wind study should be
completed.
Relight should be transparent and its intentions clear.
The company’s contract with the Mt. Pulaski School Board is
questionable as it asks for all public relations to be approved by
Relight before disbursement to the public.
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A consideration that all major change is scary and usually
opposed at the beginning, so a Wind Farm shouldn’t be dismissed
due to fear. The Wind Farm would create jobs with a higher
salary, which the County needs.
There is concern over property value decreasing.
The noise level, even though tolerable, is still constant and
overwhelming.
The inconvenience of the turbines does not outweigh the economic
opportunity.
Clean Energy is valuable to the country as a whole.
The interstate is noisier than the towers and the towers are not
putting harmful emissions into the air (like the coal mine).
The access roads put in by the company has been very helpful for
the farmers.
All historical progress has been made even in the face of the
“what ifs” of what could go wrong.
Village of Broadwell Board officially opposed to the Wind Farm.
A petition of opposition within the last 3 weeks was submitted
with 854 signatures, which exceeds the number of the petition
last winter; it roughly calculates to the equivalent of 71% of
population of City of Mt. Pulaski age 18+.
The Farm Bureau Board is in opposition to the project and asks
for a sunset clause so the land is not tied up indefinitely if
the motion should pass.
The jobs created by this project would be temporary but the
results would be permanent.
There was concern by many individuals that many of Relight’s
promises are only verbal and have not been put in writing.
Supporters defended the project saying the money being offered
is too good to pass up, especially the funding being offered to
the Mt. Pulaski School District.
Some speakers believe the application is incomplete and cannot
be approved without a new wind study and professional noise
study for this proposal.
Ted Hartke spoke about the negative impacts his family suffered
from wind turbines on their property in Fithian, in Vermilion
County. He was asked to provide medical documentation confirming
the link between the childrens’ health issues and the wind
turbines, but was unwilling to do so at this time.
Board comments:
Mr. O’Neill thanked everyone from coming and sharing their
thoughts and concerns with the Board on this difficult decision.
He expressed his support for this project and will be voting
yes.
Mr. Schaffenacker verified that a copy of the application was
available in the County Board office for review.
Economic Development Partnership: Nothing to report.
Road and Bridge: A motion was made by Mr. Blankenship,
seconded by Mr. Aylesworth, to add LO 14-15 84 to the voting
agenda on Tuesday night.
Waste Management: Nothing to report.
Safety: Nothing to report.
Personnel: Nothing to report.
County Board Chairman’s Report: Nothing to report.
Public Comments:
A motion was made by Mr. O’Neill, seconded by Mr. Ruben, to
adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 10:18
p.m.
[Copied from Logan County website]
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