Logan County December Briefs - new area for quarry considered and other matters

 

[December 21, 2019] 

At the Logan County Board meeting Tuesday, December 17, the board voted on several motions and resolutions.

Board members present were Janet Estill, Bob Farmer, Cameron Halpin, David Hepler, Steve Jenness, Chuck Ruben, Bob Sanders Scott Schaffenacker, Annette Welch and Jim Wessbecher. Dave Blankenship and Emily Davenport were absent.

At the Logan County Board’s Planning and Zoning Committee meeting in December, one focus of discussion was mining.

For several years, Doug Muck has been trying to get lime stone mining started near the old quarry. Recently, Joseph and James Scharf, who run a mining company in Normal, have expressed some interest in mining the quarry. Muck wanted to inform the committee about this possibility and get their feedback.

Muck reviewed the maps showing the areas and parcels that have good deposits and said the area nearby was mined by his own family years ago. Muck has recently acquired another parcel located near Salt Creek and Kickapoo Creek.

Planning and Zoning Committee Chairman David Hepler asked what area the Scharfs are hoping to mine.

Joseph Scharf said they would like to mine the entire area but start with a parcel that has 30 feet of sand on top of 14 feet of limestone. The operation would be two phases.

There is a struggle with access to one possible site, so Joseph Scharf asked about using Fifth Street instead of Route 10 as an entrance.

James Scharf would like to find the path of easiest resistance from the interstate and asked about accessing the area from 1575 Street.

Committee member Chuck Ruben asked why they would not come the first entrance down to Fifth Street since trucks drive past by the paper factory anyway, but James Scharf said he is worried about resistance from the people in the subdivision. Ruben said it would be good to talk to Logan County Highway Engineer Bret Aukamp about the Fifth Street project.

Muck showed a thirty-acre parcel near the Area Disposal Transfer Station where they would put a plant.

As far as other conditions, Joseph Scharf is proposing underwater tools, so noise and dust would be a non-issue. The only noise is from screening.

James Scharf said they must follow federal regulations of 85 Decibels or less.

Ruben asked what rezoning would be needed. Logan County Zoning Officer Will D’Andrea said the new parcels need to be connected to the other ones.

Several years ago, the board looked at conditions to apply to a mine. D’Andrea said they would now need to look at whether there is a need for additional berms and setbacks.

Since the miners would need to lay a pipe on the ground, Muck said they may need to get an easement from one property owner.

Joseph Scharf said they need to know they could operate in this area for at least 20 years. Muck said it would take at least 10 or 12 years to get through one area.

Board Chairman Emily Davenport asked how many jobs phase one would bring. Joseph Scharf said they would initially need about six operators. Once the limestone is dug, there would be a need for about 20 people.

As far as how it would affect the area, Joseph Scharf said once the area is mined, it would create a big, beautiful 40-foot-deep lake. Reclamation is done daily and it would be 100 percent lake. Dirt could be used to make a higher levee and then dumped behind.

Hepler said one previous concern people had was wanting to know who is doing the work.

Joseph Scharf said his company has been doing mining since 1995.

The Scharfs and Muck said right now they are just at the informational stage, but wanted to know if it is favorable to move forward.

Hepler encouraged them to move forward with the plan.

These plans will need to go through a public hearing at some point to make sure they are following conditional use guidelines.

Building and Grounds Committee update

Building and Grounds committee member Cameron Halpin brought forward two motions:

1) To accept and approve Commonwealth Edison reimbursement agreement for fiber optic line between the Courthouse and Health Department.

2) To approve Ideal Environmental Engineering, Inc. for boiler pipe asbestos abatement

At Thursday’s workshop, Blankenship asked Logan County Highway Engineer Bret Aukamp to explain the situation.

Aukamp said the county has fiber optic cable running from the courthouse to various areas including the health department. That cable also runs under the property formerly occupied by the streets and alley department.

The property must be excavated due to soil contamination.

Aukamp said Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) is doing a large clean-up project at that location. The health department cable is in the way and must be moved.

Aukamp has worked out an agreement with ComEd for them to cover the costs of relocating the cable. The cable will run from the courthouse all the way to the Logan County Department of Public Health in a place where it will not affect the excavation.

In the agreement with Com Ed, Aukamp said ComEd will cover the costs up front and reimburse the county for any overage. The total cost to install the cable is $102,796.

Ideal Environmental Engineering will remove asbestos wrap from the boiler pipes so that the leaks can be remediated in the room where the problems are occurring in the basement. There are upwards of eight boiler pipes that need remediation.

The amount for the remediation will be $26,000.41 and Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Ruben said the amount can be taken from the Building and Grounds Maintenance Fund whose line item is about $60,000.

Both motions were unanimously approved by those present.

Finance Committee update

Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Ruben brought forward three motions that were unanimously approved by the 10 members present:

1) To approve a Budget Amendment in the amount of $14,650 for FY 18-19 for computers for the Circuit Clerk document storage. Ruben said the amount is already in the fund balance but is more than they budgeted for the computers.

2) To approve Budget Amendments for Fiscal Year 18-19. Ruben said the rest of the money from the major criminal cases fund has been moved to the general fund. The amount left in the major criminal cases fund was $44,000 and the money can then be put into other line items in the budget. These items include the salary for the courthouse janitor and court maintenance contract, which Ruben said were over budget.

3) To approve Budget Amendments for Fiscal Year 19-20. Ruben said this amendment is due to a line being left out for 911 and EMA training funds. The amount omitted from the budget was $10,000 and money was moved from the farm fund to the general fund and into the training line item.

Road and Bridge Committee update

Road and Bridge Committee Chairman Bob Farmer brought forward three motions:

1) To approve the Appropriation of $109,392 for the payment of the County Engineer’s salary for 2020.

Logan County Highway Engineer Bret Aukamp said half of the County Highway Engineer’s Salary comes from the Illinois Department of Transportation. That item was not on the agenda, so it will be brought forward at next month’s meeting.
 
2) To approve appropriating $927,947 for maintenance of streets and highways under the Illinois Highway Code.

3) To approve the use of County Motor Fuel Tax Funds for payroll related expenses.

All were unanimously approved.

Insurance, Legislative, and Liquor Committee update

Insurance, Legislative, and Liquor Committee Chairman Annette Welch brought forward two motions that were unanimously approved:

1) To approve the confirmation of Logan County polling places. Welch said Atlanta is changing a polling place to provide one that is more accessible.

2) To approve a resolution to close the Logan County Clerk’s Office on 2020 Election Days for all non-election related services.

Airport and Farm Committee update

The board unanimously approved Cameron Halpin’s motion to approve Leesman Contract Services in the amount of $4,875.00 for hedge removal work at the airport. They were the only bidders.

At Thursday’s board workshop, Airport and Farm Committee Chairman Dave Blankenship, said originally the committee had approved the farm tenant to removing some trees and hedge at the airport for $8,000, but said due to limited time, the tenant will not be able to do it.

The next Regular Board meeting will be Tuesday, January 21 at 6 p.m. in the Logan County Courthouse.

[Angela Reiners]