Logan County continues public transportation program, wind farms preparations, makes updates to Bed and Breakfast and to Solar Farm Ordinances, and other matters

 

[March 01, 2019] 

At the Regular Logan County Board meeting Tuesday, February 19, the board voted on several motions and heard a few committee updates.

Members present were Board Chairman Emily Davenport, Vice chairman Scott Schaffenacker, Kevin Bateman, Dave Blankenship, Bob Farmer, David Hepler, Chuck Ruben, Bob Sanders and Annette Welch. Janet Estill and Steve Jenness were absent.

Public Transportation Committee update

Public Transportation Committee Vice Chairman Kevin Bateman brought forward four motions:

- A motion to approve a resolution Authorizing Execution and Amendment of Section 5311 Grant Agreement.

- A motion to approve a Public Transportation Applicant Ordinance.

- A motion to approve Acceptance of the Special Warranty.

- A motion to approve an Intergovernmental Agreement [between Logan County and Mason County] to Provide for the Public Transportation in Logan and Mason Counties.

All were unanimously approved.

Bateman said Showbus has also signed an agreement with ALMH to provide senior transport.

Road and Bridge Committee update

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

The board unanimously approved the jurisdictional transfer of a part of South Street in Atlanta to the city of Atlanta.

On another matter related to best interests of the county when dealing with wind farm developers, Farmer made a second motion to approve a legal representation agreement with Klein, Thorpe, and Jenkins. The specialists would negotiate the Road Use Agreement with the Whitney Hill Wind Farm.

Bateman amended the motion to put the legal representation out for bids. Bateman said he has heard from some local attorneys about it and would like attorneys who have local ties to have the chance to bid.

Hepler said he would also like to hear from local attorneys.

Ruben asked how long that would delay everything.

Logan County Highway Engineer Bret Aukamp said he would need to put together a statement of qualifications to go out for proposals and receiving and reviewing them could take two to three months. If working with an attorney who had not developed a road use agreement before, a template would need to be developed. Aukamp said the delay would probably be a six-month minimum.

Welsh asked when the Whitney Hill Wind Farm project and Sugar Creek Wind Farm project were supposed to start.

Aukamp said Whitney Hill developers hope to start in May and Sugar Creek in the late summer or fall. He said it would make a smooth transition if they used the same road use agreement for Whitney Hill that they used for HillTopper, which the same attorney worked with.

Bateman’s amendment failed 6-3. Davenport, Farmer, Ruben, Sanders, Schaffenacker and Welch voted no.

Blankenship, Bateman and Hepler voted yes.

The main motion passed with Blankenship, Davenport, Farmer, Ruben, Sanders, Schaffenacker and Welch voting yes.

Bateman and Hepler voted no.

Farmer’s motion to approve a legal representation agreement with Klein, Thorpe, and Jenkins to assist with negotiation of a Road Use Agreement for the Sugar Creek Wind Farm also passed 7-2 with Bateman and Hepler voting no.

Planning and Zoning Committee update

Planning and Zoning Committee Chairman David Hepler brought forward two amendments to the zoning ordinance.

• A Bed and Breakfast Ordinance Amendment
• A Solar Farm and Garden Ordinance Amendment

Both the Logan County Regional Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals voted to recommend approval of these amendments.

There are several criteria bed and breakfast establishments must follow such as being in a one- or two-family dwelling unit on a one-acre lot, serving breakfast only, providing off street parking, no more than five guest rooms, and having a small non-flashing identification sign.

Other criteria set forth:

- Compliance with State Fire Marshal requirements for one- and two-family dwellings and obtain certification from the State Fire Marshal that the proposed bed and breakfast establishment meets the requirements of Section 6 of the State of Illinois Bed and Breakfast Act.

- Submission of a floor plan as part of the special use permit application illustrating that the proposed establishment will comply with the requirements for bed and breakfast establishments.

- Before opening, the operator shall obtain all required licenses and permits for a bed and breakfast establishment as required by the Logan County Health Department prior to beginning the operation of the bed and breakfast establishment.

The ZBA suggested adding one more criterion saying the establishments should follow state standards for cleanliness.

D’Andrea said in reviewing the solar ordinance the board passed a few months ago, he noticed a breakdown between solar gardens and solar farms with some standards applying only to solar farms, so he changed some of the structure and amended it so the criteria are the same for both.

When solar gardens are part of a subdivision, dimensional standards will be different. D’Andrea said a 500-foot setback is not needed for residences in subdivisions because it would be on a smaller scale. The setback for solar garden structures in subdivisions will be a minimum of ten feet, and all other setbacks would apply to both solar farms and solar gardens.

D’Andrea said a drainage report will now need to be submitted with site plans.

One amendment recommended by the Regional Planning Commission was changing all the wording on solar farms and solar gardens to solar energy systems for consistency. Solar energy systems was the term used in one section, but the term solar projects was used in other sections.

Another change suggested by the Regional Planning Commission was to take out a section about navigable streams since Logan County does not have any.

D’Andrea said in the section setbacks and minimum distances, Logan County Highway Engineer Bret Aukamp told him “margins of a public road” should be changed to “right of way.”

The board unanimously approved both ordinance amendments.

At Thursday’s workshop, D’Andrea said there would be a public hearing for the Whitney Hill project in March. A web map of the site can be found through accessing the link http://logancounty.maps. arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=c13f66db53ab4fada86f775d674ea961


Finance Committee update

The board unanimously approved three motions from the Finance Committee:

1) A motion to approve the Tax Anticipation Bid from State Bank of Lincoln in the amount of $1 million with a fixed rate of 2.98 percent.

At the Finance Committee meeting, members looked at the bids from United Community Bank, Town and Country Bank, and State Bank. At 2.98 percent, State Bank’s bid was the lowest, though United Community Bank’s bid came close at 2.99 percent.

Davenport asked if State Bank was usually the lowest and said she likes to spread business around.

Ruben said the board usually uses State Bank except around eight years ago when there was a $100 difference between the United Community Bank and State Bank bids. He said it is about loyalty.

2) A budget amendment moving the Airport/Farm Manager salary from a budgetary line item to a payroll line item.

3) An agreement with Tri-County Regional Planning Commission for 2019 flyover for orthophotography for the County’s GIS System.

Logan County Zoning Officer Will D’Andrea said the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission applied for a grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation, so our county’s portion is a lot less than it would be otherwise and saves a ton of money.

Designation of banks for county deposits passed with Ruben abstaining, and the other eight members present voting yes.

At the Workshop, the Finance Committee also approved the purchase of one of the Sheriff’s Office old vehicles for use by the Assessor’s Office.

Ruben said Supervisor of Assessment Jennifer Campbell asked about the purchase because it is more cost efficient than paying mileage when they use their own cars.

Campbell said the purchase amount is already in her budget, but she would like a maintenance budget for the vehicle.

Ruben said that could come from the line item mileage is paid out of.

The cost of the vehicle will not exceed $2,500.

Davenport has appointed Hepler to fill the role of Vice chairman for the Finance Committee since Gene Rohlfs has stepped down from the board due to being appointed Airport Manager.

Executive and Personnel

Schaffenacker’s motion modify the Board Policies and Procedures to increase the public comment time from two minutes to three minutes was unanimously approved.

At the February Board Workshop, Bateman said it would be good to ask if there are any public comments before each vote in case more questions have arisen after discussion.

Ruben said the change to three minutes was suggested by the Attorney General.

Schaffenacker’s motion to approve a Resolution for the Consumer Electronics Recycling Act opting into the program for 2020 was also unanimously approved.

Logan County Board Secretary Amy Kuhlman said she recently attended a meeting and was told Recycling Act is for the entire county. There would be two electronic recycling events a year with one in April and another in September.

Ruben asked what kind of advertising would be done.

Kuhlman said they are required to post information about the event in the papers.

The next Regular Board meeting will be Tuesday, March 19 at 7 p.m. in the Logan County Courthouse.

[Angela Reiners]