|
 The ZBA only provides a recommendation and any recommended
conditions on zoning requests; the county board can choose to agree
or disagree with those recommendations in their deliberations.
Committee member Kevin Bateman shared a few concerns he has heard
from citizens repeatedly over this matter. One of these concerns is
that should Relight fall out of business the towers would be taken
down at the county’s expense. D’Andrea said that Relight is required
to post bonds that would be used for decommissioning in the future
before building anything, so the money would already be set aside
for that purpose.
On the subject of decommissioning, Bateman asked if the land could
be restored back to its previous state after the towers came down.
D’Andrea said that could be set as a condition for the permit, which
would be similar to the Railsplitter Wind Farm in previous years.
Another concern Bateman shared is the system of roads in the area.
Rohlfs said that any roadwork done by Relight has to be approved by
the county highway engineer.
 Bateman also asked about the tax money that would go to school
districts in the area and whether or not the tax increase would
decrease state aid received by the schools. Tom Martin, a citizen
from Mt Pulaski, was present at the meeting and answered Bateman’s
question, saying that to his knowledge, state aid would decrease,
but he was unsure of the amount.
“The school system does have the most to gain here,” said Martin.
Following Bateman’s questions, two other guests from Mount Pulaski
addressed the committee. Corey Leonard added to the discussion on
property taxes, saying that tax rates on wind farms in the state
could go down after the first year, due to the current rates
expiring in 2016.
Leonard also said that the Railsplitter project, which has been
compared to the proposed Relight project, has a smaller number of
shorter and less powerful towers within a larger, yet less populated
area. “The number of citizens that would be impacted is vastly
different than the first project,” said Leonard.
Rohlfs said he recently visited the Railsplitter wind farm, and from
his perspective, the proposed Relight farm would be much more
overwhelming in scope.
[to top of second column] |
Gena Monicahl Ruhl, another citizen of Mount Pulaski,
addressed the committee on the health concerns that could come
up in the future. Ruhl said that there are people in other areas
in Illinois and in other states who have become sick after the
towers are turned on, eventually forcing some of them to leave
their homes. Ruhl also said that some of these people become
healthy again after leaving the area.
In addition to the health problems, Ruhl said that the research
on the health effects of living near wind towers is constantly
being updated, and it is only now that we are learning how
people can be affected. “There are too many unknowns,” said Ruhl.
Committee members present for the meeting included Chairman Pat
O’Neill, Vice-chairman Emily Davenport, Kevin Bateman, David
Blankenship, Gene Rohlfs and Board Chairman, David Hepler.
The county workshop meeting on the 15th will see a continuation
of this ongoing discussion, and the board is expected to vote on
the potential project this month.
[Derek Hurley]
Past related
articles:
Dec. 15, 2014 - ZBA
hearing continued - Logan County ZBA closes public comment on
proposed Mount Pulaski Wind Farm
Nov. 24, 2014 ZBA hearing opens
-
Mount Pulaski community hears details
of proposed Meridien Wind Farm
Nov. 7, 2014 Regional Planning
Commission -
Meridien/Relight Wind Farm unanimous
approval from RPC
 |
