Kankakee Times

Kankakee County Planning, Zoning and Agriculture Committee met June 20.

Here is the minutes provided by the Committee:

Members Present:

Mr. Olthoff, Mr. Stauffenberg, Mr. Tripp, Mr. Washington, Mr. Mulcahy, Mr. Payton, and Mr. Ritter

Members Absent:

Ms. Polk, Mr. Tholen, Mr. Hildebrand, Mr. Einfeldt, Ms. Peters, Mr. Kinzinger, and Mr. Fairfield

In Attendance

•Board Members

Mr. Wheeler, Mr. Liehr, and Mr. Vickery

• Department Heads

Delbert Skimerhorn and Erich Blair

• Media

None

1.Call to Order/Roll Call

The meeting was called to order by the Committee Chairman, Mr. Olthoff, at 9:00 a.m. Quorum present.

2. Public Comment

None

3. Approval of Minutes:

May 16, 2018 Mr. Washington made a motion to approve the minutes, and Mr. Payton seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

4. Building - Delbert Skimerhorn

• Stormwater/MS4 Program Discussion

None

5. Zoning

• Ex Parte Communications to Committee

Mr. Skimerhorn stated that Mr. Fairfield has received calls from concerned individuals regarding ZBA case #18-27. Mr. Fairfield forwarded the contact information to Mr. Skimerhorn.

6. Transportation

• Creation of Transportation & Economic Development Project Coordinator Position (Grant Funded)

Mr. Wheeler stated that CSL Behring is expanding, and there are traffic and infrastructure issues surrounding it. CSL is asking for help with the traffic situations in the Route 50 corridor. The position would provide CSL with a single point of contact between IDOT and the county. The county would provide the benefits for the employee.

Mr. Tripp asked if the engineering work was done for the area already.

Mr. Wheeler stated that the last study was done in 2004, and there is a new traffic study happening now. He stated that this position can also apply for additional grants for the bike paths and walking islands.

Mr. Tripp asked about office space for this position.

Mr. Wheeler stated that the position has to be housed at the county building.

Mr. Skimerhorn stated that a project like this has a lot of needs, moving parts and players and part of this position would be bringing all of that together.

Mr. Washington asked, since this is a grant-funded position, if the grant is no longer available, would the position no longer exist?

Mr. Wheeler stated that the continuation of the position is at the discretion of the board.

Mr. Washington made a motion to forward this item to the Finance Committee, and Mr. Tripp seconded it. Motion carried with a roll call vote of 8 ayes and 0 nays. Voting aye were Mr. Olthoff, Mr. Stauffenberg, Mr. Tripp, Mr. Washington, Mr. Mulcahy, Mr. Payton, Mr. Ritter, and Mr. Wheeler.

• Amendment of Economic Alliance Agreement with Kankakee County

The amendment is not needed.

7. Old Business

Mr. Wheeler stated that Mr. Skimerhorn and he had a phone conversation with ComEd about solar farm capacity in the county. There are 450 applications for community solar gardens throughout the state, and the county has 45 of them. They were advised that there is going to be a lottery for those sites and every solar farm the county approves will probably not be built.

Mr. Skimerhorn stated that each substation can only handle so much power. ComEd said that one out of every seven will be approved.

Mr. Vickery stated that the gentleman who presented at the County Board meeting had some ideas that could be implemented into the county ordinance, such as the different types of solar panels. He asked what the process is after the special use permit is approved.

Mr. Skimerhorn stated that updating an ordinance would take three months so it would be October or November, and the ordinances cannot be retroactive. New technologies may arise, and they don’t want to limit themselves. It would probably be more expeditious to put conditions on that are specific to each site. After the special use is permitted, they wait for them to apply for their building permit and the third-party reviewer reviews the project. If it meets all of the codes, the permit is issued and construction begins.

8. New Business

Mr. Stauffenberg stated that he got a call from the insurance agent for the Route 50 Motel who claims the County is trying to close them down. They stated that they have to spend about $200,000 to fix things, and wants to know if he should spend the money if they are going to be shut down.

Mr. Skimerhorn stated that the motel applied for a building permit for repairs on the catwalks and the stairs. He does not have a structural engineer on staff, so they could not determine if the repairs were adequate. They hired a structural engineer to determine if the plans were adequate and are awaiting the report.

Mr. Blair stated that SB486 passed both houses. The bill states that the value per megawatt for a solar farm is $218,000, land and improvements combined. At the request of the owner, the developer shall provide a legal description of the project itself to assign a separate pin number so the bill can be sent to the developer, and whatever land is left will keep its own identity.

Mr. Olthoff announced that the Executive Committee meeting scheduled for June 26th has been cancelled.

9. Adjournment

Mr. Stauffenberg made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:53 a.m., and Mr. Washington seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

http://www.co.kankakee.il.us/files/committees/pza_62018.pdf