Kendall County Times

Village of Oswego Committee of the Whole met May 28.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

CALL TO ORDER

President Ryan Kauffman called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m.

ROLL CALL

Board Members Physically Present: President Ryan Kauffman; Trustees Kit Kuhrt, Karin McCarthy-Lange, Karen Novy (attended at 6:08 p.m.), Jennifer Jones Sinnott, and Andrew Torres.

Board Members Attending Electronically: Trustee Tom Guist

Staff Physically Present: Dan Di Santo, Village Administrator; Tina Touchette, Village Clerk; Jason Bastin, Police Chief; Jennifer Hughes, Public Works Director; Andrea Lamberg, Finance Director; Rod Zenner, Development Services Director; Joe Renzetti, IT Director; Kevin Leighty, Economic Development Director; Madeline Upham, Management Analyst; Bridget Bittman, Communications Manager; and Dave Silverman, Village Attorney.

CONSIDERATION OF AND POSSIBLE ACTIONS ON ANY REQUESTS FOR ELECTRONIC PARTICIPATION IN MEETING

President Kauffman noted that Trustee Guist would like to electronically attend tonight’s meeting. Trustee Guist submitted the necessary documents to the Village Clerk.

A motion was made by Trustee Torres and seconded by Trustee Jones Sinnott to approve Trustee Tom Guist to electronically attend the May 28, 2024 Committee of the Whole Meeting.

Aye: Kit Kuhrt         Karin McCarthy-Lange

Karen Novy       Jennifer Jones Sinnott

Andrew Torres

Nay: None

Absent: Tom Guist

The motion was declared carried by a roll call vote with five (5) aye votes and zero (0) nay votes. Trustee Tom Guist attended electronically at 6:03 p.m.

PUBLIC FORUM

Public Forum was opened at 6:03 p.m.

Gerald Sternberg addressed the Board regarding the noxious weed law for undesirable plants; poison hemlock is on the property and has not been removed; need to work with the fire department, police department and park district; it can kill people.

Laura Stark and Chris Maynard addressed the Board regarding the sprinkler system at Southbury. Chris is the President of Southbury’s HOA; he submitted a letter to the Village Board regarding the rules on irrigation; subdivision was built 20 years ago; the irrigation system is unable to be set to even/odd days; east side of the subdivision is ok, but the west side, with the clubhouse, is the issue; cost to replace the system is $40,000; requesting permission for the Village to make an exception for the entirety of Southbury; irrigating two times per week for the east and west side; severe financial distress because of the materials and labor; please let them know

if there is a better approach. President Kauffman noted that the irrigation agenda item is scheduled for later in this meeting and we can circle back for more questions.

David Rood addressed the Board regarding the sprinkler system at Southbury. He lives in Southbury; time frame on when the ordinance went in place; it should have been known to put in an even/odd system, but the HOA was not in place then; they want to conserve water; keep an open mind.

There was no one else who requested to speak. The public forum was closed at 6:12 p.m.

OLD BUSINESS

E.1 Discuss Community Solar Farm Proposal at 6809 B Route 71

Director Zenner addressed the Board regarding the follow-up on a request for a solar farm. The requestor originally addressed the Board at the March 18, 2024 Committee of the Whole meeting. The Board requested they return with additional information. Rory Walker, Project Developer for Turning Point Energy, provided the information.

Board, staff and Turning Point Energy representative discussion focused on no glare to road or neighboring properties; understand the importance of solar; concerns with what else the area can be used for; concerns with not being able to build on the property; leasing from landowner for 25 years with the ability to renew the lease up to 40 years; landowner is staying on the property; sheep will be grazing on the property; third-party management company will manage the sheep; sheep will be dropped off and rotated; carbon footprint; no quick way to quantify the life cycle; EPA only shows the offset; Turning Point Energy has been in contact with the landowner via email, but is not speaking on behalf of the landowner; landowner is not present for this meeting; Turning Point Energy has been in business for 13 years; contracts are sold to investors; contract and bond in place for decommissioning; investors and/or large corporations will own the property; bond in place for bringing the property back to its original state; only leasing the property through a contract; utilities run along Rt. 71; grid is full in this area and ComEd won’t allow more solar; whether Turning Point Energy looked at other locations; threshold is 2 miles; infrastructure is involved; it becomes harder the further out; lease extension could leave the property not accessible for 40 years; real estate company is promoting the southeast property near Collins Road; whether the property can be developed as residential or commercial; property is 39.9 acres with 23 acres being used for solar; 69 homes can be built on the property compared to $1500.00 for solar; not against solar; not a fan of the unknown; loss of revenue for the fire and school district; state taxes based on the amount of energy produced; alternative location; one sheep per acre; losing out on surrounding property; saving on the water side; whether taxpayers are benefitting from solar fields; Turning Point Energy could go to the County. Turning Point Energy requested a letter from the Village Board that we do not wish to annex; what does it mean if the Village doesn’t annex and the County does; Village could add conditions; should state reasons why we don’t support; County denied a solar project in the township; interested in seeing what the County does; 1.5 mile boundary; can’t guarantee how the County will vote; will be awhile because of the County’s long process; property was already planned to be residential; don’t have an issue with solar, just an issue with the location of the solar; Village staff will have a conversation with the County first before sending a letter; Administrator Di Santo and Director Zenner have already been in contact with the County. There was no further discussion.

NEW BUSINESS

F.1 Consideration of a Request from the Southbury Master Homeowners to Modify Section 8-7-14 of the Village Code (Irrigation Regulations)

Director Hughes addressed the Board regarding a request for modification of the irrigation regulations. The Village Board implemented water conservation measures of odd/even watering and sprinkling restrictions in 2002. In 2007, the Village clarified the restrictions for non-addressed properties to allow for set dates of watering on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. In 2008, the Village added hourly restrictions to irrigation. In 2021, the Village prohibited use of sprinkling and automatic water systems on the 31st of each month, allowed watering to start on other days at 4:00 a.m. for non-addressed properties, and required that all new or replacement sprinkler systems be equipped with WaterSense labeled irrigation controller. There is no provision in Village Code for variances for water conservation measures other than the ability of the Village to impose even more restrictive measures on an emergency basis. Staff suggested that the code remain, and if the Board desires to help Southbury, that a narrowly crafted permit be created so that each accommodation would not need to come before the Village Board.

The Southbury Master Homeowners Association (MHOA) approached staff and said their irrigation system is not capable of doing even/odd days. The MHOA requested permission to water on two specific days per week. This would allow them to use the existing controller without modification necessary to comply. Southbury development information:

• Annexation agreement approved in August 2003, after the initial odd/even watering restrictions were adopted.

• Issued permit to install the irrigation system, for common areas and islands, on November 2, 2004.

• Issued permit to construct the clubhouse on June 13, 2005.

Board and staff discussion focused on consecutive day restrictions; enforcing on an as needed basis; need to get used to conserving water; controller is around $2,000; controller required for new installations; they can’t comply with even/odd days; not wanting hundreds of variances; don’t have a variance in Code; how we handle apartment complexes; we go by the address number of the main building; clubhouses have a specific address; there is no addressing on the west side of Southbury; does not make a difference if it is a non-residential building; replacing the entire irrigation system will cost $40,000; why not just change the controller for $2,000; would need to change all the mechanisms and relays; have to replace the entire system; previously irrigated on specific days of the week; Southbury received letter from the Village last year; no option to hand water; system handles all sections of the subdivision; subdivision is still developing; want the subdivision to be attractive to new buyers; dying plants; fiduciary responsibility; system is old, but can’t see spending money on a system that is still working; other HOA’s have systems that can comply with the even/odd days; not enough funds to make a switch to a new system; funds are slated for other items; Southbury is in the middle of a legal issue with a developer; developer should be taking care of lots that are not being mowed; staff will look into lots not being mowed; whether the Village can give Southbury a loan; 727 owners in Southbury; financial analysis; special assessment over a period of time; have a responsibility to the residents of the community; whether there is a workaround with the controller; how we do this for Southbury and not others; need time to get the system corrected; not in a position to get it done now; proposing a couple years with irrigation two days per week; will not irrigate all day; standard watering cycle; clubhouse watering two times per week and the other side the next week; how long it will take to get the system changed; litigation going on this year; can look at next year and get done by end of 2025; just need time; if we make an exception for this community, what does it mean for other communities; enforcement becomes more difficult; challenge is how we do this fairly; have to make sure Southbury residents are not taking advantage of the even/odd days; giving time and being fair; all HOA’s need to come into compliance by a certain date; treating all the HOA’s the same; staff has enforced two to three times in the last couple years; all HOA’s need to be responsible; giving HOA’s time to send letters to us; balancing load on the system; staff will work with the Village Attorney on a policy and code revision; Southbury’s irrigation system needs to be switched over by 12/31/26. There was no further discussion.

CLOSED SESSION

There was no closed session.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 7:11 p.m.

https://www.oswegoil.org/home/showpublisheddocument/6969/638543017769900000