Adams County Board denies solar special use permit for Ghost Hollow Road project

QUINCY — The Adams County Board denied a special use permit Tuesday for a 3.4-megawatt solar farm just off Ghost Hollow Road in the Melrose Township.

Pivot Energy is proposing the project, which has met all state requirements. In 2023, Governor JB Pritzker signed P.A. 102-1123 into law, which preempts county authority to enact local ordinances that prohibit wind and solar projects. 

This comes on the heels of the County Board’s vote in May to allow a solar farm just outside of Ursa. Before that vote, which was 11-8 for approval, Adams County State’s Attorney Todd Eyler said “We are required to follow the state statute.”

Dave Bellis (R-District 3) said Pivot had “checked all of the boxes as far as state rules,” but said he wasn’t “a solar guy.” That being said, he ended with “We are following state rules.”

Bellis also chairs the Transportation, Building and Technology Committee, which unanimously recommended approval of the special use permit.

Joe Zanger (R-District 7), who represents the area where the Ghost Hollow Road solar farm is proposed, brought up pending state legislation that could potentially override the current law. Eyler said he hasn’t read the legislation, but “Illinois legislation moves slower than the courts” and if you’re not in the majority party “good luck,” which, of course, our local representatives are not.

But the County Board chose to buck the state statute this time by a 12-8 vote. As far as the members who represent that area, both Zanger and Brent Fischer (R-District 7) voted to deny the permit while Russ Hinkamper (R-District 7) voted to approve.

“This project, compared to Ursa, is more of an isolated type area,” Hinkamper said. “They have tried to work with the neighboring public, maybe more so than the Ursa project, in my opinion.”

“If there was one we should have denied, it was the last one,” Travis Cooley (R-District 4) said comparing this vote to the May vote on the Ursa project.

Other members voting to deny the permit were Tim Siemer (R-District 1), Keith Callaway (R-District 1), Mark Sorensen (R-District 2), Barb Fletcher (R-District 2), Mark Dietrich (R-District 3), Jeremy Farlow (R-District 4), Steve McQueen (R-District 4), Robert Reich (R-District 5), Tim Finlay (R-District 5) and Jon McCoy (R-District 5).

Marvin Kerkhoff (R-District 3) was absent.

After the vote, Bellis said “I’ve got a feeling Todd’s (Eyler) going to be busy.”

After the County Board returned from executive session, Brittney Krebsbach with Pivot Energy said the next steps were “regrettable” and she suggested, after a discussion with Eyler, that the County Board could move to suspend the meeting instead of adjourning it, which would allow for the potential for outside counsel negotiations and a motion to reconsider by the Board.

“There wasn’t really a reason given by any of the board members to deny,” she told the Board. “There’s not a ton of ground to stand on, but I see where you all are coming from. At the end of the day, Pivot Energy is a business and we are going to protect our assets.”

So the Board voted to suspend the meeting, which opens the window for future discussion.

“We’ll do what we need to do to represent the County,” Eyler said, with adding he would want to discuss next steps in another executive session.

County Engineer Jim Frankenhoff said two more solar farms are coming before the Board within the next few months, with each one getting its own public hearing.

In other action:

Following the board’s executive session on discussion on how to proceed with a sale or lease of county-owned property to the Mill Creek Water District for the construction of a new water tower, the board approved a sale-price of $10 for the property by a 19-1 vote, with Callaway being the lone “no” vote. All costs for improvements to the property would assumed by the water district.

Bonding for the courthouse’s HVAC and roof replacement had to be changed according to Cooley, who sits as the Finance Committee chair. He said the bonds have been split into two 10-year notes being held by Bank of Springfield and First Bankers Trust. Cooley said the banks believed that was a better alternative than one bank holding a 15-year payoff. The annual payments will be $1.11 million and the County will save a total of around $3 million due to lower interest payments.

Farlow addressed the County Board regarding a traffic incident Board Chairman Bret Austin was involved with last month and received a citation. Farlow read a letter to the Board saying he didn’t believe Austin was being transparent about the “Taco Bell incident” which happened at the restaurant’s Ninth and Broadway location.

Farlow made several assumptions regarding the situation and used the term “where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”

Farlow said he believed that the way Austin handled the situation led to “trust issues” in elected officials and Austin should apologize to the public and to fellow board members.

Austin said he had e-mailed a letter to all County Board members regarding the incident but had no further comment, citing his upcoming court appearance on the matter.