City Council - Regular Meeting

have a problem with it, we will move it to the bottom of the list. Um, so that then takes us to the consent agenda. Uh, is there any council member that would like to pull anything off of the consent agenda? If not, I'd ask for a motion. Alerwoman Miller, I'll make a motion that we approve the consent agenda A through G as presented. Okay. And a second. Uh, Alderwoman Bainy. I'll second that motion as presented. Clerk, call the vote. Alwoman Miller, yes. Alwoman Bainy, yes. Alman Glab, yes. Alman Dhy, yes. Alwoman Bassie,

yes. Alman Davis, yes. Alman Cook, yes. Okay, motion passes. And again, Monty, if you can move the uh screen up. Okay. Uh we go to individual action items and uh the first on the list is is the full circle multifamily uh PUD 3512 Pearl Street. Uh and we ask for a motion to pass an ordinance granting final approval for conditional use and final plan approval for a plan unit development at 3512 Pearl Street. Uh Director Pali.

Sure. Um thank you Alderman Glab. Uh this is uh this is Full Circle Communities. They have resubmitted a revised proposal to construct a 10-unit incomerestricted multifamily building on Pearl Street. Um council did uh see a presentation already on this uh proposal. Uh the petitioner has revised and is looking to give a presentation this evening um to discuss the changes they've made based on city council's um previous comments. So Okay. Do we have somebody from We do. Uh Jordan is here from full circle. Go to the podium. Jordan, go ahead and Monty's got your presentation for you.

Great. Thank you very much. Um again, my name is Jordan Bartle. I'm vice president of real estate development at Full Circle Communities. So, we're um back to talk about Pearl Street Commons. Oh, yeah.

Thank you. and our uh 10-unit expansion to the 25 units that we have already there. Um so again, we're seeking a conditional use permit for a PUD. So we were in front of you all last month uh and received some design feedback um about the exterior design and then about the parking. So, um, we are going I'm going to keep this brief and just about those items so we don't rehash a lot of the details that we went over last time. All right. So, to refresh, this is what we presented last month. Um, and the concerns we heard were around uh, first the amount of parking. And where we ended up last time was to include some language in the ordinance about in the future if it were ever to turn market rate that we would then um, bring it up to code then that the that the allowance for doing fewer parking spots would just run with our use. And so we agreed to that and that language got added to the ordinance um to help take care of the concern that if this were ever to be non-incomerestricted then we would bring it up to the full parking amount. Um the other concerns we heard were around uh the exterior design of the building. So about the uh amount of parking or sorry the amount of brick uh that there should be more variation to the exterior facade and then that also that the roof lines were very long and should be broken up. So in the design in our redesign um this is the east side facing the other facing east uh the other building um and so we worked with our design team to take into account that feedback and make some changes. Um, so we increased the amount

of brick uh on the building. Um, I think it's about 50ome percent now. Uh, and the brick came up on the east and north and south side to just above the first floor windows. Um we looked at going up to 75% which is the city's um uh requirement, but we felt that it for a two-story building uh that the the basically the brick would go almost all the way to the top and there would just be a white that white band and that for a two-story building that felt kind of like overwhelm an overwhelming amount and also went the other way in the direction of of um sort of simplifying the facade and not providing for a lot variety, which is the one of the comments that we heard. Um, we also changed some of the material colors so that it it where before it was kind of these like long strips of color of the same color, now we've uh changed that up so some of that blue become becomes white. Um, so it adds some variety to the facade and kind of breaks that up. And then we also added the chimneys to the top. um these chimney elements that is a design feature that also the the first original Pearl building has. So it helps break up the roof line and relate the building more to the original Pearl building. And then on the west side facing Richmond um again you can see those chimneys which help break up the roof line. We added these gable dormers on the first floor portion of the roof. Um, so those two items really like break up those like longer roof line uh stretches. And then uh similarly to the east side, we changed up some of the color on the second floor. Um, so where before it was a a white band that continued, now it's got some blue there.

And then uh here's a view of the north and south side. So you can see the the higher amount of brick come around uh and uh then drop down when it goes down to the first the onetory portion to to m uh to better fit on that side. So, we believe these design changes address uh the concerns, the design concerns you all had uh in the original design um and make the the design a bit more varied, some more visual interest, breaks up the long stretches of roof and color um and all within a way that kind of still relates the building back to the original one. So, they uh kind of talk to each other while still making this one a good anchor for the corner. a prominent corner of of the city. So, uh, thanks again. We're very glad to be part of the city of Mckenry. Um, and we look the this expansion of our work um to provide income restricted housing that's for veterans and people with disability. Thank you.

Okay. Thank you. Uh I guess where we'll go first is I'll just make a couple comments and that's the fact that uh from the last what I recall of the last time that you were here uh the big big concerns uh by most it seemed like to be the parking uh for the future as well as uh the design of the building. So I will ask uh if any older person would like to start the conversation.

Older woman. Um, thank you so much for coming back. I think these are excellent changes and definitely I I was a supporter of the project. I think the parking makes a lot of sense and um that we got some great solutions for potential changes in the future if needed and I think this is much more representative of what we'd like to see on that corner. Um, so thank you very much for bringing this back and putting some thought into making these buildings marry up a little bit better and um, this is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you. Great. Thank you. again. Thank you as well. Um, this is in my ward. I appreciate you making the efforts to make the changes we've requested and I supported it the last time and I fully support it now. Thank you.

Thanks. I guess as an alderman, I will take and make my comments and that's the fact that I find it difficult to support the fact that uh you haven't really addressed the future parking problem. uh you've talked about five additional uh parking spots. What's your plans if it ever goes to a a regular open uh apartment complex? What are your plans as far as for the future as far as uh the parking? Because right now with what you're proposing, you would still be 11 short of what the ordinance would read.

Um yes, that's right. So what we the solution that we came up with is that in the ordinance there there's a now added new added section that says if it were ever to become not uh if it were ever to become market rate and no longer income restriction restricted then the the parking would need to go come up to code. And how would you do that as far as bringing it up to code? You don't have the room right now to to put in that many parking spots. Correct. He's got the answer. Oh, no. Sorry. Oh, I didn't I didn't know if you were aware um on your in front of you, you've got a new amended number three to the ordinance that's got language in there. If they don't Yeah, that's not here, but that's not the issue.

Okay. Yeah, but yeah, there are a couple of technical changes we can go. We we've got room at the the bottom of the site. Um we there's some at the corner there. So, add we could just build additional parking there. you'll be able to add in 11 more parking spots besides the five extra that you're talking. So, because you're right right now, what you're talking about uh developing is a 16 short of the the code. So, yeah, we would it would have to become almost like a a new bump out of the parking, not just a line of it.

And I appreciate the fact that that you readress the design of the building and everything else. However, uh why didn't we just go with the exact look of what the first building was? Well, that one's much bigger. It's 25 units and three stories. So, this one we we've gone it's 10 units and only two stories on one side and one story on the other side. So, we um I mean just with those the kind of that data, it's just a much different building. But then because we wanted to kind of do something a bit different at the corner um to kind of mark that as an as an anchor and then not have it be so tall along the that the street so for cars for people walking that it's it softens down from two stories to one story.

I mean the first building you built beautiful building that everybody sees as they're going down 31 Richmond Road. Um, and that's what I would like to see for the second building for it to look just about exactly like that. The way I look at it is even though it's done in phases, it's still all one project. And therefore, it should all coincide uh as if it was all built as one. And uh to me I just feel that uh the design should be uh not just complementing the first building but should actually be copying the first building. And again this this building is is the first thing you'll see off of 31. And to me I I would like to see uh something that would be very comparable to the first building that was built. Um, and I find it hard to support without uh that. And uh, again, I just, you know, the way I look at it is if if you were talking about adding extra spots on there, it would have been a lot easier for everybody to visualize that if it had been drawn out on the plans for future development. So, uh, with that, does anybody else have any, uh, comments or questions?

Yes. Alderman, uh, just had a question on the old building. Is there blue in it? There is blue. There is the blue in it. Okay. And that was that was the issue I had. I I do appreciate you having that the first level because There we go. We got some pictures of the original one. So, um Oh, that's why cuz it's it's on the side so you don't wonder. I thought it was all white. Okay. So, it's going to match this color. The whole back is blue. Primarily blue ones. Okay. So, we're using the same like brick, white, and blue across the um the only one that I was confused about is we had talked about those five spaces. Were those added or not added?

Those five spaces are landbanked. So, they're they're like we're just designating space if they are needed in the future. Okay. So, that's for the future. Yep. Okay. any way to add those five to the current scheme and make that patio area a little smaller? I think because it was right there, right?

Yeah. I think our the like the parking is vastly underutilized currently. So, like we're adding 10 more units. We're add we're coming out to the same total number of parking spots. Um, but there we just believe there's no danger of like getting close to that and we would rather like have an amenity that the like for example the patio or that open green space like things that people will really use and benefit from than just adding parking for a a potential issue that like we just really don't think will happen, right? Because yeah, again, this is um housing for people with disabilities and veterans that are low income. Yeah, that yeah, that parking is always underutilized.

Yeah. Um I disagree with Andy to the point where uh on 31 I appreciate the first level being lower so we don't have this monstrosity of a building right on the right on the street, you know, because it's going to it's right there. Yeah. Um but I do as long as it's going to match because that was my big thing. It it looked like two distinct buildings. Yeah. which I don't mind if the design is slightly different as long as it coincides color-wise and brick-wise. And again, the last one had a lot less brick. So, um it's uh it's better than it was. Thank you. Thanks.

Does anybody else have any other comments or questions? Uh then I guess we'll go to a vote. And Monte, we're voting on the supplement that was given to us. Oh, is that that's not in the agenda itself. Correct, Ross? I don't know which.

Yeah. So, no, the one that's before you was is the change in it uh offers the the change to the uh parking in the use. If the use goes to a market rate, then uh they they cannot use it as a market rate until those till it complies with the current ordinance. And again, it's not specific because we don't know what the current ordinance is going to be in 20 or 30 years whenever this happens. It might be more, it might be less. We don't know. So, whatever whatever happens in at that time when they decide to sell this property, if they decide to sell it, that's when that determination of how many parking spots will need to be made per our current ordinance at the time for market rate. And you're good with that?

Yes. Yeah. The we we um requested some really small changes to that number five. And that's just because the I mean mainly to um correct the name of the program, the main funding program, but then it's uh it's not like an ongoing program that we're getting funding from year-over-year. So there's no um yeah, we basically cleaned up the language. The intent is the same that if it ever were to become not affordable, then we would need to comply with the the code on parking. Okay. Older woman B. I'm B. I'm sorry.

Just say older woman B and then we'll see what happens. Okay. Um, could you show me the Richmond Road side of the new building, please? Sure. That's this side here. Okay. That's what we're going to see on Richmond Road. Okay. Now, could you And there's no way you can increase the bread up up for the first floor. Um, it just would I think it would make it just feel very heavy. Um, because then it would go it would be it would like fill up to the roof line, right?

Yeah. So, we we just viewed that like because it's a two-story building and one story on that side that it would it would just make it feel very heavy. Okay. Could you now show me because I want to see this and then I want to see what's there now real fast. Okay. So, my eyes are visualizing what it'll look like. So, can I see the um the picture you had of what's there currently now? Oh, sure. That's not very fast. Okay. So here the picture doesn't it's a similar idea in that it's higher on the it doesn't not at all on the main side and then it drops down

right around. So in this case it's a threetory building so we have farther that we can go up without it feeling too heavy. Right. Uh and then and then it drops down on the side to a lower amount. Okay. All right. Thank you. Sure. I have a question. So the motion on the table is going to be amended with here. So it's going to be as long as the parking is agreed upon which is supplementally put out for everybody. No, no, that's the the motion should be to approve the language is presented to us in this amendment. Okay. Thank you. Because that has the language we need. Okay. Thank you.

And that will be reflected in the minutes. Correct. Right. That's right. Okay. Because this is not in there. So then actually in the minutes we should almost have this entire thing in the Well, no, you have the ordinance. I mean, you have the uh Yeah, you have the ordinance to read. Okay. So, this is the ordinance the way it'll be. Not the ordinance. Okay. According to the supplement, but this is not in this is not on the original. I know we're changing it as we're moving here. Correct. So, all I'm getting at is if you go back a year from now to to research it. This will be in there.

No, what they'll do what you'll do is you'll read the agenda, you won't know how the motion was made because it's not the minutes. You'll go to the minutes. The minutes will approve this ordinance and then you'll read the ordinance and it's right there. Oh, okay. You guys got to do your homework. That's why you hire a lawyer. got to make a living. Anyway, it works. All right, just one more question I have. Is there a reason we went with the whole front with the blue gray instead of just kind of trying to match it with the white and the and then just leave the blue on the sides? Um I think that's what a lot of us are kind of struggling with. It doesn't match.

No, the ma the side that matches uh Yeah. 120 or 31. Um, so this the west side that's going towards 31. Yeah. So that lower side that would be right up street. Mhm. Yeah. Is there a reason that we did that? Just added so much more. I I think that's where the confusion is is because the old one it's more on the sides and then that's the blue. The majority of the blue. Yeah. Okay. Instead of white. So it doesn't it it seems like same color scheme. Yeah.

But it seems like it doesn't really blend as well because of that. Well, so we I mean this this is the main this the east side that's you know facing the parking lot. We added more white here to have it more match the original pearl the the first building. So are you you're you're wanting more more white on this on the west side also. I was thinking that yeah from the street side what everyone's going to see as they drive by. So they would like so if you're driving past you'll see this one and possibly the one behind it. Mhm.

So if they blended together in that respect or you know if you were slightly this from this view you would see the old one and this one and then they then they kind of they don't I wouldn't say clash but they don't seem like they're cohesive I guess. Okay. I mean we are flexible. We can change like we added some blue to the second story because last time we heard you know more variation was desired um to kind of break up the facade. But if the desire is to have this be um you know primarily white, we can do that. Yeah, I don't mind the blue on the second one. I mean, just only because it is just one level. And I agree with the brick, you can't go all the way up because then it's just all brick heavy.

Um but I would like to see a little more white. Even if on the um if just on that lower level you made that white and left everything else, I think it would still blend a little bit better. But okay. Um it's again it's probably personal preference to so uh Alderman Cook take you all I'm having a hard time fathoming where if heaven forbid that this project you're selling it or anything where would you put these extra parking spots? I mean are you going to take away something? Are you going to put parking along the sidewalks? No, I don't have a

I don't get the picture. Yeah, I guess the um I don't have a a site plan in here, but um there's a a section at the southwest corner that is just empty right now. Um so we could build out an extra bit of parking there. But I I do want to re reiterate like Full Circle is a nonprofit. We are going to own this in perpetuity is going to continue to be affordable housing visa because that's the only thing that we do. So like the the concern around it becoming market rate, okay,

um is really a a not a likely scenario. Um and even if we were to sell it, it would the affordable restriction would continue along with it. Um so yeah, it's it's just very um it would be very unlikely for this to become market rate, but yeah, we we could put it in the the corner. Now that I shown for the 32nd time, now I got it. I I got the idea. Thank you. Where you were going to come up with that? No problem. You keep talking about that southwest corner though and uh we looking at uh the site uh view. Will that be uh

that what is Oh, yeah. I mean they have to meet obviously the sight triangle for the for the corner there but that building set back for either that or they have to reduce the amount of units that that and open up a wall or something at the end of the day in the agreement they cannot without addressing the prop without addressing the parking. So it's it's it's I mean

all right uh otherwoman Miller you go ahead. Um, I I like I like all the things that you've done. So, thank you for taking our comments to um Hart and a redesign. Um, I actually like the blue on the main floor just because that is facing west. Um, that is facing the highway and there is an incredible amount of dust on that highway. So, I like the blue because I've built white houses and road dust shows terribly.

Okay. So, um, I prefer the brick and the blue on the bottom, the white on the top, and then in in my visualization, as I'm driving north on 31 and seeing the red brick, the blue, the white, and then the building behind it with the red brick and the white behind it. I think that will be very nice landscape because you'll see one story, twotory, threetory. Um, so I like the blue on the bottom just for the dust control. I'm not concerned about the parking because it makes sense to me that you've got five bananked and you can create the other 11 if necessary out of just a reworking of what's there. So, I'm good with all you've done and I support the project. Thank you.

Thank you. Alloman Baney, did you have No, I'm good. You're good now. Somebody covered it. Okay. Yeah. Thing is is uh you're going to make it so beautiful that everybody's going to wind up with an accident because they're going to be looking at the building instead of uh on traffic. I hope not. But uh let's make sure that uh we want to make sure that what we see off of 31 is going to complement the city of Mckenry. And I think to some extent uh that's where I I'm going to sit. Uh if nobody has any other questions uh then uh I'll ask for a roll call. Didn't we have a motion? No.

Honestly, I thought we did. Okay. Alderwoman Bay, I will make a I don't know where the agenda is, but I will make a motion to Thank you. the ordinance to pass an ordinance granting final plan approval for a conditional use permit and final plan approval for a planned unit development at 3512 Pearl Street. Second woman Miller, I'll second that motion. Okay. Any more discussion? Then could we have a roll call? Sure. Aleroman Baney. Yes. Aldderwoman Miller. Yes. Alman Cook. Yes. Alman Davis. Yes. Alwoman Bassie. Yes. Alman Dhy. Yes. Alman Glab.

Yes. Great. Thank you. Okay. Motion passes. Good luck with the project. Thank you again. All righty.

Okay. Uh next we have uh the uh sign variance for uh Burlington. Um again,

thank you Alderman Glab. Uh so uh as you all are aware uh Burlington is going to be located in the old room place uh spot at 2221 North Richmond Road. Uh they're uh currently in for permits to do interior demo work and uh some exterior work as well, relocating a dumpster enclosure along with some u improvements to their um loading docks on the uh south side of the building. Uh with that, they have uh requested a sign variance for a corporate branding of the store. Um they are asking for an additional four wall signs uh totaling 237 square feet beyond what is permitted by the code. Um staff uh has reviewed it does uh think that it meets the uh standards under our current sign code for a variance. Um but uh obviously we need city council's approval for that. So if you guys concur um to move forward with the variance. Okay. Uh, I would ask for a motion. Callerwoman Miller,

I'll make a motion to pass an ordinance granting a sign variation variance for Burlington Retail Store 20 221 North Richmond Road. As presented. As presented. As presented. And older woman, I'll second the motion.

I'm tongue tied today. uh discussion. All right, I'll start it out with the fact that uh you know it's a huge percentage that they're asking for as far as uh enlargement of the sign lettering themselves and uh talking it over with director Pali uh yes it meets our sign variance. However, the way that they are presenting it out to the public is a huge sign in front and on the side of the building. Uh you look at it, you're not just looking at the lettering itself. You're looking at the entire sign. I mean, the sign in the front looks like uh better than better than half of the side uh of the front of the rest of the frontage. And to me I I think uh to some extent I think there should be a stipulation as far as uh the presentation of uh that extra you take a look at the ex existing elevation and yes room place you could see where the sign is in this case that entire red area is the sign and that is not the percentage uh as we're looking at at what probably about 70 or 80% more than square footage than what it was. And uh that's not including the sign board behind it because to me that's that's part of the sign. Uh it may not read it in the ordinance that way. Uh and we can control it by uh as far as the percentage that we're allowing uh for the uh the lettering to go. So, uh, I can't support it, uh, looking this way. And, uh, again, I mean, how is that red going to even reflect, uh, when

the lights are on at night? You know, how how bold will it be? Will it light up uh Meyers's uh parking lot and everybody else's? I I don't know. I just really have a a hard time with that. uh just I mean we're not just talking the uh the frontage but we're also talking the side as far as the sign that again uh faces uh Route 31. So that's my views on it and uh if anybody else has any comments uh

I'll make I I didn't have a problem with the proposed use because it's a standalone building. So it it needs to have if you're coming from the south to the north and we only allow them a front-facing sign. Nobody knows what it is till it's in their rearview mirror. So, I think the position of the building is the perfect subject to have signage on the side of the building. I don't know why they need those two little red hearts in the front, but if that's their logo, I'm all about, you know, give them their logo, right? Um, so they're going to put this on the front, that on the back, the Burlington on the wall, the two little hearts, and then the monument sign. I I I think it's appropriate for that building because it's a standalone with a north and south facing um signability. So I I didn't have a problem with it. We didn't the room place didn't do this big of a sign there and I think the signage was a problem for them because it was too small. People were like beyond it going oh furniture store. So, I want to be a success story for our businesses. If this is what Burlington needs to project and compete, I I don't think it's offensive.

Well, I could understand if this uh building was set way back off of 31, but everybody sees this building constantly as they're walking by. I mean, uh the room play sign and everything else was always seen uh very easily by everybody. I just think uh to some if if this was at least uh shrunk down a little bit as far as height uh would still be able to accommodate the the Burlington uh sign Burlington name and and the deal brands and wow and everything else but uh when I look at that sign it just doesn't reflect uh the character of the town as far as I'm concerned. So I I do not have support for it. All the woman By.

Um I just want to mention this is definitely in line with every Burlington coat factory that I have seen as far as their corporate branding goes. And also just to mention like we've actively been pursuing this business and I agree with Alderwoman Miller that I want to see it be successful. I don't love the big sign on the side of the building personally, but I do think that it's really important that people know that it's there and they drive by. I do think the room place sign was very small and consequently they're out of business. So I would love to see this business be more successful and this is in line with who we went after and how they brand theirel. So I will be supporting this one.

I think one of the things that uh we need to think about though is as far as the size of the signs there and and the noticeability of uh of the business. They've got the monument sign there that can't be missed. Um, and it actually doesn't look so bad uh being off the building, but uh it's a lot smaller also, but it's very easy to be seen. And I don't I just don't see anybody missing uh where Burlington's, you know, the name Burlington out there uh on the back of the the building. You've got it uh in large print, you've got it on the the front and and the side. I just think the the sign board itself is just way too large. And the only way to control that would be to control the uh the size of the the lettering with an agreement or something. So that's that's my feeling on it. Uh does anybody else have any comments?

Okay, then I would uh we've got our motion. Uh I would ask roll call. Alderwoman Miller? Yes. Alderwoman Bassie? Yes. Alman Cook, yes. Alderman Davis, yes. Alman Dhy, yes. Alman Glab, no. Alwoman Bainy, yes. Okay, the next thing is is we have the annual MS4 update and progress report. Um, Director Adam.

Thank you, Alderman Glab. Um, part of the city's MS4 permit requirement is to place this item on an agenda at a p uh public meeting on an annual basis. Um, I'm not going to read the whole report, but I just want to highlight that public works staff did spend over 2600 hours last year dedicated to maintenance of our um, storm drainage infrastructure. Um, I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has. Otherwise, I would um, request a motion to accept the annual update as presented. Are you sure you don't want to read the whole report? I brought my my sleeping bag here. Uh, no. Uh, can we have a motion on this, please?

Alerwoman Bainy, I'll make a motion to accept the MS4 annual update in progress report as presented. Seconded by Alderman Doherty. I'll make a second. Any uh discussion? Everybody seems pleased with it. So, uh, going once, twice, and we'll call for roll call. Roll call. Alderwoman Bainy, yes. Alderman Dhy, yes. Alderman Glad, yes. Alwoman Bassie, yes. Alderman Davis, yes. Alman Cook, yes. Alderwoman Miller, yes.

Okay. So, then we go to Bridget Pumps Purchase Flight. Okay. I'm just reading it by the lettering. That's all. Anyway, uh well, direct director Adams, if you could explain that, please. So this motion is to authorize the purchase of uh flight pumps. All of these uh pump purchases are outlined in the 2627 capital plan um that was adopted um at the start of the fiscal year. Um the project sheets for all of the various pump purchases are attached to the motion. Um and I'm happy to answer any questions that you have.

Okay, first we'll ask for a motion. Uh, Alderman Dherty. Yeah. I'll make a motion to accept the flight pump's purchase as presented. Second by Alderwoman Miller. I'll second that motion and discussion. No discussion. Everybody's happy with this. And uh, as long as we got it pronounced right now. Uh, can we have a roll call, please? Alderman Dhy. Yes. Alwoman Miller. Yes. Alderman Cook, yes. Alderman Davis, yes. Alderwoman Bassie, yes. Alderman Glab, yes. Alderwoman Bainy, yes.

Okay, we go on to uh the thermoplastic pave and part markings program for 2026. Uh again, we'll director Adams uh explaining his proposal.

Thank you, Alderman Glab. This is a motion to award a contract to maintenance codings company for the 2026 thermoplastic pavement marking program. Uh the city again partnered this year with the McHenry County Division of Transportation on a joint bid to procure um bids for pavement markings throughout the city. Um we received two bids this year. This was the low bidder of the two. Um, and with that, I'm happy to again answer any questions. Okay. Could we have a motion? Alderwoman Baney,

I will make a motion to authorize the purchase of eight new flight pumps as outlined. Are we on something else? Oh, we're I'm reading the wrong line. Sorry. I got it. I got it. I'm reading the wrong thing. I'm moving on. Um, a motion to award the 2026 thermoplastic pavement marking contract to maintenance coatings company in amount of $58,561.99 plus a 10% contingency. We have a second, please. Alderwoman Bassie. I'll second that. Anybody have any uh discussion then? Uh, I'll ask for roll call. Alderwoman Bainy. Yes. Alderwoman Bassie. Yes. Alman Gleb, yes. Alman Dhy, yes. Alwoman Dave, Alman Davis, sorry.

Yes. Alman Cook, yes. Aloman Miller, yes. Okay, we go to UV lamp replacement. And again, Director Adams, you are on board.

Last one, I promise. Uh so this is for the purchase of new UV lamps for the wastewater treatment plant from uh from Wedico Products. Um UV disinfection is the methodology used at the wastewater treatment plant to disinfect the wastewater prior to treatment. Um and the bulbs have approximately a 5-year lifespan and these bulbs are due for replacement this year. And this is also included in this year's capital projects list. Okay. Um, can we have a motion on the UV lamp replacement? Allerwoman Miller,

I'll make the motion to authorize the purchase of new UV lamps for the disinfection system at the wastewater treatment plant in the amount of $44,923. Second, Alman D. Oh, Alman Cook. I'm sorry. I saw the hand up there. I couldn't tell who's your right or his left. I second that motion. Okay. Roll call, please. Alwoman Miller, yes. Alman Cook, yes. Alman Davis, yes. Alwoman Bassie, yes. Alman Dhy, yes. Alman Glav, yes. Alumoman Bainy, yes.

Okay, we move on. Uh, as everybody can see, uh, we have an empty chair here. Uh in light of the fact that we have a uh a void right now on a city administrator, uh we have an agreement here uh that we would like to uh bring out as far as uh we're looking for a motion to authorize the chief of police, John Burke, to assume the role and responsibilities of interim city administrator in addition to his current role and responsibilities as chief of police. Uh this he'll have his sleeping bag in the back. Uh this motion includes an annualized salary adjustment of $20,000 for Chief Burke effective May 19th, 2026 and continuing until the interim city administrator role and responsibilities ceased for any reason. to compensate uh Deputy Chief Thomas Walsh for the additional responsibilities he will assume during this temporary arrangement. Uh Deputy Chief Walsh will receive an annualized salary adjustment of $10,000 effective May 19, 2026 and continuing till Chief Burk's expanded duties cease. Um so therefore uh

I'm sorry this is still part of the motion.

Okay. So, this arrangement will be reviewed by the city council and Chief Burke approximately three months after its commencement or earlier if requested by either party. The arrangement may be terminated at any time by either party or with or without reason or cause. Upon termination, the roles and responsibilities of Chief Burke and Deputy Chief Walsh shall revert to their respective pre-arranged uh arrangement positions and their compensation shall return to their pre-adjusted salary levels. During this temporary arrangement, it is the intent of the city council to review and evaluate alternatives for permanent filling the city administrator position. And this was supposed to be uh proposed by Mayor Jet. Uh basically has been uh through me. And uh basically what I'm looking for is a motion to proceed. Alder in Davis.

I'll make a motion. I'll make the motion to temporary expansion of police chief duties as presented with as everything I've read. With as present everything I've read and seconded by Alderman Doherty. I'll second the motion. Question or uh questions or comments? I just thank uh Alderwoman Bainy.

I just want to say thank you to Chief Burke for stepping up. Um it's this is a big role and I know I really appreciate having someone with so much experience um stepping up to lead the city um even temporarily and to chief deputy chief Walsh for being willing to possibly postpone his retirement to fill in as well. So thank you to both of you. It says a lot about our police department.

Anybody else? No. Then my comments are uh chief uh I can remember when you were a rookie and uh you've come a long way and uh you know little baby steps, baby steps and giant steps. So, um I just hope that uh everything goes well for the next several months as we are searching for a new administrator uh and you will be very successful if uh you run it just as well as you do the police department. So, uh thank you for stepping up uh for us. And with that, uh I would ask uh for roll call. Alman Davis, yes. Alman Dhy, yes. Alwoman Bainy, yes. Alman Glad,

yes. Alwoman Bassie, yes. Alman Cook, yes. Alwoman Miller, yes. Okay. So then uh we go back to uh the proposed energy storage uh turning point energy. Do we have everybody here now? We do. Thank you, sir.

Okay. Thank you so much for the delay everyone. Um I guess I'll start and I can call up my colleagues as we get to their portion of the presentation. So to begin with, hi I'm Gloria Foxman. I'm here on behalf of Turning Point Energy just to do a quick presentation. We can sort of go through these slides quickly and come back with questions if you want or you can interject your questions as we go along, whatever works for you. And the purpose of this is just to introduce the concept of battery energy storage or bests as we call it here. um and our company and our proposed location. So, we're at the very early stages of this. This is a conceptual plan and we really want to hear your feedback if you have any. There we go. So, here's a little bit about our company. Um we've been developing energy infrastructure for over 10 years. Um and we've highlighted some principles we try to use when we interact with communities. So, in this case, in order to understand and listen to what's most important to you, we've spoken extensively with planning staff. We've also met with the fire district and we had a community open house um in the area which one of the city council members was kind enough to come to as well as one of the abuing neighbors. The location of that meeting, which I just want to highlight, was at uh 31 North. And if you see 31 North Gatering Hall and if you see the photo in the center here, it was directly across the street from an existing battery storage project that's in Mckenry that you may or may not be aware of that's been functioning for over 10 years with no issues. So, the size and type of project that we're proposing is very similar to that, just about a mile and a half south on the same road. So, let's go here. Um, and just one other thing that we like to highlight, um, where we successfully develop, we love to invest in local charitable organizations. Um, so we have some images, sorry, that was an accident of, uh, on the right here of like an ed educational initiative for one of our projects. Um, we do try to be a good neighbor through these steps of

listening and designing carefully to fit in with your community. And then here's just a simple graph showing what this or not graph but diagram showing what this project is. So this is an energy agnostic form of energy storage where any type of energy production can fill these battery energy storage systems these best systems when the energy is not being used when there's excess energy available. So typically that would be middle of the night early morning and then later in the day sorry I don't want to step away it can disperse that energy when it's needed by the community. So we would be functioning by interconnecting with KMED. This is not for a specific purpose of any kind. This is for local use. So it' be filled up by any local energy production and then dispersed out to your neighbors here through comed. So that any questions there so far? If not, here's some some benefits. One of the great things about this is that it it takes down all kinds of demand. It makes things easier on the grid. So, it can reduce the need to build new types of generation and it can defer grid upgrades because it can it's sort of like having a sprinkler system instead of a big hose. If you have battery storage systems like these scattered around the grid, they can sort of gently spread around energy that's already being developed. And then there's also at the bottom here, sorry because we converted this from a PowerPoint to a PDF. We lost some of our images there, but just some benefits for the community. There's um there can be energy benefits from this if you don't have to build new um new forms of generation. There can be environmental benefits from this and there's also increased tax revenue for local communities. So we have just a little bit more about that here. Did have to lose my graph here. Um but when we if we can move forward with this project with Mckenry, we would have a more specific tax projection. But you

can see here um it cites the a recently passed state bill where there's a value ascribed to these kind of projects which would be paid for by the project. Um so from as little of one acre of land you can generate over $500,000 of tax revenue over 20 years which is the projected life of the project. So for this project we'd be looking at around $1.5 million dollars of new tax revenue over the 20-year life. And then I just included, you know, based on the current mill rate, the top beneficiaries would be the school districts, the county, the city, and the fire district. Any questions? Okay, great. So, here's the proposed location. Um, y'all here may be familiar with this location. It's right across from the car dealership on Route 31. And this is our concept site plan right now. So just to highlight what we're trying to do here. Um you can see the orange path is an access road. The green zigzag is staggered landscaping. And that what we're trying to do is stay to the north side of the property so that we can subdivide the property so there can be another use to the south there. We're trying to stay east of the road because there may be a potential widening that we want to stay out of the way of. And then we're trying to stay as far west as possible from the residential neighbors. So right now we are over 500 ft from any parcel line of the residential neighbors over there. So you can see overall, you can't see the entire site in this site plan because we're sort of zoomed in on the part that we're actually developing, but it's an over 18 acre site. We're looking at a fence area that's just over 1.2 acres. So that's a small a small amount of that 18 acres and then our lease area

is a little bit bigger than that because of the landscaping and the access road. Any questions on that? Okay. And then here we have some very early stage renderings. Um if you have driven by the existing best project, one of its best attributes is that it's very difficult to even notice that it's there. So we'll be trying to emulate that. So we have some extensive vegetative screening. This is supposed to be year five of growth from Route 31. And this would be how it would might look from that residential neighbor point of view. Any questions for that? Okay. So, here we have a list of items that we would be submitting if we were to be able to move forward in Mckenry. Um, obviously a much more detailed site plan, a lot of fire uh management plan and safety plans, a noise study, environmental site assessment, wetland delineation, the kind of stuff you see for a lot of the developments that come through here. Um, with some additional things that would be more specific to this type of project like a decommissioning plan and that tax impact analysis. Any questions on any of these items? I think now I would hand it off. I've got two engineers behind me who can get into the nitty-gritty. So, one of them um is our uh civil engineers that we're working with on this project. So, I think I kick it over to you.

Hi there. I'm uh Brendan Miller. I'm with Westwood Professional Services. We're we're an engineering firm as well as do survey, environmental, and uh other professional services for development. Um, first of all, thank you for accommodating my delay. I apologize. I was uh caught on cutting weather on both ends of my my travel. So, I unfortunately got here a lot later than planned. Um, so a little bit about the project here. Um, first of all, we're talking about battery energy storage using lithium ion batteries and specifically lithium ion phosphate batteries. Um, this this technology is not new as was mentioned at the beginning of the presentation. And uh there's an existing project here um which uh I was actually involved in uh 10 years ago. Interestingly enough, it was one of the first pro battery energy storage projects I was involved in. And uh it it was at the time one of the larger ones in the entire country. Um and so these these projects have been developing and getting larger and being placed all over the country. So this this technology is not new and um we're seeing it seeing it everywhere. Um, so right now there's over 700 uh these types of projects installed anywhere from the scale we're talking about here today uh all the way up to large projects that may cover 50 acres plus um especially in in our desert areas where there's large areas of land available and lots of solar. Um these are commonly uh uh paired with solar but in this case this is more of an agnostic use as as was mentioned earlier. Um so because of that there's been a lot of code development that has happened over recent years to ensure the safety of these these products um to make sure that um you know there's no injury uh if in the event of a fire or another you know event that may happen. Uh fires are actually quite rare and and have become

significantly more rare um in in recent years, especially when you compare it to the number of installations that have happened as this technology has kind of skyrocketed over over recent years. And um so we've seen that not only the the number of uh events go down, but the rate has gone down exponentially because of because of the additional installations. And part of that is that there is now national codes in place um specifically uh NFPA 855 as well as uh the international fire code which is adopted you know at the state level. And so all of those codes will need to be met. Included in those codes is requirements to meet a number of certifications um and and what's called a large scale fire test where these these uh units will the specific model of the unit will be set on fire. it'll be observed and it'll they will make sure that it does not propagate to adjacent units to adjacent areas um to ensure the safety of of the the site as well as the neighboring areas. Um in addition to that we we don't want fires to happen in the first place. So these these containers um will contain a number of uh different safety mechanisms. First rhino defense being monitoring. if anything goes ary, they'll shut down immediately. There's also 24-hour monitoring as part of the operations of these types of sites. Um, so any issues would would cause a shutdown and and would notify the the owner and they would come and and review it. In addition to that, there's of course all the safety fire safety that you would see in in many structures uh in addition to gas detection and other um ways of uh making sure that there's no concern there. Um and uh you know finally you know the site itself will be designed in such a way to to make sure that that there's

sufficient uh egress and access for uh our first responders and uh anybody who needs to get into the site if for any reason that was necessary. But generally these sites will actually sit there and operate independently um without you know on-site operations being needing to be present because this is all being monitor remotely. Um with that I'm go ahead and uh move on to the next slide and pass it on to back to

Joe. I'm Joe Phillip. I'm uh VP of engineering with Turning Point Energy and also I'm excited to see these storage projects go in locally because I grew up not too far away in Northbrook. Uh and just uh just a little bit more I think Mike covered most of the is that we have a lot of codes and standards. There's three major bodies. You e which covers a lot of the electrical standards, the NFA which you mentioned which covers the fire standards as well as the UL also close to where I grew up. They're based and you know that covers a lot of the testing standards that you talked about. So the system is very, you know, it's really now covered with a lot of the codes and standards that go into this technology. Uh, and specifically on fire safety, we work with fire consultants. Hiller and ESRG are two of the top uh, fire consultants. I Mike was actually at our open house, I think, and talked to with Chris and some of the other, you know, at the open house. And so we would these fire consultants we'd have them come and from throughout uh they'll be working with us through design as well as working with the local fire chiefs as and first responders to make sure that we have an emergency response plan that before we actually go into construction do the training that's necessary so that the first responders would know how to react specifically if there was an issue at our systems. as well as you know as we talked about having that 24/7 uh operation support when the system is in uh is commissioned as well and really specifically I think Mike's already talked about this the NFPA 855 that he talked about it's what I think over the last 10 years there's been a lot of improvement in this uh codes as they've learned from previous installations from the indust industry from all of the tests that's been done and really I think this has made a big

improvement and so you know just recently we've it's the code is being res revised in 2026 uh and we would you know we would probably we'd try to design to that latest code so I I know maybe some of the codes might be a little older when we're getting into it but for our systems we'd you know design to that latest codes and standards to make sure especially on the NFBAs that we meet all the latest fire codes and the latest learnings as Well, that's it. Yep. Sorry. I guess there's any questions. Thanks to We got two engineers to come out in public tonight, you guys. So, thank you so much. And then I'll just be here if you guys have any questions. Andy. Oh, do I call? No, I can't handle the power.

Caller woman. Thank you. Hi. Hi. Um, as Gloria mentioned, I attended the open house on April 28th, and I'm going to reask the questions that I already asked you so that they are now on the record. Great. Thank you. Okay. What type of battery will your facility house and what is the wattage? Lithium ion batteries. I think you maybe there's one more. Lithium ion phosphate. So, there are the lithium ion batteries. There we go. And the wattage is just under 14 megawatt. It's like something like is 4.99 megawws and it'll be 20 megawatt hours. So Oh, you mean but that's per You're talking about the whole thing. That's the whole thing. Yeah. What do you want for per container or per or

the whole thing? The whole thing. Yeah. All 12 of them. Oh, the whole thing. Oh, sorry. Sorry. Yes. I got I got an I got an engineering question right over an engineer. So, it's I want to say 13.96 megawatts. Okay. Thank you. Um Ross, for comparison, what type of battery is housed at the current battery storage facility on Front Street and what is their wattage? Um I did not I was not able to get a hold of representatives from the company, but my research through what was submitted when they did it shows that it's roughly a 20 megawatt. Okay. So facility,

this one this one is smaller. Then um will your facility be um cooled with dry cooling or wet cooling? And can you talk about the anticipated water use since this is a concern? So what I said at the time and Mike, my uh development manager was with me is that it depends on the actual storage containers that are purchased and that information would be submitted during the building permit process. Um is that not what you recall?

Um okay, I can answer the water uses question. I actually thought it was going to be wet cooling. They'll be I mean they'll most likely be water cooled at this point because most of the new new technologies are using water cooling just yeah and I'll I'll add water cooling but it's a closed loop system so there's not going to be additional water added to the system if that's the concern like the water consumption um other than possibly to top it up a little bit but we're talking gallons of water not okay significant amounts

well that's very um good to know um Ross again for comparison is the current battery uh storage facility on Green on Front Street closed uh with or cooled with dry or wet cooling. Again, uh from researching what was submitted, uh it it is an HVAC, so it's air cooled. The containers are air cooled. Okay. Um just just to reiterate or to jump on what what these guys are saying too with the water, it's a refrigerated water, so it recycles and it's a closed loop system. So it's refrigerated and then pumped through for cooling again. So there is no it's not like you're pulling it out of the ground cooling it and then discarding it. It's a closed loop system. Perfect.

They are proposing. Thank you. Um how long will construct will the construction process be from start to finish? Um typically for these projects there it's around one year. Okay. Um, once installed, will there be any need for further construction aside from repairs if needed? It would just be the maintenance. Maybe there could be some, you know, refurbishment as as a systems age, but

okay. For instance, the current system was repowered. Um, so something like that might happen where if the battery technology dramatically improves, a similar container might be sort of substituted in for what's currently there, but it wouldn't be like construction, right? That I'm aware of. Okay. Yeah. And once completed, what will the average daily traffic entering the site be? Daily traffic would be zero. Less than Yes. Less than one.

You guys had a dress rehearsal on April 28th. Come on. Okay. Oh, few more. Um, there are a few homes to the east of the parcel on Amber Wood Place. Um, what assurance can you give these residents that they will m that you will maintain the open space and not potentially request expansion closer to their homes in the future. So, first it's my understanding that when we submit for a conditional use permit, it would be there would be some sort of condition that says what we build has to be in substantial conformance with the site plan that we present during those hearings. So, we couldn't radically change what we build in any way, including getting closer to the homes. Also, right now, what we're proposing is the maximum amount of capacity we believe we have with Kameed. So, we're subject to KMED and what they tell us. If we were aware of more capacity, we would be requesting it right now because it doesn't make any sense to to try to change the size once we're in the the process of permitting. Um, okay. Um, let's see. Will you position all the cooling fans away from the homes on Amberwood Place to mitigate noise as well as keeping the noisiest components as far away from the existing homes as possible? Yeah, t typically these containers will have the fans facing upward. Sometimes they do face to the side. Um I think that would be a detail that would need to be sorted out. Um at the time that uh we got to more complete design uh later in the process. Um one of the challenges with any of these projects is that the technology is improving so quickly that you know the model that's out today may not be the model that's out in a year or two. uh when construction happens. So, it's a little hard to speculate.

Okay. Thank you. Do you want Yeah, I was gonna add and also things like the transformers that also create we would position those to make sure that those were away from from the uh where the away from the houses, so more towards the west. So, if you see the little tiny boxes that are closer to the street there, that's the interconnection equipment that we're talking about. So, that would be farthest away from the residents. Okay. Perfect. I only have two more questions. Um, in addition to the required fencing, will you install a specialized sound wall to block and absorb noise?

I mean, currently we're not proposing a sound wall. We will submit a noise study with our application. If the noise that's shown by the study is considered to be unacceptable by this council, we'd be happy to work with you on mitigation solutions, but as far as I know, typically that's not required. Okay. and it's not in your plan to um use the sound wall? Not currently. Okay. Thank you. Um last question. Will you commit to working with the neighboring homes on Amberwood Place and local environment groups if requested to ensure a natural wood s wooded sound and visual barrier in this place?

Yes, we will. Thank you. Okay. Um, unless there are significant objections from neighboring residents, I support the city continuing the discussion, the facility has good curb appeal um because of the landscape blocking the facility um will largely not create noise issues because the location is on a busy state highway will not increase traffic and because this parcel is zoned for industrial um this might be the least disrup ruptive option. So, thank you again,

Alerwoman Miller. Thank you.

Um, so in your slide deck, you say there are 700 in the United States, which is 14 per state. What makes Mckenry a site that warrants two battery storage facilities? So when we are looking for areas where we can develop, we're mainly looking for land owners who want to work with us and areas where KMED says there's capacity. So when we're looking for sites all over Illinois, those are the factors we're considering. And in this case, you know, this site has been available. So the landowner was willing to work with us and there was comed capacity. In terms of some sort of larger scheme, you know, obviously there's neighbors around who could use this power. That's why there's available capacity. Does that make sense? Is that what you're asking?

Sort of. Okay. So, I know nothing about the battery storage solutions business. How do you make money? By interconnecting with comet and selling the power by reselling power to come.

Oh, yeah. Please get in here. I mean there's two things right now especially and I think uh you might be aware is like with PJM you're the comments in the PJM territory which is across the you know east east coast to Illinois during those peak times the the value of the electricity comes becomes really high and that's also why our combat bills have been going up recently because of these these batteries actually help with that because in those there's like four or five times during the year where we can we can actually discharge during those four hour peak times and actually that's part of our where a lot of our income comes from. That also cuts down on KMEDs needing to buy that energy during that time. So, it's both saving comed money which then lowers energy bills here as well as helps us make that's how we make some of our income. Um, big part of our income actually.

So, what I just heard you say is you create power at low cost, you sell power when it's at high cost. So, you basically make money on the arbitrage. Yes, that is a good Got it. Yeah. Okay. So, can I expand on that for a second? So, you're buying power to fill your grid from KMED. Yes. Exactly. Price. Hence, now you're selling it back to them for a higher price. Yes. It's the stock market. I get it. I just I didn't know how it worked, so I got it.

But this power is like really really expensive when it's, you know, when everybody's turning on their air conditioning and it's really hot, especially those couple summer months. I mean that's like four day four or five days where it gets really expensive. That's really when it's So this is an 18 acre actually it's 20 acre but you're calling it an 18 acre parcel. Your land use is going to be an acre third an acre three. Um and you had said we were thinking about subdividing the parcel. Um what would be a what kind of a companion neighbor do you look for in an industrialzoned parcel? I mean, what what's the perfect neighbor for you?

Well, that was actually one of our questions when we first started talking to planning staff. Is there any dream use that you guys have had in the city for that for this parcel? Because we we'd love to make that happen. Um, but in what we are thinking, not committing to this right now, but what we're thinking is that we would subdivide it and then just sell the the southern half. Um, so it would be whoever is able to to purchase it and come before you and propose a use that is approved. H because we don't, you know, we're just in the business of doing this energy infrastructure. We're not, you know, we don't we don't have another use that we can come up with, but we don't want the land to sit there and not be used. So, we're trying to make sure that this parcel can continue to work for the city and not just be there.

Is there something you would like? Can I Sorry. Uh, no. Um, I'll let

Can I Can I jump in on it? Because we did have those discussions. Uh, it's zoned I1. I would imagine that if it's res if it's if it's subdivided, it would continue to be zoned I1. So, any allowable use within our zoning ordinance would be allowed to go there under that I1 zoning. I will tell you that we have some logistic issues with the Route 31 expansion and the business to the south that we're trying to to work through. Um, they're going to lose full access to Route 31. They are a logistics company and they they have 53 foot semis that they need to get out onto Route 31 and go both north and south. So, we're trying to work with them on how to, you know, I don't know how we can incorporate that subdivided property into uh easier access for that company. Those are all discussions that we're having from a planning standpoint to see how we can uh utilize that southern parcel.

But just to be clear, we're not causing them to lose access. You are not. No. Route 31. The route the route the route 31 expansion. Sorry if that was confusing. The Route 31 expansion, there's a median that's going to go down Route 31. It's going to cut uh southern egress off. You're not going to be able to go south out of J freight.

Um you you talked in your presentation about this technology is always evolving and getting better, faster, stronger, cooler, more improved. How long do those boxes live? Uh typically we're designing these for a 20 year lifespan. Um that's the expected life. Now, as anybody who's used battery stuff knows, uh batteries do degrade slightly over time. And there are ways to basically bring that that uh battery back up to the full amount, but we would expect 20 get 20 years life out of it before they needed to be fully replaced. Um at which time they could be replaced or the project could be repurposed or whatnot. So, with a 20-y year lifespan, because this is new technology for all of us, what happens at the end of the 20 years to the lithium ion batteries?

Yeah. Um, right now we don't really 100% know because they're still out there, right? All these projects, like I said, one you have one of the oldest ones in in the entire country and it's less than 10 years old or about 10 years old. Um, however, there's recycling technologies that um have been developed and we're starting to see recycling come up mostly for electric vehicles because these are the same type of batteries that are in electric vehicles. So, they'll be recycled. Um, the the the minerals in them, especially the lithium, is is valuable. So, there's obvious incentive to recycle them um at that point. And that would have been my suggestion for your companion um your companion business here. We are in dire need of public electric vehicle charging stations. Um so if you've got extra power, you know, I would certainly tell you to look in that direction and see if you can't partner up with someone who can put up a amazing EV charging station.

Interesting idea. That's a very interesting idea. Thank you. I brought this up 10 years ago that there's no security on the removal of those batteries at the end of everyone's time. Correct. We'd be submitting a decommissioning plan and we'd have to submit a decommissioning bond. So that would be some amount of security. Yeah. There's no other collateral, right? There's no letter of credit. Letter of credit or bond, David, is what we would be requiring. We've had I understand, but okay. We prefer a letter of credit.

All right. Okay. Uh just to comment on the Attorney Mardle's uh point. Um thing is is 20 years from now way inflation goes. You know, I can remember uh when we approved the subdivisions 35 years ago and got $80,000 for street light. uh for traffic light and all of a sudden it's what a million and a half dollars you know. So same here as far as uh what's the cost going to be as far all this uh 20 years down the road those bonds or letters of credit are usually reevaluated after a certain period of time every two to three years. Um we we had this discussion as well didn't we? Yeah. So that that and either that or there's an escalator that's put on it and but uh we'll get an EOPC from an engineer for decommissioning and then again they'll be reviewed whatever whatever's in the agreement that that that city council would approve uh with this project we would make sure that we enforce.

Okay. I believe Alderman Davis had his hand up. Uh

yeah for many years I actually never knew what that uh that facility was over there. Um, and again, I haven't heard any complaints with uh any of the business owners or people that live around there. I have um plenty people that do both. One of the my concerns is this is closer to actually where my subdivision is, is day one. Well, let me take a step back. This is an open field, right? So going down 31, it's going to be very apparent to everybody that something's there. My one question is on the landscaping, and I think you guys did a great job on the current one that you have. I just don't know how long those trees have been there. So day one, what size are they going to be similar? Are they arborites or something similar to that? whatever they are today.

I believe there is a height requirement in the ordinance.

So, oh yeah, just to clarify, the project that's been there for 10 years is not Turning Point Energy. Our consulting civil engineer worked on that project, but it is not the not the company that's proposing. Can you comment to that? Like day one, like what is what are the what does that landscaping look like? Is it we're going to put these little trees and it's going to take 10 years to actually that right? Solidify. Yeah, we had the same conversation when that one went in and and it's um there is an there is an ordinance that specifies I mean they're not going to be able to put in little saplings that are this big. You know, they they're going to have to put something. It was way adequate and it's from the start that from the start that battery facility was in good shape and it's always been in good shape.

Yeah. So, it was put in originally in 2016 and then it was redone in 202 and that thing's elevated. remember there used to be a law firm there I think and it's an elevated part it was amazing you don't even know it's and I think all the woman Bassie can speak to it because I know she visited the site as part of this um and you were our conversation you were impressed with the landscaping correct

um very similar to what um Alderman um Davis said I had a tough time finding it I really needed I think before I came and even visited you I wanted to make sure I knew what the current one looked like on Front Street. I physically went in there. I looked around. You know, I don't haven't gotten a phone call on trespassing, so I think I'm good. Um, it I didn't find it offensive. It was very very difficult to find. I did walk around a little bit and I could hear a slight buzzing. Um, but you know, here's the sidewalk. So, but then I did call you Ros Ros Ross and say you had any complaints and it was the original owners and that issue was resolved when you got a new owner. So, again, their landscaping was great. Had a tough time finding it and I didn't really have any issues on it and that's when I came in to your open house. So, at least I knew a little bit more before I had my conversation with you.

Yeah. So, I guess what I was kind of alluding to is the current location is really surrounded by businesses and homes and some other landscaping and obviously the stuff that was added here. It's a wide open field right off 31 when I my concern is that I just want a large enough landscape of trees that that it covers the top. We're not starting with small trees. You know, even a sixft tree probably is still going to from a a far perspective because it's so wide open. That would be the only concern I would have. Other than that, I'm I'm full support of it. So, uh that would be the piece that I would like to see is make sure that we day one that we have adequate trees and they're not, you know, super young. I know it costs quite a bit more money to do that, but I would want to see that a little um day one rather than wait 10 years to get that shielding. Uh I have had a couple calls from people that live in the the neighborhood behind it and I appreciate that you've kept that pretty far away. So, I don't think that's a concern at this point. Well, I can tell you right now that uh I lived through the Austrian pines uh around the uh gravel pit and everybody wanted to have that type of plant and everything else. Let the experts go with what what needs to be done as far as that goes. You know, some trees some trees could take some trees could take 10 to 15 years. I planted a tree, excuse me, but I I planted a tree uh in my yard just five years ago, six years ago maybe, and it's four times the height right now. And it depends on the type of tree. So, what you need is you need the type of tree that's going to grow quick, you know, that that's the thing. Um

Ross, so we will have a keep in mind that this this is just conceptual. So, this has to go through planning and zoning still and then ultimately back to council for approval and and that's something that absolutely I've got the notes Alderman Davis that you know of your concerns and staff will make certain that the landscape design uh meets what what you're looking for. So,

well that's the thing. Let's not be specific of exactly what kind of landscaping. I mean, you know, we don't want to be saying it's got to be this type of tree or that type of tree or whatever just so that we cover the uh the landscaping on it. Um, I do have a question as far as over 700 of these facilities uh uh throughout the country. Correct. Um, one of the questions is has there been any major fires in any one of them? that you know of?

Yes, there have been there have been fires. Um, some of the more significant fires have been at what we would refer to as a indoor facility or or a building facility where the batteries are put in racks inside a building like a data center. Uh, those type of projects are no longer built anymore because of safety concerns and whatnot. Uh, they're basically banned by code. Um those have been the biggest incident incidents that have been seen in the US. There have been some involving these modular units. They've all been relatively small. Um uh and and there hasn't been any like really adverse effects besides obviously the cost of the the equipment and whatnot had had to be replaced and and so on. Ross, maybe we could take an investigate that a little bit as far as uh a little information as far as those fires and and just how much damage or

or what the ramifications were. We have done a little bit already. Uh, I will tell you that this type of system that they're proposing, each individual container has its own fire uh, suppression system

and they're able to go in remotely and shut down the containers next door if there's an issue and initiate the fire suppression systems and contain it to that one. It's basically a shipping container size. um the ones that we read about through a simple Google search uh um you know they were able to contain them to one to one container. So I again you're not seeing these massive buildings with racked batteries that are just you know the the fire code and the building codes have have eliminated the that. So got okay. Um the other thing is is okay 700 plus uh uh you say batteries but you meant the battery projects

complete uh you know out there. Um sounds like a lot but when you're talking to a large country like this uh it's not really you know that many. Um, it brings back my question or actually alderwoman Miller's question is is why would we need two facilities in Mckenry?

I guess one thing I would note is that a lot of those projects when we're talking about those projects are significantly larger than this one. Um, you know, many of them are 10 times the size of this. So, um, if you if we were talking about projects this size, it would probably be like 7,000 projects, right? Um, but this is a smaller project. Um, I guess you could probably maybe talk a little better to the the why here. I mean, it's it's really what Gloria said. It's really we're looking for places that have capacity with the comet grid. And

well, the other thing I I'll say is projects like this generally start to happen in areas where energy bills are starting to go up. Like they're popular in California where energy is very expensive. It seems like folks around here have experienced your energy bills going up. So this kind of thing only becomes feasible and desirable where energy demand starts to grow significantly and that's what's happening in this area. I

I guess I'd also note that since I was involved in that earlier project, that project was not for arbitrage. That was a frequency regulation project. So it's it's doing a different thing for the grid. Uh what that's doing is it's kind of smoothing out when there's uh big dips and spikes in energy use. And so that's the primary purpose of that. So that that project was economically viable at the time it was done because there was a demand for that. Uh the way that the grid would have handled that previously would be what they call spinning reserves and that means having a very large power plant sitting there just idling just to kind of help pick up and and take care of those dips. So it's a very expensive way to do that. So, it was economically viable at the time to do that. What we're talking about here is arbitrage, which is the buy buying cheaper power so that they can be sold back um later when power would otherwise be very expensive for comment to buy.

Where where is the closest battery facility outside of Mckenry? In this area, you just just to Mckenry is outside of Mckenry. Yeah. Um there's also some projects in the south. um suburbs of of Chicago. There's I think there's one in Joliet. There's one in uh there's a there's a few other around. Um there's also a good good amount of development happening in Indiana and in uh Wisconsin just generally in the the much larger Chicago area just because of obviously there's a very large demand from from having such a large city.

I get it. I I just look at uh it it short tails the opportunities in the future as far as more development of industrial area uh as we develop with these type of facilities uh that can be in other other communities as well. I mean evidently we're the only ones in the county that have a battery storage and now we're looking for a second one in in Mckenry for the second one of the county. So, just concerns about that. Uh, with that, I will I saw Alderwoman Bainy's uh hand up.

I just had a couple questions. Well, first of all, thank you to council for having such great questions. I had a whole list and now I'm down to just a couple. Um, is when you're putting this energy back in the grid, and I know nothing about the grid in general, is that being used locally for Mckenry residents or is it far more widespread than just our community? The electricity would be used locally, but it's obviously metered by it's all metered by Cometed. So the uh but that electricity is going to be coming in and out locally. But so it will benefit the Mckenry residents by I mean really the these storage projects will benefit Kameed generally and and helping keeping the prices down. So that's you know benefiting all Mckenry residents and anybody in the comment territory.

Okay. Okay. And then and I'm sure our fire department's pretty on top of things, but because this technology is a little bit different than the existing um battery storage that we have, is there any expense to our fire district and things that they're going to have to equip themselves with in terms of safety or other protection that they need?

Yeah. Typically, um some additional training is sometimes requested um and and that that's typically. But as far as equipment, firefighting equipment goes, not typically. Um, with these modern systems, they're designed to burn in place is is the the idea. You do not actually want to try to fight the fire. You just let it extinguish itself. It will basically consume itself. And they're designed not to propagate to a neighboring area. So really, the the instructions to the fire department is to watch it. And if for some reason something nearby is of concern, they can spray water on that to help make sure that it doesn't combust. Let's just say there was a truck parked in there. Happened to be at the time, right? That that would be the kind of thing that they would be responsible for.

And is there any besides fire, which we've talked about a bit, are there any other risk like there are there any leakage risks from anything any of the water or any other things that we'd have to consider as an environmental hazard?

Yes. So, so the the battery containers as mentioned are water cooled, which is basically the same exact technology that's in your car, right? You have a you have a radiator. It has a water circulation system and it circulates through there. It's literally the same radiator fluid that will be used in that um for the water cooling. Uh there's additionally there is uh oil uh in the transformers sometimes. Um there's secondary containment for that. um just like all the transformers all around town, including the one that's probably feeding this building right now. So, that's that's nothing that's uh too out of the ordinary in the in the built environment. As far as the batteries themselves are concerned, uh the way I like to describe them is they're not at all like the lead acid battery in your car. You think if you anybody who's worked on a car, right, you've opened up the battery and there's this sloshing liquid in there and it's acid and it's it's kind of questionable, right? A little little scary and whatnot. uh lithium-ion batteries, the the the active stuff in there is is what I describe as as cookie dough. Um it's there is a wet ingredient and there's dry ingredients in there. It's all mixed together. It's very very like cookie dough consistency inside. It can't really drip out of there, right? It's just not that kind of of a material.

Like I say, I knew nothing. So, I just was curious. And then one last question. And you talk about the 20-year life on this project. Would the intention be to, you know, renew any thing that needs to be replaced and continue with the project, or would the project be completely decommissioned after 20 years? What would that look like at that point? At this point, Turning Point Energy has no intentions beyond the 20-year window. We are only proposing this 20-year use. you know, in 20 years if there is appetite and if there's still capacity, if this is still the best use, you know, in 20 years, this could be like a hot commodity for residential or, you know, who knows. So, right now, we are only looking at this one 20-year use.

Oh, sorry. There'll be a full decommission plan then when you submit. Okay. Excellent. Thank you very much. Miller, you have another question. I have a couple. How many of these facilities do you own? We we do not own any of these. This would be your first. Well, we our company de we're more like an architect. We develop and permit projects and then we partner with companies that own and operate the projects long term. Got it. So underneath um underneath the batteries, is that concrete or gravel? It would be concrete immediately underneath the the batteries.

Yeah. So there'd be concrete pads underneath the batteries with gravel. So that the whole inside the white dot lines on that map would be concrete basically. So she's saying inside the fence line would it be entirely concrete? No, it would be it would be those like you can see it's kind of hard to see it's really small. Those blue squares basically are the energy storage containers or uh themselves. And that under that would be the concrete pads. So under the storage containers and then outside of the concrete pads would be gravel would be gravel. Okay. So no grass. No, I would love to have more grass, but I don't not under this. Yeah, for this use. So my my point would be no goats required.

Correct. All right. Good. Um and Andy, just for your information, I just uh used AI. There are four other um bees plants in Illinois. Uh Lel County, Lee, Illinois. Well, besides the one on 31, uh, Lee, Illinois, Normal, and Randolph. Sure. So, there are four others, four other best plants in Illinois. I just wanted to mention something that may be pertinent to this line of questioning. There was an energy omnibus bill that was passed by the state at the end of last year and signed into law early this year. So, you in general in Illinois, there will be a lot more of these types of applications since there's now like a permitting path for them.

Thank you. I think the one other thing is that like when they we talk about the 700 those are front of the meter so utility there are a lot more systems like somebody might have one of these containers like next to their building you know to back up the power in their you know for their building so there are plants more of those plants and I think there are a few of those in Chicago as well and Cook

talking about the fire department. Uh, was there any training for our fire department to combat any fires that might happen? I know you say that. Oh, yeah. You know, it's all self-contained and all that. Nothing's perfect. I mean, when they have a car fire with lithium batteries, they send the fire department out there. Is any training? Yeah. Excuse me. has been directed toward our fire department to deal with this.

Yeah. So Gloria cut me off on my last slide which I forgot to. Uh so as part of this and it's all part of the NFPA actually the part of the codes and standards like we will have to prepare an emergency response plan and part of that is providing that with the like local fire department developing that and then making sure we'll do also a hazard mitigation analysis and prior to actually bringing the batteries on on site we would do a training and then before commission and actually turning on we would have our consultants Hiller actually would do those trainings of the fire department and work with them and you can see there. There's actually annual review and updates. Yeah. So, it's an ongoing training requirement as well.

That's what I worry about. I don't care about trees or anything else. It's the the people that live around there and all that. And I've seen lithium fires and the fire department putting them out with foam and everything else like that because you just can't pour water on it. Yeah. And that's why Hiller and ESRG, they're both a lot of their have ex, you know, people who worked on fire departments. the guy, one of the guys from Hillers from Kern County where they've done a lot of storage. So, they have have experience with it and know how to talk fireman to fireman to get that training done.

Yeah. And one thing I'll note about like the foam and you're talking about electric vehicles is the reason those would be fought differently is because they're often in the middle of the road in the public, right? The idea of this facility is that it's isolated. There's setbacks from the fence that, you know, are taking into consideration any smoke plume that might come off of it and whatnot. So the these are going to be approached differently by by the fire department because of the nature of of what we're talking about here versus a lithium-ion battery fire that resulted from a cheap product that catches on fire in somebody's house or a electric vehicle that is in the middle of the public right away.

I just want to know that our fire department is trained in how to deal with this. Doesn't matter where it happens, but are trained in fighting these lithium fires. And are we set are you kind of sort of setting up yourselves with this battery thing for uh for AI for your uh for uh what do you call it? Uh information centers. Data centers. Data centers. Yes.

We have no control over where this energy would go. It would go to KOMED. So if if there was a data center that signed up to get energy from COMED, we could not control whether or not this energy went to that data center. Uh but it is positioned next to a car dealership in a bunch of homes. So it would make sense if it went right there, but we have no control over that. Okay. But data centers would be could be part of it. I mean to be very frank, their energy use is so high. If we were to contribute to a data center, it would be a very small part of what they would need. Okay, Alderwoman Miller,

thank you. Um, AI is currently telling me that there are 978 utility scale sites in the United States. Um, and just I'm just one of those information today. Um, and that total communive operational source capacity continues to exceed 30 gaw. So in 2026, developers are adding 24 gawatt to the grid. Um so you your little piece of that puzzle, right, is you know this big in the big picture of battery storage. Um Texas, California, Arizona lead the way. So thank you. Thank you.

R you had something you want to bring up? Yeah, I just want to touch on Alderman Cooks. Uh Gloria and her team invited us and the fire district to a uh a Zoom meeting with Pillar, their consultant, their fire consultant. So we uh we did connect the fire district already with their team uh to discuss the uh the concerns of the fire district. Uh so that meeting has already been had, one of many that will be had if if this continues to move forward. So they they're very good at working with the uh the consultants and our fire district. So I just wanted to to let you know that. So that piece of property that was sold would be very helpful in this kind of situation.

Well, a lot of a lot of their training is on site, right? So they're going to bring them out and it's going to be sight specific and they're going to have their emergency planning specific to that site. So thanks Ross. I just my laptop at home and I was surprised how I was expecting it to be more of a hard case. So, of course, you know, that drove me right to asking my battery. So thank you for describing it because that's exactly what it sitt

all right if nobody else has any other questions. Uh can we take a poll as far as where everybody feels as far as do we want to they're looking for some input from the council as far as whether it's favorable or not. So uh move forward. Alderman Bainy. Yes. Yes. Okay. I I would say a yes. Moving forward. I would support it also. Yes. Yes. Looks very favorable. Okay. It was worth the trip uh from the airport. So again, glad you made it. Well, thank you for uh I should be here four hours early and that didn't work out. Thank you so much for your time.

All right. You guys have a good evening. Okay. So then the next thing we've got is the mayor's report. And of course the mayor didn't send anything that I know of. So uh we hope he's having a good time in Vegas and uh and that he's being very productive as far as bringing something back with it. Um with that uh council comments.

Okay. Could we just make sure that there's nobody here first and then we'll take the city clerk. Yes. Um, I just want everybody to put this on the calendar. I'm sure Bill would be mentioning it if he was here. Director Hopson, um, on July 1st, Fox News 32 Chicago is coming out to do some live interviews at the new mural location where the tiles are going. So, I would hope that, um, I'm actually going to be out of town, but I hope that city council members will put that date on their calendar and be present um, just as a show for the city while they're out here doing interviews and showing off our new mural. What's the date and time again? It is July.

It's July 1st and I don't have a time yet, but I know that um the Riverwalk Foundation is conferring with Director Hopson and so I'm sure he'll have more info as we get closer. That Yeah, they send it out to the whole council. Um anybody else than uh our city clerk?

No, I just want to make a comment. I about two and a half years in energy industry. So I agree 100% just as a resident that I think it would be a great way to offset some of the curtailment of energy with comments. So that's just my two cents. But I have a lot of experience learning about what these folks have done and I think it's a really good idea that you guys are backing it up listening to it. Obviously um I can stay in that industry but it's very interesting to see what we can do to help. So, I'm glad that you guys are open to listening to it.

Okay. Any other comments? Uh, yes, Monty. Sorry, staff comment. Um, Director Hobson is not able to be here, so he asked me to pass this along to you. So, the soapbox derby is June 20th, and originally it was proposed to be on Waggan Road like it had always been in the past. There's a problem there now. A serious safety concern with the construction going on in that area, especially the behind the high school where they would always stage everything. It's not really possible to do it there. And so staff with the staff's safety concerns, they're requesting that the event be moved down Green Street between Fairway and Breton's. And so like when he discussed this before, everybody was like, "Oh, it's going to be on Walkgan." Now he would like to move it on Green Street between Fairway and Breton's and so do you want us to bring that back to you for a formal okay he's also can consult talk with the organizers they're okay with this too they'd rather do this than have to cancel the event completely you know we've got it publicized hey this is going to go on but it's just not really possible and safe on walkgan

probably wouldn't be bad to bring it back to the council for for just approval plus the fact that uh be more exposure consider Considering we uh we're not online uh with YouTube tonight. Correct. Sure. Yep. And so hopefully by the next meeting is correct. It's the next meeting we'll put something on the agenda for a the proposed change. Big harra. All right. Right. Thank you. Okay. Okay. If there's no other business, uh I guess we'll ask for a motion to adjourn. Alderwoman Baney. I'll make a motion to adjurnn. Alderman Cook. I'll second it. Yes. Yes.

Yes. Yes.