Board - Regular Meeting

You could have come out there.

Why do Sorry about that. All right. Good evening. I'm going to go ahead and call order the Shelby County Board meeting for November 13th, 2025 to order. You please stand for the pledge of allegiance.

I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Lord, as Thanksgiving uh approaches us, I just like to say I'm thankful for the freedoms that we have together tonight. Um thankful for the veterans and the servicemen and women who have made this possible. Uh thankful for the people in this room, elected officials, um county employees who work together. [snorts] Help us tonight to work together as a group in Jesus name. Amen.

Amen. Thank you. Move on to roll call, please. Truth here. Tim Brown here. Carol Cole here. Julie Edwards here. Chrissy Grant. Jeff Greg here. Clay Hardy here. Keith McCormick. Christine Matloff here. Tad Mayaw here. Trisha Miller here. James Mitchell here. Tim Moore here. Jean Price here. Austin here. Sy Ross here. Larry Cipher here. Don Tade here. Christy Wford here. Brett Wallace here. Judy Wood here. We have a quum.

Thank you. Move on to item three which is discussion and vote to approve the minutes from October 9th, 2025. I have a motion on the minutes please. Mr. Greg and Mr. Bame. Any questions or discussion on the minutes from October? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. I opposed. Pass. Move on to item four, public body comment. Yes, ma'am.

Hi, my name is Leandrea Harding. Um, thanks for everyone for being here tonight. This is pretty cool. It's my first time here. I work for Shelby County Ross. I don't know if you've heard of us. We do recovery oriented systems of care. were grant funded through IDHS to help people in Shelby County. Um if they're suffering from substance use disorder or mental health issues, we get them connected with the people that can help them. Um so that's my job now. Um I just moved to Strawburg in January, so thank you for welcoming me uh warmly. Um and I have a survey right now that the state is wanting to get out. Um, so if anyone in this room is interested in helping us understand what's going on in Shelby County, substance use disorder wise, mental health-wise, this helps the state know what's going on in our county, right? Um, so I don't know where you would like these. I bring them up. Okay. Thank you.

Is do you have a electronic version of this? Yes, correct. I'm sorry. I guess maybe a link that people can fill and submit versus Yeah. Yeah. Uh so we have on our Facebook it's Shelby County Rossk RC. Um I have the survey link on there. Um my email and my phone number is on the back of that survey there as well as my contact information is on the Facebook. If anybody has any questions, wants to be more a part of that kind of awareness in our county, I'd love to have you on our council. And uh we need more surveys filled out. Every survey helps. So thank you.

Thank you. Public body comment. Public body comment. Public body comment. Okay. Move on to item five, which is announce the vacancy in on Shelby County Board District 8 due to the resignation of Chad Mantis. Item six, discussion of vote to appoint John Stroll to fill the vacancy seat in Shelby County Board District 8 due to the resignation of Chad. I have a motion Spain. I have a second Mr. Morris. Any discussion? [snorts]

Seeing none, all those in favor say I. Opposed. Okay. Who's in opposition? Okay. All right. Motion passes. Mr. Sch.

I state John Stroll been [clears throat] appointed having been appointed to the office of Shelby County Board District 8 to the Shelby County Board District 8 in the county of Shelby in the county of Shelby in the state of Illinois. and the state of Illinois do solemnly swear or affirm do solemnly swear or affirm that I will support the Constitution of the United States of America that I will support the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the State of Illinois and the Constitution of the State of Illinois and will faithfully discharge the duties and will [snorts] faithfully discharge the duties of the office of of the office of Shelby County Board District 8 Shelby County Board District 8 to the best of my ability. to the best of my ability. Just need something right there.

[clears throat] [clears throat]

Thank you. Welcome, Mr. Sch. Thank you. We'll move on to I guess move on to item seven. Discussion a vote to approve the hiring of William Schmidz as a Shelby County Zoning Administrator. Have a motion on this, please. Mr. Price, I got Miss Matlock in the back. Any discussion, questions? Um, we we announced that Mr. McKe was going to

here, [clears throat] but Mr. McKe was was going to remove himself from those responsibilities and focus more on EMA. And so, uh, Mr. Schmidt has stepped up to to take the the vacancy to help us continue the the services and the operations of the zoning administrator. And so, with that, any questions that anybody may have, comments? And I appreciate this as well because it gives you guys a few weeks together. um before Mr. McKe's uh departure from the role to work together and and uh kind of get you back up to speed from where you left off before.

Is there a certain starting date by mean like Yeah, here in a minute. It appears that you might be hired. So, okay. [laughter] I do have one more question if you don't mind. I didn't get a you know an interview or anything. Um, last time I when I had to go out in the county to look at a building side or something like that, they let me use the EMA vehicle so I didn't have to put the wear and tear on my vehicle. Is that still uh That's something we'll discuss with with Scott. We'll figure we'll figure out what the logistics are, mileage and all that as well. But I think you did speak to Miss Bane say

Yeah, a little bit. Yeah. So, if you'd like to to give more of a full resume or interviews yourself here, by all means. Okay. So, but you correct me if I'm wrong, you were in the role before. Yes. Yes, I will. Yeah. Any questions, comments? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. I. Any opposed?

Motion passes. Welcome, sir. Thank you. Move on to item eight, which is probation officer Ryan Ambrose for discussion and vote to approve the annual drunk [clears throat] and drug driving prevention month proclamation. I have a motion to present the proclamation, please. Mr. Ross have a second. I'll second. Second. You're up.

Good evening, everyone. My name is Ryan Ambrose and I am a probation officer for Shelby County. As you all know, December is right around the corner with the holiday season approaching. Typically during this time of year is when we see the most accidents involving uh driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Every year during the holiday season, we place a tree in the courthouse basement in memory of those who have lost their lives in an accident due to impaired driving. In the past, we have appreciated the county board's proclamation designating December as drunk and drug driving prevention month. Tonight, we ask the board to continue this important tradition again this December. Thank you.

Thank you. Any questions or discussion on the proclamation? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. Opposed? Motion passes. Thank you. Move on to item nine uh with circuit clerk Peter Otis. The discussion of vote to approve the resolution setting compensation for jurors. I have a motion on this item. Back second Matt Lock. You have anything you'd like to add? I'm just here to answer any questions you guys might have.

Okay. Anybody have any questions for Mr. Otis? Yes sir. M [clears throat] Rotus. So this is a this is a change from what we currently have now or we don't have one.

We [clears throat] don't have one and barring having one. The state sets the minimum um amount and that amount is $15 a day. And I don't know if you've ever hired somebody to mow your yard, but that's a little bit insulting, I think. Um, asking a teacher or a firefighter or, you know, somebody to come and and let's [cough] talk about your [clears throat] hurtful issue and and uh then give them $15 and a pat on the back for showing up. We went through this in the finance committee last evening and we noticed that the pay for the juries was all over the place. So, this makes a whole lot more sense. So, thank you. I yel back. Anybody else? Any discussion or questions? [clears throat]

Hey, seeing none, roll call vote, please. Bane, yes. Brown, yes. Cole, yes. Edwards, yes. Gray, yes. Hardy, yes. Matlaw, yes. Mayhal, yes. Miller, yes. Mitchell, yes. Morse, Price, yes. Pritchard, yes. Ross, yes. Stroll, yes. Cipher, yes. Tate, yes. Waford, yes. Wallace, yes. Wood, yes. Motion passes with more substantial.

Okay, thank you. On item 10, uh, the zoning director Scott McKe, it's a discussion of vote to approve a special use building permit for Arena renewables for the Juniper 1 and two solar energy facilities on Shelby County parcel 2013-17-00-400-006. I have a motion on this item, please. Just wait on the motion on a second. Second. Okay. So, [clears throat] hopefully at this point you all are familiar with this project. I I sent it about a month ago to all of you. Um all the information that they provided I verified through the state of Illinois and other agencies. uh they've met all the requirements of the ZAR zoning ordinance up to this date and I believe that they have finalized their agreement with the county [clears throat] highway department. So all but I do and all the tees are crossed. I do know representatives of them are here this evening. If you need to talk to any of them or have any questions for me.

Okay. Yes. I have a question. Would you uh build this solar uh bar? Do you intend on doing this union or non-union? Prevailing wage.

And I I can give a twominute intro to the project. Um if I could maybe connect to that real quick. I'll keep it very brief and then if there's any other questions that pop up, I'm happy to answer them. [clears throat and sighs]

Yeah, may be a little tough to see, but I will get brighter.

Yeah, it's okay. So, these are Juniper 1 and two solar projects. Uh, two community solar projects off County Highway 6, uh, being developed by my company, Arena Renewables. I'm the director for Illinois. Uh they're about a mile and a half from here southeast of town as the crow flies on property owned by Jared Rooney. Um Juniper one we're we're using. Yeah, Juniper 1's on the eastern side of the property. That's a 5 megawatt project. Juniper 2 is on the western side of the property. That's a 3.4 megawatt project. Both interconnect to the Amaran utility grid on County Highway 6. on the western side of the property. There's good 34 KV power lines there. That's what made this site feasible where those good power lines, they run north and south. Um, it's solar only. There's no battery storage. We're installing that 18 ft wide gravel access road. Uh, property is zoned agricultural. It's a really great site for solar. So, it's flat, it's clear, it's dry, there's good access to the west. Um we're not grading any soils. We're not in a flood zone. We're clearing very minimal trees and um there's not many of Butters nearby. So really no residences will have a view of this property except the land owner himself who lives across the street. There are some homes to the north, but they're blocked by existing ve vegetation that we're not removing dense dense trees. Um we have a site control with the land owner. We have a lease agreement with the land owner. We have an interconnection agreement with the utility Amarind. So, we have a a contract to connect to the grid that's been fully executed and we're aiming to start construction next summer. Um, there's tax benefits. So, we're significantly increasing property taxes

at the property. There'll be big sales taxes on all the equipment that we purchase that's paid during construction. There's energy savings. So, as a community solar project, we can deliver 10% discount to Amaran customers utility bills every month. That's the unique nature of these community solar projects. You can get subscribers directly to the project. They get a 10% discount on their bill every month for the next 25 years. If you're an Amirant customer right now, you can you can qualify for this. That's the only requirement. Um, and then there's big environmental benefits. So, this is producing a whole bunch of clean energy every year for the next up to 40 years. Um, it's equivalent to hundreds and hundreds of pound hundreds and hundreds of millions of pounds of coal that won't be burned. It's the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of acres of forest being planted. Um, and that's that's the intro to the project. I don't want to drag on too long. Uh underneath the panels, we'll plant what's called pollinator friendly vegetation, grasses, and flowers. They grow about 2 to 3 ft high. We we landscape that two to three times a year. We mow it. Um that helps with soil quality, water retention, and uh the panels, the rows will be spaced about 15 ft apart, and they track the sun throughout the day. So, I appreciate your consideration.

Thank you. Yeah. Okay. So, with that, any additional discussion or questions? Yes, ma'am. Mr. McKe, what uh day was the special use permit approved? That hasn't been approved yet. Are you talking about when? Yeah. Um the October 23rd. Okay. And when was when was the actual executed interconnect agreement um provided by the company? When was it actually dated? I believe it was after that fact.

November 4th maybe about right. I don't have that information confirmed at the moment. No, I do know it was after the fact. Okay. Our current policy doesn't require an executed interconnect, but the name and the address of the interconnect facility was provided at that time when the special use permit was issued. Correct. Correct. But a formal agreement had not been signed up until after that. That is correct. Um for the gentleman that came to give the u to speak to us tonight, be clear, is the power staying here locally or is it going somewhere else?

Yeah, it's staying locally. It's going to a local substation. It can be used off of the distribution lines that come off of that substation and um you'll have access to subscribe to this project directly and get the credits. Right. Assuming you're a customer, correct? Okay. Um how did open house go? I saw you had an open house. Yeah, open house went well. Nobody attended, but we were at the Foxmore. That's true. 15 minutes after it started, the doors were locked and no one was there. That's her constituent that's invited.

Okay. I'm I'm sorry. We Yeah, we waited until 15 minutes after this the start starting time and then um and then left. You know, we we hold a private or public open house uh for each of our projects. I would say in the future, I think 15 minutes at 5:30 during a week night, there's people that work out of town, they might want to come and ask some questions. So, you might want to give it more than 15 minutes just to do your to be sure you answer all the questions you need to. I had a constituent was concerned about that. So, I'm just understood. Yeah, you know, that's a good point. You know, maybe we could have waited a little bit longer. Thank you. Yes, sir.

Um, who's respon How long are these good for? How long is the You said 25 years. Yep. So, we have a contract to sell electricity to Amaran for 25 years. So, will these solar panels last 25 years or you will? Yep. They can last up to 35, 40 years. We have a [clears throat] lease agreement that goes up to that term. After 25 years, we'll sell the electricity on the wholesale electricity market. We get a slightly different rate for the power, but it can still be operational. Now, after they're decommissioned or what, whose responsibility is it going to be to clean these up? It's going to be our responsibility.

It's going to be our responsibility. Um it's in our lease agreement with the land owner, but it's also in the AMA agreement, agricultural impact mitigation agreement. That's what that stands for. That's mandated by the state. Um we provided that to the county. There's a requirement even to just start this process. It has to be executed by the project company and the state, the department of agriculture. There's regulations that we have to adhere to in that regarding decommissioning. So we have to put up a bond. We have to decommission a certain way. we have to do it in a certain time period. So, the bond will be with the county or directly with the land owner. Uh the AMA that agreement lets us record it with either. We're kind of indifferent to that.

Did you? Okay. So, I I have two questions. One to extend that one. Okay. So, what what happens when a tornado or some something goes through there and damages those? Who's responsible for that cleanup? Yeah, that would be us. And what does that entail? If they're damaged and whenever they're not being in use anymore. Yeah, if they're damaged, uh, we would come out and replace it if we have insurance. Okay.

So, there's there's a hefty annual premium to ensure this project. That would cover hail or tornado [clears throat] or just failing pieces of equipment. Um, yeah. And how soon after damage would that have to be cleaned up? ASAP. We'd want to get out there as soon as possible. Um because if the project's offline, you know, it's not generating any electricity. And during the zoning board meeting, uh Mr. Person say that um they are contractually obligated to replace those because of their contract. [clears throat]

Thank you. Mr. Chairman. Yes, sir. [clears throat] Scott, the if we were to vote no on this building permit, where's it go from here? I mean, that's the end of the journey for that special use building permit. Um, they have the right to appeal that decision, I believe. Um, but then it would probably go to litigation. it ultimately the state have the say on

the state [clears throat] has the say on it. The state says that so long as Arena renewables or any other solar or wind energy facility uh follows the state's rules and that we also follow the state's rules which we do with our zoning ordinance that we cannot say no.

Yes, sir. [clears throat] So, what about if your company goes broke? You know, companies go broke. So, does that uh I guess you don't have to clean it up after that, do you? Well, the the bond would be in place. That's that's the security the bond provides. In a worst case scenario, if the project were to be abandoned, nobody's operating it anymore, the landowner or the county would have this the funds on hand to go remove it. That said, these projects do have this contract with Amarind for 25 years. They're generating electricity. They're generating revenue. It's very, very, very rare for them to be abandoned. [clears throat]

And I would like to add that it's an 11-year period for that bond to be fully funded. You explain that a little further. So the state uh through the AMA the state regulates that basically 10% every year after the first year of operation. So they have 10 years to fully fun after the first year of operation. So, an 11 year total. And then on this particular project, what is the [clears throat] amount? I don't know.

It's probably about 350,000 per project and it would increase with inflation over time. So, it has to be re-evaluated every so few years. the bond has to step up in value over time [clears throat] for the So if I understand what you just stated, it's approximately $350,000 bond that we'll get $35,000 a year in cleanup. So you something happens to their point in year one. We've or year two we've only secured $35,000. How does it get cleaned up?

Yeah. Um that's a good question. So it's $350,000 roughly per project. the state AMA requirements um say that you have to have the full like to Scott's point that the full value needs to be in place in year 10. Um we're happy to put the full value up at building permit. We're okay with that. We can make that a condition of this approval. It's not that burdensome. That would provide extra protection even during construction. That's fine with us. M

I have a a question. Are you familiar with the project that is up by Maroa on the right outside Maroa that I don't think it ever got completed if the wind came through there and the last time I was up there it nobody it didn't appear to me that anybody's even done anything to fix that. Is that your company up there? That's not our company. I'm not familiar with that project either. You haven't seen pictures of that? I have not. Well, it never got completed and it looks like I'm sure it was wind and it looked like kites thrown through that they they were just turned every which way and stuff. And the last time I was up on 51,

they nobody has done anything to fix, correct, or clean that mess up. Welcome to sir. You're the first one to come across the table, so you're going to get Yes, sir. No worries. [laughter] happy to answer the questions. So, so I guess you mentioned that having a full bond at at the beginning, what's the the process for [clears throat] for that agreement? Um, you can make it a condition of the of the special use permit approval tonight and you won't be able to issue the building permit unless the bond's in place already with the county. Um,

we can we can do that. And you gave me you you mentioned a number that was approximate. What?

Yeah. So there's in our submission documents there's a specific number uh for each project. It was generated by our engineer our civil engineer Kim Kimley Horn and you can make it to that number. You can So that's the full amount 100% even before the start of construction. Do we table this and send it back to the zoning board to have their stamp of approval on the requirement or do we just make it a condition here? Seems like there's a lot of questions that maybe need to be addressed and possibly a more intimate setting like a zoning committee meeting might be better place to get a lot of those concerns answered. And

when do you guys meet? Scott, say that again. When do you guys usually meet? Typically, it's the fourth Thursday of every month at 6:00 p.m. However, I'm not sure that you were allowed to send it back to the zoning board. So, it sounds like an amendment to an amendment [clears throat] to to the agreement. I mean, on that particular condition, do you have the numbers, Scott? Is that what you So my understanding is then the value of all the equipment that's on those pieces of land we're being told is $350,000 give [clears throat] or take. No, that sounds like a take down. The mitigation

meaning something goes bad they pull 350 would clean. Is that correct? That's correct. the decommissioning to yeah remove the panels, take up the access road, remove the wiring, remove the fences, Mr. Chairman, does that also remove any underground wire that's been placed? Yes.

Is Mock? I'm sorry. Uh, so let me let me make this easy for anybody lost in the shuffle here. So, we're talking year one after the first year there would be a bond for 35,000. There would be we're we're proposing to put the full amount in place. Okay. Well, just follow me here. Yep. We're going to change it. We have to we have to go back to zoning. So, [clears throat] you're saying year 10 it would be worth $350,000 to clean up the mess that's made. If a tornado goes through, which we live in central Illinois, so tornadoes go through, hail stom goes through and damages every solar panel. You're saying on year 10 there'd only be $350,000 to plant the mess.

I'm saying in today's dollars it would cost roughly $350,000 per project. Roughly $700,000 total because there's two projects here. And we're going to put up the full amount. $700,000 at construction here. Okay. And that's a new thing you're adding as of this evening. Correct. No, just recommending it as a condition of approval for this evening. But it would still be a 10% per year. No, it would be 100%. 100% from 100% from the beginning.

So, you know, according to what I'm reading here, and anybody's welcome to come up here, we can we we can share this. That says 360 something, right? Uh $367,696.34 is a subtotal. That's And that's for is that Juniper once at the top? Yes, sir. Okay. And then Juniper 2 is $3.45. Um, so in the neighborhood of the $700,000. And so then it states that there's a 2.9% per year inflation adjustment to that. Is that correct? Um, yeah. How does that work?

Yeah, I'd have to I'd have to look at that document, but um, you're welcome to look at it because the questions. Sure. Sure. Sure. Usually, you know, the requirements I'm familiar with are every five years we do a totally new value assessment. Um, they're saying that assuming a 2.9% inflation rate, come year 35, uh, it would be $1.1 million would be needed to remove and and that's on juniper one. Juniper 2 would be one 1 million5,000.

Yep. So, and our intent is to step up the value of the bond in intervals. Typically, it's 5-year intervals. We give you a new estimate. Maybe it's uh $450,000 in 5 years. [clears throat] Yes, sir. Mr. Chairman, a full amount would then be $2.3 million up front. Is that what that? No. No. So, that the upfront would be the initial just the 3507 plus by 345. [clears throat] So roughly 700,000 fronted.

I appreciate the thought on this and Arena Renewables uh attempt after writing it up front. State of Illinois says that you cannot ask for more than what is provided in the AM. They offer. They didn't ask. [clears throat] Just letting you know. Yes, sir.

Yeah. I [clears throat] remember years ago, maybe 40 or 50 years ago, they had solar panels and they would put them up and uh the sun is very destructive and it does destroy things. And the early panels the they would lose 10% of their uh energy collecting capability in the first year. Yeah. How does yours do? They lose a 1.5% in the first year and they lose.5% every year thereafter.

So, [clears throat] you know, when when they're done 30 40 years from now, they're 80 80% effective from from new. Um, yeah, that's how we model it for our energy production forecasts. internally. Yes, ma'am. I just have a question. So, if we vote no on this tonight, the land owner or the company, either one, has the opportunity then to appeal it, correct? I believe so.

And it'll go to litigation with the state or and then the state already has in place that this can be done. Correct. Correct. So the chance of the land owner and the company prevailing is there. Correct. Regardless of what we vote tonight. Correct. If you if you choose to vote no, in my opinion, uh there isn't a lot of room for litigation and I don't think the county would win it.

So if we're voting no, it's more of just a stance on our feelings on solar panels. Correct. Unless you can provide a legitimate risk to health or safety of people around the solar energy facility and that's probably the only area where you could but okay. No, that's fine. I just was back up. Can this be tabled and can we check to see if the money can be put up front and can we revisit this rather than sitting here, you know, trying to figure this out.

What does this do? You [clears throat] can t We're required to have hearings within a certain amount of time, but there is no time frame on finishing the hearing. So, you welcome [clears throat] to table it if you want to. Okay. So I guess question back to you on that then is this this is suitable as far as public hearing regarding the topic. Do we need to have additional like special meetings as a public hearing for this or will come back at a different meeting correct for this discussion? Yes. Okay. Does that answer your question? Yes. Can I discuss? Yeah. Go ahead.

If we go into litigation, is the county going to be are we going to be responsible for money going towards litigation or who's this litigating? Who's they would litigate against the county for uh turning down the special use permit? That's a good question. So, it could get expensive for the county. It could. I don't have those figures. I know what's happened to other counties in Illinois and those counties have laws.

Well, yeah. The state's telling us we can't we can't tell them no. I mean, we can tell them no, but we're going to it's going to cost the county money and they're going to get we're going to lose anything. I mean, so really, what's all this discussion about? I'm done. Why can't this go back to the zoning committee? Is there something that the state is saying [clears throat] that it cannot be submitted back to the zoning committee? Correct. That does say that the zoning board because of their position, you can't send something back to the zoning board on special use permits. And can you tell me where you're getting that from? I would like to see

state statutes, but [clears throat] I don't have it on me. Good. I'm going to make a motion that we table it. [clears throat] Second. All right, I've got a motion the table. I have a second. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. I No. Can you repeat that? Can you repeat that? Which all those in favor? Okay. I got roll call. A roll call. Point order. Roll call to table. Yes.

The motion table. Yes. Is this table? No. Is not the table. Bane? Yes. Brown? No. Cole, no. Edwards, no. Greg, yes. Hardy, yes. Matt Law, no. Mhm. Yes. Miller, yes. Did you say no? I [clears throat] said no. She said yes. Mitchell, no. Morris, no. Price. Yes.

Yes. Pritchard. No Ross. Yes. Stroll. No Cipher. No Tate. No Walker. No. Wallace. No. Wood. Yes. Okay. Motion to table fails. Um 18 nazs, eight eyes. Okay. Back to discussion. Yes sir.

You mentioned 25 years. Is that a guaranteed time? Yes. So within that time and your insurance up that would that would if there was any damage. I partially heard your question, but yes, there's insurance for the whole life of the project. Okay. So this this money that you're that we're talking about is only whenever it's needed for reclaiming the the site. Correct. So any other time that money wouldn't be used except at the end of the project.

Correct. The the insurance would be used if there's damage during the life of the project. And there's a big incentive for us to get it back online as soon as possible so we can keep selling electricity. Um, there's also pressure that the locality could apply if it's unsightly for too long. You know, you could threaten to revoke our permit or impose fines. I just thought maybe there was some confusion that that Yeah, that initial amount of money would need to fix it up as well as reclaim it. It's just reclaim it. It's just decommissioning and reclamation the money up front. Yes. Yes, ma'am.

I'm going to direct this question to you. You're probably familiar with the statute since you're running this. Is there a statute that says it cannot go back to the zoning committee? Yes, there is. And can you give me that statute? Yes. I don't have a print out, but I can email it to you after this. Um and and can you give me the wording on that wording?

It's pretty dense. It's pretty lengthy, but so long as we meet um the zoning requirements of the county, [clears throat] those are the zone the county adopted those zoning requirements from the state. Those were mandated from the state to all the counties so long as we meet all the requirements of that county zoning ordinance. Uh we received approval. [snorts] But you did not submit the interconnect agreement when you initially submitted to that came after.

We submitted our interconnection application and we submitted our interconnection study and uh we got the full interconnection agreement [clears throat] fully executed a couple of weeks ago. So there's we're not trying to hide anything. And are you able to sell to any other company? Would we would the county be dealing with your group for 25 years? Are you able to pass this off to somebody else? Um, you'll be dealing with our group in the short and medium term. I'm not sure about the full 25 40 years. That's a long time period, but um [snorts and clears throat] yeah, us. So, it's kind of Yeah, because I know that a lot of companies come in and they're they're passing the ball to somebody else.

So, you're No, [clears throat] our intent is to take it through. Can I ask um where do you have other projects like this in the state? Yep. So, we've been in Illinois for a couple of years now. Um we're also working in Pennsylvania, Maryland. Um battery storage in New York. And uh we have projects throughout the whole state in different stages of development. Our furthest along, this is one of our furthest along. We have others that are far along. in uh St. Clair County, Randolph County that has started building or still in this process. Yep. That build started.

Yep. But not in production yet. Not in production yet.

Where are these made at in America or elsewhere?

Yeah, so there's been a big shift to manufacture the panels in America. So even foreign companies have brought factories over to America. Um for example the the panels that we've spec here are QC cells. They have a manufacturing facility in Georgia I believe. There's also panels made in the USA from a company called Standard Solar uh in US solar. So, [clears throat] um, yeah, that's been a big shift from the legislation a few years ago that incentivized that there were a few extra tax credits if you bought domestic panels, so it makes sense to do that. Thank you. Yep.

Any other questions or discussion for Mr. McKe?

Mr. Chairman, sir. You might have to give me the numbers again. Uh, I'd like to make a motion that we amend this building use permit to include the full bond upfront that is stated in there with the annual percentage increase to be paid annually to that bond. Not every five years, but annually. Okay. So motion is to [clears throat] have the decommissioning bond be paid in full up front which totals on Arena Juniper one is $367,000 $367,696 34 4 cents with June number two being $345,8816. Is there a second on the motion

along with the first along with the inflation annualized? Is there a second? I'll second. Second from Miss Edwards. So I will now defer back on discussion on the amendment is make it clear that you've offered yes this upfront. [clears throat] However, with the amendment, do we if any of this process have the ability to determine the inflation payment to be annual? I don't have an answer to that question. H

how do we determine that? How do we have to reissue a new bond every year um at an inflated rate? We're happy to do that. We can do the 2.9%. Um it can just be written in the condition that every annually maybe on a certain date maybe by January 1st every year we have to provide a new bond with an updated value and then so let's just go back to what you originally would do. Yep. Every 5 years. Yep.

You file that with the state and the county or you file it with the land owner in the county. Where does that go? We file it with the county or the land owner. Um, typically the the county [clears throat] is sufficient. And I mean, we could do something where it increases at 2.9% every year and then every fifth year we have to get an entirely new estimate from an engineer and then we can work off of that value and escalate that. That's fine.

I like the idea every fifth year with a reevaluation. So on the amendment, we're not actually amending. You're just seeing you'll bring it back every five years with a different assessment. [clears throat] Yes, ma'am. I think if we're going to be talking about this stuff and Bruce's not here, I think that we need to have the state's attorneys [clears throat] input into the legal part of this and stuff.

If [clears throat] Mr. Chairman, if we're not allowed to send it back to the zoning board and we're not allowed to make this front money conditional, no offense to Mr. Pritchard and his amendment, but voting yes on that amendment is just as futile as anything else. I don't see why anybody would vote for that. We can't force them to do it. They've said they're going to do it. Okay. You have to accept it at face value because we can't make it conditional. I agree on legal counsel. I think at the last meeting I attended, we voted for uh Miss Wery to be able to hire some specialists. There's a lot of angst, anxiety, and questions in this group. That's why I was in favor of tableabling it, but I yield back.

I want to be clear with the intentions for your purpose. Um, we're good people here because this is [clears throat] a hard job what we do. My concern is people in my district and how they feel about this and how it affects my county and how it affects the land owner. And I want to make sure that all the eyes are dotted and te's are crossed because we don't know you. We know Jared Ron and I don't want Jared to be taken to the cleaners either. So I want to make sure if a hill storm comes through in two years and he says you guys go this ain't working. We're going to head out east somewhere. He's not stubborn finish. I want to know in 20 years if it's time to, you know, hit the road or decommission or whatever. Jared's not left with a million dollars worth of cleanup. He can't get his farm ground back. The good Lord only makes so much farm ground. Why do you need his? That's our concern. I want to make sure that he's protected as well. He may not realize that, but that is our intent to be protected as well. So, whatever.

Understood. We're trying to do this the right way. We're not trying to pull a fast one on anybody. Um, you know, we've extended our hand here. We'd be happy with that condition. Usually, there are conditions associated with a special use permit approval. um it would be for the full amount to remove it. [clears throat] If a hail storm came through and it was so destructive that we decided not to repair the money, the decommissioning money would be used then even in that case. So and if decommissioning costs a lot more than what? Well, we'd [clears throat] have we we're covering the decommissioning fully. Um,

well, there's a difference between fully and a dollar amount. So, the dollar dollar amount. Yeah. So, to a dollar amount because if it's $2 million and Jared gets 700, then what?

That's my trying to stay on point here. This discussion was about the amendment. Any other discussion questions on the amendment? Mr. R, do I speak? Can I say something? Amen. [clears throat] Right across the fence line, the co-op has their panels that have been there for about 10 years. So, it' be right up. There's no nobody would see literally you only see about 2 or 3 acres of panels along the hard road. So, but the co-op I mean we are right across the fence line. So, I mean it's and none of I understand forces of nature. I understand all of that, but I mean we're they're going to butt up against each other. It's just on that side is Shelby Electric. On our side's angle. That's just how the districts fall. So,

yeah. Yeah. It's it's a well-hidden site. Um there's no homes that have a direct view of it. There's no homes that have to drive by it. There's a a short [snorts] stretch that's exposed to the road and we're putting in landscaping. That's above and beyond the uh the code. We're we're paying for that ourselves. It's a good faith effort to to hide it. So, it doesn't add any traffic to the area. No new kids in the school district, no strain on police or fire. So, no pollution, no fertilizer, no imperous surfaces throughout the field.

So, Ty made a public comment. It was not public comment. It's related to the landowner. Thank you. Yes sir. Scott, they they have completed all the requirements by the county. Correct. That is correct. And all the requirements by the state. All the requirements the state allows us to require. Okay. So

we're on the amendment still. We're on the amendment still. I have nothing on the amendment. Okay. Anybody else have anything on the the amendment?

Based on what I'm hearing, we don't have a lot of say in this anyway. If we vote no, then they're going to appeal [clears throat] it. It's going to go to the state. The state's going to say all the requirements were met. They're going to allow it pushed through. So at least with that amendment, if we do this now, we can say, "Hey, this bond is paid up front." We're we're having input into the agreement and how it's going to be structured.

Yes, ma'am. My issue is if it's a legally binding agreement, I mean, what do we have? We're negotiating in a board meeting and we don't have legal counsel here. The agreement's there. What's that? The agreement sitting right there. Yes. But we don't have he's he's offering to put out money. That's not in the agreement. So, you know, we're adding to something that isn't in there. [clears throat] Correct. When we're putting in a dollar amount and saying we're agreeing to this, that's what we're what we're doing. We're changing that original agreement with set amendment, but but we're negotiating a contract with board me. Correct.

We're not negotiating. We're just adding wording to it. We're discussing this amendment. And are we really allowed to put the amendment on there? I mean, he's offering and that's the only way we can do that is by his him offering it. So, and you clarified that he's offering. So, is this amendment for the offer? Cuz I'm kind of confused now on what the amendments are. Okay. To be clear, the amendment. So, rather than the decommissioning amounts being paid over a 10-ear period, right? [clears throat] They're offering to put it all up front now.

That's correct. Okay. So, we're we're we're amending the contract to his offer. So, it's [clears throat] legal. Otherwise, we couldn't even do that. You're not amending the the zoning code. You're [clears throat] just adding a condition to our approval that you've offered that we've offered. Um, and uh, I don't I don't think it's controversial. We would adhere to it. We'd have to provide it to get the building permit.

So, on the amendment, I was not aware that the land owner is here. Would would you address the land owner and ask him if if this amendment condition to the application is something that he really wants us to do or not do? It's fair, Mr. Rooney.

Yeah. So with the amendment, the question is since you are the one affected the most with the decommissioning process, the question is, is this something that you think is necessary to have upfront versus over a 10-year period? I feel like it's a a show of good faith. Um, I feel like [clears throat] whatever the state says is how it kind of should go, but I'm not here to obstruct. Um, I I mean, it's I'm pretty sure it's going going to get cleaned up if something does happen. What I fall back on is their co-op. I mean, there's enough trees around there. They've been there 10 years and nothing's been I farm right next to it every year. So, not to say that mother nature's not going to drop a tornado right down on top of it, but there's risk in everything we do.

Yeah. To be clear, in that scenario, that's insurance for rejuvenation, not decommissioning. Decommissioning. Correct. So, I want to make sure that that what Mr. Ross is asking is understood. And I think that the the the the amendment that we have here is being made with you in mind because it's your language. I appreciate it.

And so I want to make sure I ask the question one more time, maybe slightly different. [clears throat] How important is it to you for us to amend this agreement to have all of that money up front versus what was originally proposed over a 10-year period, 11-year period? protection.

I trust these guys. Um I mean I it I think it's a show of good faith like I said and I think I mean if they're willing to do that I think that that shows that they're committed fully and um I mean that that's where I stand on it. I mean I it's like like they say it's all based on what the state says anyway. Sure. And so because I've dealt with a couple other I mean everybody's gotten the flyers in the mail. I'm getting a little off tangent, but these guys are the only ones that were legit. So I mean you see the stack of papers there,

right? It's going to get taken care of. [clears throat] [snorts] Answer your question. Yes, it does. Okay.

Thank you. What was handed to me is uh a letter from Accelerant which is sorry for Arena Renewables Arena Renewables that that is currently bonded by Accelerant National Insurance Company. um that they provide charity support for Arena Renewables LLC on single bonds up to $400,000 with an aggregate bond program of $400,000. [clears throat] So with the input from the landowner himself, which is really what this amendment is is designed for is for his protection. Um, is there any other discussion on the amendment?

Yes. Can we discuss the amendment as Austin suggested and table for review by roof? Because I believe everybody needs to review it before we go through this. I think we're if we don't allow further review, we can, you know, we're missing something. We need to make sure it's right. I don't understand the question. Can we agree to amend it with those that wording? But I still want Ruth to review it. She's the lawyer in the family, not the rest of us. The amendment will get voted on, which will take us back then to the original motion with the amendment.

Yes, ma'am. Is this contract that we're talking about changing is that between the company and the land owner or the company and the county? So the answer to that is twofold. So there is a separate contract between the company and the land owner. Okay. This is us approving an agreement for them to have the building permit to move forward on this project. Okay. Is that a fair summary? Yes. So the contract though that we're talking about amending is that with the county? Yes, that's that is so this is the um special use building permit. I mean we're all of this is that has been approved through zoning.

Correct. Well will be this is to vote on the special use. Yeah. Right. So it's gone through zoning. Mr. Mr. McKe has indicated that it's met all of the local and state criteria for the project. Okay. Does that help clear up what you're asking? So, so there are two Yeah, because I'm thinking why are we asking the state's attorney to amend a contract between a company and a land or review a company and a land owner because that's private business. It's really it's it's not a contract and we're we're just giving them a building permit. It's a special use building permit. Yeah. So, okay. So, on the amendment, any other discussion?

Yes, ma'am. I have a question before we vote. Okay. Are we voting [clears throat] on the amendment without looking at it? We're voting on the amendment which takes it back then to the original motion with the amendment act. So, we haven't we this only takes us back to where we started a long time ago. if that makes sense. Okay. Any other discussion on just the amendment? All right. Seeing none, as it relates to the amendment, roll call vote, please. Bane,

present. Brown, yes. Cole, yes. Edwards, yes. Greg, yes. [clears throat] Hardy, yes. Matt Rock, no. Mayhal, yes. Miller, no. Mitchell, yes. Morse, no. Price, no. [cough] Pritchard, yes. Ross, yes. Stroll, yes. Cipher, yes. [clears throat] Tate, yes.

Waford, yes. Wallace, Wood, no.

Amendment passes, 13 eyes, one saying, one present, and five nazs. Okay. So, the amendment has passed which includes the upfront payment on both projects for decommissioning it as offered by the company's representative. Back to the original motion as amended. Any further discussion on this item? Yes, sir.

Yeah. [clears throat] I got nothing against anybody trying to make money. I think it's great. I went to school to build windmills. I thought that's something I'd like to do. And uh I soon found out that they would not pay for themselves in their entirety [clears throat] of their life. And I don't know if it's the same thing with solar panels, but [clears throat] somebody's paying to put those panels out there. And again, I I like Mr. Rooney. I I He seem like a nice young man that we we all pay to put these things out here and we'll never probably get our return. Now, I could be wrong about solar panels. I don't know anything about it. And and then you talk about life and live and you know if if the only way that we can inject with you know it's a dangerous people but we live in a in the grain belt. We are wellfed people here. We got we got deer and beef and we got lots of ground. But this this ground is is valuable ground. And when we go putting solar panels on why why do you put them on roofs or something like that? Why are we eating up property that produces? Because we're not going to starve, but [clears throat] the less food that's being grown, the less food that's being made, there are people that will starve. They may not be here, they'll be somewhere else. And that that's a fact. So anyway, you do with that what you want, but that's true. [clears throat] Any other discussion on the amended item? Seeing none,

we have one more. We'll give it a second. First a second.

[clears throat]

Sorry. [clears throat] Okay. Any further discussion? [laughter] Thanks. Sorry. Okay. Seeing no further discussion, roll call vote on items 10, please. B. Mr. Chairman, can we clarify the vote real quick? Except so the vote is on item 10.

Yeah. which is a discussion and vote to approve the special use building permit as amended for arena renewables for the Juniper 1 and 2 solar energy facilities on Shelby County parcel 2013-17-00-400-006.

Yes. Brown, yes. Cole, yes. Edwards, yes. Gray, yes. Hardy, no. Matlock, no. Mayh Hall, yes. Miller, no. Mitchell, no. Morris, yes. Price, no. Pritchard, yes. Ross, yes. Stro, yes. Cybert, [clears throat] yes. Tate, yes. Walker, yes. Wallace, yes. Wood,

no. Motion passes. 14 eyes, six nays. Great. Thank you, Scott. You want to step back now? [clears throat] Scott.

Scott. resolution.

I will [clears throat] get that saved. So, just get the contact and I will revise it. Thank you, sir. All right. Move on to item 11, which is discussion vote to approve the following. A a resolution to enter into a joint agreement for local use of local funds for performing a Cape Seal on 7.9 miles of County Highway 19 west of Illinois 128. Estimates total cost $1,750,000 of which $150,000 in use from FASM. Item B I was asked to remove because it's no longer necessary. Item C announcement of $599,000 $599,434 of HEP grant to be used to complete the Cape Seal on County Highway 19 from County Line with Christian County to Route 16, which provides better skid resistance to aid in decreasing accidents. On this road of motion, Mr. this lock. Have a second. Mr. Price.

Hi.

Hello. Um, thank you. Uh, as far as item A, it is we are looking to cape seal this road. It is an oil and chip with a microsurface on top. It is going to preserve the road when it's there um for for probably a period of 7 to 10 years. Um so it is just resurfacing the road in in slight form just to preserve what we have there. Um and then item C in continuing in that is uh my team put together an application earlier in the year and we did receive a $599,000 rough roughly grant. That's 90% of the cost of a cape seal along with some other improvements that are required. This is a HSIP grant. It is to improve safety. Uh there have been some unfortunate accidents on that road and that is to decrease that possibility, give it better uh skid resistance. A lot of my peers said you never get a HSIP for a paving project and my team we got one. So uh we considered that a good success. So u with that I would entertain any questions regarding those two items.

Any questions, comments, discussion, Mr. Tap door. Good job. Again, the the dollar amounts on the grants keep racking up. So, thank you for that. You guys

Okay, seeing none. Roll call vote, please. B, yes. Brown, yes. Cole, yes. Edwards, yes. Gray, yes. Hardy, yes. Matt, yes. May, yes. Miller, yes. Mitchell, yes. Morse, yes. Price, yes. Pritchard, yes. Ross, yes. Stroll, yes. Cyber, yes. Tate, yes. Wford, [clears throat] yes. Wallace, yes. Wood, yes. Motion passes unanimously.

Thank you. On item 12, discussion of vote to amend the contract for the keycom position from an hourly position to a salary position for $43,225. Have a motion on this item, please. And Mr. Pritchard and Miss Fame. Any questions or discussion on item 12? Yes sir. Why are we doing this?

Uh the purpose of this was to really facilitate the payroll process to make it a little bit easier as well as um [clears throat] the the benefits piece to this. It helps in the the the up times low times of the contract. Um, and then the dollar amount was determined by the the mid-range of the hours we agreed on in the original contract, um, which was 20 to 30. So the hours 25 times the hourly rate is where the salary amount came in. Okay. Isn't this grant funded? Yeah, it is. It is, which is still tax dollars.

It's state it's funded by the state, right? Yeah. Any other questions, discussion? Seeing none, roll call vote, please. Bane, yes. Brown, no. Cole, yes. Edwards, no. Gray, yes. Hardy, no. Matlock, yes. Mayhal, yes. Miller, yes. Mitchell, yes. Mors, yes. Price, yes. Pritchard, yes. Ross, yes. Stroll, yes. Cipher, [snorts] yes. Kate,

yes. Waford, yes. Wallace, yes. [snorts] Wood, yes. Motion passes with 17 eyes. [clears throat]

Thank you. Item 13, discussion of vote to approve the resolution to submit an advisory referendum to the voters of Shelby County regarding the federal scholarship tax credit. I have a motion, please. Mr. Ross, have a second. Mr. Price, um organization reach out to me maybe two months ago, month and a half ago. Um of which you received the materials that it explains [clears throat] a little bit about this this program exists. Illinois does not participate. Um so while Illinois residents can contribute, Illinois students cannot benefit from this this program. Um it's an opt-in program and we're basically asking the board is voting to put this on the ballot next year as a non resolution to the voters to encourage participation from the state level.

[clears throat] That's a very abbreviated version of this. Um, some of the highlights too is is it's it's scholarships for many [clears throat] students, but it's also public and private and also extends further into the homeschool community as well. Any questions? two done and regarding the referendum before is this a roll call. Okay. All right. [clears throat] See no discussion. All those in favor say I.

Opposed. Motion [snorts] passes. Thank you. Item 14, discussion will vote to approve [clears throat] Surma contract 121 of 2025 to 1130 of 2026 insurance pricing for liability and workman's comp at a cost of 316,631 which is which represents a 6.04% increase over the previous year at a motion on Surma. Miss Matlock in the back Mr. Tate any questions or discussion on our contract with sir?

Seeing none. Roll call from babe. Yes. Brown. Yes. Co. Yes. Edwards. [clears throat] Uh, yes. [snorts] Gray. Yes. Hardy. Yes. Matlock. Yes. Mhm. Yes. Miller. Yes. Mitchell. Yes. Morris. Yes. Price. Yes. Pritchard. Yes. Ross. Yes. Stroll. Yes. Cipher. Yes. Tate. Yes. Whoa. Yes. Wallace. Yes. Wood. Yes. Motion passes unanimously.

Thank you. to move on to item 15, which is discussion of vote to approve the cyber security insurance pricing with Cerna um from 12125 to 11:30 2026 for $3,180 which represents a $645 decrease from the previous year. I have a motion on this item, please. Miss Wood, Mr. Pritchard, any questions or discussion on [cough] [clears throat] Seeing none vote, please. Bane, yes. Brown, yes. Cole, yes. Edwards, yes. Greg, yes. Ari, yes. [clears throat] Yes. [snorts] Mayhal, yes. Miller,

yes. Mitchell, yes. Morris, yes. Price, yes. Pritchard, yes. Ross, yes. Stroll, yes. Cipher, yes. Tate, yes. Waford, yes. Wallace, yes. Wood, yes.

Motion passes unanimously. Thank you. We're going to move on to item 16. Discussion of vote to approve the paro health insurance pricing for 11 one of 2026 through 1231 of 2026. Have a motion on this item, please. Matlock and a second. Miss Miller. Uh this was discussed last month a little bit on the pricing and discussions that we had with the health insurance advisors. um of which increases benefit to the employees uh all the while our premiums will actually go down. So the total renewal um percentage decrease is 8.9% over last year. Um

and so looking at [snorts] the the the the original would have been 1.434 million and this becomes 1.36. And so um again as Mr. Greg, you point out last month, it's a matter of just asking the right questions, having discussion, and letting them kind of show us the way on where some of the insurance benefits um could be improved as well as the cost increase to the county. So, I'll let entertain any questions or discussion. Okay, none. Roll call vote, please. Bane, yes. Brown, yes. Cole, yes. Edwards, yes.

Greg, yes. Hardy, yes. Yes. Yes. Mhm. Yes. Miller, yes. Mitchell, yes. Morris, yes. Price, yes. Fridger, yes. Ross, yes. Troll, yes. Cipher, yes. Tape, yes. Walker, yes. Wallace, yes. Wood, yes. Motion passes unanimously.

Thank you. On item 17, discussion or vote to approve the lease agreements and rental fees [clears throat] between Shelby County and Shelby County Community Services for the following. Uh, item A is is county storage located at South Morgan and South First for $6,600 a year. Item B is the EMA zoning office at 315 South Main for $3,300 per year. I have a motion on item 17, please. Mr. Mitchell, M. Matlock, any questions, discussion?

Yes, sir. On item A, what exactly is being stored at South Morgan Street? That's combination of clerk and treasury and circuit clerk and county board. I mean, what's being stored there? Documents, records that can't be disposed of. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Yes, sir. Is this the where they got water or they got damaged at one time? We was talking about buying out there. Is is that all Is this a new deal? They put a new roof on it. I don't know that any records were ever damaged.

I thought that was [clears throat] like I thought that was what the deal was. It was getting in bad shape and records were getting damaged and stuff. That's right. Well, I mean, we can't really afford, you know, um, temperature control record storage. So, without that, is this temperature control?

Okay, that's all. We have discussion questions. See another roll call vote, please. Yes. Brown. Yes. Cole, yes. Edward, yes. Gray, yes. Hardy, yes. Matt, yes. May, yes. Miller, yes. Mitchell, yes. Morris, yes. Price, yes. Richard, yes. Ross, yes. Stroll, yes. Cipher, yes. Tate, yes. Walker, yes. Wallace, yes. Wood, yes. Motion passes.

Thank you. On item 18, discussion or vote to approve the managed services contract for IT services with Mitech Solutions team from 121 of 2025 through 11:30 of 2026 at a monthly fee of $6,000. I have a motion on this side, please. [snorts] On motion, second questions [clears throat] or discussion? Yes, ma'am. Is this the same amount that McCain this year? No, he increased it because he's um added additional machines.

Okay. And it's still broken up by department. No, it hasn't been that way for a few years. It's just one lump sum for the for all the departments that participate. But is there budget? Do I see finance? It's an 029 budget. Okay. Okay. Added expenses charges for other things besides this monthly fee. Well, I mean hard if you have to buy a new computer, new hardware, something like that. Yes. But this is if they have to come in and take care of stuff.

This is their server based. This is the the email like this is everything. The website to do with the court, right? This is just county business. This would be the county systems. Yes. Yes, sir. Does this get put up for bid or anything? 6,000 a month seems like a Yeah, it's it's it's it's um so being a service doesn't have to, but we've discussed Miss Miller had conversations with some other companies throughout the year. Um 6,000 service. It doesn't have to be

it is a fair point that we we discussed that offline. Yeah. And again, it's something that we discussed. [clears throat] I think we got a little we got a little bit late in the year for that activity. It's something that in the first part of the year if it's desired we can we can explore that at that time. Any other questions or discussion? Seeing none, roll call, please. Bane, yes. Brown, yes. Cole, yes. Edwards, yes. Greg, yes. Hardy, yes. Mattwa, yes. Yes. Mayhal, yes. Miller, yes. Mitchell, yes. Morris, yes. Price, yes. Richard, yes. Ross,

yes. Troll, yes. Cyber, yes. Kate, [snorts] yes. Waford, yes. Wallace, yes. Wood, yes. Motion passed unanimously.

Thank you. On item 19, discussion of vote to approve the fiscal year 2026 annual budget. I have a motion on this. Miss B on the motion, Mr. Mox on [clears throat] the second. Um before we get into any other discussion, I want to again reiterate my appreciation for um those involved in the budget process. Um it it definitely was a little easier this year. A little bit understanding. I think that there's still information gaps and and learning that we had to do. Um but a lot of lessons learned this year. Um not being here. Again, I want to extend my appreciation to uh Mr. Dantis as well who was very um very helpful very instrumental in a lot of the understanding and the dialogue in this process as well. Um an update on where we stand for fiscal year 25 since there was a lot of discussion last year about a budget being um passed as a deficit. We are 90 slightly over 96% of the way through the year uh as it relates to the general fund um with some expenditures that we're going to pass here in a little bit. We are around 75% of the budget spent year to date. So still trending below uh what that looks like. The numbers were I believe somewhere around $2 million under what was budgeted. Obviously that number will change as we wrap up the rest of this fiscal year in the next two and a half weeks. Um and then combined the general fund and special funds and the total budget again 96% of the way through the year um of which is 88% spent. So on on both elements of that um the the spending was under what was um budgeted for. So with that I will entertain discussion and comments, questions.

Yes, ma'am. Was that second number 80% or 88? 88. 88. Okay. Chad, for the um 26 annual budget, can you just give a brief um just so it's on out there for public that may be watching what the expenditures versus the revenue is? Yeah, I was going through all that a while ago. Um, and it's it's it's been out there as far as me consolidating the documents in front of me. I don't have all of that in front of me at the moment. So, unless you happen to have it, I don't have mine pulled up with my stuff.

I will allow you to review that to verify. I think I'm on page 175 or 175. That looks like it. So 426, fiscal year 26 is the grand total revenue estimate is $21,166,112 with expenses projected at 20,683,424 uh with a difference of $482,688,000. Um, and since we we have this here, um,

I haven't yet up there, too. So, nope, we're good. So, um, is that the is that what you were looking for? Okay. Yeah. Again, this is the the document that was, um, in the clerk's office website for review. Any other questions or comments? What is the total of the 26 budget compared to the 25 budget? It's on the same page.

Yeah. The if I can answer the um 26 budget is 21,100,000. The 25 budget was uh excuse me 20,683 for 26. 20,81 for 25 uh down 150,000 down. And we're up a little bit for 26. Is that No, sir. We're down.

20,800 801 and 25. 20,683 [clears throat] for 26. So we're down about 150,000 in expenses. Okay.

Any other questions or discussion? Okay, seeing none. Roll call, please. Bane, [clears throat] yes. Brown, yes. Cole, yes. Edwards, yes. Gray, yes. Hardy, yes. Matt, yes. May, yes. Miller, yes. Mitchell, yes. Morris, yes. Price, yes. Pritchard, yes. Ross, yes. Stroll, yes. Cipher, yes. [snorts] Kate, yes. Whopper, yes. Wallace, yes.

Wood, yes. Motion passes ungain, thank you to everybody involved in this as well as the park heads for their cooperation. Um, again, we will look to continue that process next year and um be engaged throughout the year. Moving on to item 20, discussion of vote to approve liquor license renewals for the following establishments for the fiscal year 25 26. Jackie Gaming, DBA Lucky Ducks Gaming, which is a class 5 restaurant B. Oak Terrace, which is a class 3 resort, Willow Ridge Winery, which is two, [clears throat] which is class 4 wine makers and class 7 banquet hall. Twilight Distillery, which is class 8 craft distiller, Balling Vineyards, which is two, which is a class 4 wine maker, and class 7 banquet hall. Eagle Creek Golf Course, which is class 6 golf course, and Game On LLC, which is class B, restaurant. I have a motion on item 20, please. Miss Bane, I'll second Miss Wood. Any questions or discussion?

Yes, sir. Um I'm just curious what do all those numbers mean? Class 7 class 5 is the classification at the county level that were given to the different liquor licenses. So it's just a it's just a it's a it's a number associated with each license to identify it. It's an identifier. Okay. If that's fair is that a fair assessment? Okay. The state has their own. So when it comes to these liquor licenses, this is local. They still have to get to the state. Okay. When I read this, I I see class 5 and class 7. I think that's they're different license, different type of license.

They are. And so the definition of them or the the name of the licenses in line with the numbers. So class 7 banquet hall is for banquet halls. Oh, I got you. Okay. Okay. Thank you. You're welcome. Any other discussion or questions?

Okay. Seeing none, all those in favor say I. I. opposed. [clears throat] Motion passes. Thank you. Move on to item 21 committee reports from committees. Okay, moving on to item 22, which is chairman updates and correspondence. Um, I've got a letter here from Clean Grid Alliance. Um, I'll read the introductory paragraph and then leave it up here for anybody who'd like to read it. I'm reaching out on behalf of my organization, Clean Grid Alliance, a nonprofit organization that partners with local leaders and communities across the Midwest to provide education and resources on energy infrastructure projects. We are pleased to invite you to a privateformational meeting about wind energy at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 10th at the US Army Corps of Engineers Lake Shelbyville Visitors Center, which is located at 1989, Illinois Route 16 in Shelbyville, Illinois. Um, so there's an invitation here. Uh I do have a letter here from the Supreme Court um as it's discussing the the budget and the uh revenue sources for um our probation department. And so um it goes on to discuss where the funding came from for fiscal year 26. And as Miss Wayne has indicated, they were able to secure their funding um from the state for their employees. Uh there is a meeting notice here from United Council or United Counties Council of Illinois, uh for a meeting to be held next week, November 17th, uh to be held

at the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel in Springfield. um with the agenda and other enclosures attached and there is another letter from UCCCI here um that is our reimbursements for the year membership. So in July um we were reimbursed um for attendance at hotel for this pool for $92420. And in September uh we were also reimbured another $585.40 for a total reimbursement to the county of $1,5960. Um, as far as it as far as [cough and clears throat] other updates, um, back to the budget, the the the idea here, the hope was to have the information for the the levy here tonight to also make that a part of what we were going to vote on. Um, didn't really have all the information we needed to to make an informed decision. Again, as as others that were involved in that process last year, um, it's laborious. It's there's it's tedious. there's a lot of information to understand and by the time you think you understand it right something happens. So, um, the budgeting committee has done a really good job of really digging into this. Um, we when we used ARCA funds with sick, it's part of that contract was to use them for budgetary services. Um, we requested help as it relates to the levy, right? And the levy is the part that we set that actually determines how much we are asking from Shelby County residents um to pay. And so they they they were really good about writing us some historical data and they had provided us some scenarios to give us

examples of what the levy could look like if we were to go to the max what we can levy to stay put or to even cut. And so we have the data the data is being looked at. They gave us a wonderful spreadsheet to work with as well um where we can mess with the numbers so to speak, right? See what that impact is to the I think 12 items that we levied for uh in the county. And so the committee will get together again this month um with this information and additional consultation from the areas in which we do levy for as well as uh with sage to make sure we're not missing something. Um the intent is to establish a really good baseline for this process going forward and to be able to use this tool that they gave us going forward um for for boards well beyond our tenure to be able to use this to make really good informed decisions. And so uh I can't thank them enough as well as the committee for the effort they put into this. Um, again, I think it'd be fair to say last year we kind of got into it not fully understanding this [snorts] would help with that understanding. So, um, we hope that we not hope we will have that ready for the board for next month, but there's there's a lot of effort going into that and a lot of, um, thought process behind what that could look like for next year. uh with a lot of intentionality looking at bank balances what what reserves are in there for each one of those liab. So um but to be transparent one of the items we know this year we ran into is we fell short on social security and is making sure that as we set the levy for next year. Not only is there enough to make sure that when we get to the summer and we possibly have to use some general fund money, but we have money when we get collections make sure to pay that

[clears throat] back, but also that we have enough for the following 12 months in there. So, we're not looking to continue this borrowing process. So, it's where where in those areas can we move around funds that have reserves to make things match up. And then I think the intentionality for anybody that's here beyond my tenure, this needs to be reviewed in depth every single year to make sure that we are um putting the money in the right spots and taking into consideration that the the right amount of um revenue is being appropriated for the right amount of spending. So um that work is being done. Um apart from that, I don't have any other updates. So I will move on to item 23 which is chairman appointments um which are as follows which is Brian Mcrenolds to the Christian Shelby County 911 board um as the elected official. The appointment is a three-year term for Miro Estrada term to expire 11:30 of 2026. Mike Weber to Christian County Shelby 911 board from public safety sector turn to expire 11:30 of 2027. Uh Carol Cole to finance to replace Sunny Ross. Tim Morse to public safety to replace Sunny Ross. John Stroll to Roaden Bridge. And Terresa Bame to the budget audit and legislative committee. Have a motion on this, please. Mr. Ross, I have a second. Mr. Pritchard. Any discussion or questions as it relates to these appointments? Seeing none, all those in favor say I.

Opposed. Appointments pass. Anybody have any old business? Move on to item 25, which is approval of claims. Motion to approve claims. Please dispain on the motion. Got a second. There's one on the second. You have anything to add? No to this. Okay. Any questions or discussion on? Okay. Seeing none, roll call vote, please. B, yes. Brown, yes. Cole, yes. Edwards, yes. Greg, yes. Harris, Matt, yes. Mayhal, yes. Miller, yes. Mitchell, yes. Morris, yes. Price, yes.

Richard, yes. Ross, yes. Stroll, yes. Savor, yes. Kate, yes. Walker, yes. Wallace, yes. Wood, yes. Motion passes unanimously. Thank you. All right, move on to item 26, which is public body comments. Public body comment.

I have something. I'm going to go back and kind of review where we um the PCOM salary making it um making it a salary rather than hourly wage. So, I just want it to be clear that if the pecom person works 30 hours a week, she'll be making 2770 an hour. If she makes if she works 20 hours a week or a pay period, I'm sorry, it's no, it's 20 hours a week, it's $41.56 an hour. So, for years, I've sat in here and we talk about how we want to respect our employees in the in the building, our deputies, our elected officials. And we just granted a potential part-time employee more money than our elected officials make if we break it down that way. So that's just my opinion that I don't think that was wise to make that a salaried position.

Thank you comment.

Yeah, I just want to give you guys a great thank you for bringing a different kind of meeting than we had a year or two ago. I think you proved I think you proved we could sell a county farm or we could farm a county farm. No one no matter what anyone said. Uh I think you proved you could run a budget and department heads could stay within budget. [clears throat] You're about a year ago we had a story that we had to sell the farm in order to balance the budget. Seems like you pretty well proved that wrong. So, for the people listening at home that might not be aware of what's going on, uh the people in the state of Illinois have had solar farms shut down their roof, whether they want them or not. The reason these people voted yes, is because we don't really have a choice. Part of our freedom has been taken away for what we want to do. And then what you end up with is a group like that right here that's figured out a way to make a fortune off of something that people in the county don't want. But we don't have any choice. And I don't I don't find any fault with anyone for voting yes or no because that's your choice. But when all get said and done, we don't have a choice. That's all I got to say.

Thank you. public body comment. Yes. Thank you, chairman. Um, we agree on something here, J. Thank you. One of the things that I want to address a couple things, but one in particular, one of the first questions on the solar is this going to be union. I would urge everybody to go back and listen to all the answers to questions because you didn't get answers to questions. You got double speed. Prevailing wage doesn't mean they're hiring union.

Okay? He never answered that particular question. The other thing that I found interesting was you were told you can't deny this unless you identify a health and safety issue. That was by your zoning administrator. I would urge all of you to read the zoning act, the county zoning act, because one of the most important powers you have and duties you have is found in that act that does talk about promoting public health and safety, morals, comfort, and general welfare, this is the most important one, conserving the values of property throughout the county. It's an undisputed fact. Solar farms and wind farms destroy the property values everywhere they go. That's undisputed. That's grounds to say no. But I'm guessing either your administrator didn't read that. It sounded as if he was advocating for this position more than he was presenting something from the county board or the zoning board. But you absolutely have the power to say no if you can identify those things. That one was never addressed. in regards to your IT contract. I may be wrong, but I believe the law specifically says if any IT related orders, individual orders, which this is, it's an individual order for an annual contract, if it exceeds 35,000, it has to be bid out, but I may be wrong. Check with your legal counsel on that. It's all I have.

Thank you. Public body comments. Hi, I just wanted to remind everyone at the end of the survey um it takes three minutes whether you do it on Facebook or you do the physical one here. Every survey helps someone in our community and I just just please take the three minutes. It really helps. Thank you. I appreciate the tenacity on that. Thank you. Lots happened since you first spoke. So, thank you.

Public body comment. I just want to say he read a letter from UCCCI and Tim, Teresa and I will be going to that meeting on Monday in Springfield and I encourage all board members to go to these meetings. You know, I've been to I think four this year. [snorts] The county does get reimbursed every quarter. Believe it's $500 now. It used to be three. Is it five now, Jessica? Yes. It used to be $300 a quarter. It's $500. you know, it cost us 1,500 to belong to UCCCI. We end up getting that money back. So, I mean, there's a lot of good information. You get breakfast and lunch people. And uh I just encourage people to go and to go to Galina to the to the conference in July.

Yes, sir. And one of the best things is the interaction with the other board members from other counties because then you find out that our problems aren't just our problems and sometimes they have solutions that we haven't thought about. Public body comment. Yes sir. I I appreciate what you said. However, 55 ILCS5-12020 states that if a solar or wind energy facility is in compliance with the state, the county shall approve it. There is no ability to signal. I understand that.

Okay. Public body comment. Oh, I did. Oh, the survey is due by December. So yeah, this [laughter] [laughter] get somebody get her on the board. Strawber. [laughter] We like your enthusiasm. Public body comment. Public body comment. [clears throat] Public body comment. Yes, sir.

Thank you, Mr. chairman, uh, if you will, and I happen to exceed my 5 minutes, I would appreciate the allowance to complete what I have to say. In 2022, I was elected to the Shelby County Board to represent District 7. I had one real goal in mind to achieve. That goal was to ensure that the men and women who serve on the Shelby County Rescue Squad, as well as those men and women who serve on the Shelby County dive team, were without a doubt or any uncertainty properly established as entity of Shelby County, [clears throat] operating as they had done for many years prior. But when the authority to do so was called into questions, answers would be immediately available. Having previously served on both of these entities with the very men and women that are still serving today, I knew this was an important task to see through, if for no other reason but to ensure the health and safety of the men and women serving. Lacking obvious, easily attainable documentation to support either division as a county entity, I felt it vitally necessary to ensure and create where necessary those documents. That was my goal. That was my intent. And having discussed that with both leaders of those respective entities, they understood and agreed we all needed to work to that end. Initially, I regret to acknowledge that I failed them both. I apologize first to the citizens of Shelby County and the visitors for my failure. I apologize to the members of both entities for undue stress, aggravation, and uncertainty that was caused by my actions. Lastly, to the leaders, Mr. Pritchard and Mr. Kamik, please accept my public apologies for those initial actions of mine. Truth [clears throat] be told, the now infamous standown order was not my idea, nor did it go anywhere near the way I had planned or the goals that I had set. When I agreed to that order in my thought process, it would have lasted about 5 to seven days tops, and a re resolution would have been created to put the dive team back in full

operation, just as it was prior. Unfortunately, I was used as a pawn in what I can only express as a game to create chaos, cause division, and hurt this county. It has taken me some time to process, acknowledge, and admit that I was used and sort of played as a fool. I know the members of the dive team suffered mental anguish and uncertainty during this time, while my family and I suffered hatred, loss of relationship, and even death threats. The community suffered with bad representation, unnecessary noise, and distraction, not to mention the lack of emergency coverage it should have had been provided. All of this could have been and should have been avoided had my choices in decision-making been better. I'm sorry. And while it wasn't my idea, my name is still on it, and I will wear the failure for many years to come. And before anyone asks, "Well, where did it come from?" I assure you there is no paper trail. I know where it came from. Those creating it know as well. And I suppose that's where it will have to stay for now. Thankfully, that's not the end of the story. Myself, Mr. Mayh Hall, Mr. Pritchard, and a couple of other very key individuals were able to meet. After a great deal of hard disagreements, back and forth negotiating, we were able to walk out of that meeting agreeable the way that it should be. Thankfully, uh, Mr. Orman as the board chairman was able to see the value in the agreement that was reached and used his authority to make necessary adjustments, appointed Mr. Pritchard as commander and allowed the Shelby County dive team to be properly established, fully functional as an entity of Shelby County. While in no way, shape or form was this the path I imagined, I am very happy to see those men and women have the necessary operating documents, oversight, and assistance from the entire Shelby County Board. The rescue squad also suffered from the actions taken with the dive team. Not in the same type of direct way, but with

similar uncertainties and stress through the entire process as they saw what was happening. Knowing there was no real authority issued the county board to even establish a rescue squad, we had to go to our Illinois legislators for their help. With the assistance of Senator Mccclure, a bill was drafted, passed, and signed into law allowing Shelby County to properly form and protect those who serve our county on a rescue squad. I'm very thankful for all the assistance through that process as it was certainly not a solo effort. There are far too many people to thank. You all know who you are if you helped and I thank you. I'm thankful that both situations ended well and have been put in the rearview mirror as we all begin to move forward. I'm very thankful for my time having served on this county board. The valuable lessons learned and experiences had, some good, some bad, would all have helped me learn and grow and hopefully be a better representative of those that I serve. My challenge to each member of this board, a committee, organization going forward would be this. Look at all the facts.

Take time. Consider all of the implications of your decisions and actions and then move in the best direction you can based on the information you have. And if you find yourself having been played like a fiddle, my belief is that you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, learn from it, and try to move forward and be wise in the future. I know that is certainly my plan. to the community at large, those folks that are being represented. Don't get caught measuring or judging a man or woman solely on what seems to be the worst parts of them. We are all just regular men and women with families, friends, and many of us like and appreciate some of the very same things in life. Offer the grace and kindness you wish would be offered to you. work to look past those decisions or votes that you don't that you don't agree with and work to learn the real reasoning behind those choices and not just the reasons posed by others that you read on social media. Recently, my local community saw a resignation from the city council. Having been appointed and confirmed to fill that seat seat, I plan to take all that I have learned here and work hard to represent my local county. To my fellow board members, thank you all. Thank you for your support, your cooperation, and your willingness to serve. Trust me, I know this is not an easy job, and I appreciate what you all are doing. And with that, Mr. Chairman, thank you for your help, your support. Please accept my resignation to District 7 of the Shelby County Board effective tomorrow, November 14th. I yield back.

Thank you. And again, thank you for your service and again the humbleness that that came with with what you just read. So, thank you. It's been a long road for sure. Um, but we got through a rough patch together last year and I I appreciate your your willingness to work on that. So, thank you. Thank you. With that public body comment,

I just want to say thank you to a lot of my fellow board members. I've experienced a near tragedy a few weeks ago when you watch a loved one get put on a helicopter not knowing if it's going to be your last. I love you. And you really you really realize how important and how short life is. And uh I had so many phone calls from board members and I appreciate that and it pulled me through a real tough time. [clears throat] I'm still going through that tough time. Uh but that's what community does and we can't forget that and let people divide us even when we disagree. We've got to remember this is our home and we care about each other at the end of the day. We may not like some of the decisions or agree with them, but we could do it in a friendly way and not hurt people. But I want to say how much again I appreciate those people who reached out because it was a very difficult situation and it it just shows how much people care and I'm proud of all of you for being who you present yourself to be in private and in public. That's important and it shows character. So thank you Thank you. And again, we we've talked a lot over the past couple weeks, so again, you know, the doors open, so reach out any time. You're right. Community matters. So, public body comment. Public body comment. Public body comment.

I have a motion, Mr. Ross, to adjurnn. I have a second. Mr. Price second. All those in favor of adjournment, say I. Oppos. We are the last night.

I have a pen if you need it.