The Christian County Zoning Board of Appeals Tuesday night tabled their decision on granting the amendment to the Special Use Permit previously granted to the Hickory Point Solar Energy project in south central Christian County. 15 minutes into the meeting, it was moved from the County Board room to Courthouse A to accomodate the large crowd that attended.
Officials with Invenergy, the developer for the project, first made a presentation on the scope of the project and why the amendment had to be filed for, citing underground mining that had taken place under a portion of the original footprint.
Invenergy brought several experts to bring testimony to the Board, with lead developer Greg Vasilion sharing a slide presentation showing where the new footprint would be, why it was needed, and the economic benefit to the 15 taxing bodies that additional taxes would be paid totaling some 33-point-7 million dollars over 25 years.
6 members of the public gave public statements during the Tuesday night Z-B-A meeting. Marsha Cimarusti, a Morrisonville resident living near the proposed solar project, expressed concerns on future property values and whether the panels would affect her tv, radio and wi-fi signals. Officials with the project cited several studies saying property values near solar project do not decline, and added solar panels don't cause R-F interference but if theirs did, they would work with her.
Brian Moore of Morrisonville, a real estate broker who also lives near the proposed site, also questionned if property values near the site would decline should the project be built.
Randi Riemann, principal at Morrisonville Junior High School, cited the benefits district will receive from increased tax dollars from the project, enabling them to provide additional courses and services to students.
Shawn Hammers, the director of the Christian County Solid Waste Department, asked about a storm water protection plan, as well as whether landfills will be inundated with solar panels when the project is decommissioned at the end of its useful life. Officials with Invenergy responded saying the state mandates a storm water protection plan be filed before the project can begin, and that solar panels will likely be recycled rather than ending up in landfills at the end of their useful life.
Gayla Oyler, who owns property near the project, talked about her personal experiences in negotiating with Invenergy, and asked how many solar projects were needed in Central Illinois.
Eric Allison, a landowner near the proposed solar project, questioned if the ambient temperature near the panels would rise having an effect on the temperature of his nearby farmland, and also asked about how road conditions would be maintained during construction. Invenergy officials responded saying they'll enter into a road use agreement as they did when they received their initial special use permit, to insure roads in the construction area would be maintained.
Once the public comment period ended, Z-B-A board members began asking questions in last night's meeting. Board member Gary Merker asked for assurances that the projected additional revenue taxing bodies would receive over the proposed 25-year lifespan of the project, would continually increase with no give-backs during later years. Invenergy officials assured Merker that was the case.
The meeting adjourned for a 10-minute recess, only to re-convene and suspend the meeting for the night. The Z-B-A board will either, at a special meeting, or at their next regular monthly meeting, further review Invenergy's special use permit amendment application. The board did ask that Christian County Supervisor of Assessments Chad Coady, appear to answer questions regarding how assessments will be affected in the project's footprint.
