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Ratifying Emergency Purchase Affidavit for a Solar Consultant
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WHEREAS, the Development Department is responsible for review of commercial solar projects under the Kane County Zoning Ordinance and State Law; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to section 25-5-4-9 of the Kane County Code (“Commercial Solar Zoning Ordinance”), these responsibilities include the review of decommissioning plans, cost estimates and bonds in order to close out projects that have been constructed; and
WHEREAS, reviews by qualified and experienced professionals are required under the Commercial Solar Zoning Ordinance to protect the County’s responsibility in respect to these aspects of solar projects if they were to fail and/or for when the project reaches the end of its useful life; and
WHEREAS, the Development Department does not have staff qualified to do these reviews in-house; and
WHEREAS, immediate action is needed to prevent or minimize disruption to County services and allow the County to complete these reviews that are required under the Commercial Solar Zoning Ordinance; and
WHEREAS, the Development Department is working on an RFQ for soliciting engineering services from one or more firms for broader review services regarding solar petitions, permits for construction, inspections, and for ongoing administration of decommissioning bonds and annual inspections; and
WHEREAS, the process to complete the RFQ process may take three to four months and the services are required immediately to prevent or minimize disruption to County services; and
WHEREAS, the Illinois Local Government Professional Services Selection Act (50 ILCS 510/8) authorizes a political subdivision to waive requirements of the Act if it determines that an emergency situation exists and a firm must be selected in an expeditious manner; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the Commercial Solar Zoning Ordinance the fees for these reviews are to be funded by the solar project owner; and
WHEREAS, Hampton, Lenzini and Renwick, Inc. (HLR) already primarily does review work for municipalities and counties (rather than solar developers) so that there is a low probability for conflicts of interest, have the experience and capability to review solar project decommissioning plans, cost estimates and bonds for other local governments, can do so in 10 working days for the fees listed in the proposed contract, and currently do reviews for KDOT and are under contract with Kane County for the Mill Creek SSA as a result of a procurement process in 2023.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Kane County Board hereby ratifies the Emergency Purchase Affidavit for consulting services by HLR to provide solar consulting service to include the review of decommissioning plans, cost estimates and bonds.
Passed by the Kane County Board on November 10, 2026.
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John A. Cunningham, MBA, JD, JD Corinne M. Pierog MA, MBA
Clerk, County Board Chairman, County Board
Kane County, Illinois Kane County, Illinois
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