Government Center

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Geneva, IL 60134

Kane County

KC Energy and Environmental

Committee

Meeting Minutes

BATES, Tarver, Allan, Kious, Roth, Strathmann, Young, ex-officios Pierog (County Chair), and

Tepe (County Vice Chair)

Friday, February 16, 2024

9:00 AM

County Board Room

Call To Order

Chairman Bates called the meeting to order at 9:02 AM.

Roll Call

Board Member Mavis Bates

Board Member Bill Roth

PRESENT

Board Member Cherryl Strathmann

Board Member David Young

Ex-Officio County Board Chair Corinne M. Pierog

Board Member Bill Tarver

Board Member Deborah Allan

Board Member Chris Kious

REMOTE

ABSENT

Ex-Officio County Board Vice Chair Vern Tepe

Also present: Co. Bd. Members Juby*, Molina*; Environ. & Water Res. Dir. Wollnik &

staff Ryan, Sustainability Mgr. Hinshaw; Dev. Dir. VanKerkhoff; KDOT Deputy Dir.

Rickert; Fin. Exec. Dir. Hopkinson; Spec. ASA Shepro*; ASA Vince Coyle; ITD staff

Peters; and members of the press and public including Accelerate Climate Solutions

Co-Founder, Kris Murphy.

Remote Attendance Requests

Committee Chair Bates announced the remote attendance requests for today's

meeting. She asked the Committee if there were any objections to Committee

Members Allan and Tarver attending today's meeting remotely. There were no

objections.

Approval of Minutes: November 17, 2023

RESULT:

MOVER:

APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT

Bill Roth

Public Comment (Agenda Items)

Committee Member Young shared several questions and comments on the portions of

the resolution for Authorizing Execution of Documents Related to the Climate Pollution

Reduction Grant Award. He asked what specific greenhouse gas pollution, and the

levels of Co2 methane and nitric oxide gas in Kane County to warrant this grant. He

requested more definitions on other portions of the resolution, regarding the transition

to a green economy. Young then indicated that natural events such as the forest fires

in Canada, volcanic eruptions, and solar flares all contribute to greenhouse gases.

Environmental (J.Wollnik)

ARPA Water Projects Update

Environ. & Water Res. Dir. Wollnik provided an update on the ARPA Water

Projects. The Illinois State Water Survey conducted an assessment of the

Shallow Groundwater Sustainability, and is scheduled to be completed in

December 2025. The Illinois State Water Survey has reached out to

communities individually, and have held meetings with East Dundee and St.

Charles. Wollnik stated that several communities indicated that chlorides,

resulting from road salt were a concern. Five communities expressed concerns

with Per and Poly-Fluorinated Substances (PFAS). She shared a map of the

new proposed monitoring wells for the Real Time Monitoring Network Project in

Kane County. Those new monitoring wells will be installed this Spring. Lastly,

Wollnik indicated that the Assessment of the Shallow Groundwater quality was

completed in the fall of 2023. All of the samples have been taken and analyzed.

The bacterial analysis came back, and updates for that will be presented at the

next Committee meeting. Discussion ensued.

Sustainability (S. Hinshaw)

Sustainability Updates

Sustainability Manager Hinshaw shared a graph of the electric vehicle increase

use in Kane County over the past three years. The current number of registered

electric vehicles in Kane County is 3,851. An Energy Efficiency and

Conservation Block Grant of $286K was awarded to Kane County for helping

with local energy efficiency, climate action plans, and reductions. The Illinois

Department of Energy applied for a technical assistance and equipment rebate.

Hinshaw stated that 40% of the technical assistance rebate needs to focus on

Environmental Justice Communities. The other 60% will focus on technical

assistance on rural areas and along I-90 and I-88. Hinshaw then provided an

introduction to the Draft Climate Action Implementation Plan. She reviewed the

different categories such as transportation, health and safety, water, agriculture,

and climate economy. She shared several graphs detailing the Sector

Strategies, and their goals.

Climate Action Implementation Plan Updates

Sustainability Mgr. Hinshaw highlighted several key points of the Climate Action

Implementation Draft. The plan includes an implementation of framework

designed to achieve County-wide goals for greenhouse gas reduction and

climate adaptation and resilience.

Kane County Coalition Update On the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant

Accelerate Climate Solutions Co-Founder, Kris Murphy, provided an update on

the Kane County Coalition for the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant. She stated

that this is an Environmental Protection Agency Grant (EPA) of $4.65B,

nationwide. Over 400 letters were sent out to local community officials for grant

applications and budget proposals. More than 90% of greenhouse gas

emissions are coming from electric power, building, and transportation sectors.

These sectors were targeted to make the most impact within the region. The

County sent a notice of intent to apply for this grant on January 31, 2025.

Committee Chair Bates shared a document to the Committee stating that Kane

County is requesting $50M as part of the grant, and that one of the items is to

replace all of the windows at the Kane County Judicial Center with energy

efficient windows at a cost of $10M.

ASA Coyle shared an overview of how this grant would affect Kane County. He

stated that the Kane County State's Attorney's Office (SAO) would be the lead

applicant of this grant and will be accountable to the Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA). Coyle recommended that the County look at as many options to

mitigate compliance or administration policies. (Madam Chairman Pierog arrived

at 9:21 a.m.) Much discussion ensued.

Authorizing Execution of Documents Related to the Climate Pollution Reduction

Grant Award and Agreements for Kane County to Lead a Coalition Including

Other Municipal and County Entities

Per ASA Coyle's recommendation, Committee Chairman, Bates, asked for a

motion to omit and substitute the pending resolution that was included in the

agenda packet with a resolution that was passed out to the Committee. Roth

made the motion, Strathmann seconded. Motion carried unanimously by roll call

vote.

KC Finance and Budget Committee

RESULT:

TO:

MOVED FORWARD BY ROLL CALL VOTE

KC Finance and Budget Committee

Bill Roth

MOVER:

Cherryl Strathmann

SECONDER:

Mavis Bates, Bill Tarver, Deborah Allan, Bill Roth, and Cherryl

Strathmann

AYE:

David Young

NAY:

Chris Kious, and Vern Tepe

ABSENT:

Fabulous Fox! Water Trail Access Infrastructure Project

Dev. Dir. VanKerkhoff provided an update on the Fabulous Fox! Water Trail. He

announced that they had their kickoff meeting on January 12, 2024 with Hey and

Associates for developing plans and priorities for launch sites.

Tree Preservation Ordinance Training Opportunity

Dev. Dir. VanKerkhoff announced that the Tree Ordinance Administration

Workshop will be Thursday, April 11, 2024, at 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the

Morton Arboretum Thornhill Education Center.

Kane County Tree Ordinance

Dev. Dir. VanKerkhoff announced that the Kane County Tree Ordinance is

scheduling a meeting with their partners at the State's Attorney's Office (SAO).

Recycling/Solid Waste (C. Ryan)

2024 Kane County Recycles Green Guide

Recycling Coordinator Ryan presented the 2024 Kane County Recycles Green

Guide. This guide is a booklet and a website, that aims to help Kane County

residents recycle correctly and reduce waste. She shared the recycling center

locations, the accepted items, and the recycling costs. Kane County has fully

staffed recycling centers in Batavia, West Dundee and Aurora. There is a new

self-service kiosk at the Fabyan Parkway location for small items, such as

non-liquid art, school supplies, eye glasses, and hearing aids. Ryan announced

the upcoming 2024 recycling events located in St. Charles. She pointed out that

lithium-based batteries continue to be one of the largest fire and safety concerns

in recycling facilities. Ryan provided a list of contacts for residents to drop off

any small household batteries, light bulbs and tubes, or hazardous waste.

New Business

None.

10.

Chairs Comments

Committee Chair Bates thanked everyone for their hard work on the Climate Pollution

Reduction Grant.

11.

12.

Reports Placed On File

RESULT:

MOVER:

APPROVED BY VOICE VOTE

David Young

Executive Session (if needed)

None.