Government Center

719 S. Batavia Ave., Bldg. A

Geneva, IL 60134

Kane County

KC Energy and Environmental

Committee

Meeting Minutes

BATES, Tarver, Allan, Kious, Penesis, Strathmann, Young, ex-officios Roth (County Vice

Chair) and Pierog (County Chair)

Friday, December 12, 2025

9:00 AM

County Board Room

Call To Order

Chairman Bates called today's meeting to order at 9:00 AM.

Roll Call

Board Member Mavis Bates

PRESENT

Board Member Chris Kious

Board Member Ted Penesis

Board Member Cherryl Strathmann

Ex-Officio County Board Vice Chair Bill Roth

Board Member Bill Tarver

Board Member David Young

Board Member Deborah Allan

REMOTE

ABSENT

Ex-Officio County Board Chair Corinne M. Pierog

Also present: Co. Bd. members Juby*, Molina*; Recycling Coordinator Ryan;

Sustainability Mgr. Hinsahw and staff Powell; Spec. ASA & Local Historian Shepro; ITD

staff Peters and Kash; and members of the press and public including KDSWCD

Admin. Gerdts and Solid Waste Agency of Lake County Exec. Dir. Walter Willis.

Remote Attendance Requests

Chairman Bates announced the remote attendance requests for today's meeting. She

asked if there were any objections to Committee Members Tarver and Young attending

remotely. There were no objections.

Approval of Minutes: November 14, 2025

RESULT:

MOVER:

APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT

Chris Kious

Public Comment

Kane County resident Steve Lefler stated that he is a member of the St. Charles

Natural Resources Commission. He stated that he has been having discussions about

re-modifying the county dam. He stated that if the dam was removed, many

unincorporated homeowners and government properties would be affected.

Environmental (J.Wollnik)

Evolution of S.B. 1398 - Amending IL Environmental Laws to Divert Food Waste

from Large Generators

Solid Waste Agency of Lake County Exec. Dir., Walter Willis, stated that Senate

Bill 1398 was filed by Senator Adrian Johnson from Lake County. He highlighted

that the bill would require large generators, like stores or restaurants, to divert

food scraps from the landfill areas to donations, animal feed, or composting, in

order to cut landfill waste and methane. Currently, the Solid Waste Agency in

Lake County and the Lake County government support this bill, including fifty

organizations supporting the legislation. Willis noted that the goal of this bill is to

combat food insecurity and climate change by reducing food waste. Willis

provided a handout featuring a QR code for access to the Feed and Conserve

Illinois website, and additional information about the bill. He hopes that Kane

County will provide their support of the bill. He stated that landfills are the

third-largest source of methane emissions from human activities. Starting in

2028, large counties with over 240K residents, with an establishment of 30K to

40K feet, will be required to follow the hierarchy. This bill will be essential for the

economy to expand markets for food recovery, create new jobs, and reduce

landfill dependence while fostering sustainable business practices. Willis

addressed questions and comments from the Committee. Further discussion

ensued.

2026 Energy and Environmental SMART Goals

Sustainability Coordinator, Powell, highlighted that the SMART Committee goal

for notifying the Kane County Board of any relevant or emerging trends was

added to the list. The purpose of this goal is to stay in line with previous

discussions on new occurring topics such as data centers. Powell noted that the

attention for next year would be to bring in four new guest speakers to present

current topics at meetings in order to maintain the committees' awareness.

Recycling Coordinator, Ryan, noted that the goal to increase education and

improve overall recycling in Kane County buildings will ensure all County-owned

facilities have a commercial recycling container, and that janitorial staff uses

those containers to consolidate generated recyclables. She stated that the

second part of the goal will be to implement an educational campaign across all

departments by distributing yes/no recycling posters, short videos on common

recyclables encountered in the workplace, and training on how to reduce

contamination.

Sustainability Mgr., Hinshaw, stated that her team will continue community

outreach on education about the Climate Action Implementation Plan (CAIP)

using social media, and will continue their efforts to collaborate with all

sustainability initiatives including "Switch Together." Discussion ensued.

Recycling/Solid Waste (C. Ryan)

Recycling Coordinator, Ryan, announced that the statewide law with a recycling

collection program called the Paint Law went into effect on December 1, 2025. There is

more information available about this law on the county website.

Sustainability (S.Hinshaw)

Sustainability Updates

Sustainability Mgr. Hinshaw announced that there will be an event held on

Thursday, January 22, 2026 at Emerald Acres in Maple Park starting at 5:00

p.m. to 8:00 p.m. to connect with local farmers dedicated to supporting soil

health and sustainable farming practices. The event will also feature Farmer and

Independent Research Agronomist, Jim Stute, to speak about rural myths and

explain why conservation practices can have a positive return on investment

(ROI). There will be a Wildly Local Nature by Design event on Saturday, March

21 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. held at the Elgin Math and Science Academy.

The event will feature four speakers discussing several topics including

landscape design, turf grass alternatives, benefits of native landscape, how to

design your lawn, and gardens for apartments. Hinshaw announced that the

Community Days event date has not been determined at this time. There will be

an update on a date for the event soon. She announced that the Kane County

Animal Control facility is planning to develop a "smell" garden for resident dogs

and include native landscaping on the front and side of the building. The design

is currently being developed and the project is projected to be completed in April

2026. Hinshaw provided an update on the Energy Efficiency Conservation Block

Grant that was awarded last year. The proposed infrastructure is to add one to

four EV charging ports at ten mostly rural locations including Waubonsee

Community College, Kaneville, South Elburn, Burlington, and Sugar Grove. This

proposal will potentially bridge-the-gap in distance for EV chargers. Lastly,

Hinshaw stated that on November 17, the Driving a Cleaner Illinois Grant will

cover the cost of all infrastructure and charger up to eighty percent. Further

discussion ensued.

Accepting the Low-Income Energy Efficiency Outreach and Engagement Grant

KC Finance and Budget Committee

RESULT:

TO:

MOVED FORWARD BY ROLL CALL VOTE

KC Finance and Budget Committee

Chris Kious

MOVER:

Cherryl Strathmann

SECONDER:

Mavis Bates, Chris Kious, Ted Penesis, and Cherryl Strathmann

Deborah Allan, and Corinne M. Pierog

AYE:

ABSENT:

AWAY:

Bill Tarver, and David Young