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, D. Young, ex-officios Roth (County Vice

Chair) and Pierog (County Chair)

Friday, January 16, 2026

9:00 AM

County Board Room

Call To Order

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

Roll Call

Board Member Mavis Bates

PRESENT

Board Member Deborah Allan

Board Member David Young

Ex-Officio County Board Vice Chair Bill Roth

Board Member Chris Kious

Board Member Ted Penesis

Board Member Cherryl Strathmann

REMOTE

ABSENT

Board Member Bill Tarver

Ex-Officio County Board Chair Corinne M. Pierog

Also present: Co. Bd. Members Gripe, Lewis; Environ. & Water Res. Dir. Wollnik;

KDSWCD Admin. Gerdts; Recycling Coordinator Ryan; Sustainability Mgr. Hinshaw

and staff Powell; Spec. ASA Shepro; ITD staff Kash; and members of the press and

public including Citizen Utility Board (CUB) Solar Outreach Coordinator Grace

Concialdi; IChooser Program Admin. Fred Wu; Midwest Renewable Energy Association

(MREA) Outreach Dir. Yvonne Rychwa.

Remote Attendance Requests

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

asked if there were any objections to Committee Members Kious, Penesis, Strathmann

attending remotely. There were no objections.

Approval of Minutes: December 12, 2025

RESULT:

MOVER:

APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT

Deborah Allan

Public Comment

Kane County resident and Board Member, David Young, stated that on January 8,

2026, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed Senate Bill (SB) 25 Clean and Reliable Grid

Affordability Act (CRGA) into law. He highlighted that this bill lifts a moratorium on new

large scale nuclear reactors. He hopes to have further conversations on this topic at

future meetings.

Environmental (J.Wollnik)

Grace Concialdi, Solar Outreach Coordinator from Citizens Utility Board.

Presentation on Kane County’s progress in the Switch Together Program and

Heat Pump Group Buy Pilot Program

Citizens Utility Board (CUB) Solar Outreach Coordinator, Grace Concialdi, stated

that Switch Together Chicagoland Program is led by the Midwest Renewable

Energy Association (MREA). This association promotes renewable energy,

energy efficiency, and sustainable living through education and demonstration.

She added that MREA created Grow Solar, which is a program that has run over

60 solar group buys across the Midwest since 2013. Concialdi also highlighted

that the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) represents Illinois utility ratepayers and

advocates for cheaper and cleaner energy. (Committee Member Allan arrived at

9:30 a.m.) At total of 84 solar installs have been completed, 7 batteries, and 4

electric vehicle (EV) fast chargers were installed. She explained the Switch

Together Heat Pumps program process. Registration for this program is free,

and individuals will receive and review a personal recommendation. If the offer is

accepted, a $150 program reservation fee will need to be paid.She noted that 80

households received an install out of approximately 500 households registered.

Lastly, Concialdi announced that Heat Pump Information Sessions will be held in

April. A Solar Celebration will be held the week of April 27. Solar Power Hours

will be held on the weeks of May 4, June 1, and July 6. A final Heat Pump

Information Session will be held in October. Much discussion ensued.

Kane-DuPage Soil & Water Conservation District 2026 Update

KDSWCD Admin., Kat Gerdts, stated that districts within Illinois are mandated

by law to do natural resource inventory on any property that is changing land

use. A natural resource inventory includes assessing the site's soil, water,

wildlife, and flora, followed by a thirty page report that is generated. Gerdts

announced that the 23rd Annual Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Seminar will

be held on Wednesday, January 28 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. This event will

be held at Elgin Community college. The main focus will be on green

infrastructure. KDSWCD offers scholarship opportunities for students enrolled

full-time at an accredited two or four-year college, community college, or

university. The deadline for scholarship applications to be submitted is February

15. Kerdts highlighted that Well Water Testing is offered once a year including a

collaborative event with the Kane County Farm Bureau. Individuals can

purchase a well water kit between March 2-6. The water samples will be

collected on March 9 only, and returned to the District. Results are sent directly

to participants. She added that KDSWCD offers for sale a variety of fish that can

be used for stocking ponds. The deadline to pre-order triplooid carp is Thursday,

March 19, and the deadline for any other fish orders is Thursday, March 26.

KDSWCD offers a Native Plant & Tree Sale twice in the spring and once in the

fall. Gerdts noted that the native trees and plants are all intended for

environmental improvement and conservation purposes only. She stated that

KDSWCD organizes an annual event each spring called the Northeastern Illinois

Envirothon. The event will be held at the Morton Arboretum on March 18, 2026.

Regional teams of five high school students prepare with a teacher or coach to

compete in the areas of aquatics, forestry, soils, wildlife, and a current issue in

natural resources. For 2026, Envirothon has chosen the issue topic of non-point

source pollution, where students will learn about non-point source (NPS)

pollution and identify its origins in both urban and rural settings. Lastly, Gerdts

reminded the Committee that Election Day is Tuesday, February 10. Candidates

must submit petitions by January 21. She noted that there are three seats up for

election, and petitions are available at the KDSWCD office Monday through

Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Further discussion took place.

2026 Energy and Environmental SMART Goals

Environ. & Water Res. Dir., Jodie Wollnik, stated that final changes were made

to the 2026 Committee SMART Goals. She requested for a voice approval of the

final goals to be included on next month's agenda. The Committee provided

consensus to include the 2026 Committee Goals on next month's agenda.

Fabyan Property Solar Field Discussion

Environ. & Water Res. Dir., Jodie Wollnik, reminded the Committee about the

recommendation to include the Fabyan Property Solar Field Discussion as a line

item on the E&E agenda. There was great feedback received at the Committee

of the Whole meeting in December on the solar presentation. She noted that

one of the concerns was the extent of the potential contamination issues on the

site. She added that ITD/BLG Management Dir., Roger Fahnestock, reached out

to Wight and Company to conduct a site visit to identify potentially contaminated

areas, and a better understanding of what potential impacts future property

improvements would have. More updates will be provided at next month's

meeting.

Recycling/Solid Waste (C. Ryan)

Recycling Coordinator, Clair Ryan, stated that she was notified by the manager of

EWorks that the Fabyan Recycling Center had a historic number of consumer

electronics that were collected. She announced that the Call2Recycle organization

started implementing the Battery Stewardship Act on January 1, 2026. There will be a

Shred n' Recycling event for battery collections held at the Circuit Clerk's Office on

Saturday, February 28.

Sustainability (S.Hinshaw)

Recycling Coordinator, Clair Ryan,

Authorizing a Contract with Sustained Ability Construction for Professional

Services Related to Kane County Energy Audit and Rebate Program

KC Executive Committee

RESULT:

TO:

MOVED FORWARD BY ROLL CALL VOTE

KC Executive Committee

Deborah Allan

MOVER:

Chris Kious

SECONDER:

Mavis Bates, Deborah Allan, Chris Kious, Ted Penesis, and

Cherryl Strathmann

AYE:

David Young

NAY:

Bill Tarver, and Corinne M. Pierog

Bill Roth

ABSENT:

ABSTAIN:

Farmer Weatherization Rebate Program - 2025 Update

This report was rescheduled to next month's meeting.

New Business

None.