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, September 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 Deborah Allan

Board Member Chris Kious

Board Member David Young

Ex-Officio County Board Vice Chair Bill Roth

Board Member Ted Penesis

Board Member Cherryl Strathmann

Board Member Bill Tarver

REMOTE

ABSENT

Ex-Officio County Board Chair Corinne M. Pierog

Also present: Co. Bd. members Gripe, Juby*, Lewis, Molina*; Environ & Water Res.

Dir. Wollnik; Recycling Coordinator Ryan; Sustainability Mgr. Hinshaw and staff Powell;

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

Remote Attendance Requests

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

asked if there were any objections to Committee Members Penesis and Strathmann

attending remotely. There were no objections.

Approval of Minutes: August 15, 2025

RESULT:

MOVER:

APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT

Chris Kious

Public Comment (Agenda Items)

Committee Member and Kane County resident David Young addressed trans-gender

violence, domestic terrorism acts, and hate crimes happening in the United States.

Young stated that these violent actions were all performed by members of the LGBTQ

group. He stated that the Democratic Party embraces this group and the culture of evil.

Young expressed his concerns on when the LGBTQ group will be denounced by

Democratic leaders.

Environmental (J.Wollnik)

Environmental Management’s FY2026 Budget Presentation

Environ. & Water Res. Dir. Wollnik stated that the Development Committee is

this department's primary committee to report to. She provided a chart listing all

environmental and water resources and subdivision staff members. She

provided an overview of the general fund budget. She compared the 2024 actual

expenses to the 2026 proposed amounts, along with their differences. Wollnik

also included the 2025 budget showing the salary and commodity variations. In

total, the department is $8,600 above the 2024 budget for salaries. This

increase is due to the 2% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) provided in the 2025

budget. Commodities are slightly above by $1,682. This increase is due to

licenses for professional engineering, as well as certification for the flood-plane

managers. In total, Wollnik stated that the 2026 budget is above the 2024

budget by $11,235. An increase for Storm Water fees has been requested.

Staffing hourly rates are higher than they were in 2019. She anticipates a

conservative increase in revenue of $5K due to a higher volume of solar

applications submitted. She noted that currently there is no revenue being

generated for zoning petitions. By adding a zoning fee, it could provide an

increase to the General Fund of $2,500. This could cover the difference

between the 2024 and 2026 budget. An increase of $6,185 from the 421 Fund

Electric Aggregation to the General Fund was suggested. This increase would

cover additional staff and salaries for programs. A 3% decrease from the 2024

to 2026 budget is being accomplished by moving $70K in salary and benefits to

the Riverboat Fund 650. Further discussion ensued.

Kane County Groundwater Study Update

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

Groundwater Study. She stated that the Illinois State Water survey is in the

process of installing monitoring wells in Northern Kane County. They are also

working on the chloride modeling of the shallow groundwater system. Wollnik

explained that one of the biggest impacts to shallow groundwater is reduction in

stream base flow. This creates an ecological challenge causing dry streams.

She explained that low flow in streams occurs after a period of no rain. The

majority of the time the base flow is occurring due to effluent discharges into the

stream, or due to groundwater discharges flowing through the subsurface. She

shared a graph depicting the sub-watershed demands. The Mill Creek

watershed has shown to have a significant amount of demand due to

withdrawals, and shallow aquifer usage. Overall, the sustainable usage varies in

sub watersheds throughout the county, and effluent flows are offsetting the base

flow loss. In regards to the chloride data sources, Kane County Communities

provides 290 observations from 17 wells, and the Illinois Groundwater Database

provides 84 observations from 9 wells. In total, there were 502 groundwater

observations used in the modeling process. Wollnik explained that utilizing the

land use data to input potential milligrams per liter of chlorides within the aquifer

system is the primary focus when looking at modeling chloride. More information

will be presented at next month's meeting. Much discussion took place.

Recycling/Solid Waste (C. Ryan)

Recycling Program Update

Recycling Coordinator Ryan provided a modified poster of the Blue Bin

Recycling Guidelines that will be displayed in Building A. The poster shows

examples of specific items to recycle and items that are either trash or special

recycling. She announced that the last fall shred event of the year will be on

Saturday, September 27 at the Circuit Clerk's Building. The event will focus on

collecting shredding materials, clothing and textiles, shoes, small home goods

for reuse, latex paint for recycling, and bicycles for reuse. Lastly, Ryan

announced that the launching of the Regional Recycling Education and

Outreach Campaign will begin late October. More details will be presented at

next month's meeting. Further discussion took place.

Sustainability (S.Hinshaw)

Presentation on Grant for Residential Energy Efficiency in Neighborhoods

(GREEN) from Max Weiss MPA, Assistant City Administrator and Project

Manager, City of Batavia

Sustainability Mgr. Hinshaw introduced Assistant Project Manager for the City of

Batavia, Max Wise, to present information on the GREEN Program.

Assistant City Project Manager for Batavia, Max Wise, stated that the GREEN

program stands for Grants for Residential Energy Efficiency and

Neighborhoods. The program provides free home audits for energy efficiency

improvements and upgrades to Batavia residents. He stated that the program is

funded by the city's six-cent share of the single-use bag fee. After completing a

Request for Approval (RFP), a contractor based in Batavia called Sustainability

Ability Construction was chosen. This company will perform the energy audits for

the program, coordinate scheduling with residents, manage liability waivers, and

ensure building codes are adhered to. Wise added that the city allocated $95K

in year one of the program, which allowed the program to serve twenty-five

residents. To be eligible for the program, residents must meet the requirements

which include being a Batavia resident, or current on all bills, and have no code

violations. Wise noted that low income residents are eligible for grants up to

$3K, and non-low income residents are eligible for grants up to $1K. These

grants are offered for home improvements such as insulation, air sealing, and

energy-efficient appliances. There were a total of 160 applications that were

submitted this year. (Committee Member Allan arrived at 9:22 a.m.) By the end

of the program, there will be more data analysis available to determine the

effectiveness of the recommendations. More reports and results of the program

will be presented at next month's meeting. Further discussion took place.

Authorizing the Provision of Funds to the City of Batavia for the Implementation

of an Energy Efficiency Program

KC Finance and Budget Committee

RESULT:

TO:

MOVED FORWARD BY ROLL CALL VOTE

KC Finance and Budget Committee

Chris Kious

MOVER:

Mavis Bates

SECONDER:

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

Cherryl Strathmann

AYE:

David Young

NAY:

Bill Tarver, and Corinne M. Pierog

ABSENT:

Approving FY2026 Operations and Maintenance Agreement with USGS for the

Stream and Rainfall Gages

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, Deborah Allan, Chris Kious, Ted Penesis, Cherryl

Strathmann, and David Young

AYE:

Bill Tarver, and Corinne M. Pierog

ABSENT:

New Business

Committee Member Young stated that ComEd bills have increased. He discovered that

the reason for this is due to coal-fired power plants potentially being shut down, which

will cause states to purchase energy from other states. He shared his concerns for this

increase and asked what can be done.

Chairman Bates stated that the State Legislators and several environmental groups are

working on implementing renewable energy online for wind and solar. She stated that

the main reason for the increase in electrical rates is due to the increased electricity

use from data centers, and artificial intelligence. Currently, the most affordable energy

is renewable energy through solar panels.

10.

Chairs Comments

Chairman Bates stated that she visited the Fabyan Recycling Center and thanked

Recycling Coordinator Ryan for all her hard work on the event.