Government Center  
719 S. Batavia Ave., Bldg. A  
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, November 17, 2023  
9:00 AM  
County Board Room  
1.  
2.  
Call To Order  
Chairman Bates called the meeting to order at 9:00 AM.  
Roll Call  
Board Member Mavis Bates  
Board Member Deborah Allan  
Board Member Chris Kious  
Board Member Bill Roth  
PRESENT  
Board Member Cherryl Strathmann  
Board Member David Young  
Board Member Bill Tarver  
REMOTE  
ABSENT  
Ex-Officio County Board Chair Corinne M. Pierog  
Ex-Officio County Board Vice Chair Vern Tepe  
Also present: Co. Bd. members Daugherty*, Gumz*, Juby*; Lewis, Molina*; Environ. &  
Water Res. Dir. Wollnik & staff Hinshaw, Ryan*, Linke; OCR Dir. Berger*; and  
members of the press and public.  
3.  
4.  
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 Member  
Tarver attending today's meeting remotely. There were no objections.  
Approval of Minutes: October 13, 2023  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT  
Chris Kious  
5.  
Public Comment (Agenda Items)  
None.  
6.  
7.  
Environmental (J. Wollnik)  
Environ. & Water Res. Dir. Wollnik introduced Rob Linke to present an award that was  
given by the Board of Directors for recognizing the Kane County founding members  
and its longtime contributors. In addition, the Fox River Study Group had their annual  
meeting celebrating their 20th anniversary.  
Recycling/Solid Waste (C. Ryan)  
Kane County Recycling Coordinator, Clair Ryan, presented the following resolutions,  
and asked the Committee for approval. She announced that the grant money was  
received from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the infrastructure  
projects and Recycling Education Outreach Projects. Ryan stated that she worked with  
several of her colleagues on the Municipal Mayor's Caucus to put together a $2M  
proposal. Ryan addressed questions and comments from the Committee. Much  
discussion ensued. (Committee Member Allan arrived at 9:16 a.m.)  
Authorizing an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Village of West Dundee  
and Eworks Electronics Services, Inc. for Operation of the West Dundee  
Recycling Center in 2024  
A.  
KC Finance and Budget Committee  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
SECONDER:  
MOVED FORWARD BY ROLL CALL VOTE  
Chris Kious  
Bill Roth  
Authorization to Enter into Professional Services Contract for Collection of  
Recyclable Materials with Eworks Electronic Services, Inc.  
B.  
KC Finance and Budget Committee  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
SECONDER:  
MOVED FORWARD BY ROLL CALL VOTE  
Bill Roth  
Cherryl Strathmann  
8.  
Sustainability (S. Hinshaw)  
Sustainability Update  
A.  
Sustainability Manager, Sara Hinshaw, provided a recap of the Climate Pollution  
Reduction Grant. There are now 16 people interested in working on this program  
across Will, Kane, and DuPage Counties. A contracted employee has been  
hired to assist in the writing of this grant. The Solar Switch campaign is  
approaching. This program promotes the use of solar panels. Four webinars are  
being scheduled to help get information out to the public. Hinshaw will provided  
a link to the information. If anyone is interested in Solar Switch. the deadline to  
sign up is December 12, 2023. Hinshaw also mentioned an event taking place in  
Huntley, Illinois tomorrow with Congressman Bill Foster that will be addressing  
climate change. Arnie Shramel, with the Progressive Energy Group, provided  
information about the solar field being proposed at the Aurora Airport. He will  
have more details to share in January. Hinshaw announced that the Kane  
County Solar Field is officially up and running. This will save the County  
approximately $44-$5M over the next 25 years, which is a $200K savings per  
year. The Solar Field will provide power to fifty percent of the energy uses of the  
Judicial Center and the Adult Justice Center. Hinshaw addressed questions and  
comments from the Committee. Much discussion ensued.  
Amending the PPA and Site Lease Between Kane County and GRNE Solarfield  
05, LLC  
B.  
Dir. Environ & Water Res. Wollnik presented this resolution to the Committee,  
and asked for their approval.  
KC Finance and Budget Committee  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
SECONDER:  
MOVED FORWARD BY ROLL CALL VOTE  
Bill Roth  
Chris Kious  
Confluence Climate Consulting (C3) Presentation and Proposal Letter  
C.  
Accelerate Climate Solutions Co-Founder, Kris Murphy, shared an overview of  
the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant. The purpose of the grant is to reduce  
greenhouse gas emissions. She provided a number of important dates and  
timelines for the funding. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would like  
a notice of who will be participating by February 1, 2024. The Metropolitan  
Mayor's Caucus has received the planning portion of this grant, and are creating  
a Priority Climate Action Plan which is due March 1, 2024. The Implementation  
Phase Grant is due April 1, 2024, and the EPA will provide a timeline for the  
funding in July. Murphy addressed questions and comments from the  
Committee. Discussion ensued.  
Tree Protection Ordinance Update  
D.  
Development Planner Miller stated that staff is in the process of reviewing Kane  
County ordinances.  
9.  
New Business  
None.  
10.  
11.  
Chairs Comments  
Chairman Bates thanked her staff for the work they've done to protect the environment.  
Reports Placed On File  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT  
Chris Kious  
12.  
13.  
14.  
Executive Session (if needed)  
None.  
Public Comment (Non- Agenda Items)  
None.  
Adjournment  
RESULT:  
APPROVED BY VOICE VOTE  
Bill Roth  
MOVER:  
Cherryl Strathmann  
SECONDER:  
This meeting was adjourned at 10:08 AM.  
Rachel Santora  
Recording Secretary