Lasalle County Board Minutes
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STATE OF ILLINOIS ) COUNTY OF LASALLE ) The LaSalle County Board met pursuant to recess at the Governmental Complex, Ottawa, Illinois, on the third Friday of January, A.D., 1997 it being the 17th day thereof. Due to the weather conditions on the regular scheduled date of the 16th, this meeting was rescheduled to the 17th. SEE RECORD BOOK 105, PAGE 59 This is the 3rd meeting of our December 1996 Session. Chairman Hettel stated that the Siting Committtee will have a short meeting before the board session begins. Mr. Stockley stated that the public was not given enough notice of this meeting, therefore, the siting committee was not entitled to meet at this time. After discussion with legal counsel, it was determined that the committee will have the meeting before the regularly scheduled board session. All siting committee members left the room. Chairman Hettel called the meeting to order at 10:25 a.m. Mr. Panzica wanted it made a part of the record that he objects to the delay in starting the board session. It was scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. and didn't start until 10:25 a.m. Chairman Hettel asked the Clerk to call the roll for mileage & per diem. PRESENT: 27 Members ABSENT: Mr. Mowinski, Mr. Rosengren There were 21 ayes claiming mileage. Motion by Mr. Madden to approve the roll call for mileage & per diem, second by Mr. Combs. Voice vote, all ayes. Motion carried. SEE RECORD BOOK 105, PAGE 60 Chairman Hettel called for any additions or corrections to the December 16th, 1996 minutes. Motion by Mr. Mustered to approve the December 16th minutes as presented, second by Mr. Dittmer. Voice vote, all ayes. Motion carried. LaSalle County Board Minutes – January 17, 1997 RESOLUTION: POSTHUMOUSLY HONOR A resolution was submitted to posthumously honor former County Board Member Mary Stevenson who passed away last month. Motion by Mr. Lambert to approve the resolution honoring Mary Stevenson, second by Mr. Hageman. Voice vote, all ayes. Motion carried. SEE RECORD BOOK 105, PAGE 61 RESOLUTION: SITING COMMITTEE REPORT A resolution was submitted by the Siting Committee, recommending to the LaSalle County Board that the application of LandComp Corporation for site approval of a new pollution control facility be denied. Motion by Mr. Franzetti to approve the resolution, second by Mr. Landers. Mr. Rubin, the attorney for LandComp, objected to opening the floor for futher public comment. The public comment period ended on January 13th, therefore, he feels no other individuals should be allowed to comment on the issue. Mr. Hettel explained that, with prior notice, individuals are allowed to speak at County board meetings, according to the County Board Rules. Robert Eschbach reminded the members that they must make their decision based only on what is on the record, not on any comment made today. Edmund Thornton, a representative of R.A.P.E., addressed the Board and stated five major concerns they have with the proposed landfill. He also reminded the Board that their pending vote on the issue must be limited to the established record and the nine statutory requirements. He urged the Board to vote NO on the LandComp Application. SEE RECORD BOOK 105, PAGES 62-65 Chairman Hettel stated at this time that Senator Pat Welch was slated to speak to the Board also, but had not yet arrived. He stated that, if he should appear before the issue is voted on, he will be allowed to address the Board. MINORITY REPORT Mr. Stockley addressed the Board and presented the minority report. The report basically stated that the original vote of the LaSalle County Board in LaSalle County Board Minutes – January 17, 1997 March 1996 was correct, and that the siting application with conditions A-Z be approved by the board. It was also stated that the present committee did not consider prior testimony. After the Polution Control Board sent the application back to the County, they were instructed to also consider the financial information contained in Volume VII and the information in the CDM Report along with the nine statutory criteria. He stated that the original committee felt that each of the nine criteria had been satisfactorily addressed in the application. In a committee session on January 14th, 1997, the new siting committee again discussed these criteria and agreed by vote that only seven of the nine had been met in the application. Criteria number two, which addresses the public health safety and welfare and number three, which addresses the effect on property values, were questioned and denied by a vote of 3-2. This mornings protested, unannounced meeting of the siting committee was held for the benefit of new committee member, Mr. Foltynewicz, who changed his vote on criteria number eight, in reference to meeting the needs of the Solid Waste Management Plan, thereby making it three criteria that the new committee felt were not being met in the application. The minority group concurs with Dr. Shoenberger's findings concerning all the information submitted prior to the second set of hearings. The second set of hearings was held strictly to discuss the CDM Report and the contents of Volume VII. In conclusion, the minority group requests that the Board vote against the committee's recommendation denying the application of LandComp. Motion by Mr. Stockley to place the minority report on file, second by Mrs. Woodrich. Voice vote, all ayes. Motion carried. SEE RECORD BOOK 105, PAGES 66-71 MAJORITY REPORT Mr. Franzetti addressed the Board and gave a majority report. He stated that this report reflects actual testimony from the minutes of the hearings. Briefly, he stated that the application failed to meet the criteria through the host agreement of the Solid Waste Management Plan. He also stated that the committee was instructed to base their decisions on these criteria, and also LaSalle County Board Minutes – January 17, 1997 information from the CDM Report and the financial information in Volume VII that was not included at the first set of hearings. The majority group believes that the financial statement only proved that LandComp was a new company, never has built a sub-title D landfill and did not have the funds capable of building such a landfill. Mr. Franzetti stated that in reference to the lack of Dr. Schoenberger's second report, he feels that Dr. Schoenberger was hired to conduct the hearings as a hearing officer, not an engineer. The majority group's concerns were that the application lacked detailed development projections in construction and also in waste placement. These issues were not defined in the application. The application only studied vertical movement of the water in the shale and coal layers above the St. Peter sandstone. It did not study the lateral movement. He believes that the health, safety and welfare of the public issue is in deep trouble according to this application in at least four important areas: lateral movement of water under and around the site, the Tiskilwa Till, the size of the leachate collecting system, and inconsistency with the host agreement. Mr. Franzetti concluded that the Board members cannot make any determination on this application based on economic factors. It must be based on the nine criteria and the host agreement. He strongly suggested that they vote in favor of the committee's recommendation to deny the application of LandComp. REPORTS & DISCUSSION Mr. Panzica stated that he wanted the record to reflect his objection to the committee not taking Dr. Schoenberger's report in consideration during the second set of hearings. Mr. Hageman also questioned why Dr. Schoenberger's report was not considered by the committee during the second set of hearings. Mr. Martens read a statement he prepared in regards to this issue. He stated that the committee made every attempt to consider all the issues of concern to the public and to meet all federal and state requirements. Conditions were attached to the vendor's application to further protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens in the area. There will be a thorough and constant monitoring of the landfill to assure that the people in the area are protected. He LaSalle County Board Minutes – January 17, 1997 wants to be certain, if the landfill is approved, that the objectors concerns are being addressed. He further stated that he feels that this landfill will be safe and will meet the needs of the citizens of LaSalle County. Mr. Piecha reported on the written comments from the public that were submitted into the record for the hearings. He felt that these comments were not emotionally made, but were mainly made objecting to the design and effects that were brought out at the hearings and that these people did extensive research to support their findings. Chairman Hettel called for a five minute recess at this time in order to change the tape on the recorder. Mr. Foltynewicz addressed the Board and thanked the Chairman for making him a member of the siting committee. He stated that he read all the transcripts from the previous set of hearings and the host agreement. He believes that the proposed site and design does not meet the standards to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public, and the concern of traffic volume. He requested that the Board vote in favor of the committee's recommendation. Ms. Newcomer stated that she also had attended the past hearings of the siting committee. She believed that Mr. Inman's responses were very clear, and that Mr. DeGroot is very experienced in his field. She feels that the opposition presented no proof or evidence to back up their theories on the site being unsafe.