Roscoe committee backs sending engineering RFP, solar variance and trailer surplus to board; agrees preliminary 2025 levy figure

The Village of Roscoe Committee of the Whole on Oct. 15, 2024, voted to forward a set of recommendations to the village board including declaring a 2003 Forest River trailer used by the police department surplus, approving a Zoning Board of Appeals recommendation for a variance for a ground‑mounted solar array at 11380 Main Street, and issuing a request for proposals for outside engineering services. The committee also reviewed 2025 budget timelines and agreed on a preliminary tax-levy number to use for budget preparation.

The surplus trailer recommendation was presented as a public‑safety equipment disposal. Village staff said the trailer — received as a FEMA unit after Hurricane Katrina and previously used as a police command center — has exceeded its useful life, with a soft, repaired floor and a leaking, partially collapsed roof. Staff reported that Ericsson’s (251 Prairie Hill) had offered to crush and dispose of the trailer at no charge if the village delivered it. The committee voted to forward the recommendation to the village board for final action.

The committee next considered a variance recommended by the Zoning Board of Appeals to waive a fence requirement for a private ground‑mounted solar array at 11380 Main Street. The variance would allow an array roughly 12–13 feet tall in a heavily wooded portion of a multi‑acre lot. ZBA findings included that topography and vegetation on the lot made strict application of the fence requirement unduly burdensome; trees and vegetation protect neighboring views and would be disturbed…