Commissioners approve annexation of 50.291 acres to Village of Perry to align zoning for proposed data center

The Lake County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 10 approved a resolution to annex 50.291 acres of Perry Township to the Village of Perry.

Karen Sunday, representing the petitioning parties, described the annexation as a Type 1 petition. "This 1 that we're petitioning for is a Type 1, which basically allows entities to keep the properties in their jurisdictions as far as the property taxes," she said. She added the main objective is to synchronize zoning for a proposed data center project and to allow the Joint Economic Development (JED) district and the township to partake in income-tax and net-profit revenue under a revenue-sharing agreement.

Meeting remarks stated the Village of Perry's income tax rate is 2 percent while the JED's rate is 1 percent; the annexation and accompanying agreement would allow the JED to share in the higher village income tax collections tied to the project. The transcript includes the petitioners' description of a revenue-sharing agreement but does not provide contract language, revenue percentages, or a timetable for the project.

The board recorded affirmative votes for the annexation in the meeting transcript. Commissioners who voted in favor were recorded as Commissioner Plecnik (Yes), Commissioner Beveridge (Aye) and Commissioner Reykjavik (Yes).

The annexation resolution passed as presented; the petitioners and village representatives discussed zoning synchronization and revenue sharing during the item but the transcript does not include final development approvals or project permits.