Peoria County board approves $120,000 reimbursement agreement with 4 Creeks LLC for wind-farm road-impact work

Peoria County board members approved a reimbursement agreement that will require developer 4 Creeks LLC to reimburse the county for engineering and legal costs tied to negotiating a road-use agreement for a proposed wind farm.

The agreement, authorized at the board meeting, caps developer reimbursements at $120,000. The county plans to hire Hutchinson Engineering to perform a road-impact analysis and to retain outside legal counsel to support negotiations; the contract amounts discussed at the meeting were $80,000 for Hutchinson Engineering and up to $40,000 for legal services.

Nut graf: The board and staff said the reimbursement agreement and related road-use agreement are intended to be in place before any special-use application for commercial wind energy is filed. County staff told members the arrangement will create a segregated special-revenue fund so developer-paid fees are tracked separately.

Mister Searle, a county staff member who presented the resolution, summarized the agreement and budget treatment and said the resolution "authorize[s] the county administrator to execute that reimbursement agreement" and to set up accounting to segregate the funds. Member Blair moved the measure; Member Daley seconded. The board recorded the vote as unanimous: 12 yes, 0 no.

During discussion, members and staff said the reimbursement arrangement is intended to fund both technical work and legal negotiation of a road-use agreement that would be required before a wind developer files for special use under the land-use amendments the board is scheduled to consider on March 13. Member Ricker asked whether the same requirement would apply to future wind projects only or to other energy projects; staff answered the ordinance amendments under consideration would apply to wind energy and require a road-use agreement before special-use filing.

Staff said Hutchinson Engineering will perform the impact analysis and that a private developer will reimburse the county dollar-for-dollar for Hutchinson's work and any legal fees the county incurs while negotiating the road-use agreement. The county also indicated it will create a new special-revenue fund and appropriate $120,000 in revenue and corresponding expenses into that fund to hold the developer reimbursements and related costs.

Member Blair moved the measure and Member Daley seconded. The clerk recorded the vote as 12–0 in favor.

Ending: With the reimbursement agreement approved, the board moved to an executive session to discuss pending litigation. The board chair said the road-use agreement requirement and reimbursement mechanism are intended to give the board and public complete information about road impacts at the time of a public hearing on any future special-use application.