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Ottawa mayor urges compromise on courthouse generator plan, backs removal of basement transformers
Summary
Ottawa Mayor Rob Hasty told the LaSalle County Board that the city supports moving transformers out of the courthouse basement but questioned a proposal to place a 200 kW generator on the courthouse lawn, urging coordination with the historic preservation committee and exploring smaller or screened alternatives.
Mayor Rob Hasty of Ottawa spoke during the county's public-comment period about a disputed proposal to locate a large backup generator on the lawn of the downtown courthouse and urged cooperation to find a compromise.
Hasty said the city agrees transformers currently in the courthouse basement should be removed and that the city has repeatedly sought clear answers about timing and coordination. He said the generator proposed for the lawn "is enough to power our water treatment plant," calling that capacity "excessive" for the courthouse's safety needs and said the city's engineers questioned whether the proposed sizing reflected realistic use.
Hasty described permitting hurdles: the city building inspector returned a permit application because the historic preservation committee had not approved the plan. He explained that, unlike the appellate courthouse that received State Historic Preservation approval, Ottawa's local ordinance requires historic-committee sign-off before building permits are issued.
Board members asked follow-up questions about alternatives Hasty mentioned, including placing the unit closer to the building's west side, sinking it to lower its profile, or locating it in a nearby municipal parking lot and running conduit under the street. Hasty said the city is open to designs that reduce the visual profile and noise and to re-evaluating the plan with county staff so both historic character and safety needs are met.
The county chair confirmed that the historic preservation committee meeting was scheduled for the week following the board meeting and outlined the sequence: committee review, council consideration and then permit filing if approved. The chair and several board members emphasized that transformers could be moved without requiring historic-committee approval, and Mayor Hasty encouraged joint planning to avoid repeated rework of designs.
The county did not take final action on the generator at the meeting; the conversation concluded with a direction to re-evaluate designs with preservation considerations and to pursue the separate project to remove the basement transformers.
