Mennie’s solar garden wins approval from county board

HENNEPIN — A potential community solar garden built in conjunction with Mennie’s Machine Company and GEM Energy received unanimous support from the Putnam County Board during its Feb. 11 meeting.

The construction of the two-megawatt, fixed solar array is dependent on the project being selected through the statewide Future Energy Jobs Act lottery program, which aims to increase Illinois’ renewable energy production to 25 percent by 2025.

“They haven’t announced yet when the lottery drawing will take place, but we’re expecting sometime around mid-March,” GEM Energy’s Jessica Tyler told the board.

If the project isn’t selected in the first lottery round, it might be during additional rounds. Bill Mennie said the 17-acre site would be placed near the factory, just off of state Route 71 and near the Ameren substation. He added Mennie’s was contacted by numerous firms and that GEM Energy had made the best proposal.

Hundreds of local Ameren customers would have the option to subscribe to receive the clean energy produced by the solar panels in exchange for a reduced utility rate.

“Depending on the substation’s capacity, the project could also potentially be expanded at some point,” Tyler said.

According to an analysis by Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables, Illinois is projected to increase its solar capacity from 2018 to 2023 by nearly 1,900 percent, or an additional 1,857 megawatts.

This places Illinois as one of the top states in solar growth and would position it as a clean energy leader in the Midwest.

This would also likely help the state attract some much-needed new business growth.

Circuit court clerk announces retirement

After informing the board that her office had passed a recent audit, longtime Putnam County Circuit Court Clerk Cathy Oliveri announced to the board she would be retiring effective May 1.

“It’s been an honor to serve for the past 27 years,” she said before each board member thanked her for her dedication to the county and its residents.

Oliveri’s term ends in 2020, and she recommended Chief Deputy Circuit Clerk Carly Neubaum to fill her position until that time. Putnam County Democratic Central Committee Chairman Eric Balma supported Neubaum advancing to fill Oliveri’s position.

To ease the transition and to better facilitate the many changes this will require in the office, Oliveri advised the board that the sooner they could approve Neubaum’s advancement, the better it would be.

Treasurer’s report

Putnam County Treasurer Kevin Kunkel reported a General Fund balance of roughly $68,000 and a balance of more than $270,000 across all funds. He added the county will be borrowing money “as needed.”

Following Microsoft’s announcement that the Windows 7 operating system would no longer be supported, Kunkel said the computer service company Connecting Point, of Peru, recommended new equipment.

Kunkel said it would be more cost-effective to purchase new computers rather than purchasing Windows 10 to update those currently running on the now-obsolete Windows 7.

Highway department

Putnam County Highway Engineer Pat Sloan announced the sealcoat work for this year, which will include Bradford Road, will be open for bidding on March 20.

On June 14, IDOT will be taking bids for the Bottom Road Bridge construction project. Additionally, Sloan said the county had purchased seven-tenths of an acre from the Spring Valley Boat Club in support of the upcoming bridge work, which he said should begin in August.

Putnam County Board Chairman Steve Malavolti asked Sloan how the county was doing with the amount of available salt.

Sloan said the county pays $50 per ton of salt and that the agreement is to purchase at least 80 percent of what’s expected to be needed for the year at that rate while being able to get up to 120 percent of that amount.

“We’re at about 100 percent right now, so we’re probably going to be using some more, but we should be OK,” Sloan said.

In other board news

• Putnam County Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Chauntelle Biagi-Bruer reported the village of Bradford had made a donation to the office in gratitude of being able to use Putnam County’s emergency generator.

“They always return it with a full tank, too,” she said.

• The board approved the Lake Thunderbird Association’s request for its annual July fireworks display on July 7, as well as for a 50th anniversary fireworks display during the annual corn boil event scheduled for Aug. 3.