An hour and half long Morgan County board meeting this morning played to a packed house in the commissioners’ office with much of the time taken up with zoning control.
Peter Yannikockas of Solar Generation of New York walked into a buzz saw of questions from the audience. He was there to get a memorandum of understanding between the county and Solar Generation.
His office is based out of St Louis. The company is proposing a nearly 5-megawatt solar plant near Chapin along Neeleyville Road.
The solar field would cover 85-percent of a 24 acre field on land leased to the company by the Shireman family, the nearest neighbors to the proposed site.
The county board approved the memorandum unanimously.
Many of the questions peppered at Yannikockas dealt with vegetation screenings and decommissioning. Rural residents wanted to know about the impact to the land.
Yannikockas was also asked about how long the company he represents would own the field.
He says the company is in for the long haul, and the project is designed as a community solar project.
The bulk of the crowd was at the meeting more to listen in on debate about a 6 month review process on data centers and other rural development targets.
The board did approve new salaries for the sheriff, county commissioner, clerk and treasurer. These salaries are set by the state.
And, commissioners approved an intergovernmental agreement with Central Illinois Land Bank Authority. The county already has an agreement with Two Rivers Land Bank.