[0:00] Okay, we're going to call the meeting to
[0:01] order here. I'm told everybody's inside.
[0:05] I'd like to thank everyone for coming
[0:07] tonight. Uh your interest in this uh
[0:10] project and uh annexation is certainly
[0:13] uh appreciated.
[0:15] Uh again, I want to remind everybody to
[0:17] please turn off your cell phones. And
[0:19] I'm going to turn it over to uh the
[0:22] zoning and planning commission chairman
[0:24] uh Brad Miller to open his meeting.
[0:27] » Thanks for coming. Call the meeting to
[0:30] order. Uh, roll call, please. Clerk
[0:36] » Brad Miller
[0:37] » Here.
[0:38] » Brad Kresto
[0:39] » Here.
[0:39] » Karen Stillwell
[0:41] » Here.
[0:41] » Bob Hoggy
[0:42] » Here.
[0:43] » Don Weber
[0:44] » Here.
[0:45] » Bob Hornbeck
[0:46] » Here.
[0:47] » Jim Hanlin.
[0:49] Corbin Webster
[0:50] » Here.
[0:51] » Scott Casselli
[0:53] and Jim Barnes.
[0:56] » Okay. Okay, at this time I'd like to
[0:57] turn it over to the plan commission
[0:59] attorney, Nathan Washburn,
[1:02] for a few things to say.
[1:05] Good evening. Uh I'm Nathaniel Washburn.
[1:08] I'm the attorney for uh the Marcel's uh
[1:10] zoning board of appeals and plan
[1:12] commission. Uh as you can see from our
[1:15] agenda, we do have public comment which
[1:18] is required for any open meeting uh per
[1:21] the statute. Uh the plan commission
[1:24] tonight is holding a meeting because
[1:26] there is a majority of a quorum present
[1:29] uh and in attendance for the special
[1:31] meeting of the city council. Uh public
[1:33] comment is meant for agenda items and
[1:36] our only agenda item this evening is our
[1:38] own attendance uh at the city council's
[1:41] special meeting. If anybody would like
[1:44] to make a comment, they are of course
[1:46] welcome to. However, any comments for
[1:48] the annexation or annexation agreement
[1:51] hearing that is going to be pending
[1:53] momentarily before the city council uh
[1:56] would be best reserved for that public
[1:58] hearing so it makes it into the record
[2:00] as the plan commission uh meeting is not
[2:02] going to be directly a part of that
[2:05] public record for that hearing. Uh but
[2:08] now would be the opportunity if there
[2:09] was anything specifically for the plan
[2:11] commission meeting if anybody wanted to
[2:13] make a public comment. However, I would
[2:15] reserve that for the public hearing.
[2:17] Thank you.
[2:19] » Okay. Now, we'll call the special
[2:21] meeting of the Marcel City Council to
[2:23] order. Clerk will read a roll.
[2:26] » Mayor Hollandback
[2:27] » Here.
[2:27] » Commissioner Kaminsky
[2:30] » Here.
[2:32] » Small
[2:32] » Here. Sh
[2:34] » Here.
[2:35] » Buckingham
[2:36] » Here.
[2:44] Okay, with I'm going to turn it over to
[2:46] our city attorney, Christina Canland,
[2:48] for uh
[2:50] opening comments.
[2:52] » Good afternoon, folks. Thank you
[2:54] everyone for coming. We have a couple of
[2:56] housekeeping rules that we're uh going
[2:59] to share with you tonight. We've got a
[3:01] full house as you can see. So, I'm going
[3:03] to run through those uh rules with all
[3:05] folks here tonight. Any individual who
[3:08] would like to speak should have checked
[3:10] in upon arriving at the hearing this
[3:13] afternoon. Speakers will be called in
[3:15] the order of check-in. However, we added
[3:17] some additional uh check-in sheets. So,
[3:21] the folks towards uh that checked in
[3:23] later may be a little out of order. So,
[3:25] we appreciate your patience. Uh so,
[3:27] please listen for your name when it's
[3:29] called. The city clerk is going to call
[3:31] up individuals three at a time.
[3:34] You're going to come to the podium to
[3:36] speak and you're going to line up
[3:38] against the wall right there to my
[3:40] immediate left. So, speaker one will
[3:43] come to the podium when called. Speakers
[3:44] two and three will be in line against
[3:46] the wall. Please keep an appropriate
[3:49] distance from each speaker. If you did
[3:51] not check in, but would like to speak,
[3:54] please quietly proceed back to the back
[3:57] corner. Katherine will be there to
[3:58] assist you to get on a signup sheet. All
[4:01] individuals are going to be allowed the
[4:03] opportunity to speak. The goal of this
[4:06] hearing today is to hear from the
[4:08] public. Comments must be related to the
[4:11] matter we are here to discuss this
[4:13] afternoon, which is the annexation of
[4:16] approximately 716 acres to the city of
[4:19] Marcel.
[4:20] Any individual making comments not
[4:23] related to the annexation or the
[4:25] annexation agreement will be requested
[4:27] to return to their seats.
[4:30] If you agree with comments made by a
[4:32] previous speaker, you can just state
[4:35] that you agree. We're going to ask that
[4:37] comments not be repetitive to ensure
[4:40] that we get through all uh parties who
[4:42] would like to speak today.
[4:44] All individuals offering testimony will
[4:47] need to be stand and be sworn at the
[4:49] beginning of the public hearing. I will
[4:51] do that uh at the conclusion of the
[4:53] housekeeping rules.
[4:55] All questions for Constellation will be
[4:57] addressed at the end of the public
[4:59] hearing comment portion of the meeting.
[5:02] Constellation may consolidate similar
[5:04] questions for a more efficient response.
[5:08] Constellation will be keeping track uh
[5:10] and recording all the questions that are
[5:12] asked from the public.
[5:14] Following Constellation's answers to all
[5:17] questions, each commissioner will then
[5:19] have an opportunity to make their own
[5:21] individual comments.
[5:23] In terms of running an efficient
[5:24] meeting, it is this council's suggestion
[5:27] to get through everyone that speakers
[5:29] limit their testimony or comments to
[5:31] five minutes or less. To be clear, this
[5:34] is not a rule. Our goal is just to make
[5:37] sure that every effort is made to have
[5:38] an efficient and fair process and have
[5:41] everyone have the opportunity to speak
[5:43] today.
[5:45] All comments are being transcribed
[5:46] verbatim by the court reporter who is
[5:49] with us today. Miss Cisco is sitting in
[5:52] front of us and it is important for the
[5:55] court reporter that you speak clearly
[5:58] into the microphone. The court reporter
[6:01] cannot take down multiple conversations
[6:03] at the same time. Please ensure that
[6:06] only one person speaks at any given
[6:09] time. Also, keep in mind the court
[6:11] reporter cannot take down any hand
[6:13] gestures or the shaking of a head. The
[6:16] court reporter also will not take down
[6:19] any outbursts. The court reporter, for
[6:22] purposes of this transcript, it would be
[6:24] appreciated if you could state your full
[6:26] name and spell it so it's accurate in
[6:29] the record.
[6:31] The hearing is also being video recorded
[6:34] and livereamed for any individuals who
[6:36] could not attend the hearing today.
[6:40] Just a reminder that anyone who is
[6:42] watching on the live stream version will
[6:43] not have the ability to participate. The
[6:46] only option to participate was to be
[6:47] here in person today. As the mayor
[6:51] suggested, please make sure to silence
[6:53] your phones and we will now uh proceed
[6:58] to uh turn it back over to the mayor.
[7:03] » Thanks, Christina. Uh Constellation, I
[7:06] believe you have some opening statements
[7:07] or comments.
[7:11] Yes, I'll go ahead and swear. And uh if
[7:14] everyone who's going to speak, if they
[7:15] could please stand and raise their right
[7:16] hand.
[7:21] And if you're not sure if you're going
[7:22] to speak, go ahead and stand now and you
[7:24] can make a a decision to not speak
[7:26] later. Okay.
[7:28] » Now, this is the public hearing.
[7:30] » All right.
[7:32] Do you solemnly swear that the testimony
[7:34] you're about to give at this hearing
[7:35] today be the whole truth and nothing but
[7:36] the truth? So, help you God.
[7:39] All right. Uh, Miss Cisco, if the record
[7:42] can reflect that all participants at the
[7:43] public hearing were sworn in.
[8:00] You have a motion to open the hearing.
[8:02] » I'll make a second.
[8:05] » Any discussion?
[8:08] » I need a clerk.
[8:13] » Mayor Hollandbeck.
[8:15] » Hi,
[8:16] » Commissioner Kaminsky.
[8:18] » Hi,
[8:19] » Small. I
[8:20] » Sh.
[8:21] » No.
[8:22] » Buckingham.
[8:23] » Hi.
[8:25] » We got to get him.
[8:31] Okay, now I'll turn it over to
[8:33] Constellation.
[8:34] » Well, good evening everyone and members
[8:36] of the commission. My name is Ryan Toer
[8:38] and I'm the local government affairs
[8:40] manager for Constellation. With me here
[8:42] is John Van Fleet, the site vice
[8:44] president of the Lasale Clean Energy
[8:46] Center, Mike Appington, the director of
[8:49] commercial project management for
[8:50] Constellation, and Greg Smith, our
[8:53] outside legal counsel. Constellation is
[8:56] thrilled to appear before the city
[8:57] council this evening to discuss an
[8:59] annexation agreement to bring
[9:00] approximately 175 acres of constellation
[9:04] owned land into the city of Marcels.
[9:07] The agreement represents a partnership
[9:09] between the city and constellation for
[9:12] economic growth. The annexation of this
[9:15] property represents a once- in a
[9:18] generation opportunity for the city to
[9:20] achieve multiple goals, including
[9:22] growing its boundaries south of the
[9:24] Illinois River, securing new revenue
[9:26] sources, creating good paying,
[9:29] highquality jobs, and putting rules of
[9:31] the road in place for development of
[9:33] these opportunities.
[9:35] Tonight, we will explain our company's
[9:37] progrowth strategy, the development of
[9:40] an emerging technology district that
[9:42] creates the opportunity for economic
[9:44] development while protecting the local
[9:47] community in the financial safeguards
[9:49] for the city of Marcels. I would like to
[9:52] now introduce John Van Fleet, site vice
[9:55] president of the Lauo Clean Energy
[9:57] Center.
[10:06] Good evening. As Ryan said, my name is
[10:09] John Van Fleet and I'm the site vice
[10:10] president at the Lasale Clean Energy
[10:12] Center. It's an honor to be before you
[10:15] tonight. Many of you have family,
[10:17] friends, and neighbors who have or
[10:20] currently work at our nuclear station.
[10:23] Every day, the two boiling water
[10:25] reactors in Lasal County produce a
[10:27] combined 2320 megawws of zero emission
[10:31] electricity.
[10:32] Over 725 men and women work every day at
[10:35] our station. This includes professional
[10:38] and union employees.
[10:40] At one time, under previous ownership,
[10:42] the Illinois nuclear fleet was at risk
[10:44] of closing, but that is no longer the
[10:46] case. We are a progrowth business under
[10:49] new ownership and in order to guarantee
[10:51] long-term operation of our facility,
[10:54] we're becoming a clean energy center
[10:56] rather than just a nuclear station. Our
[10:59] growth protects trade and craft jobs and
[11:01] renews our commitment to the community.
[11:03] This community is important to me and my
[11:05] colleagues. I grew up within 20 miles of
[11:08] the plant. My father-in-law worked at
[11:10] our plant for over 30 years. I've been
[11:12] able to provide for my family by working
[11:14] at the plant for 20 years. We have
[11:16] refurbished and improved over a 100
[11:18] homes in the area in conjunction with
[11:20] the United Way. We provide scholarships
[11:23] to Ottawa, Senica, and Streeter schools
[11:25] and support local food pantries.
[11:28] But most importantly, every day we
[11:30] produce clean and reliable energy 24
[11:33] hours a day while maintaining excellence
[11:35] and safety and operations. I'll now turn
[11:37] it over to my colleagues Mike Appington
[11:39] and Greg Smith so they can discuss the
[11:41] annexation agreement and community
[11:43] economic benefits.
[11:47] Good evening. I'm Michael Appington. I'm
[11:50] a director of commercial project
[11:51] management for Constellation. Uh thank
[11:54] the city council and the planning
[11:55] commission for considering our request
[11:58] tonight. Constellation acquired several
[12:00] properties south of the Illinois River
[12:03] due to their proximity to Lasal's Clean
[12:05] Energy Center and the potential to
[12:08] develop these with compatible uses. We
[12:10] are proposing to annex these properties
[12:13] totaling over a square mile into the
[12:15] city so that we can market to and
[12:18] attract customers.
[12:21] The vicinity of these properties to
[12:23] Lasal Clean Energy Center allows
[12:25] constellation to pursue development in
[12:28] partnership with the city and regional
[12:30] community. Also, the location of these
[12:33] parcels near to the nuclear station
[12:36] provide security and increase operations
[12:39] standards.
[12:40] Constellation has always viewed itself
[12:42] as part of the community. To this end,
[12:45] we discussed annexation with the city
[12:48] and listened to what the city said. That
[12:50] development should protect our smalltown
[12:53] way of life, that the city must be
[12:55] financially protected, that no tiff
[12:58] district be used in financing, and that
[13:00] the city would like to avoid significant
[13:03] financial risks.
[13:05] The annexation agreement before city
[13:06] council achieves all of these goals and
[13:09] includes development provisions and
[13:12] incentives which are necessary for
[13:14] constellation to obtain customers for
[13:16] the development of this land.
[13:19] The reality is that Constellation,
[13:21] Marcel, and Lasel County are competing
[13:24] with other states, counties, and cities
[13:27] to attract development in the vicinity
[13:29] of large volumes of clean, carbon-f
[13:32] free, and reliable electricity.
[13:35] Other nearby states and other
[13:36] municipalities in Illinois
[13:39] are working very hard to attract
[13:41] businesses that will bring investment
[13:43] and job creation.
[13:45] But we want economic development in
[13:47] Lasal County and near our station to
[13:50] ensure operations for decades to come at
[13:52] Lasal Clean Energy Center. We also want
[13:55] to improve the region's economic
[13:57] opportunities through partnership and
[13:59] planned growth.
[14:01] While we do not currently have a
[14:03] customer for this property, it is
[14:06] essential for our potential customers to
[14:07] know the community is open for business
[14:10] and understand that the rules what the
[14:13] rules will be when they get here.
[14:16] The annexation agreement makes this
[14:18] location more competitive.
[14:22] Thank you. I'll turn it over to Greg
[14:23] Smith, our outside council constellation
[14:26] to summarize the key terms of our
[14:28] annexation agreement.
[14:33] Thank you. I'm an attorney with the law
[14:35] firm Elrod Friedman and outside legal
[14:38] counsel for Constellation in this
[14:40] matter. Thank you all for being here
[14:41] this afternoon. As Ryan, John, and Mike
[14:45] have indicated, Constellation has agreed
[14:47] to bring approximately 715 acres of its
[14:51] property into the city of Marcel.
[14:54] Constellation is willing to do so
[14:56] because the city commits in the
[14:57] annexation agreement to amend its
[15:00] comprehensive plan to encourage
[15:01] development of emerging technology uses
[15:04] on Constellation's properties and
[15:06] because the city will amend its zoning
[15:08] code to create a new emerging technology
[15:10] zoning district to allow for development
[15:13] of uses including electronics
[15:15] manufacturing, storage facilities,
[15:18] fabricating uses, data centers, research
[15:21] and laboratory facilities, offices
[15:24] and power generation.
[15:27] These are critically important terms
[15:28] which set the table for future
[15:30] development and they were negotiated
[15:32] with the city to to be the rules of the
[15:34] road for the development of this
[15:37] property.
[15:38] The agreement calls for consolation to
[15:40] pay the city $10 million over five years
[15:44] with payments of $3 million in years
[15:46] both one and two, $2 million paid in
[15:50] year three, and additional payments of
[15:52] $1 million in years four and five, with
[15:55] deductions in the final two years for
[15:57] property taxes and utility taxes paid.
[16:01] These payments by constellation
[16:02] demonstrate its willingness to invest in
[16:04] Mars sales, provide a significant new
[16:07] revenue source for the city to achieve
[16:09] its goals, and to meet the city's desire
[16:12] to be financially benefited by the
[16:13] annexation of these properties.
[16:16] Along those lines, the agreement also
[16:19] places responsibility on Constellation
[16:21] to pay for water extensions and sewer
[16:24] extensions necessary to serve the
[16:27] development. Constellation will also pay
[16:29] for the relocation of a portion of
[16:32] 2553rd
[16:33] Road should relocation be desired.
[16:37] Again, these terms show that
[16:38] Constellation is a good partner to the
[16:40] city by taking on costs of public
[16:42] improvements that would otherwise be
[16:44] paid by the city.
[16:46] The agreement also includes a list of
[16:48] building codes requirements agreed upon
[16:51] which are primarily 2024 international
[16:54] codes applicable across large portions
[16:56] of the state and elsewhere which will
[16:59] regulate future development. Most of the
[17:02] codes that the development on this
[17:03] property will be subject to are more
[17:05] upto-date than the city's on the books
[17:07] codes meaning that development will meet
[17:10] even newer standards. Relatedly, the
[17:13] agreement also includes agreed upon
[17:15] building permit fee of 23 cents per
[17:17] square foot for tenants improvements and
[17:19] requires reimbursement of the city's
[17:21] third-party costs for plan and permit
[17:25] reviews. Again, these terms shift
[17:27] financial obligations off the city and
[17:30] onto the development itself.
[17:33] The agreement has the city and
[17:34] constellation entering into rebate
[17:36] agreements with respect to property
[17:38] taxes, utility taxes, and sales taxes. A
[17:42] rebate would only be given by the city
[17:44] if it receives these new revenues um
[17:47] from the development for property taxes.
[17:51] The rebate would only be paid after the
[17:53] city receives $2.5 million a year of
[17:56] property taxes in a given year with that
[17:59] amount increased by a 3% compounding
[18:02] factor annually. For utility taxes, the
[18:05] rebate would only begin after the city
[18:07] receives $5 million of utility tax
[18:09] revenue with that base amount also being
[18:12] increased by 3% compounding annually.
[18:16] For sales taxes, the city would split
[18:18] them 75% to 25% up to a cap of $1.2
[18:23] million. Again, with that cap
[18:25] compounding at the same 3% annual rate,
[18:28] with the amount over the cap being fully
[18:30] rebated to constellation,
[18:32] the rebates would be in effect for 40
[18:34] years. That term is long enough to allow
[18:36] for the design, construction, and ramp
[18:38] up of new development on these
[18:40] properties and to last for most of the
[18:42] useful life of the constructed
[18:44] buildings.
[18:46] Constellation received feedback that
[18:48] incentives for this length of time are
[18:49] key to attracting development interest
[18:51] that has not otherwise occurred. The
[18:54] structure of the rebates demonstrates
[18:56] Constellation's willingness to partner
[18:57] with the city as only new city taxes
[19:00] will be rebated and as the city will
[19:02] keep a significant portion of the new
[19:05] taxes for itself allowing it to further
[19:07] enjoy the economic benefits of
[19:09] development of the property. Finally,
[19:11] the annexation agreement itself will
[19:13] have a term of 20 years as allowed by
[19:16] law. I'll now turn back to Ryan Toer.
[19:21] Thanks, Greg. So, to put this all into
[19:23] perspective, this agreed to annexation
[19:26] package creates economic development and
[19:28] growth in the regional community while
[19:31] providing constellation energy a
[19:33] competitive edge to attract customers
[19:36] who demand speed to market for
[19:38] themselves. There is no financial risk
[19:40] for the city. At worst, the city obtains
[19:44] $10 million and brings 715 acres into
[19:47] its borders. The proposed agreement does
[19:50] not require the city to spend any money
[19:52] or take any risk. Before closing, I do
[19:56] want to address a series of questions
[19:58] that I've been recently asked. First,
[20:01] one question I have received is, are you
[20:04] building a data center? The answer is
[20:06] while these terms do allow for
[20:08] development of a data center, it does
[20:10] also allow for other industries. We
[20:14] currently do not have a customer. Let me
[20:17] repeat that. We do not have a customer,
[20:19] but this annexation gives us a
[20:21] competitive advantage for attracting a
[20:24] customer that would bring a significant
[20:26] job and investment.
[20:28] Second, will this raise local energy
[20:31] prices? Like you, I have seen my monthly
[20:34] energy bills go up. Unfortunately, that
[20:37] is something we cannot control. Over the
[20:40] past two decades, the cost of creating
[20:42] electricity, also called generation, has
[20:45] remained relatively flat. The cost of
[20:47] electricity delivery delivered to homes
[20:50] and businesses is not controlled by
[20:52] constellation energy. However, the cost
[20:55] of delivery or distribution has greatly
[20:57] increased. And then lastly, how will
[21:01] Constellation protect the community?
[21:03] Constellation Energy has purchased a
[21:05] large swath of land so that wetlands
[21:08] near the river can be protected and BMS
[21:10] and other environmental attributes can
[21:12] be created to provide screenings and
[21:15] buffers to the development. In closing,
[21:18] I want to thank the city council and
[21:20] planning commission for holding this
[21:22] hearing. Constellation is committed to
[21:25] this community and a strong partnership
[21:27] that will bring jobs and generational
[21:29] development to our city. Our team looks
[21:32] forward to listening to public
[21:33] discussion and concluding with answers
[21:35] at the end of the special city meeting.
[21:37] Thank you.
[21:44] » You done? Okay.
[21:48] Excuse me. I'll now ask our clerk to
[21:50] call the first uh person to testify and
[21:53] we'll have two on deck along the wall,
[21:55] please.
[21:56] » First, we have Joe Bruno,
[21:59] then Karen Stillwell,
[22:02] and third will be Larry Cowi.
[22:14] Joe.
[22:16] » Joe, you're up. If you want to talk.
[22:18] » Not now.
[22:19] » Oh, not now.
[22:21] » Okay. Uh, then I guess Karen, you're up.
[22:28] » After Larry, we'll do Carrie Harrow.
[22:32] » Make sure she's hot.
[22:36] » My name is Karen.
[22:38] K A R E N S T I L L W L. I'm a member of
[22:44] the planning commission and the zoning
[22:47] board of appeals. I volunteered in those
[22:50] positions for many years. Um actually
[22:54] Patty Smith was our mayor at the time.
[22:56] Some of you may not even know Patty. Um,
[23:01] my history with Marcel's goes back to
[23:05] the early 1900s. My great-grandfather
[23:09] came here from Wales.
[23:12] My grandmother at age two was never
[23:15] allowed to speak Welsh. You're an
[23:17] American, you speak English.
[23:20] That's kind of my history and how I've
[23:22] been raised.
[23:24] I've lived in Marcel's all of my life,
[23:26] although part of it was out in the
[23:27] country on a farm. still Marc sales.
[23:30] I've seen opportunities pass our small
[23:34] community by more times than I'd like to
[23:37] think about. We have a wonderful
[23:39] community. We have wonderful people. We
[23:42] have great leaders.
[23:44] This opportunity, the constellation is
[23:48] served up on a silver platter. I want to
[23:50] thank them for that. Um I see an
[23:53] opportunity for a lot of jobs, for
[23:56] growth.
[23:57] We're not going to become an urban
[23:59] center by any means, but our our town is
[24:02] going to get an opportunity to grow.
[24:05] Our young people may stick around.
[24:07] Wouldn't that be wonderful?
[24:09] Um,
[24:14] we've seen nothing but but good things
[24:16] come from Constellation, from the power
[24:19] plant. Uh, my children were raised on
[24:22] that money. My husband was there in 79
[24:25] when there were only some
[24:28] bu beams that looked really scary to me.
[24:31] Um,
[24:34] couple things that I do and I may be out
[24:36] of turn. If I am, forgive me. Some
[24:39] things that I've heard
[24:42] some of the some of the information that
[24:43] was given to the planning commission and
[24:45] to this the council members got up on
[24:47] Facebook. Everything gets on Facebook
[24:49] somehow. And there were some questions
[24:51] about foyer requests.
[24:55] I've read this. I've spoken to some of
[24:57] the attorneys and my understanding, and
[25:00] I just want you to correct me if I'm
[25:01] wrong, that if there is a foyer request,
[25:04] you're asking us to forward it to to
[25:07] your financial your your legal people
[25:10] because you have proprietary
[25:13] information, you have safety
[25:15] information,
[25:16] you have patented information. I'm sure
[25:19] that no corporation on the planet would
[25:22] want handed out to
[25:26] anyone. Am I correct? That's why there's
[25:31] that paragraph in our information
[25:32] regarding FOYA.
[25:37] » Okay, Karen, I think they're going to
[25:38] take note of the questions. They're
[25:39] going to answer them all toward the end
[25:41] so we can move along.
[25:42] » Okay, I I'll stop. Thank you much and
[25:46] welcome to Marcel's
[25:52] » Larry.
[26:09] My name is Larry Cowie. C O W IE. I have
[26:14] been a resident of Marcel for over 50
[26:16] years. I'm addressing you this evening
[26:19] to voice my support for the annexation
[26:20] of property by constellation energy
[26:23] generation.
[26:24] The city of Marcel's residents based on
[26:27] 2024 EAV numbers are responsible for
[26:30] approximately 74% of the property taxes
[26:33] paid to the city.
[26:34] 13% are paid by properties classified as
[26:38] commercial and 12% are paid by those
[26:41] classified as industrial.
[26:43] By contrast, the Marcel's Fire
[26:46] Protection District, which encompasses
[26:48] only half of Constellation's Lasal
[26:50] Generating Station, has a residential
[26:53] property tax contribution of 28%.
[26:57] And an industrial property tax
[26:58] contribution of 63%.
[27:01] Senica Fire, who has the other half of
[27:04] the generating station, has a
[27:06] residential burden of 17%. Senica High
[27:09] School, which has all of it, 13% and
[27:12] Senica grade 10%.
[27:15] This is not to imply that the proposed
[27:17] developments would be on the scale of
[27:19] the nuclear generating station, but to
[27:21] illustrate the value of diversifying the
[27:23] tax base. A taxing body relying
[27:26] predominantly on residential property
[27:28] taxes is not sustainable.
[27:31] If there were to be a $10 million
[27:33] increase in the taxable EAV of the
[27:35] industrial commercial tax base of the
[27:38] city of Marcel, it would result in a
[27:40] decrease in the residential tax burden
[27:42] by 7% to 67%.
[27:46] By comparison, the city of Ottawa's
[27:48] residential tax burden is now 6 72%.
[27:51] Lal is 67%,
[27:54] Peru 56%, Udica 51% and Menota 63%.
[28:00] The common complaint is that the taxes
[28:02] in our sales are too high. But looking
[28:04] at these numbers, you can see that the
[28:07] high taxes are not caused by outofc
[28:09] control spending by government bodies,
[28:11] but by the fact that the burden is
[28:12] carried by the residents.
[28:16] I have no idea what the value of the
[28:18] proposed developments will be, but I
[28:20] think it's a safe bet that they will be
[28:22] substantial.
[28:25] I have seen some public comments
[28:26] critical of the tax rebate included in
[28:28] the annexation agreement. The way I read
[28:31] it and was confirmed by the gentleman
[28:33] earlier, this would kick in if the
[28:35] city's portion of the tax bill for the
[28:36] development exceeds $2.5 million.
[28:39] I was curious as to what EAV and levy
[28:42] combination would trigger that rebate. I
[28:45] did some quick back of the napkin math
[28:48] here and using 2024 EAV numbers and the
[28:52] city's 2024 levy of 1.9 million. If the
[28:55] city were to double their tax levy to
[28:57] 3.8 million, it would take a development
[29:00] EAV of $166 million to trigger the
[29:04] rebate. If that would happen, the
[29:07] residential burden would then be 26%.
[29:11] and my city tax would go from $921
[29:14] to 627.
[29:17] If the city would only levy one and a
[29:19] half times of the 2024 levy or 2.8
[29:22] million, the EAV of the development
[29:25] would have to be just over 500 million
[29:28] and the burden on residents would be 11%
[29:30] and my city tax would be $24.
[29:34] If they left the levy the same at 1.9
[29:37] million, technically they could pay at
[29:40] all
[29:42] regardless of the EAV
[29:44] and not reach the trigger.
[29:47] This last one would never happen, but
[29:49] it's kind of interesting to think about.
[29:51] Um, how much the city levies and what
[29:53] the EAV of the development would be is
[29:55] unknown at this time, but it's easy to
[29:57] see that it would take a lot for that
[29:58] rebate rebate to kick in. So, it's kind
[30:00] of a non-issue.
[30:03] Unfortunately, this increase in EAV will
[30:06] not have a direct impact on the Marcel's
[30:08] Elementary District. But let's look at
[30:10] the reasons why. The most obvious reason
[30:13] why is because that property is not in
[30:15] the boundaries of the school district.
[30:17] But let me explain a little bit of
[30:19] history. Prior to 1952,
[30:22] the children who lived in the vicinity
[30:24] of the current nuclear power station
[30:25] attended Marcel's High School.
[30:28] At some point, the school administration
[30:30] had a choice. create a high school
[30:32] district or become a unit school
[30:34] district of both grade and high schools
[30:36] with the boundaries roughly equal to
[30:38] that of the existing city boundaries.
[30:41] They chose the latter. Senica chose the
[30:44] former.
[30:45] We all know how that decision has worked
[30:47] out. This is not to cast dispersions on
[30:50] the school administration of the time,
[30:52] but to highlight the missed opportunity.
[30:55] They couldn't see the future, but they
[30:57] felt secure in the fact that we had a
[30:59] thriving town. Nabiscoco was here.
[31:01] Certainted was here. PDM Steel was here
[31:04] and others.
[31:07] They're now all gone.
[31:09] No one can predict the future, but
[31:11] passing on an opportunity guarantees you
[31:13] won't be able to benefit from it in the
[31:15] future. Think about how that one
[31:17] decision denied an opportunity. An
[31:20] opportunity that would have most likely
[31:21] changed the fortunes of the school
[31:23] district, literally and figuratively.
[31:27] Much has also been said about the
[31:28] general terms of the agreement and the
[31:30] city should be calling the shots.
[31:33] I have had the good fortune for the last
[31:35] 36 years to be a witness to the
[31:37] relationship between a local taxing body
[31:39] that includes the nuclear power station
[31:41] and constellation energy and their
[31:43] predecessors. I have found the companies
[31:46] to be fair in their offerings. They
[31:48] understand they will pay taxes.
[31:51] They have no problem paying taxes. They
[31:54] just want to make sure they don't get
[31:55] taken advantage of. They want to be good
[31:58] corporate citizens. Let them be. Take a
[32:02] look at the surrounding taxing bodies
[32:03] that rely on them for their tax revenue.
[32:06] They seem to be doing okay, living under
[32:08] similar terms to what is proposed here.
[32:12] From what I have outlined this
[32:14] afternoon, it is crystal clear the
[32:16] positive benefits the annexation and
[32:18] development of this property will have
[32:19] to the residents of the city. I'm a
[32:22] realist and this development is going to
[32:24] happen whether here or somewhere else.
[32:28] Any of the purported negative effects on
[32:29] consumers may still happen, but why
[32:32] should we not receive the substantial
[32:33] benefits of it on the other side?
[32:39] You all were elected by the residents of
[32:42] Marcel to represent them in matters
[32:44] pertaining to the operation of the city.
[32:47] There are tried andrue processes in
[32:50] place which give you the tools and
[32:52] knowledge to make decisions. You have a
[32:54] responsibility and an obligation to be
[32:56] an active participant in those pro
[32:59] processes. While you most certainly can
[33:01] and should solicit solicit feedback from
[33:03] the citizens as we are blessed to be
[33:05] doing this evening, how you vote is up
[33:08] to you.
[33:10] You need to put emotions aside, have
[33:12] vision,
[33:14] and base your decisions on what is best
[33:16] for the future of the city, even if that
[33:19] decision may go against what you
[33:21] perceive as popular opinion. You aren't
[33:24] here to get reelected.
[33:26] You are here to put the city on a course
[33:27] of success. It's your fiduciary duty and
[33:30] moral obligation to do so. As a council
[33:32] member,
[33:34] one of you has publicly stated your
[33:36] intention to vote no this evening on
[33:38] this proposal. A no vote or abstaining
[33:41] this evening can and will be considered
[33:43] an egregious violation of your fiduciary
[33:45] responsibilities and moral obligation to
[33:48] the residents of the city of Marcel and
[33:50] call into question your commitment to
[33:52] the future of this great city and how
[33:54] serious you are about your role on this
[33:56] council. This is a win for the city.
[33:59] It's time to start campaigning.
[34:01] Acknowledge that win and start
[34:03] governing.
[34:04] I leave you with this. To anyone who is
[34:07] considering voting against this, I
[34:09] challenge you to provide the residents a
[34:11] detailed plan to provide the tax relief
[34:14] to the residents on the scale that I
[34:16] have outlined here today
[34:18] without any loss or deprecation of city
[34:20] services. We don't want sound bites,
[34:23] vague campaign promises, or
[34:25] hypotheticals. We want a concrete plan
[34:27] for our future. We'll be waiting but not
[34:30] holding our breath. Thank you.
[34:34] And if anybody wants if you guys I have
[34:36] copies of my calculations if you guys
[34:38] would like them.
[34:39] » I'll take a copy. All right. I'll give
[34:41] them to you. Larry have
[34:45] » Larry you can have Larry. You can ask
[34:47] Catherine to make copies and put them
[34:48] out on the table for people to pick up.
[34:52] » Next ma'am.
[34:56] » He's he's tall. Ma'am. Ma'am. Just a
[34:59] moment. We're going to call two more
[35:01] folks. Okay. We have Jeff Owens and Jeff
[35:04] Olsa next.
[35:08] » Go ahead, ma'am.
[35:09] » Hi, I'm Carrie Harrow. It's C A R I E H
[35:14] E R O. I am the chairman of the Ottawa
[35:17] Area Chamber of Commerce and Jamie
[35:20] McCracken, our executive director,
[35:22] couldn't make it here this evening. Um
[35:24] there is a letter of his support but I
[35:27] am here to um on behalf of the chamber
[35:30] to express our support for consolation
[35:33] proposed annexation of the 700 acres in
[35:36] the Marcel city limits. Ottawa area
[35:39] chamber of commerce is honor to serve
[35:42] the city of Marcel values our strong
[35:44] partnership
[35:46] with the local leadership and community.
[35:48] We also share a productive working
[35:50] relationship with consolation
[35:54] and appreciate their continued
[35:55] investment in Marcel's and Lel County.
[35:59] As nation's leaders in carbon-f free
[36:01] energy, consolation exemplifies
[36:03] innovation, reliability, environmental
[36:05] responsibility. Their presence
[36:07] strengthens our local um economic
[36:10] economy, expands employment
[36:12] opportunities, and reinforces the
[36:14] region's commitment for clean energy and
[36:16] sust sustainable growth. We respectfully
[36:20] support this proposed annexation and
[36:22] look forward to working together
[36:25] towards continued progress and shared
[36:27] success.
[36:30] » Thank you, Jeff.
[36:37] Hi, Jeff Owens. Owns.
[36:41] I was going to speak about uh the
[36:43] problem with the school and the tax. My
[36:45] good friend Larry Cowi had done that
[36:47] very well. The other thing I was going
[36:48] to add 30 years ago, I remember a city
[36:52] commissioner, he's passed away now, made
[36:54] a statement about that land out there.
[36:57] This is real growth. This is real
[36:59] growth. And I thought, okay, I was
[37:01] working part-time for the phone company.
[37:03] I put the phone lines in out there. I'm
[37:05] thinking, boy, is that real growth. Is
[37:07] that It's taken us 30 years. We have the
[37:11] infrastructure out there. Finally, we do
[37:14] see real growth. I know there were some
[37:16] people commenting on when we annexed
[37:19] land out north, which started back in
[37:21] the 70s, probably the late 60s. All
[37:24] right. Finally got out there. All towns
[37:27] our size need to grow
[37:30] to sustain themselves. So, thank you,
[37:33] Constellation, for this opportunity.
[37:38] » Thanks, Jeff. Jeff, number two's up.
[37:42] » Diane Town is next. And then we have
[37:47] Brad Swanson.
[37:49] » Hi, I'm Jeff Olsson, mayor of Senica. J
[37:52] E FF O L S O N. Sorry, my voice is
[37:55] pretty scratchy today. Um,
[37:58] I was just coming on behalf of Senica
[38:00] residents. Of course, Ryan, I've had a
[38:02] lot of conversations with you. Um,
[38:04] obviously this annexation agreement
[38:06] butts up right next to the Senica city
[38:08] limits, right? It's a lot closer to
[38:09] Senica residents than Marcel and many of
[38:11] them do have concerns. What's going to
[38:13] happen with this property? You know,
[38:15] there's going to be positive effects and
[38:16] some of these Senica residents have
[38:17] concerns there could have negative
[38:18] effects. Correct. Um, depending if it's
[38:21] a data center or whatever it may become.
[38:22] I understand we're speaking annexation
[38:24] today. Um but you know they have
[38:26] concerns on you know wells running dry
[38:29] you know just in history of data centers
[38:31] um the noise pollution things along
[38:33] those lines and my question is is
[38:35] consolation will you include senica
[38:38] residents in those concerns and
[38:40] questions and when the time comes when
[38:42] you do have a customer. So um I wish
[38:45] Marcel's the best of luck. I uh think
[38:47] there's a lot of great things for Marc
[38:49] sales that can come from this and of
[38:51] course uh as was spoken on earlier,
[38:53] Constellation's been great for the for
[38:55] Senica as well, you know. So, like I
[38:56] said, there's there's a lot of positive
[38:58] things that can come from this for
[38:59] everybody. So, but those are my
[39:01] questions and just how Constellation
[39:02] will address those with Senica
[39:03] residents. So, good luck to Merc.
[39:06] » Thank you, Jeeoff Diane.
[39:12] Diane Town d i a ne t o w ne
[39:17] I think this is an important enough
[39:20] question that it should be put before
[39:22] the city of Marcel's residents
[39:26] and that's you know can this be put
[39:28] before the residents for vote
[39:35] I think there's enough people here that
[39:37] aren't just here to agree and and so
[39:41] that you know we should have our
[39:43] Thank you.
[39:44] » Thank you, Diane. Brad,
[39:49] » Jonathan Daring is next.
[39:56] And then Heidi Henry. And our last one
[39:59] is Katie Quigley.
[40:06] » We got to go back.
[40:10] » Yes. Bradley Swanson here. Just first
[40:13] and foremost, I want to say I'm all for
[40:14] the the development of the economic
[40:17] community. I think it's a great thing
[40:19] for the city of Marcel. Uh I just have a
[40:22] couple of questions, I guess. Uh
[40:25] Constellation said that they're keeping
[40:28] 175 acres, I think you guys said, for
[40:31] their own use. And I know you don't have
[40:35] customers or businesses coming in for
[40:37] the other use.
[40:38] What what are your plans for the 175
[40:42] acres?
[40:44] That's one question. I know you're not
[40:45] answering them now, but uh and then the
[40:49] other question is, so when other
[40:54] businesses come in or corporations come
[40:57] in, are you going to guarantee
[41:00] uh citizens from our sales like a
[41:03] certain percentage of jobs to be held
[41:06] there? There's a lot of intelligent
[41:09] people in Marcel's. A lot of them are in
[41:11] the crowd right here. Uh, and I would
[41:14] love to uh know if you have like certain
[41:17] information on that.
[41:19] I personally have applied for a
[41:20] consolation twice and I haven't heard
[41:23] anything. Nothing. You know, go pound
[41:26] sand, you know, uh, we might be
[41:29] interested. Nothing. I have 27 years of
[41:33] emerging technology experience and still
[41:36] nothing. So, I would love to to hear
[41:39] those answers. Thank you.
[41:43] » Thank you, Brad. Jonathan.
[41:48] » Uh, good evening, Jonathan Daring. Uh, I
[41:51] am the base operations manager for the
[41:53] Marcel's Training Center. Uh, we butt up
[41:55] against the west end of this annexation.
[41:58] Uh some years ago when Constellation
[42:01] uh took over the plant uh we had a longl
[42:05] lasting lease agreement on the east end
[42:07] southeast end of our installation with
[42:09] Constellation or excuse me Exelon. Um
[42:13] when Constellation took over uh they
[42:15] said that they were going to be looking
[42:16] to do development and that they weren't
[42:18] interested in continuing that lease
[42:20] agreement. Uh these lands are
[42:24] well apart from where the annexation
[42:26] area is. If this new land is annexed, is
[42:30] Constellation willing to look back at
[42:32] that lease agreement?
[42:36] » That's it. Thank you.
[42:37] » Thank you, Brad.
[42:39] Heidi.
[42:45] » Hi, Heidi. Henry, uh, HNRY.
[42:49] Um, my question is, we're all so excited
[42:52] for opportunity to come to Marcel. We've
[42:55] needed it for so very long in the 35
[42:57] years I've lived here in that area where
[43:02] um you're planning to develop.
[43:06] When I was a child, I used to go duck
[43:07] hunting with there with my dad. So, I'm
[43:10] very familiar with the wetlands that are
[43:13] out there because of the excellent duck
[43:16] and goose hunting out there.
[43:18] My question for the city is because
[43:23] there's no customer yet, have you
[43:25] secured
[43:27] from constellation
[43:29] a commitment to protect the air, water,
[43:33] land, and noise pollution that's going
[43:36] to come from these businesses? For those
[43:38] of us that live rural and have farms,
[43:42] now mine's on the other side of the
[43:43] river. It's really important to know
[43:46] that our way of life will be protected
[43:48] while bringing this beneficial
[43:50] opportunity to our community. That is my
[43:54] question. Thank you.
[44:03] » Kate.
[44:05] » Hello. My name is Katewigley. K A T U G
[44:10] L E Y. I've lived outside of Marcales
[44:13] now for about eight years and um my
[44:17] husband works frequently within the
[44:19] nuclear plant type settings and other
[44:21] plants. I would say my question pertains
[44:24] more to the environmental aspects as
[44:26] well. Looking at the LAR and the
[44:28] watershed aspects and having the lock
[44:32] and dam right there already the water's
[44:34] low. We're already in a drought year
[44:36] two.
[44:38] Imagining if a data center were to go
[44:40] there. That's a significant amount of
[44:43] heat water right next to you know a
[44:47] plant that already puts out a lot of
[44:48] heat uses a lot of water even though it
[44:50] is a more con uh space within their
[44:55] system uh con what's the word I want
[44:57] contained within that system um the what
[45:01] are the environmental studies that have
[45:03] been done have we done environmental
[45:05] studies there for realizing if we do
[45:07] develop this land that that is going to
[45:10] be taken way if for the wetlands are
[45:13] there prairies there are there remnant
[45:14] prairies I'm not sure I haven't explored
[45:16] that chunk of land yet the if there are
[45:19] remnant prairies and wetlands those need
[45:21] to stay where we've taken away so much
[45:24] already the constellation you know if
[45:27] you I feel like learning about marcel
[45:29] it' be great if you guys want to help
[45:30] out the community get rid of the huge
[45:31] asbestous building that'd be nice
[45:35] the
[45:37] you know something like that that would
[45:38] be beneficial for everybody Um, I'm
[45:41] grateful for the power that you guys
[45:42] supply that you know there's safety
[45:44] regulations in place, but you don't even
[45:46] have a customer. Why why are we going to
[45:48] annex it now if you don't even have a
[45:50] guarantee that you would be able to pay
[45:52] the city that amount of money? That
[45:54] doesn't make sense to me. Why now?
[45:56] What's the point? What is your
[46:00] farreaching plan environmentally?
[46:03] And for, you know, I'm 33. I plan on
[46:07] living here for the next 40 years.
[46:10] Why not build more small modular nuclear
[46:12] plants now that you can? Why are we
[46:13] going for a data center? Thank you.
[46:18] » Thank you, Kate. Pete, stand by a minute
[46:21] till Lesley calls up two more.
[46:24] » That was it. Unless Joe Bruno wants to
[46:26] talk. He was the last one on the sheet.
[46:28] » Okay.
[46:30] Did you register, sir?
[46:32] » No.
[46:33] » Okay. Uh,
[46:34] » Ask Joe if he wants to talk.
[46:36] » Hang on a minute. Joe, do you want to
[46:37] talk or are you gonna pass again?
[46:42] » All right, go on deck. And is Katherine
[46:44] here? Can she get the gentleman's name
[46:46] in the back?
[46:49] » Where's Katherine?
[46:51] » Okay, wait a minute.
[46:54] » Joe Bruno, B R U N O.
[46:57] » I don't have I think some of the
[46:58] questions have been answered. Uh I'm
[47:01] concerned you're going to approve
[47:03] constellation and they said they have
[47:06] right to anything future.
[47:08] Uh is a city going to be held for it?
[47:11] You're going to provide water and sewer.
[47:13] Uh when they put something in there, how
[47:16] much commitment will a city have on
[47:18] that? And also I'm asking same as the
[47:22] other question. I'm concerned about the
[47:24] well. You know, I get I get my water
[47:27] right down the road. And uh I know it's
[47:30] an opportunity, but if here they are
[47:34] going to plan, they spent how much
[47:36] million how many dollars? Couple
[47:39] dollars, I guess. Uh to to do something
[47:42] that they don't know what they're going
[47:44] to do.
[47:46] And there's been a lot of secret here. A
[47:48] lot of time, you know, nobody can talk
[47:51] about this, you can't talk about this,
[47:52] you can't talk about that. And what is I
[47:56] mean I think there's probably been some
[47:58] negotiations. Now the city is going to
[48:01] provide water and sewer. If something
[48:03] else goes in there, they have the right
[48:04] to put whatever they want in or is it is
[48:07] it going to have to come back to the
[48:08] city
[48:10] » Before they develop anything. So that's
[48:12] all I have. Thank you.
[48:14] » Thank you, Joe. Okay, Pete, your turn
[48:16] now.
[48:19] » After Pete, it will be full.
[48:20] » That's a hard active act to follow. Joe
[48:22] Bruno
[48:24] uh Peter Hall H L
[48:28] 73 years in Marcel's I now live in St.
[48:31] Clair County uh in Illinois Belleville.
[48:36] Uh my family moved here. I'm the son of
[48:40] Ivan Hall.
[48:42] My dad was principal Marcel's High
[48:44] School from 1952 to 1967.
[48:48] My dad was uh assistant superintendent
[48:51] of schools of Lasowl County from 1967 to
[48:55] 1982. Yeah. He created IVCC.
[48:59] Um
[49:01] and I I lived I lived in Ottawa from 71
[49:06] to 77. My brother Don Lee Hall
[49:10] uh left the Rock Island Railroad, which
[49:12] he was ahead of uh in 1977.
[49:17] He worked out there. He was a head of
[49:20] the labors at Morrison that built the
[49:24] nuclear plant.
[49:26] And he is one of the people that went
[49:28] back and I think it was 1982
[49:31] that went and questioned
[49:35] the safety measures of that plant which
[49:38] they went ahead and upgraded the safety
[49:41] measures of that plant. Soon after that,
[49:44] Three-Mile Island happened
[49:48] and we all know the F effect F effect F
[49:50] effect F effect F effect F effect F
[49:50] effect F effect F effect F effect F
[49:50] effect FX of that.
[49:53] Uh, I moved to Marcel
[49:56] in 1977
[49:58] and I built a house there because
[50:02] Commonwealth Edison under Illinois power
[50:06] and we were under Illinois power said,
[50:09] "Oh, let's put a heat pump in because
[50:13] we're going to take the meters off after
[50:15] 5 years and all the power will be free."
[50:19] Of course, we all know what happened the
[50:22] expense here. And they mentioned 1952.
[50:26] 1952 when Marcel's went in went unit
[50:30] district. It got our family up here
[50:34] because Marcel's was the lowest tax
[50:38] school system in 19 in the early 50s in
[50:41] the state of Illinois because it was
[50:44] just took that Marcel's res
[50:48] uh certainted and Nabiscoco and
[50:52] everything.
[50:53] Uh, in 1967,
[50:57] I remember before I was drafted,
[51:00] we had the president of the Cynica
[51:03] School Board
[51:05] wanting to come up and join with
[51:08] Marcel's through their school system.
[51:13] But then later, KMED came and changed
[51:17] everything
[51:19] through our educational programs and
[51:22] everything on our tax base.
[51:25] Uh, I'm I'm really kind of questioning
[51:29] because uh I have relatives right here
[51:33] in this hat
[51:36] out in Massachusetts right now
[51:40] that questions
[51:43] why
[51:45] are we getting
[51:48] so much from our fossil fuels? People
[51:51] don't I I have I have relatives that are
[51:53] scientists.
[51:55] Whether you know it or not, we're taking
[51:57] too much fossil energy out of the
[52:01] northern hemisphere.
[52:04] That's where the melting. But always
[52:08] remember, this is why I think we're kind
[52:11] of going a little bit solar,
[52:14] a little bit energy,
[52:17] but also
[52:19] also I know what comed's doing out
[52:22] there, too.
[52:24] You're going to do more of the
[52:26] geothermal.
[52:30] That's kind of a fine line in this on
[52:33] the world energy.
[52:35] And I hope we do it right. And I really
[52:40] hope
[52:42] this you listen to all the scientists.
[52:46] You listen to all the science because
[52:48] what I'm afraid of right now is greed is
[52:51] taking control
[52:55] of our world.
[52:57] We have to start respecting our human
[53:00] rights and our human response. And thank
[53:04] you. And uh I hope and God bless
[53:08] KMAD and consiliation and everything
[53:11] too. I really in favor of that. But I it
[53:14] it it's really we're we're all in this
[53:17] together.
[53:19] We're all in this thing together we have
[53:21] now. And thank you.
[53:24] » Thank you Pete.
[53:28] » Floyd Jones and then Bob Hogy.
[53:36] Good afternoon. Uh Floyd Jones, F L O Y
[53:39] D J O N S.
[53:42] Good afternoon everyone. Uh my name is
[53:44] Floyd Jones. Uh been a proud member of
[53:47] IBW Local 176, an electrician for 32
[53:51] years. In the past five years, I've had
[53:53] the honor of serving as president of
[53:55] Illinois Valley building trades.
[53:58] I've spent my career working alongside
[54:00] men and women who build the backbone of
[54:01] this region, the roads, schools, plants,
[54:04] power facilities that keep this
[54:05] community running. This afternoon, I
[54:08] wanted to talk about an opportunity, the
[54:10] pro proposed annexation of 715 acres of
[54:14] land to the constellation energy and why
[54:17] it's a step forward, not just from
[54:19] ourselves, but our entire area.
[54:22] Let's start with what this means for
[54:24] working families. This development
[54:26] annexation brings real jobs. Hundreds of
[54:28] good paying construction jobs that will
[54:30] directly employ skilled local tradesmen
[54:33] and women, electricians, pipe fitters,
[54:36] iron workers, operators, laborers, sheet
[54:39] metal workers, you name it.
[54:42] These aren't temporary out of town
[54:44] crews. These are our neighbors, our
[54:46] brothers, our sisters, people who live
[54:48] here, buy groceries here, and send their
[54:50] kids to school here. And beyond
[54:52] construction
[54:54] for the future development,
[54:55] Constellation's investment means a
[54:57] long-term operations, jobs, stable,
[54:59] high-quality employment that will keep
[55:01] people working for decades.
[55:04] That kind of stability keeps young
[55:05] people in our communities, and supports
[55:07] small businesses up and down Main
[55:09] Street. Economically, the benefits
[55:11] ripple even further. The influx of
[55:14] workers will mean more businesses, more
[55:16] business for local restaurants, hotels,
[55:18] gas stations, and suppliers.
[55:21] Every paycheck spent here multiplies
[55:22] through our local economy. And let's not
[55:25] forget one of the most important
[55:26] impacts, tax revenue.
[55:30] Annexing this land and bringing this
[55:32] development to Mars sales means millions
[55:34] of new dollars flowing into local
[55:35] coffers, supporting schools, emergency
[55:38] services, and infrastructure. That's
[55:41] more funding for teachers,
[55:44] better resources for students, and
[55:46] stronger city services without raising
[55:48] taxes on the current residents.
[55:53] This is the kind of project and with
[55:55] this annexation, it builds a community's
[55:57] future. It keeps our trade strong,
[56:00] supports our schools, and ensures
[56:02] Marcel's remains a place where families
[56:04] want to live, work, and raise our kids.
[56:07] I've seen now I've seen a lot of
[56:09] projects come and go in my three decades
[56:10] in the trades and I can tell you
[56:12] opportunities like this don't come
[56:14] around often. This annexation is a
[56:16] chance for Marcelos to grow smartly,
[56:18] responsibly and in partnership with a
[56:21] company that's proven its commitment to
[56:22] energy safety and local workforce.
[56:26] So, I'm asking you this afternoon as
[56:28] someone who spent a lifetime wiring and
[56:30] building this community from the ground
[56:32] up to look at this annexation not as a
[56:34] risk but as an investment.
[56:37] An investment in our people, our
[56:39] economy, and our future. Thank you.
[56:44] » Thank you, Floyd
[56:46] Bob.
[56:55] All right. Uh, Bob Hoggy, H A U G- E.
[57:00] Sorry about that. Uh, most you guys know
[57:02] me here. I've been a resident since
[57:04] 1989.
[57:05] Uh, seen a lot of things happen in our
[57:07] little town in those years I've been
[57:08] here. For too many years, Marcel has
[57:10] been behind the times when it comes to
[57:11] prosperity, innovation, and progressive
[57:14] thinking. The industry that once
[57:16] supported the majority of our families
[57:17] and our community has been sitting empty
[57:19] for over two decades. There have been a
[57:22] few interested parties that have
[57:23] considered investing in the now
[57:24] abandoned Nabiscoco building and the sad
[57:27] truth is competent investors have never
[57:30] been willing to invest their own money
[57:31] into our fledging community. Then we
[57:34] have Glenbury Blick brick that closed in
[57:36] 2023. We lost about 40 local jobs there.
[57:39] Just recently this building here
[57:40] Illinois Valley Cellar we lost a couple
[57:42] years ago
[57:44] 50 people without jobs. So we've lost
[57:46] our share in this little town. The land
[57:48] that we're discussing this evening,
[57:49] which was annexed into this city over 25
[57:51] years ago, was supposed to be our
[57:53] heritage harbor like Ottawa. Our big
[57:55] housing boom. As we all know, that dream
[57:57] never came to fruition. With hope for
[58:00] growth that never happened, we watched
[58:02] as other communities expand their school
[58:03] systems while we closed ours. Other
[58:06] small towns had population growth. With
[58:08] Marcel has struggled to do that, our
[58:10] population actually has gone down. As we
[58:12] sit here debating whether or not this is
[58:14] the right fit for our community, the
[58:15] fact remains the land has been purchased
[58:18] and shovels will be in the ground at
[58:19] some point and that's a fact that's not
[58:21] going to go away. Do we just wait for
[58:24] something else and be passed over once
[58:26] again? While the likes of Senica High
[58:28] School, no offense, Brookfield Township
[58:30] and Lasel County reap the benefits of a
[58:32] project like this. I for one am not
[58:35] willing to just sit back and watch our
[58:36] sales pass opportunity any longer. With
[58:39] this agreement, we'll see an influx of
[58:41] revenue that's going to assist with the
[58:42] completion of several projects for our
[58:44] small town, such as lead water line
[58:46] replacement, maybe sanitary sewer uh
[58:49] system improvements along with street
[58:50] improvements, projects that are just too
[58:52] numerous too numerous to list. There's a
[58:53] lot of stuff that we can use that money
[58:54] for. We can also improve that in
[58:57] infrastructure south of the river that's
[58:58] been a problem for all these years. I've
[59:01] asked around people at city hall here
[59:02] what the hurdles are uh that we had to
[59:04] overcome while operating the facilities
[59:05] out there south of the river. Since year
[59:08] 2000, fund 52-10, which serves the
[59:11] wastewater system south of the river, is
[59:13] over $350,000 in debt.
[59:17] This is not due to extravagant spending,
[59:18] but rather a lack of sustained revenue
[59:21] over the last 20 plus years.
[59:23] Additionally, the South Water Tower has
[59:25] issues with freezing during the harsh
[59:26] winter months because there's lack of
[59:28] usage that keeps the water flowing.
[59:32] Maybe a commercial development will be
[59:34] just what we need to not only offset the
[59:36] years of operating in the red, but also
[59:38] provide us with enough demand to
[59:40] properly operate that water tower
[59:41] throughout the year. There's other
[59:44] issues consider such as a lack of
[59:45] revenue to maintain those roads out
[59:46] there, the bridges, lift stations, the
[59:48] wastewater wastewater facility, all the
[59:50] stuff out there that's been kind of let
[59:52] go because it hasn't been affordable to
[59:54] take care of it. Whether commercial
[59:56] development on this property creates 50
[59:58] jobs or 400 jobs, it might just be the
[1:00:00] boost our local economy needs to become
[1:00:03] a thriving community. Tonight's our
[1:00:05] opportunity, our opportunity to
[1:00:06] capitalize on opportunities that we've
[1:00:08] lost over the past 25 years. So, I ask
[1:00:11] all of you these two questions. Why not
[1:00:13] Marcel? And why not now? Thanks.
[1:00:18] » Thank you, Bob.
[1:00:23] » Yes. I have like three more thoughts
[1:00:26] that are
[1:00:29] » Okay
[1:00:34] for me,
[1:00:37] » Which is hilarious if you know me. Um,
[1:00:40] thank you. I appreciate it. A couple of
[1:00:42] thoughts that
[1:00:43] » Oh, sorry, Kate Quigley. Quig. Okay. Um,
[1:00:48] thank you for letting me speak again
[1:00:49] really quick. I've noticed as some of
[1:00:52] the um
[1:00:55] have lived here longer, people that have
[1:00:57] spoken a bit about the history about how
[1:00:58] this town has been constructed and
[1:01:00] things like that. When they're talking
[1:01:02] about construction, that's nice. Guess
[1:01:04] what? That goes away real quick. I
[1:01:06] watched the construction of, you know,
[1:01:07] massive semi-building storage places.
[1:01:10] They're hideous. If this potential,
[1:01:12] let's just go with it. There's probably
[1:01:14] going to be a data center. That's what
[1:01:15] all the towns are building. Um why does
[1:01:17] every town need it? If those
[1:01:20] construction jobs, that's great. You
[1:01:21] have 40 people working for two years,
[1:01:24] three years maybe, then that goes away.
[1:01:26] Data centers usually hire on staff about
[1:01:30] at most 20 people if that for a, you
[1:01:34] know, 300 acre
[1:01:38] building. There's no point to that. the,
[1:01:40] you know, benefits of looking 5, 10, 15
[1:01:44] years down the road.
[1:01:47] We don't have a customer. It's beautiful
[1:01:50] land there. Yes, it should be utilized.
[1:01:52] Yes. But again, why annex it now? So,
[1:01:57] buildings start going up. Okay. What's
[1:02:00] the plan for that? Did you do the due
[1:02:04] process behind it? And I agree with I
[1:02:06] don't remember her name, but one of the
[1:02:07] first ladies to speak. Can once it's
[1:02:10] done or once the project is considered,
[1:02:13] do the people of the town get a vote or
[1:02:15] is it just our city council?
[1:02:18] And I don't understand or honestly pay
[1:02:21] attention to all the fancy little
[1:02:23] ordinance bits and how that works. And
[1:02:27] I'm out in the country, so it's not as
[1:02:30] bad. But it does cause concern when I
[1:02:33] see this many people of our town worried
[1:02:35] about this annexation. Is it beneficial?
[1:02:37] Is it harmful?
[1:02:40] And I look out there and I don't see
[1:02:42] very many people my age.
[1:02:45] It's a concern.
[1:02:47] Where's the young people that this is
[1:02:48] going to affect longer? Thank you.
[1:02:51] » Thank you, Kate.
[1:02:57] » Is there anybody else that would like to
[1:03:00] speak and hasn't had a number?
[1:03:01] » Bob Davis, come on out.
[1:03:05] » There he goes. There he goes. Good kid.
[1:03:16] My name is Bob Davis
[1:03:19] and I'm in the middle of seven
[1:03:21] generations that have lived in this town
[1:03:25] and I've had some experience
[1:03:28] with the finances
[1:03:31] and during that period of time we've had
[1:03:33] industries come and look and they always
[1:03:36] wanted a lot from the city
[1:03:39] to come in and take advantage of what we
[1:03:43] had to offer.
[1:03:45] And um
[1:03:48] to paraphrase Shakespeare,
[1:03:52] there's a tide that comes along in the
[1:03:56] history of individuals when taking at
[1:03:58] the flood
[1:04:01] leads to prosperity.
[1:04:03] When not taken
[1:04:06] in the end leads to despair and other
[1:04:08] things. And this is the first company
[1:04:11] that I'm familiar with that has come in
[1:04:15] and has been willing to invest a lot of
[1:04:18] money
[1:04:20] without asking a lot from the city.
[1:04:23] They have not asked for cities to
[1:04:26] increase their infrastructure
[1:04:29] and if there is things that has to be
[1:04:31] done they have made commitments to take
[1:04:34] care of that increase.
[1:04:37] and they talk about um that they do not
[1:04:41] yet have
[1:04:43] uh what they want to build,
[1:04:46] but I will tell you, and I don't know
[1:04:48] this for a fact, I'm just guessing, they
[1:04:51] are not willing to commit $10 million to
[1:04:53] this project without
[1:04:56] being in the process of probably
[1:04:59] finalizing who they want to bring in.
[1:05:03] I'll tell you also that if this passes,
[1:05:08] whatever they do decide to bring in has
[1:05:10] to come again before the city for the
[1:05:13] city to approve. So they are not given
[1:05:16] cart blanch by just the city asking them
[1:05:21] or they're asking the city to be part
[1:05:25] of their annexation into the city. The
[1:05:29] city has probably already spent some
[1:05:31] money.
[1:05:32] You don't have your people, lawyers and
[1:05:35] other people looking over these
[1:05:37] projects, this final project without
[1:05:39] paying. But what they have asked in the
[1:05:41] city is extremely minimal.
[1:05:44] I believe the last uh amount of revenue
[1:05:49] that the city tax for was 17.5
[1:05:53] million something like that. And what
[1:05:55] they're promising to bring in is about
[1:05:59] 17%
[1:06:01] of the budget.
[1:06:03] And city financing
[1:06:06] really is not all that complex when you
[1:06:10] look at it very simply.
[1:06:13] You tax to hopefully at least stay where
[1:06:17] you're at without increasing the tax
[1:06:20] rate. If as citizens you want lower
[1:06:23] taxes, there's two ways the city can do
[1:06:25] it.
[1:06:26] But the chief way is that you have to
[1:06:29] reduce your spending. You have to make
[1:06:32] cuts. You're not going to get tax relief
[1:06:36] and keep the same standards that you
[1:06:38] have right now because everything that
[1:06:40] the city doesn't control goes up.
[1:06:44] So, an influx of
[1:06:48] $10 million,
[1:06:50] which if my understanding is if they
[1:06:52] don't get any industry to come in there,
[1:06:54] they're still committed to this as a
[1:06:57] result of annexation.
[1:07:00] So, it seems to me, and it's saying very
[1:07:02] simply, that a yes vote is your voting
[1:07:06] for progress and the possibility of
[1:07:10] fewer taxes or at least no more new
[1:07:14] taxes to sustain what you have now. If
[1:07:17] you vote no, you're voting for
[1:07:18] stagnation and deterioration of things
[1:07:22] which we have seen over the years.
[1:07:25] So
[1:07:27] I would request for the
[1:07:31] committee who is considering this on the
[1:07:33] basis of what I know about it which
[1:07:35] there are things that I don't know
[1:07:36] because I have not been privy to it but
[1:07:39] from what I have seen. A yes vote is for
[1:07:42] progress and a no vote is for
[1:07:44] stagnation.
[1:07:45] That's as simple as I could make it.
[1:07:47] Thank you for your time.
[1:07:49] » Thank you Bob.
[1:07:53] Nick Manuso.
[1:08:03] » Hello. Um, my name is Nick Muso. I live
[1:08:05] at 707 Forest Drive. Um, I apologize.
[1:08:09] » Nick, could you please spell your name
[1:08:10] for the court reporter, please? Your
[1:08:12] last name.
[1:08:12] » Yes. M anc Uso.
[1:08:16] Um, I apologize for coming in late. I
[1:08:18] You probably already answered this
[1:08:20] question.
[1:08:21] um
[1:08:24] by annexing this property into this into
[1:08:26] the city that allows us to put uh
[1:08:30] covenants on this property. Uh what type
[1:08:33] of covenants are going to be placed to
[1:08:35] protect the environment and the uh
[1:08:38] people living around this uh area. Uh
[1:08:42] there's been a lot of concerns for
[1:08:43] noise, lighting,
[1:08:46] um water usage.
[1:08:49] Uh a lot of the barge traffic is
[1:08:52] currently stopped because of low
[1:08:55] uh water levels. How much water is that
[1:08:59] going to uh is it going to use? How is
[1:09:02] it going to affect our wells? Um most of
[1:09:05] the of the areas south of in that area
[1:09:08] are all on wells. And so there's those
[1:09:12] are a few of the questions I wanted
[1:09:13] answered.
[1:09:15] » Okay, Nick, thank you. Constellation is
[1:09:18] making note of the questions and they're
[1:09:19] going to answer them all at the end.
[1:09:22] » Is there anybody else that would like to
[1:09:24] talk that doesn't have a chance?
[1:09:39] Thank you for this opportunity. Uh I'm
[1:09:41] Truman Mcjorge, MCG O G. I'm the
[1:09:47] chairman of the Illinois River Area
[1:09:49] Chamber of Commerce.
[1:09:51] Uh the mission of the chamber of
[1:09:53] commerce are to uh work with businesses
[1:09:57] to uh enhance uh the the time and uh and
[1:10:04] you know work together. I'm not very
[1:10:06] good at this. Bear with me. Uh
[1:10:12] I've been here uh since I was 5 years
[1:10:14] old. Uh originally a Senica now
[1:10:18] Marcelos.
[1:10:20] Uh, I remember Marcel hasn't changed a
[1:10:23] whole lot, you know, since I I was
[1:10:25] young. Uh, and there was another little
[1:10:29] town that, uh, was almost nothing. It
[1:10:34] was a basically a suburb of Lasal,
[1:10:37] and that's Peru. They have, uh,
[1:10:40] warehouses, businesses all around the
[1:10:43] outer edge of their town. And, uh, look
[1:10:47] what uh, Peru is now. No one would ever
[1:10:50] thought that.
[1:10:52] Um
[1:10:54] uh just another little thing about
[1:10:57] working together. Uh I remember the old
[1:11:01] Ottawa. I think you all do. And now you
[1:11:04] know what it is now. Uh some years ago,
[1:11:07] probably I'd say 10 years, maybe a
[1:11:09] little more. uh some citizens,
[1:11:12] businesses and uh the the uh city hall
[1:11:18] work together to improve that town. They
[1:11:20] work together and now look what it is.
[1:11:23] Uh Streeter has taken up the mantle to
[1:11:25] follow in the uh footsteps of Ottawa.
[1:11:28] Got a beautiful park, murals and so
[1:11:30] forth. Everybody working together. Uh
[1:11:33] there there's I think there's going to
[1:11:36] be uh some few problems and there always
[1:11:41] are and hopefully they could be worked
[1:11:43] out if everybody works together. I think
[1:11:45] things can be worked out down the road.
[1:11:48] Uh if you look ahead
[1:11:52] and uh realize uh what's happening
[1:11:56] uh at Holderman Hill
[1:11:59] there is uh a route 80 swings down that
[1:12:03] way and there you have
[1:12:07] uh the river
[1:12:10] for uh commerce. You have the railroad
[1:12:13] and you have an interstate
[1:12:16] all within two miles
[1:12:18] that carries on to the other side of
[1:12:21] Lasel Peru where the down there
[1:12:25] somewhere. I think it's uh the ri the
[1:12:28] Illinois River cuts sharp south and goes
[1:12:31] south. You got this narrow area with
[1:12:35] these three things for transportation
[1:12:38] plus you have a nuclear plant.
[1:12:40] It's just common sense this isn't going
[1:12:42] to happen. So I think we should uh work
[1:12:45] together make the best fit.
[1:12:52] » Thank you Truman.
[1:12:56] Is that everybody?
[1:13:00] Mike
[1:13:18] Hey there, I'm Michael Muny, muny.
[1:13:22] Uh, I'd like to start out by saying I
[1:13:23] think there's a fundamental lack of
[1:13:26] understanding how technology is going to
[1:13:27] play a future role in small towns in in
[1:13:31] the nation overall. So we're looking at
[1:13:34] things like AGI, AI development, and
[1:13:37] robotics. What do those need? Generally,
[1:13:40] computing power. Computing power needs
[1:13:42] power generation. That's what this
[1:13:44] company specializes in. They're going to
[1:13:46] get customers for it.
[1:13:49] And what that means for us is that in
[1:13:51] the future, hundreds of jobs, thousands
[1:13:54] of jobs only take a handful of people to
[1:13:57] actually complete production. What that
[1:14:00] means for us is that a majority of us
[1:14:02] are probably going to get laid off from
[1:14:03] our jobs and we're going to be banking
[1:14:05] on a lump sum of money from this deal to
[1:14:09] keep carrying us through. what starts
[1:14:12] off as millions for us right now is
[1:14:14] going to end up generating billions of
[1:14:16] dollars for this company and we're going
[1:14:19] to get the raw in the deal and we're
[1:14:21] going to see that Mars sales yet again
[1:14:24] came so close to getting something great
[1:14:27] and instead we negotiated a 40-year
[1:14:29] deal. We shouldn't negotiate for 10 or
[1:14:32] 15 years
[1:14:35] and we'll just it'll all pass us by yet
[1:14:37] again because this is the development
[1:14:40] for this technology. Seven to 15 years
[1:14:42] and instead they're going to log us in
[1:14:44] for 40. So we're going to get this great
[1:14:46] deal for the first five years and oh
[1:14:48] crap what happens?
[1:14:51] They're generating hundreds of billions
[1:14:52] of dollars off ofund and some acres and
[1:14:56] we're getting $10 million out of the
[1:14:57] whole thing. And if you're lucky,
[1:15:00] there's not going to be environmental
[1:15:01] damage, which there most likely will be,
[1:15:04] too. So, it's something to think about.
[1:15:06] I'm yes for progress, but I'm no for
[1:15:09] getting a raw deal at the end of this
[1:15:11] thing. We should consider our families
[1:15:13] when
[1:15:14] city council votes on that. Thank you.
[1:15:17] » Thank you, Mike.
[1:15:22] If there's nobody else that wishes to
[1:15:25] speak, I'm going to turn it back over to
[1:15:27] Constellation to answer the questions
[1:15:29] that have been posed here this evening.
[1:15:35] » Could we take a fiveminute recess so we
[1:15:37] can compile the questions and
[1:15:39] » Absolutely. Let's take Well, let's do
[1:15:41] Yeah, let's do at least a fivem minute
[1:15:42] recess. anybody needs to use the
[1:15:44] restrooms. There's some right through
[1:15:46] that door there and there's some through
[1:15:49] that door there and to the right through
[1:15:51] the community room.
[1:15:59] » All right, following a very short
[1:16:01] recess, we're going to go back on the
[1:16:02] record and conclude uh continue with a
[1:16:04] public hearing.
[1:16:09] Uh, next up, we'll have Constellation uh
[1:16:13] uh respond to the questions that were
[1:16:15] answered during the public meeting.
[1:16:19] » Well, thank you um Mayor Holland Beck
[1:16:22] and members of the commission and
[1:16:23] public. I really appreciate this
[1:16:24] opportunity um for us to come and uh
[1:16:27] present tonight to you. Uh to the best
[1:16:29] of my ability, I'm going to try to
[1:16:30] answer a couple questions and then turn
[1:16:32] it over to Greg uh for a little bit of
[1:16:34] followup. Uh, first Greg informed me
[1:16:36] that my dyslexia kicked in about the
[1:16:39] question about 175 acres being held
[1:16:41] back. The total is 715 acres
[1:16:44] approximately and so I apologize if that
[1:16:46] was a mistake. Um, and then second and
[1:16:49] we had a question from the city of
[1:16:51] Synica and National Guard. Uh, we want
[1:16:54] to continue to have robust conversation
[1:16:55] with you guys and keep you guys
[1:16:57] informed. Um, with that I'll turn it
[1:16:59] over to Gregory.
[1:17:02] » Yeah, thank you. So, I'm going to answer
[1:17:05] um a series or questions or touch on a
[1:17:07] series of topics that were made in
[1:17:09] approximately the order that they were
[1:17:11] uh made by speakers during tonight's uh
[1:17:14] testimony. And once I conclude my
[1:17:16] comments, then we would turn back to the
[1:17:18] mayor's chair of the meeting to continue
[1:17:20] the public hearing. First, there was a a
[1:17:22] comment about the Freedom of Information
[1:17:24] Act provisions in the annexation
[1:17:26] agreement. Um it is true that the
[1:17:29] annexation agreement includes such a
[1:17:31] provision and as the speaker indicated
[1:17:33] given the confidential and highly
[1:17:35] sensitive nature of plans for
[1:17:36] development of emerging technology uses
[1:17:39] which may include things like security
[1:17:41] plans and proprietary materials. The
[1:17:43] city and constellation have agreed to
[1:17:45] coordinate and jointly review and work
[1:17:46] on these responses in order to ensure
[1:17:49] that the safety and security of the
[1:17:51] facilities is not put at risk.
[1:17:54] Next, um Ryan addressed the matter of
[1:17:56] 175 versus 751 acres. Thank you. Um
[1:17:59] there's a question about um jobs in jobs
[1:18:03] for uh residents. Um
[1:18:06] within the development without a
[1:18:08] customer, Constellation cannot speculate
[1:18:10] on hiring, but any new facility would
[1:18:12] likely require hundreds of temporary
[1:18:14] construction jobs. The number of
[1:18:16] permanent operational jobs once the
[1:18:17] project is complete would depend on the
[1:18:19] specific project and customer. There
[1:18:22] were several comments about uh potential
[1:18:24] impacts on other properties. Um
[1:18:28] any development that is undertaken on
[1:18:31] this property must comply with all
[1:18:33] applicable city, state, and federal
[1:18:35] regulations. In addition, due to the
[1:18:37] size of the property, there is room for
[1:18:39] buffers and other methods to minimize
[1:18:42] impacts if necessary.
[1:18:46] With regard to uh questions about the
[1:18:48] the water system and water usage, as I
[1:18:51] noted during my introductory comments
[1:18:53] under the annexation agreement, if any
[1:18:55] extensions of the water system are
[1:18:57] necessary to serve the development, uh
[1:18:59] those extensions will be funded by
[1:19:02] constellation. With respect to water
[1:19:04] usage, because there is no customer,
[1:19:06] constellation cannot forecast what the
[1:19:08] water demand will be. But all
[1:19:10] development, as I just indicated, must
[1:19:12] comply with all um city, state, and
[1:19:15] federal permitting requirements relating
[1:19:17] to uh water usage.
[1:19:20] A speaker mentioned the $10 million
[1:19:22] payment and asked if to conf appeared to
[1:19:26] ask for confirmation um and and I can
[1:19:29] confirm as noted in my comments earlier
[1:19:32] that the $10 million worth of payments
[1:19:34] by constellation will be made even if no
[1:19:36] development occurs on the property.
[1:19:40] Finally, as to the question of why now,
[1:19:43] um
[1:19:45] this constellation is bringing this uh
[1:19:48] has has brought this matter forward with
[1:19:49] the city. Um and the terms of the
[1:19:52] agreement, including the incentives are
[1:19:54] needed due to competitions with other
[1:19:56] cities and states for customers in the
[1:19:58] emerging technology space. Um, this
[1:20:02] agreement sets forth the rules of the
[1:20:03] road and provides certainty to
[1:20:05] Constellation and customers so that
[1:20:08] development can commence. Mayor, with
[1:20:10] that I turn back to you.
[1:20:19] Is that everything?
[1:20:21] » Okay. Thank you.
[1:20:23] Uh,
[1:20:25] we'll now move along to uh the next item
[1:20:29] on the agenda. I'll ask the clerk to
[1:20:31] read uh number one.
[1:20:33] » We need
[1:20:34] » Okay, hold it.
[1:20:35] » I'm sorry, mayor. We need to make a
[1:20:37] motion to go ahead and close the meeting
[1:20:38] hearing.
[1:20:39] » Uh I'll entertain a motion to uh close
[1:20:42] the public hearing.
[1:20:43] » I'll second it.
[1:20:44] » Could I just add it approximately 5:41
[1:20:46] so the time is reflected.
[1:20:48] » Okay. Thank you. Uh we got a motion. We
[1:20:52] got a second.
[1:20:53] » I second it.
[1:20:54] » Oh, who made the motion?
[1:20:56] » Oh, I'll make the motion. All right.
[1:20:58] I'll make the motion. I'll second it.
[1:21:00] » Okay. Motion made by Kaminsky, seconded
[1:21:02] by Buckingham. Clerk will read the role.
[1:21:07] » Commissioner Kaminsky.
[1:21:08] » I
[1:21:09] » Small I.
[1:21:11] » Sh.
[1:21:11] » No.
[1:21:12] » Buckingham.
[1:21:13] » Hi.
[1:21:14] » Mayor Holland.
[1:21:15] » Hi.
[1:21:16] » Jim Light up their mics.
[1:21:20] » Yes. Everybody's excited. Uh we're going
[1:21:22] to ask our clerk to go ahead and read
[1:21:23] the motion. Okay. Moved by Commissioner
[1:21:25] Kaminsky that resolution 2025-9,
[1:21:29] a resolution authorizing the execution
[1:21:32] of an annexation agreement with
[1:21:34] Constellation Energy Generation LLC and
[1:21:38] Everett Creek Land Company LLC be
[1:21:40] adopted.
[1:21:41] » Okay. Do I have a second?
[1:21:43] » I will second that.
[1:21:44] » Okay. Now, we'll open it up for
[1:21:46] discussion and
[1:21:48] I'm going to start. Um,
[1:21:52] I'm really kind of excited for this
[1:21:53] development.
[1:21:55] Uh,
[1:21:58] I think this is very important for
[1:21:59] Marcel. I think it's a once in
[1:22:01] a-lifetime opportunity for Marcel. I'm
[1:22:05] excited to work in partnership with
[1:22:08] Constellation.
[1:22:10] Uh,
[1:22:13] I keep an open mind when somebody comes
[1:22:15] and talks to me about something and this
[1:22:17] was no different. You know, I had
[1:22:19] reservations and questions at first, but
[1:22:22] uh we met with them, we did different
[1:22:24] things and we got educated and so I am
[1:22:28] now excited about it. So, uh
[1:22:31] Commissioner Small or Kmenky,
[1:22:35] » Uh first of all, like to say thank you,
[1:22:37] consolation. Uh I look forward to this
[1:22:39] partnership and I'm very happy that uh
[1:22:41] we have some huge development hopefully
[1:22:43] coming soon to the city of Marcels and
[1:22:45] the residents. Thank you, Mayor.
[1:22:47] Commissioner Small.
[1:22:49] » Um I would like to thank everybody for
[1:22:50] joining us this evening and speaking um
[1:22:54] about their opinions pertaining to this
[1:22:56] matter. This obviously is probably one
[1:22:58] of the biggest things to happen to our
[1:23:00] community um in our time and probably
[1:23:02] for the foreseeable future. I think a
[1:23:05] lot of us stood on the platform when we
[1:23:07] were running that we are here to
[1:23:10] advocate for growth and change. Um, I
[1:23:13] still stand behind that because this is
[1:23:15] a very positive growth and change and
[1:23:18] opportunity for our city and I am
[1:23:21] grateful to constellation for being um
[1:23:24] very wonderful throughout this process
[1:23:25] to uh be very open with us and answer a
[1:23:29] lot of concerns and um guide us through
[1:23:32] this process. So that's what I'd like to
[1:23:34] say. Thank you.
[1:23:37] » Thank you, Commissioner Small.
[1:23:38] Commissioner Shai.
[1:23:41] So, um,
[1:23:45] I'm a hard no on this this evening for
[1:23:47] one reason.
[1:23:49] Lifechanging decisions
[1:23:52] need more than one public meeting and an
[1:23:56] immediate vote.
[1:24:00] » This could be the best deal in the world
[1:24:04] and it would be worth looking at
[1:24:06] publicly twice.
[1:24:09] Mike, there were multiple meetings
[1:24:11] pertaining to anything that would be
[1:24:13] discussed. Would this, you know,
[1:24:15] scenario be prolonged? I believe you
[1:24:18] deliberately chosen not to attend those
[1:24:20] meetings. So to assume and to say, okay,
[1:24:23] » That wait, excuse me. To assume and say
[1:24:26] that this is just a quick, you know,
[1:24:28] flash in the pan kind of decision is
[1:24:31] absolutely absurd and not truthful in
[1:24:34] any capacity. All of us have been
[1:24:36] working handinhand with each other, with
[1:24:39] the community and with constellation for
[1:24:42] a very long time to be informed and to
[1:24:44] do our due diligence and to do our due
[1:24:47] diligence
[1:24:49] to get gain the information to provide
[1:24:51] to our community about this. And um just
[1:24:55] a heads up, I know you're not in support
[1:24:57] of it, but you were also not in support
[1:24:59] of the public meeting tonight either.
[1:25:01] Thank you. As a reminder, folks, the
[1:25:04] court clerk,
[1:25:06] I'm sorry, folks, the court reporter is
[1:25:10] only able to take down one person as I
[1:25:12] reminded you in the housekeeping uh
[1:25:14] rules at the start of this. Those rules
[1:25:16] are still in effect for this public
[1:25:17] hearing. Please refrain from any further
[1:25:20] outburst because the court clerk is not
[1:25:21] able to take down those uh comments.
[1:25:25] » Okay. I uh I regret the personal ranker
[1:25:29] that I seem to have elicited from
[1:25:32] Commissioner Small.
[1:25:35] The reason why I did not meet one-on-one
[1:25:38] with Constellation attorneys is that
[1:25:41] untruthful statements have been made
[1:25:44] by Mayor Holland,
[1:25:47] including one on 8:30 2024
[1:25:51] that said we're unaware of any plans.
[1:25:54] The only reason that we know that there
[1:25:57] was even discussion with constellation
[1:26:00] was at a meeting we had noticed that
[1:26:03] there was a bill uh a bill a legal bill.
[1:26:07] There had in point of fact been
[1:26:10] meetings
[1:26:12] that while specific plans, specific
[1:26:15] customers, what have you wouldn't have
[1:26:17] been there, it wasn't as if the city
[1:26:19] knew nothing. the city was in
[1:26:21] communication with constellation both
[1:26:24] legally and technically through our
[1:26:26] engineers and I don't think and this is
[1:26:29] not a complaint against constellation by
[1:26:30] the way um this is this is a complaint
[1:26:32] about the messaging of that date I
[1:26:35] really believe it made the residents get
[1:26:37] the impression that the city was unaware
[1:26:39] of anything going on when indeed we were
[1:26:41] altogether active of what was going on
[1:26:45] additionally commissioner Small um this
[1:26:48] city is being sued
[1:26:50] by its chief executive who is then
[1:26:52] allowed to speak on behalf of the city
[1:26:55] that creates um and due to alleged
[1:27:00] comments that were made on Facebook that
[1:27:02] I've never been given and I don't think
[1:27:04] the city's ever been given. I think that
[1:27:06] when you have a um environment of
[1:27:09] distrust that that kind of thing can
[1:27:12] create, it suggests the need for us to
[1:27:16] be publicly deliberative. Not just
[1:27:19] deliberative at one meeting, but we have
[1:27:22] a bevy of experts here. The wisdom
[1:27:26] that's in this room is extraordinary.
[1:27:29] Uh, and on both the pros and the cons
[1:27:32] side, the economic possibilities for our
[1:27:37] sales are 100% not lost on me. I have
[1:27:42] roads that I would love to have paved. I
[1:27:45] have businesses on Main Street that I
[1:27:48] would love to be packed full of
[1:27:50] customers. Uh, and obviously sales tax
[1:27:52] revenue goes through that. Schools are
[1:27:55] better funded. At the same time, a lot
[1:27:58] of us moved here from places like the
[1:28:00] city because it was affordable. I have a
[1:28:03] good faith concern that this could make
[1:28:05] things less affordable, that it was easy
[1:28:07] to get around. uh less affordable not in
[1:28:10] terms of say city taxation but obviously
[1:28:12] in terms of uh properties rents going up
[1:28:16] for people due to housing issues
[1:28:20] uh traffic increases that would lead to
[1:28:23] quality of life impacts potential
[1:28:25] environmental issues. Obviously, you
[1:28:28] have the question of brownfields. Uh,
[1:28:31] Nabiscoco was a was the main act in town
[1:28:35] and they left and they left us with a
[1:28:37] building that we have been unable to
[1:28:38] deal with. And so, again, this could be
[1:28:42] the best deal in the world. this could
[1:28:43] be the worst deal of the world or as far
[1:28:46] as I can tell there are real pluses and
[1:28:49] real minuses to any development but
[1:28:53] particularly the creation of an emerging
[1:28:57] technology zone without even a clear
[1:29:00] customer. Maybe it's going to be a data
[1:29:02] center, maybe it's going to be 20, maybe
[1:29:05] it's going to end up being five data
[1:29:06] centers, maybe it's going to be five
[1:29:08] data centers plus fuel storage. You
[1:29:10] know, there's 13 possible different
[1:29:12] categories in an emerging technology
[1:29:15] zone, emerging technologies district.
[1:29:18] And one reason that we maintain the
[1:29:20] right as local governments to have
[1:29:22] zoning is so that we can respond to
[1:29:26] conditions as they are on the ground. We
[1:29:28] have had plans that haven't gone the way
[1:29:31] that we expected them to. We're sitting
[1:29:33] in a building that's what 3.23.3
[1:29:36] million. We thought it would be a
[1:29:37] million dollars less. We have Broadway
[1:29:40] Park that has been extraordinarily more
[1:29:42] costly than we expected. The fact is is
[1:29:45] that the bestlaid plans of mice and men
[1:29:47] do sometimes go astray. And I think that
[1:29:50] if we're going to commit to a 20-year
[1:29:52] annexation deal and a 40-year tax rebate
[1:29:55] plan, and do I have those dates
[1:29:57] correctly, 20 and 40? Um, if we're going
[1:29:59] to commit to something so very
[1:30:00] long-term, I have to ask if we could
[1:30:03] have done better than $10 million in uh
[1:30:05] in upfront environmental impact fees. So
[1:30:09] ultimately, it's not that no deal can be
[1:30:11] done. It's that having only one public
[1:30:15] hearing and then not giving people the
[1:30:18] chance to go home with the information
[1:30:19] that they've heard. Again, both the
[1:30:22] advantages and the disadvantages and
[1:30:24] having an immediate vote does not strike
[1:30:26] me as the proper way to deal with
[1:30:29] something of such great importance.
[1:30:31] » Oh, thank you. I appreciate that. And um
[1:30:34] just just to make it perfectly clear, my
[1:30:38] frustration is not your voting no. That
[1:30:41] is well within your right. I respect
[1:30:43] that that is within your right. My
[1:30:45] frustration is your inability to perform
[1:30:47] your fiduciary duties. You don't like
[1:30:50] something, but you're putting your
[1:30:51] personal feelings into the process when
[1:30:56] our job is to make decisions based on
[1:30:58] the greater good, not because we were
[1:31:00] upset at something that was made. I
[1:31:01] agree that that situation was not
[1:31:03] handled well, but we're not here to
[1:31:05] discuss that. We're here to discuss that
[1:31:08] since then. So many things have
[1:31:10] happened. Since then, there have been a
[1:31:12] bevy of steps that have gone into this
[1:31:14] whole ordeal that have landed us all in
[1:31:16] this room today. Yet, you have chosen to
[1:31:19] to abstain from doing that for your
[1:31:21] personal reasons. That is completely
[1:31:23] your deal. But I'm saying it is not fair
[1:31:26] for you to say that we're sitting here
[1:31:28] making a very instantaneous spontaneous
[1:31:32] decision that we could have negotiated,
[1:31:33] we could have done this. All of those
[1:31:35] steps have been taken. You just chose
[1:31:36] not to be a a part of that process.
[1:31:39] » Is this the first public hearing? I
[1:31:41] don't I with all due respect, this is a
[1:31:44] 20 and 40 year plan.
[1:31:45] » We're not going to go back and forth all
[1:31:46] night. um that uh I
[1:31:50] » Greatly believe first of all I'm not
[1:31:53] saying it's an instantaneous
[1:31:55] » Process. I do recognize as does everyone
[1:31:59] here that there have been prior
[1:32:00] conversations.
[1:32:02] Do you recognize that the city of Marcel
[1:32:05] has not been straight with its residents
[1:32:07] on other matters?
[1:32:09] I recognize that there are definitely
[1:32:11] areas of opportunity, but I also
[1:32:14] recognize that while you can sit here
[1:32:16] every meeting and bring that up, you
[1:32:18] need to recognize you as well have
[1:32:21] inabilities to perform your functions as
[1:32:23] well. So, until we can sit here and stop
[1:32:26] pointing fingers at people, Mike, we're
[1:32:27] never going to progress and move
[1:32:28] forward. I'm not going to sit here and
[1:32:30] dwell on things from
[1:32:31] » I'm going to I'm going to stop this
[1:32:33] because it's unfortunate.
[1:32:35] Uh, every meeting, whether it's a public
[1:32:38] meeting or a city council meeting, we
[1:32:41] have to be the subject of personal
[1:32:42] attacks.
[1:32:43] » Um, I I've made zero personal attacks.
[1:32:45] You
[1:32:45] » Said you're done.
[1:32:46] » Um, no, Jim, I Jim, I with all due
[1:32:48] respect, Christina Gantlin, I have I
[1:32:50] have I have good faith questions or
[1:32:51] consolation that I would like to have
[1:32:53] answered.
[1:32:54] » Mayor,
[1:32:56] » Reminder
[1:32:57] to all folks here, again, out of
[1:33:00] courtesy to the court reporter, she can
[1:33:01] only take down one individual at a time.
[1:33:05] Commissioner Shy, you've had an
[1:33:07] opportunity to speak. Do you have any
[1:33:09] further questions for Constellation?
[1:33:12] » I do. Thank you very much, Attorney
[1:33:14] Catlin. Um, have you yet been approached
[1:33:19] by a potential customer?
[1:33:27] » Do I have a mic lit up over there? I
[1:33:29] can't see.
[1:33:31] » Somebody gonna answer his question,
[1:33:33] please.
[1:33:37] Light them up, Jim.
[1:33:39] » If you don't want to answer, that's
[1:33:40] fine, too.
[1:33:41] » Yeah. Um, we constellation it does not
[1:33:44] have a customer at this time.
[1:33:46] » Have you been approached by a potential
[1:33:48] customer?
[1:33:49] » It's the same answer.
[1:33:51] » Okay.
[1:33:52] » Okay. Um we have um is there any
[1:33:56] mechanism in this agreement to provide
[1:33:59] for the safe removal of facilities that
[1:34:02] are that are built like such that we're
[1:34:04] not in a brownfield matter 20 or 40
[1:34:07] years down the down the road.
[1:34:14] The development on the property will be
[1:34:16] governed by the codes that are set forth
[1:34:19] in the agreement, including the
[1:34:20] international codes I referenced earlier
[1:34:22] and other codes not in conflict with
[1:34:24] those that are specifically listed. So,
[1:34:27] I think um I would defer to the city's
[1:34:29] attorneys to weigh in on um the
[1:34:31] specifics to your question, but there
[1:34:33] are um those development requirements
[1:34:37] that are built into the agreement.
[1:34:40] I would add that the building codes are
[1:34:42] some of the strictest in the nation that
[1:34:43] they've uh agreed to adopt. They're even
[1:34:47] way above what we currently have in the
[1:34:49] city.
[1:34:51] » And then uh the the last question I have
[1:34:53] and I appreciate your um appreciate your
[1:34:56] patience with me and again I thank you
[1:34:58] for your interest in the area.
[1:35:02] Um,
[1:35:03] should local municipal demand lead to
[1:35:08] higher electric bills? Are you willing
[1:35:11] to provide assistance to those who are
[1:35:14] struggling, particularly those on fixed
[1:35:16] incomes,
[1:35:26] » Commissioner, I can tell you that is as
[1:35:28] Ryan indicated earlier that the cost of
[1:35:31] electricity delivered to homes and
[1:35:33] businesses is not controlled by
[1:35:34] constellation. Um, and as indicated by
[1:35:38] Mike Appington earlier and and John as
[1:35:40] well, the VP of Lasel Station,
[1:35:42] development near the station keeps it
[1:35:44] viable. Um, and the station's clean
[1:35:46] power helps keep Illinois power prices
[1:35:48] lower and Constellation's goal is to
[1:35:50] provide emission free electricity at
[1:35:52] affordable prices. Um, I cannot say more
[1:35:55] about the specifics of your question in
[1:35:57] answering your question at this time.
[1:35:59] » Thank you.
[1:36:00] » Thank you. I would also add that
[1:36:03] constellation does not service Marcel or
[1:36:06] Amron. It's apples and oranges.
[1:36:09] Commissioner Buckingham, do you have
[1:36:11] anything?
[1:36:12] » Yeah, I've I've had the opportunity to
[1:36:14] meet with these uh people from
[1:36:16] Constellation
[1:36:18] and I'm very satisfied with the answers
[1:36:20] I've gotten. I wasn't afraid to ask
[1:36:23] questions. I think they give me honest
[1:36:25] answers.
[1:36:27] I've been to three or four four of their
[1:36:29] meetings once again. I mean, Mike, I
[1:36:31] know you you didn't show up for any, but
[1:36:34] I think everybody else in here did. You
[1:36:36] know, I
[1:36:37] » I'm also the only one being sued by the
[1:36:38] chief executive, sir.
[1:36:39] » I I'm not bringing that up.
[1:36:41] » Another personal attack.
[1:36:42] » I know that was a statement of fact,
[1:36:44] sir.
[1:36:44] » I'm not bringing that up. I'm talking
[1:36:46] about me as a commissioner. Okay. I
[1:36:49] think this is something we need to move
[1:36:51] forward on with jobs
[1:36:54] right now. Now I think Bob mentioned a
[1:36:55] few earlier but Nabiscoco brick factory
[1:36:58] only valley Sailor Shot Pharmacy Terry
[1:37:01] Bench Buick Texical gas station just to
[1:37:04] name a few all the tax money we're
[1:37:06] losing. I think this is something that's
[1:37:08] going to be very beneficial to Mars
[1:37:10] sales and hope everybody out there's got
[1:37:13] my my support. I mean I've been on this
[1:37:16] council for a long time. That's all I
[1:37:18] have. Thank you.
[1:37:20] » Okay. Thank you.
[1:37:22] Call
[1:37:22] » The roll. Clerk read the roll.
[1:37:24] » Commissioner Kaminsky
[1:37:26] » I.
[1:37:26] » Small
[1:37:27] » I.
[1:37:28] » Sh.
[1:37:28] » No.
[1:37:29] » Buckingham.
[1:37:30] » Hi.
[1:37:30] » Mayor Hollandbeck.
[1:37:32] » I.
[1:37:34] » Number two.
[1:37:34] » Back to your mic.
[1:37:36] » Moved by Commissioner Kaminsky that
[1:37:37] ordinance 1897, an ordinance annexing
[1:37:40] certain territory to the city of Marcel,
[1:37:43] Lasel County, Illinois be adopted.
[1:37:46] » Do I have a second?
[1:37:47] » I'll second it.
[1:37:48] » Is there any further discussion that
[1:37:50] hasn't already been covered?
[1:37:54] Clerk will read the roll.
[1:37:55] » Commissioner Kaminsky.
[1:37:56] » Hi.
[1:37:57] » Small.
[1:37:58] » I.
[1:37:58] » Sh.
[1:37:59] » No.
[1:37:59] » Buckingham.
[1:38:00] » Hi.
[1:38:01] » Mayor Holland back.
[1:38:02] » Hi.
[1:38:04] » Okay. This uh let's do a motion to
[1:38:06] adjourn this.
[1:38:11] » Thank you. Uh now entertain a motion to
[1:38:14] adjourn this special meeting.
[1:38:17] And it's 2 minutes to six. So we'll take
[1:38:19] another 3, four, 5 minute break if
[1:38:21] anybody needs to use the facility.
[1:38:23] Second
[1:38:24] » And then we'll start the uh regular
[1:38:25] meeting.
[1:38:26] » I second.
[1:38:26] » Moved by Commissioner Buckingham. The
[1:38:28] city council now adjourn.
[1:38:30] » Folks,
[1:38:30] » I got to close my
[1:38:31] » Wait, we got to call roll.
[1:38:33] » The mayor move.
[1:38:35] » Commission one. We got a clerical read
[1:38:37] to roll.
[1:38:37] » Commissioner Kaminsky.
[1:38:38] » Hi.
[1:38:39] » Small.
[1:38:39] » I shy.
[1:38:40] » Hi.
[1:38:41] » Buckingham.
[1:38:42] » Hi.
[1:38:42] » Mayor Hollandbeck. I