[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 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

11 05 25 City of Marseilles Public Hearing

Transcript