Sangamon Sun

Sangamon County Board met Jan. 14.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

ROLL CALL

Chairman Van Meter asked County Clerk Gray to call the roll. There were 28 Present – 1 Absent. Mrs. Ruzic was excused.

UPDATE ON RAIL CONSTRUCTION AND THE SPRINGFIELD-SANGAMON COUNTY TRANSPORTATION CENTER-JIM MOLL, HANSON PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Jim Moll, with Hanson Engineers and the project manager for the Springfield Rail Improvement Project, addressed the County Board. It has been ten years since they first began work on this project. While this seems like a long time, they have made remarkable progress for a project of this size and complexity. He is here tonight to give the Board an update on where they are now and where they plan to go in the near future with the project. Everyone should have a copy of a map showing what they call usable segments of the project where they have broken the project into pieces. They are all aware of the problems they have in Springfield with the rail lines. There are three major north-south rail lines that are not very far apart and split Springfield up into pieces. They have the 68 at-grade crossings in their city and the largest per capita of any city in the State of Illinois. The rail traffic is going to be increasing, the trains will be longer, and the trains will be going faster. Their goal ten years ago was to determine what the best solution to deal with this problem was between Sangamon Avenue and Stanford Ave. They wanted to reduce the delays, improve safety, and eliminate train horn noise in the city. As he said, train traffic is going to increase. The rail traffic is going to increase from about 35 to 81 trains per day through the city. They have already seen some of that increase, and they anticipate it will continue to increase. The problems with the 3rd Street track are known to everybody familiar with Springfield. There is a train line running right down through the center of 3rd Street, right through the heart of downtown. There was a train stopped on the tracks right by the County Building and there were people crawling under the train to get to the County Building. These are the kind of safety problems this project is intended to address. They went through a study 8 to 10 years ago and determined the solution to this problem was to take the 3rd Street trains, and move them onto a new parallel corridor along 10th Street, build a series of underpasses along 10th Street at the busiest streets, build two new underpasses on 19th Street, and create a quiet zone through the entire city so there will not be any more train horns at the crossings through the city. That is the plan which was approved through the Federal Railroad Administration, and is what they have been working on ever since. It is an impactful project, and it takes a lot to do this. There is 42 acres of right-of-way that needs to be purchased for this project. This impacts 117 residential areas, 50 commercial displacements, and access changes to 29 other parcels. Also, over 7,000 people will see a reduction in the noise in their area.

One of the first things they began with was the land acquisition process, and he wants everybody to understand there is a federal process required they must follow through for this. It includes appraisals, review appraisals, negotiations, and relocation costs for the people who need to move because of the project. So it is a very closely and clearly defined federal process they have to follow to acquire all the parcels for the project. When they began the project and determined what they were going to do, they estimated the cost at about $315 million. This is the funding breakdown they assumed when they began, and they are pretty much on that with a little less federal money and a little more state money because of the Capital Bill that was recently passed. At this point in the project, each of their individual segments has been coming in under budget and on schedule.

Their first usable segment was the Carpenter Street underpass. They had a ribbon cutting there in 2016. He thinks everyone has seen the Carpenter Street underpass. Everyone on the east side of Springfield now knows they can get to the hospitals at any time, even if there is a train on the tracks because of the Carpenter Street underpass. Even on its own, it is a major improvement for the City of Springfield. Their usable Segment 2 project is under construction now. It is a total cost of about $50 million. They received a significant grant from the federal government of about $14 million, a lot of help from the Illinois Commerce Commission, and significant help from the Illinois Department of Transportation to fund the project. Usable Segment 2 goes to about South Grand Avenue down to about 6th Street, and includes the new underpasses at Ash Street and Laurel Ave, which are all under construction now. They had a groundbreaking ceremony in 2017, then began construction on Ash Street. Ash Street is now completed and open. They have now moved to Laurel. It is closed and they are doing bridge construction there. Their next piece is the usable Segment 4 project. They just opened bids for that last fall. This is the stretch from 5th and 6th, down to Stanford Avenue, which has a total cost of about $44 million. This is primarily funded through the federal government through a Build Grant. There is also a lot of help coming from the Illinois Department of Transportation. They began the construction this year and will end the construction in 2022, when the new bridges of 5th Street and 6th Street are in place and all the grading and work is done.

They had significant news this past summer when the Capital Bill was signed, and the project was awarded $122 million. They have to thank the State Legislators for all their support and for making this the priority project for the City of Springfield. They got the funding for that project, and they are going to build new bridges at 5th and 6th Street, which should be completed by the end of 2022. What they still need to do now is build underpasses at Jefferson Street and Madison Street on the 10th Street Corridor. That is going to be ugly because they are going to be closing Madison Street and Jefferson Street completely for about a year. Traffic will have to detour around it because there is no way to build those underpasses without closing both of those streets at the same time. He has given everyone a lot of warning that this is what is going to happen. They are also going to build an underpass at North Grand Avenue right in front of where the EPA building is and a new overpass in the next phase of the project where the Lanphier Ball Park and Memorial Stadium are for the messy at-grade crossing there. They are also going to build new underpasses at South Grand Avenue and 19th Street and Ash Street at 19th Street. As you can see, there will be a significant improvement in the way people get across town.

They are also moving the Amtrak Station over on to the 10th Street Corridor. It is going to be just 2 blocks away from where the County Building is, between 9th Street and 11th Street, on the north side of Adams, which will be closed. This will include the Amtrak Station and the new SMTD bus transfer facility. They are near the end of determining the general terms and how the site is going to lay out. Here in the next few weeks, they will be releasing information to the public on how the Amtrak Station and bus transfer facility will work together. They hope to have all of that completed, along with the full shift of 3rd Street traffic over on the 10th Street Corridor by 2025. They have a project schedule which shows how they will get the design and construction completed by 2025.

They still need additional funding from the Illinois Commerce Commission and the federal government. They are confident they will get funding from the Illinois Commerce Commission as they are very supportive of this project. They have a grade crossing protection fund that is specifically intended to eliminate at-grade crossings. They are eliminating 68 of them. They don’t get many projects where you can eliminate that many at-grade crossings in one move. If their Washington delegation is as helpful as they have been so far, then they think they will be able to get the additional federal dollars. He can’t say enough about the support they have gotten from Senator Durbin and Senator Duckworth and from Congressman Davis and Congressman LaHood. They have worked tirelessly with the federal government to help us find the funding and to push this through the federal bureaucracy so they could keep the project moving.

All through this project they’ve had a continuous public engagement program. They had a very in-depth program when they started the project and have continued that. They have public meetings every six months. The next one will be March 12th at the Convention Center. Everyone has a chance to come and talk with the designers and see where they are on the project and see how it might affect their property. Everyone has a chance to find out what is going on with the project and get their questions answered. If you get questions don’t hesitate to refer them to Hanson to get answers for people.

Mr. Stumpf asked how much of the EPA building is going to go away when they start on that area. Mr. Moll explained that they will take the center portion of the EPA building, just directly north of 10th Street. They won’t be taking the newer west half of the building or the part that has the old historic clock tower in it. There is the potential to leave the part of the building in place along 11th Street by Lanphier High School. Right now they are working with the Illinois EPA and other state agencies that own and operate that building. They are trying to figure out how much of that building can be saved, what’s economical to save, if they would be able to save parts of it, and to see what they need to do to relocate people that are in the building now. So much has to happen at the EPA building to get it adapted for the railroad project and get those people relocated.

Chairman Van Meter asked if it would be done in five years from now. Mr. Moll stated they will have the trains relocated from 3rd over to 10th Street, but will still need to work on portions of the project for 19th Street. They still need to find the funding for that. With federal funding, the 10th Street Corridor is easier to fund than the 19th Street Corridor. The 10th Street Corridor has what they call regional and national significance because it is part of the Chicago to St. Louis high speed rail line. With the 19th Street Corridor, while it is just as important, they have to focus more on state and local funding for that piece of the project.

Mr. Fraase asked what has been done with the underpasses for the flooding problems.

Mr. Moll explained that when they built the underpasses they drilled down 40 feet into the rock and put in big sump pumps. There are three sump pumps at each of the underpasses that are 14 feet in diameter and 45 feet in the ground. When the rain comes, the water goes into these big sumps and they pump the water out after the rain has slowed down over the next day or two. It has worked well with all of the underpasses they have built so far. When they had flooding a few years ago, the Carpenter Street underpass stayed dry, so it has worked so far. He can’t promise they will never flood, but the chances have been greatly reduced.

Mr. Ratts asked if it would disrupt daily activity for school by Lanphier High School. Mr. Moll stated there would be the obvious normal construction noise. The plan, by Lanphier High School, is to realign North Grand Avenue to the south. So, existing North Grand Avenue will stay in place, but it just won’t cross the railroad tracks at-grade. They will build the new overpass to the south where the houses are along the south side of North Grand Avenue. They are going to purchase those houses and build the new overpass off to the side. People will still be able to come out of Lanphier High School and the baseball stadium and get onto old North Grand Avenue. This will then connect to new North Grand Avenue near the west end, closer to 11th Street. It will not, in any way, block off Lanphier High School. Mr. Ratts stated he often sees for sale signs on those houses across from the high school. He asked if the buyers of those houses already know there is an ombudsman that has worked with those people. Mr. Moll stated they do. They have an ombudsman who is working with them and the community to make sure everyone is treated fairly and understands the land acquisition process. She is completely independent of Hanson and the City of Springfield. He thinks she is being reimbursed from the County and is completely independent from this project. Chairman Van Meter asked what her name is. Mr. Moll stated her name is Eve Blackwell-Lewis.

Mrs. Douglas Williams asked what is going to happen to Springfield Electric. Mr. Moll explained they are in the works with them now as to how much of their facility they are going to displace and how they may be able to relocate them. That has not been determined yet. Chairman Van Meter asked how many parcels were acquired. Mr. Moll stated they have acquired close to 100 parcels. The total number of parcels they need to acquire is close to 250. There are 117 residential and 50 commercial displacements, but there are a lot of other parcels that do not have houses or buildings on them. The only use of eminent domain they would have to make is on a cell tower and a couple parcels where there were problems with the titles and you would have to go to condemnation to clear up the title. They’ve had almost all willing sellers all through the process and they hope that continues. Mrs. Douglas Williams asked what they would do with South Grand and 19th Street. Mr. Moll stated at Ash Street and South Grand there will be underpasses at 19th Street. At both places they will have to close the street for about a year or two while they build the underpass. Mrs. Douglas Williams asked if they have purchased any of those homes yet. Mr. Moll stated they have not yet because there are some hardship cases where somebody needs to move but they are having trouble selling the house because people know the houses will be torn down. They have done some advance purchases on those hardship cases. For the most part they have been purchasing property as they get that segment. Mrs. Douglas Williams asked if they are going down as far as Wheeler and South Grand. Mr. Moll stated he would have to look at the map to see how far they are going.

Mr. Ratts asked if there would be fences put up to keep people from living under the overpasses on North Grand. Mr. Moll stated there will be fencing along the railroad right of way. They have not made any determination of how they need to treat the area between the beginning of the overpass and the railroad right of way, but that is something they need to take a look at.

Mr. Moll showed a drone fly-through video of the project to see how much work has been done throughout the city and where it is going to go as they move forward.

Mrs. Scaife commended Mr. Moll on a great presentation.

CORRESPONDENCE

A motion was made by Mrs. Williams, seconded by Mr. Bunch, to place Correspondence on file with the County Clerk. A voice vote was unanimous.

MINUTES

A motion was made by Mr. Bunch, seconded by Mrs. Williams, for approval of the Minutes of December 10, 2019. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTION CARRIED MINUTES ADOPTED

RESOLUTION 1

1. Resolution approving the repeal of Seasonal Load Limits on County Highway 1.

A motion was made by Mr. Fraase, seconded by Mr. Preckwinkle, to place Resolution 1 on the floor. Chairman Van Meter asked County Clerk Gray to call the roll. Upon the roll call vote, there were 27 Yeas – 0 Nays.

MOTION CARRIED RESOLUTION ADOPTED

RESOLUTIONS 2 – 5

2. Resolution appropriating Motor Fuel tax funds for IMRF expenses.

A motion was made by Mr. Fraase, seconded by Mr. O’Neill, to place Resolution 2 on the floor. A motion was made by Mr. Bunch, seconded by Mr. Smith, to consolidate Resolutions 2 – 5. Chairman Van Meter asked County Clerk Gray to read Resolutions 3 – 5.

3. Resolution appropriating Motor Fuel Tax funds for the County Engineer’s salary and expenses.

4. Resolution approving an agreement between Sangamon County and the Illinois Department of Transportation to transfer Surface Transportation Program Funds for State Funds.

5. Resolution approving an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for the development of the Sangamon Valley Trail.

A voice vote was unanimous on the consolidation. Mr. Hall stated he never thought this day would come that he would vote for a bike trail, but he is voting for a bike trail tonight. This trail will have many purposes of running Ameren lines and also the water lines going through Apple Creek and through the Chatham and New Berlin water lines. A motion was made by Mr. Preckwinkle that the roll call vote for Resolution 1 stands as the roll call vote for Resolutions 2 – 5, as consolidated. A voice vote carried. Mr. Thomas voted Present on Resolution 5.

MOTIONS CARRIED RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED

RESOLUTION 6

6. 2019-043 – Charles B. Flatt II, 3100 Block of Young Road, Mechanicsburg – Granting a Rezoning and Variances. County Board Member – David Mendenhall, District #3.

A motion was made by Mr. Mendenhall, seconded by Mr. Krell, to place Resolution 6 on the floor. A motion was made by Mr. Stumpf to waive the reading of the professional staff’s report. There were no objections. A voice vote was unanimous for the adoption of Resolution 6.

MOTIONS CARRIED RESOLUTION ADOPTED

RESOLUTION 7

7. 2019-044 – Frederick and Peggy Ostermeier, 9072 Tip Top Road, Chatham – Granting a Variance. County Board Member – Craig Hall, District #7.

A motion was made by Mr. Hall, seconded by Mr. Krell, to place Resolution 7 on the floor. A motion was made by Mr. Stumpf to waive the reading of the professional staff’s report. There were no objections. A voice vote was unanimous for the adoption of Resolution 7.

MOTIONS CARRIED RESOLUTION ADOPTED

RESOLUTION 8

8. 2019-045 – Richard and Joan Batson, 7380 E. State Route 54, Riverton – Granting a Rezoning. County Board Member – David Mendenhall, District #3.

A motion was made by Mr. Mendenhall, seconded by Mrs. Deppe, to place Resolution 8 on the floor. A motion was made by Mr. Stumpf to waive the reading of the professional staff’s report. There were no objections. A voice vote was unanimous for the adoption of Resolution 8.

MOTIONS CARRIED RESOLUTION ADOPTED

RESOLUTION 9

9. 2019-046 – Gym of Springfield Inc., 1823 Camp Lincoln Road, Springfield – Granting Variances. County Board Member – Annette Fulgenzi, District #17.

A motion was made by Mrs. Fulgenzi, seconded by Mr. Tjelmeland, to place Resolution 9 on the floor. A motion was made by Mr. Stumpf to waive the reading of the professional staff’s report. There were no objections. A voice vote was unanimous for the adoption of Resolution 9.

MOTIONS CARRIED RESOLUTION ADOPTED

RESOLUTION 10

10. 2019-047 – Adam Ehrman, 7130 Fulton Road, New Berlin – Denying a Variance. County Board Member – Craig Hall, District #7.

A motion was made by Mr. Hall, seconded by Mrs. Williams, to place Resolution 10 on the floor. A motion was made by Mr. Stumpf to waive the reading of the professional staff’s report. There were no objections. A voice vote was unanimous for the adoption of Resolution 10.

MOTIONS CARRIED RESOLUTION ADOPTED

RESOLUTION 11

11. 2019-048 – Ken and Lisa Wyatt, 7700 Roberts Road, New Berlin – Granting a Rezoning and a Variance. County Board Member – Craig Hall, District #7.

A motion was made by Mr. Hall, seconded by Mrs. Scaife, to place Resolution 11 on the floor. A motion was made by Mr. Stumpf to waive the reading of the professional staff’s report. There were no objections. A voice vote was unanimous for the adoption of Resolution 11.

MOTIONS CARRIED RESOLUTION ADOPTED

RESOLUTION 12

12. 2019-049 – Text Amendment to the Sangamon County Zoning Ordinance Regarding Chapter 17 related to Adult-Use Cannabis Organizations.

A motion was made by Mr. Stumpf, seconded by Mr. Mendenhall, to place Resolution 12 on the floor. Regional Planning Director Molly Berns gave a presentation regarding the text amendment. As you know the state passed a law to allow the recreational use and sales of cannabis. While she is with the Regional Planning Commission, in fact they have no position related to the merits, pro or con, of cannabis or cannabis organizations. They just need to make sure planning principles are maintained and help develop a code that will be manageable, enforceable, fair and equitable to everyone involved. They also watch for issues that may result in court challenges specifically related to zoning such as: spot zoning, unreasonableness, inconsistent application of regulations, and those kinds of things. When all of this came about last fall, the Public Health Solid Waste and Zoning Committee members asked them to take a look at what other counties and municipalities were doing to enact the law, and come up with what they thought would fit the needs of Sangamon County. This text amendment reflects the cannabis regulations and tax act that became effective in the State of Illinois 14 days ago. That Act was very specific in a lot of areas and very vague in a lot of other areas. First of all, it did define various cannabis business establishments including: dispensing organizations, craft growers, cultivation centers, infuser organizations, processors, and transporting organizations. Those definitions were established by state law, which made putting them in the County Code very simple. It also outlined what local governments can and cannot do. According to this law, local governments can enact ordinances to prohibit or significantly limit a cannabis business establishment’s location. By the same token, it also says no unit of local government may unreasonably restrict the time, place, manner, and number of cannabis business establishments authorized by this Act. When she reads those two sentences, they have a tendency to contradict each other. Everyone who was involved in the development of the state law recognizes, down the road, courts will probably have to determine what that means. What that says to her is somebody who writes ordinance language is saying “Be a little bit conservative in your approach, and don’t just go out there and recommend a whole bunch of things that are going to end up in court. Let’s kind of follow suit with what needs to happen.” Back in December the County Board adopted Resolution 8 to add Chapter 5.32, of the County Code to allow cannabis business establishments. It allowed all cannabis business establishments in unincorporated Sangamon County. It also limited the number of adult-use cannabis dispensing organizations allowed in the unincorporated areas of Sangamon County to two. The state law obviously allowed them the ability to do that.

The other thing the ordinance specifically did was prohibit the on premises consumption of cannabis at cannabis dispensing organizations. State law does allow on premise consumption if the local unit of government allowed it. Sangamon County obviously prohibited that. With those parameters, the committee looked to her and her staff and said “Fit all this into the zoning ordinance.” This particular zoning case and text amendment adds the definitions that state law already outlined for them. It also identifies where the businesses would be allowed and at which zoning districts. Again, emphasis on not if they would be allowed but where they would be allowed. It establishes distance of separation between the principle structure of an adult-use cannabis business establishment to the property line to what she called a sensitive area. She got that sensitive area language right from Peoria County’s ordinance because it fits them well. It refers to pre-existing public or private preschools, elementary or secondary schools, daycare facilities, daycare homes, group homes, part daycare/child facilities, religious institutions, public park, private park, or residential zoned district. The question is, why use residential zoned district and why not just use residences? The reason is with a lot of zoning cases you have a house that has been converted to a business, so figuring out if that is still being used as a residence or as a commercial enterprise would be very difficult from a compliance standpoint for staff. Other items that are found in that sensitive area such as: churches, religious institutions, and daycares are typically also found in residentially zoned districts. So from a compliance standpoint, you are basically hitting the nail on the head by using residentially zoned district. What does this not do? It does not deal with how much parking you are going to need at these business establishments, the hours of operation, and those kinds of things. Hours of operation are zoned by state law, so the County doesn’t need to worry about it, unless they want something different. How they tried to figure out where the cannabis businesses should go and in what zoning district is, they looked at what else is permitted in each of those zoning districts. From pictures and videos she has seen, a very large cannabis cultivation center looks like a very large commercial grain house. They know where those are allowed in their zoning district. They also look a little bit like a manufacturing facility, so they know where those are allowed, which is typically in I-1, I-2, and in Ag areas sometimes. They also know what a dispensing organization looks like. It looks like a retail store. It would need to have the same amenities that a store would. That helped them dictate which zoning districts they would recommend.

Another thing related to why residentially zoned districts and not just residences is there are a lot of houses out in the county that are rural residential type houses, but they are not zoned “R-1.” What they are recommending here are conditional permitted uses. Anytime somebody wants to put in a cannabis business establishment, they are going to come before the board.

None of this is permitted as a right, they can take a look at if a house is too close to a business establishment. They also did the Formosa site out by Illiopolis. In this case, they were concerned about the effect of Illiopolis and what their zoning would be. Staff took a look at that and the residential zoning. One of the things she asked the staff to do was some visualizations to see what 250 feet would look like and to look for possible buffers. For example, they are at the county building going out the front door, 250 feet is the entrance to the county parking lot. 500 feet is the entrance to the Horace Mann Building. The Blue is the Bank of Springfield and 1,500 feet is St. John’s Hospital. Going the other way toward downtown, starting from the middle of the county parking lot, 1,500 feet is the Old State Capitol. Now, say they are at the Pasta House on the west side, 250 feet away is Outback Steakhouse. Likewise, 1,500 feet is Farm and Home. If they are at Target, 250 feet is Constitution Drive, the entrance to Walmart is 1,000 feet, and Wendy’s is 1,500 feet. The one she is most in tune with is she is at the entrance to the State Fair Grounds, which is 250 feet from the Happy Hollow entrance, 500 feet from the Milkshake Shack, and 1500 feet to the Grand Stand track. It kind of helps to have the perspective. Then she asked staff to take a look at what these distances mean related to existing zoning. What zoning do they have where these businesses could be located without having to change the zoning district? They looked at the area between the airport and I-55. There is a lot of industrial zoned property in that area. What she is going to do is add a buffer of 250 feet from a residentially zoned property, then 500 feet, then 1,000 feet, and then 1,500 feet. They’ve eliminated a lot of areas, particularly the “B” zoning, where they could put a cannabis business establishment if they want a 1,500 foot buffer. That is for residentially zoned properties only in unincorporated Sangamon County.

The text amendment does the following in dispensing organizations: it would allow dispensing organizations as conditional permitted uses in the “B-2,” “B-3,” the “I-1,” and the “I-2” zoning districts. There would be no on-site consumption, and the distance from a sensitive area would be 250 feet. Keep in mind, only two, according to ordinance, would be allowed in unincorporated Sangamon County. The craft growers and cultivation centers would be allowed as conditional permitted uses in the “A-1”, the “I-1,” and “I-2” zoning districts and the distance from sensitive areas would be 1500 feet. The infuser organizations and processing organizations are in “I-1” and “I-2”, and 1500 feet from sensitive areas, respectively. Transporting organizations would be in the “A-1”, the “I- 1,” and “I-2” zoning districts, and 1500 feet from sensitive areas. They looked for similar permitted uses that were already allowed in each of those zoning districts. For example, a large trucking company would be expected in an Agricultural or Industrial area. A dispensing organization would be expected in a more urbanized area because of the foot traffic. A cultivation center would also be expected in an industrial area. There may be noise, odors, and those kind of things. So the text amendment describes the zoning of the cannabis businesses. Keep in mind, the state is still passing administrative rules, so there may still be a little bit of tweaking left. This represents state law, but there could be some additional things added like security, fences, and those kinds of things. They may have to come back to these and adopt some additional safeguards. She is monitoring the dispensary downtown in terms of capacity and how many people they are selling to each day so she can make a recommendation as to whether or not their parking regulations for retail operations are adequate enough to handle it or if they should require additional parking, particularly for dispensing organizations.

Ms. Deppe said there was a lot of confusion at the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting concerning the city’s number of 1,500 feet and not using residential areas and them accepting the 250 feet including residential areas. She thinks that was confusing why they would go for a much less distance when the city went for a greater distance, but their designation was different. Ms. Berns said she is asking her to surmise what the city might do, which is sometimes difficult. From a technical standpoint she will explain why they ended up where they did. The City’s ordinance as it now stands that no dispensing organization in the “B-1,” “B-2,” the “I-1,” and the “I-2” zoning districts should be located within 1500 feet of the property line of the sensitive areas. However, what they did in the “S- 3” zoning district is grandfather the one downtown. The City had already been approached by several entities that were intending to establish and expand out their dispensing organizations. For example, HCI Alternatives and the dispensary in Grandview, according to state law, are both medicinal suppliers and both of them are entitled to establish another dispensary within each of those locations. In addition to that, they are given another location. The City pretty much knew what sites were going to be proposed for these before they wrote the ordinance and so they had the ability to tool the ordinance around those particular restrictions. In addition, churches and parks were removed from the city’s allowance of dispensaries in the “S-3” organization, again to grandfather in HCI Alternatives on 7th Street and Adams. While they used 1,000 feet and 1,500 feet, they are pretty well maxed out as to where their dispensaries can go in the City. So the distance had less impact for the City than it did for Sangamon County. Last month at the County Board Meeting, there was a lot of controversial discussion and she gets that. Ultimately the vote was to allow the dispensing organizations. There was a feeling the majority of them wanted to create the ability for a dispensing organization to be located in unincorporated Sangamon County. With that in mind, do they make the distances so much that there is no spot to put it? That has the effect of nullifying what they have already voted to do. She thinks with that standpoint in mind, looking at the zoning map the staff recommended, 250 feet for dispensing organizations and 1,500 feet for everything else. Also the nature of retail operations and sales depends on foot traffic and travel traffic. No matter how one feels about cannabis, they want them in high foot traffic areas, so minimizing the distance between the sensitive areas is beneficial to the business. As a board, if they are going to allow them, that would be a consideration. Whereas, the other cannabis organizational type businesses can be further away from other entities.

Mr. Stumpf stated their committee, the Public Health and Safety Committee, is always exposed to this information through the Sangamon County Regional Planning and Zoning Department. They really appreciate it, and even though their stuff is hard to decipher at times, they ultimately get to this spot right here. Due to the intense amount of research, labor, and everything involved in the zoning part of this, he would urge them to vote for this and get this in the books.

Mr. Hall stated he appreciates their effort and what they put into this. He goes back to his concern which is by allowing those kind of businesses closer to town and closer to the police department, they get the issues that come with this. The way they have done this, as he understands, is they have a shortage of officers out there patrolling in the unincorporated area. Their smaller towns have either voted for or against this or have not done anything. Is there any thought that they are actually driving business into the unincorporated area where there is less patrol? Ms. Berns stated there are two theories out there. The first theory is they want to separate it from other uses because it is a new use and people are not used to it.

The other theory is they want to drive business of this nature. She is not speaking just of dispensaries, she is also talking about infusers, cultivation centers, and all of them. So they are kind of balancing which of those they want to do, and she can see the merits and the benefits to both of them. If a big manufacturing facility were coming to Sangamon County and wanted to be in the unincorporated areas, it would be up to the Board through what may or may not be a conditional permitted use to decide if that particular manufacturing facility were going to be objectionable to the proposed location and the people and businesses around it. That would be a judgement call. It is one of the reasons they have recommended in this text amendment that everything is a conditional permitted use. If a large cultivation center or infuser operation were going to come in, had an acceptable business plan, and identified a location that was 1,297 feet instead to 1,500 feet away and there was nothing in this place, then they could ask for those regulations. Should they choose to do so, it would be up to staff to do the analysis. The Zoning Board of Appeals, and ultimately the County Board, would recommend if it was an acceptable variation of the regulations. One more thing is they are going to be monitoring what other counties are doing. Also these businesses are not going to become rapidly into areas, they are going to come very slowly. One of the things she did not note was there is a supply problem. She was not aware of this, but each dispensary combined no more than 40% of their product from the same dispensary. So they cannot have just one sale source, they have to pass it around and there is a problem with supply. She does anticipate a whole lot of cultivation centers or infusers to pop up, but there is, according to demand, going to be a need to have several more or they are going to have to ramp up operations, which is very expensive. Whether Sangamon County might be asked if they would be interested, she does not know the answer to that. She thinks this ordinance at least gives them a baseline to be ready. They will monitor what else is going on in other areas to find out if this should be tweaked in any way, present to committee, and go from there.

Beth Rogers, residing in Springfield, addressed the County Board. She is also the Irisdale neighborhood watch coordinator. Before she begins, she would like to pay tribute to Joyce Huber, who passed away on January 10th. In September, Joyce addressed the Springfield City Council and brought out very good points on the destructive effects of marijuana, following up with a letter to the editor. She is here tonight concerning the zoning of marijuana businesses 250 feet away from schools, preschools, and churches. Marijuana businesses should be as far away as possible from public parks, schools, daycare, preschools, and churches where children and families attend regularly. Concern for public safety and crimes should take precedent over marijuana businesses, which sell mind altering drugs. Public safety concerns include parking and traffic, walking across busy intersections, increase in traffic, using marijuana near schools and churches after buying it in a dispensary, and blocking school lots, church lots, and entrances. In the Rockford Star, it was reported the Rockford City Council issued a warning to a dispensary after businesses and neighbors complained. “If Sunnyside does not take an affirmative steps to mitigate the detrimental impact to surrounding businesses, including parking, security, illegal consumption and other activity the city will pursue all legal and equitable remedies to reserve the public peace and evade the public nuisance created by your businesses.” Some business operators say they were cursed at when they asked marijuana customers not to park in spaces reserved for other customers in adjacent lots. They say the crowds have been disruptive and the odor of marijuana smoked outside has been pervasive, and a container of marijuana was found on the ground. One man was photographed urinating outside the doors of an orthopedic rehab specialist in Rockford.

So she is asking the Board to make the zoning laws consistent for marijuana businesses to be located 1,500 feet from parks, schools, churches, daycare centers, and preschools. Making marijuana more accessible and available will increase enemies.

Mr. Bunch stated he voted no at the last meeting regarding the cannabis resolution because he has been down that road and it is dangerous. He has a gut feeling they have not seen the worst of this yet. He does appreciate all of the efforts they put into this zoning. He will vote Present due to the fact he may want to change his mind if he sees this going to right way.

Chairman Van Meter asked County Clerk Gray to call the roll. Upon the roll call vote there were 20 Yeas – 4 Nays. Those voting nay were Mr. Hall, Mr. Mendenhall, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Sullivan. Mr. Bunch, Linda Fulgenzi, and Mr. O’Neill voted Present.

MOTION CARRIED RESOLUTION ADOPTED

RESOLUTION 13

13. Resolution approving the State’s Attorney’s grant application for the Violent Crimes Victim’s Assistance Grant from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office in the amount of $31,000.

A motion was made by Mr. Preckwinkle, seconded by Mr. O’Neill, to place Resolution 13 on the floor. A motion was made by Mr. Preckwinkle that the roll call vote for Resolution 1 stands as the roll call vote for Resolution 13. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTIONS CARRIED RESOLUTION ADOPTED

WAIVER OF TEN-DAY FILING PERIOD

A motion was made by Mrs. Williams, seconded by Mr. Bunch, to waive the ten-day filing period. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTION CARRIED

TEN-DAY FILING PERIOD WAIVED

RESOLUTIONS 14 – 27

14. Resolution approving the procurement of goods and/or services from Dr. Pan for the Public Defender’s Office for Forensic Exams in the amount of $40,000.

A motion was made by Mr. O’Neill, seconded by Mr. Ratts, to place Resolution 14 on the floor. A motion was made by Mr. Bunch, seconded by Mr. Smith, to consolidate Resolutions 14 – 27. Chairman Van Meter asked County Clerk Gray to read Resolutions 15 – 27.

15. Resolution approving the Elections Office’s grant application from the Illinois State Board of Elections for the 2020 Illinois Voter Registration State Grant Program in the amount of $192,211.

16. Resolution approving the procurement of goods and/or services from Motorola Solutions for the Sheriff’s Office for access to the Starcom Network in the amount $60,500.

17. Resolution approving the procurement of goods and/or services from various vendors for the Sheriff’s Office for cleaning and non-cleaning supplies for the jail and inmates in the amount of $99,500.

18. Resolution approving the procurement of goods and/or services from ARYA Hospitality, LLC for the Sheriff’s Office for PTI Cadet Housing in the amount of $91,000.

19. Resolution approving a contract between Sangamon County and AT&T for telecommunication services in the amount of $53,000.

20. Resolution approving the purchase of vehicles for various county departments in the amount of $468,630

21. Resolution approving the Priority Dispatch System Implementation Agreement between Sangamon County ETSD and Priority Dispatch Corporation in the amount of $145,432.

22. Resolution authorizing the Sangamon County Clerk to execute an agreement with Illinois Office Supply to provide ballots in the amount of approximately $324,816.

23. Resolution authorizing the Institution of Litigation for the Condemnation of Real Property.

24. Resolution authorizing Sangamon County to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement with the City of Springfield for the continuation of the Minority Participation Plan for a two-year term.

25. Resolution authorizing the execution of a building lease for the SMART facility property.

26. Resolution authorizing Sangamon County to continue using the services of Wex to procure fuel for the SMART vehicles.

27. Resolution approving an agreement between Sangamon County and the Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance for the purposes of Economic Development.

A voice vote was unanimous on the consolidation.

A motion was made by Mr. Preckwinkle that the roll call vote for Resolution 1 stands as the roll call vote for Resolutions 14 - 27, as consolidated. A voice vote carried. Mr. Miller voted Present on

Resolution 23.

MOTIONS CARRIED

RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED

OLD BUSINESS

There was no old business.

NEW BUSINESS

A. Resolutions

There were no new resolutions.

B. Appointments

Appointment of Justin A. King to the Woodwreath Cemetery Board for a term expiring November, 2025.

Appointment of David Ball to the Eastside Fire Protection District for a term expiring May, 2021.

Appointment of Bob Muench to the Loami Fire Protection District for a term expiring May, 2021.

Appointment of Lisa Hills to the Citizen’s Advisory Committee on Animal Control for a term expiring January, 2021.

Appointment of Todd Smith to the Citizen’s Advisory Committee on Animal Control for a term expiring January, 2021.

Appointment of Clyde Bunch to the Citizen’s Advisory Committee on Animal Control for a term expiring January, 2021.

Appointment of Dr. Gary Minder to the Citizen’s Advisory Committee on Animal Control for a term expiring January, 2021.

Appointment of Dr. Christina Holbrook to the Citizen’s Advisory Committee on Animal Control for a term expiring January, 2021.

Appointment of Tim Griffin to the Citizen’s Advisory Committee on Animal Control for a term expiring January, 2021.

Appointment of Ken Winslow to the Citizen’s Advisory Committee on Animal Control for a term expiring January, 2021.

Appointment of Sarah Moore to the Citizen’s Advisory Committee on Animal Control for a term

expiring January, 2021.

Appointment of Kathy O’Hara to the Citizen’s Advisory Committee on Animal Control for a term expiring January, 2021.

Appointment of Brad Baughman to the Citizen’s Advisory Committee on Animal Control for a term expiring January, 2021.

Appointment of Mike Borgic to the Citizen’s Advisory Committee on Animal Control for a term expiring January, 2021.

Chairman Van Meter stated the appointment to the Woodwreath Cemetery Board is withdrawn. A voice vote was unanimous for all other appointments. Mr. Hall clarified that they are just withdrawing the appointment of Kate Hall but are still appointing Justin King to the Woodwreath Cemetery Board. A voice vote was unanimous on that appointment.

MOTION CARRIED

APPOINTMENTS ADOPTED

The nominations for appointment in February were also submitted.

A. Procurement/Grant Notifications

There were no procurement/grant notifications.

REPORTS OF COUNTY OFFICIALS, REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES,

REPORTS OF SPECIAL COMMITTEES, COMMITTEE REPORT ON CLAIMS

A motion was made by Mrs. Williams, seconded by Mr. Bunch, to place the Committee Report on Claims on file with the County Clerk. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTION CARRIED

REPORTS FILED

RECESS

A motion was made by Mr. Bunch, seconded by Mrs. Williams, to recess the meeting to February, 11 2019 at 7:00 p.m. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTION CARRIED

MEETING RECESSED

https://www.sangamoncountyclerk.com/County-Board/documents/January142020_000.pdf