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Logan County Board
February Zoning and Economic Development Meeting
[February 03, 2026]
On Monday, February 2nd, the
Zoning and Economic Development Committee of the larger Logan County
Board held their monthly meeting at the Oasis Senior Center at 6:30
p.m. The meeting was attended by three of the five committee
members. Present members included Chairman Michael DeRoss, Hannah
Fitzpatrick, and Joseph Kuhlman, while absent members were Vice
Chairman Kathy Schmidt and Bob Sanders. Also in attendance were
fellow board members Kevin Knauer, Dale Nelson, and Jim Wessbecher.
The meeting started with the approval of the previous month’s
minutes. There was no old business on the agenda, so DeRoss moved
the committee on to new business, of which there were three items.
The first two items were for conditional use amendments to the
county’s zoning ordinance regarding data centers. The first item was
for data centers on land that is zoned agricultural. The committee
members mentioned several ideas that could be added, such as Kuhlman
mentioning the idea of adding continuous monitoring for things like
noise, vibrations, and light. DeRoss made a note that the word
livestock may need to be defined to differentiate farm animals from
pets.
DeRoss also mentioned a specific section of the draft ordinance,
stating that he was not sure they could require townships or
municipalities to do anything regarding the ordinance, but would
talk to State’s Attorney Brad Hauge about the section. He stated
that they may want to put something similar in place in the
ordinance to what they already have to Sugar Creek regarding
informing the company if any part of the ordinance was being broken
and which part it was. Kuhlman stated that he would be in favor of
using the plan they already have in place.
Fitzpatrick also asked if they
could set the penalties higher, suggesting they start at a fee of
$100,000. DeRoss was a bit hesitant, as the state may throw out
their fees if they were excessive. The committee decided to take the
draft ordinance to Hauge for him to look over.
The next item was almost identical to the first but was regarding
conditional use for data centers on land that was zoned industrial.
Zoning the land for the data center as industrial is something Hut 8
has been looking into filing an application with the Regional
Planning Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals. DeRoss stated
that this idea came from Hauge. Currently there are no restrictions
in Logan County’s ordinance for data centers on industrial land.
Fitzpatrick stated that the board would have more say over how the
land was used if more regulations were added. DeRoss reminded the
committee that Logan County already has industrial land with things
on it, and anything they change in the ordinance would apply to that
land as well. Eventually, the committee decided to talk to Zoning
and Economic Development Officer Al Green about the idea. Green was
unable to make it to the meeting.
The final new business item was regarding training that DeRoss
attended. He stated that he learned some things about the battery
storage law that is going into effect this June. He stated that the
law only applies to “standalone” battery storage facilities.
Facilities that are tied to existing solar or wind projects have
different fees. He mentioned a few other changes that he learned
about, such as noise complaint enforcement, vegetative screening
limitations, and taxing amounts, which will be $65 per kilowatt
hour.
DeRoss continued, saying there is nothing for the committee to do at
this time except compare the ordinance Logan County has with the
recommendations proposed by the County Association.
With Green absent, there was no Zoning and Economic Development
Officer Report. This then took the committee to public comments. The
meeting was well attended, and many people present wanted to say
their piece on the proposed data center.
Todd G. was the first to speak, commenting on the noise and light
monitoring that Kuhlman had talked about. He proposed adding water
meter usage. He stated that the data center would likely tap into a
local well, and they would need to make sure that the people living
around it would not run out of water.
Mike B. was next to speak, stating that the general consensus among
the people of the county seems to be that they would want the
conditional use ordinance to make the prospect of setting up a data
center in Logan County “unattractive.” He also mentioned that the
people outside of Lincoln seem to be against it, asking what the
pros are from the committee’s perspective.
He mentioned the issue of power, stating that the two power plants
in Decatur and Clinton make about 2,300 megawatts combined. He
stated that the data center using 500 megawatts would not be a small
amount. He mentioned that the power plant in Kincaid would be
shutting down in the next couple of years, further lowering the
amount of power generated.
The next woman to speak brought up the sixty-day notice that would
be required to be given before any vote on the data center could
take place. She stated that many people do not want that number to
be lowered to thirty, as sixty days gives people more time to
process and prepare to talk to their board members about how they
feel about it. She mentioned a gap in tax revenue between the Logan
County proposed data center and the Sangamon County data center,
saying that the numbers may be off because of the sheer discrepancy
between the two. She also brought up what message accepting the data
center into Logan County might send to other businesses that may try
to buy farmland to build in the county.
The next woman to speak had some very strong words for the
committee. She stated that it was obvious to her that the board
members had already decided on how they were going to vote. She
further stated that the board members do not care about the people
of Latham. She accused the board of being paid off by Hut 8. She
asked what the board would do with all the tax money that the data
center would generate. She accused the committee of wanting to roll
around in a pile of gold coins and stated it was evidence of how
greedy they were.
Next, Greg Irwin, a representative
of Hut 8, spoke. He stated that they are going to be holding an
event on Wednesday night at the Lincoln Banquet Center. He stated
that they were going to be giving an update on the project and
encouraged everyone to come so they could continue to work through
the community's concerns.
Doc Kirk was the next to speak,
stating that he has been disappointed so far with the process. He
stated that it seems that the data center is already a “done deal.”
He told Irwin that the community does not want updates from Hut 8,
they do not want the data center at all. He also urged the committee
to listen to their constituents, stating that the data center is
“going to kill the southeast side of Logan County.”
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Photo by Matt Boutcher
Kuhlman then took
a moment to speak, stating that it is not true that the
committee does not care. This comment was met with skepticism
from the audience, with one woman saying “really?” Another woman
asked if it was true that they had already made up their mind,
with another woman in the audience loudly stating “yes.” Kuhlman
stated this was also not true, as he had not made up his mind.
He stated that this meeting was the committee “dotting all
[their] i’s and crossing all [their] t’s.” He ended his comment
by telling the crowd to keep up the pressure and that they are
doing well.
Robert A. from Lincoln spoke next, wanting to know if Hut 8
would be tapping into the Mahomet Aquifer. Since Green was not
present, there was no one to officially answer the question.
The next woman who spoke stated that she has been looking into
other areas that had data centers built. She stated that she
found out that in some areas, they had board members sign
non-disclosure agreements (NDA’s). She wanted to know if any
board member had signed an NDA. She stated that the people do
not trust the board.
Michael Chandler spoke next, wanting to know if Hut 8 had
reapplied to get the land they want to build on rezoned
industrial land. The committee declined to comment, as DeRoss
stated that this was a time for public comments, and if they
answered questions, they would be there all night. Chandler then
stated that the board seems to be moving forward with the data
center even though there is no state legislation on it yet. He
then called the board a "tyrannical government.” He stated that
the future is not for globalists, it’s for patriots.
The next woman who spoke shared that the land in Logan County is
covered in wind turbines. She stated they were leaking oil and
that that oil was being spread over the crops. She stated that
the solar farms have vegetation growing under them. She wanted
to know where using farmland for things like this stopped. She
stated that the people of the county want their farms to thrive.
She also stated that, in the past, the county had the option of
choosing between the Lincoln Developmental Center and the
University of Illinois. They chose to go with the former and now
the land is not being used for anything. She used this as an
example to say that the board members have not always made the
best choices for Logan County.
Gavin W. was the next to speak, stating that he is in favor of
the project. This comment was met with outrage from many of the
other members present. Some people laughed. DeRoss had to slam
his gavel to get people to settle down. He stated that he would
like to see more taxable sources in the county. He did say that
the power and water usage still needed to be discussed in
greater detail. He called the data center the “biggest
investment anyone has brought to our door,” advising people not
to immediately write it off. He stated that he wanted to see
people look at this issue using more scientific evidence, and
not simply fear mongering.
The next person to speak was also in
favor of the data center, stating that he believed more people in
the county were for it. He stated that the tax money can be into
schools, EMS, and the fire department, among other places. He stated
that people who support it just may not want to come to these
meetings.
Allison Isley was the next to speak, also stating that she had some
issues with the tax numbers that Hut 8 mentioned. She stated that
the tax numbers from the Sangamon County data center were done by
the County Assessor’s office, while Hut 8’s numbers were determined
by a private company. She mentioned that, to her knowledge, the tax
money will only be going to Mt Pulaski, not the rest of Logan
County. In addition, she mentioned that she read studies that have
shown locations on the east coast with data centers are not thriving
economically.
Janet S. was the final non-board member guest to speak. She stated
that many people have done valid research, and that it has not been
fear mongering. She said farmland is not the same after something
has been built on it, saying that the ecology of the soil changes.
She stated the proposed data center is not a good fit for where Hut
8 wants to build it.
Nelson then stood up to address the audience. He started by saying
that he appreciates the engagement from the public. Nelson said he
was not for the data center, stating that he does not believe the
electrical grid in the county could handle it. He stated that Ameren
asking people to lower their energy usage during the recent cold
snap was evidence of this. He also encouraged people to come talk to
him after the meeting, stating that it has been hard for him to
reply to all the emails he has been getting about the data center.
Further, Nelson thanked the two people
that were for the data center for speaking up, stating that it was
brave of them to do so even if he did not agree with them. He
refuted the claim that the board is getting “kickbacks” from Hut 8.
He stated that, if the board was aware of any of their members
engaging in this kind of activity, it would be brought forward.
DeRoss was the final person of the night to speak. He stated that
the county was still very early in this process. He said that the
county comes up with ordinances in order to be “proactive, not
reactive.” He said that the process would be slow moving, with many
moving parts. Many of those parts, DeRoss stated, are still unknown
to the board and the county. He stated that the ordinance they were
working on at this meeting was not specific to Hut 8, but more
generalized. He stated that if the county did not do this right,
that a court would do it for them. Shortly after DeRoss’s comments,
the meeting was adjourned.
[Matt Boutcher] |
