DeKalb County Committee of the Whole met March 11.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
The Committee of the Whole of the DeKalb County Board met in Sycamore, Illinois on Wednesday, March 11, 2026.
CALL TO ORDER
Chair John Frieders called the meeting to order at 7:15pm. Members present: Chair John Frieders, Tim Bagby, Scott Campbell, Kim Coovert, Mary Cozad, Rukisha Crawford, Patrick Deutsch, Meryl Domina, Suzanne Fahnestock, Benjamin Haier, Rhonda Henke, Laura Hoffman, Rebecca Johnson, Kathy Lampkins, Jim Luebke, Elizabeth Lundeen, Joseph Marcinkowski, Michelle Pickett, Roy Plote, Chris Porterfield and Ellingsworth Webb with Laurie Emmer and Tim Hughes absent. Others present included Ruth Kedzior, Derek Hiland, Tasha Sims, and Terry Hannan.
APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Picket moved to approve the agenda as presented. Marcinkowski seconded the motion and it was carried unanimously by voice vote.
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
Bagby moved to approve the minutes, seconded by Webb. Plote noted the vote to enter closed session was done by a roll-call vote and not voice vote. Plote also made a clarification that landowners approached by developers should consult their own legal counsel and not seek assistance from the county to provide legal assistance on their behalf. The motion was carried unanimously to approve the minutes of the February 11, 2026 Committee of the Whole Meeting as amended.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
No public comment
CHAIR’S COMMENTS
No Chair comments
PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
Reports from Committee Chairs.
Bagby – The Planning, Zoning and Development Committee have three ordinances and four resolutions. One ordinance is a special use for a grass landing strip in Squaw Grove Township on the border of Kane and DeKalb counties. The next ordinance is a map amendment whereby the petitioner plans to build one residence and a hangar space on property previously approved as a 12-lot subdivision and forego the rights to build the additional 11 homesites. The last ordinance is a special use permit for a solar facility along Fenstermaker Road in Cortland Township. The first two resolutions are adopting watershed plans for the Central-South Branch of the Kishwaukee River and the Lower Little Rock Creek Watershed. The third resolution is to approve a special use permit amendment to allow the Red Maple Project a two-year timeframe to construct their phased project. The final resolution is a technical amendment to make the official grantee of the special use permit to the correct limited liability company name.
Campbell – The Finance and Administration Committee moved forward the Resolution to approve monthly claims and to receive and place on file the monthly reports of County Officials.
Deutsch – The Highway Committee brings forward four resolutions. The first is for the general county bid letting. The second one is for Afton Road District Aggregate Contract. The third one is Malta Road Aggregate Contract and the fourth resolution is for a drainage pipe project.
Pickett – The Facilities and Technology and the Finance and Administration committees supported a resolution to grant an easement for a legacy bench to be placed on the DeKalb County Government campus in memorial to Roger Scott, Russell Josh and Mary Simons.
Webb – The Executive Committee brings forward three resolutions and one ordinance. The first resolution authorizes the execution and amendment of the Federal 5311 Grant Agreement. The second resolution approves an amendment of the County’s 2026 Budget, and the third resolution supports local control of zoning and land use affairs of the county. The final item is an ordinance which provides public transportation in the county.
COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
Hiland shared the findings from Grundy County whereby the county denied special uses for a solar project and lost both appeals through judicial review. The courts found that Grundy County did not have standing to deny the permits which operates differently than DeKalb County; however, they are going to be issuing special use permits for those projects. Why is this important? DeKalb County is doing its best to embrace the state requirements and regulations while communicating with developers. Community Development is finalizing the drafted language of the newly adopted requirements which are required to be in place by mid-summer.
Plote asked Hiland to go over the bonding concerns and questions that were raised previously at the Finance and Administration Committee Meeting. Hiland explained the process of securing financial guarantees and asked board members to think about the process and share any additional feedback they might have at a later date. Hiland was asked about data centers and the likelihood that unincorporated areas in the county are prime for development. Hiland opined that data centers, as they exist today, have a high need for utilities, whether that’s water, gas or electricity and because of those needs would be redirected to municipalities that can provide those utilities in a more efficient manner. Hiland provided updates on the Fairdale Light District and mentioned openings on appointed board seats by creating public announcements through the County’s website and the County’s social media accounts.
Hiland concluded by providing an update on the America250 Celebration. He reminded those in attendance that July 8th, 2026 the big date to circle on calendars for the County’s Celebration Event. The reading of the Declaration is going to occur at 5 p.m. across the entire United States. Festivities will start earlier and as details get solidified more will be shared. Currently the DeKalb
Convention and Visitors Bureau is hosting on its website all the events for the county from partner communities to groups of individuals wanting to celebrate our Country’s Independence and what has made DeKalb County great over the last 189 years. The inspirational tribute is an attempt to recreate the image taken on the Courthouse steps when area soldiers returned from the First World War, which was celebrated with a group photo. We do not have budget, but we have good relationships with the community. We are working in collaboration with the DeKalb County History Center and its director, Michelle Donahoe.
Hiland believes we can accomplish what we want to do without any dollars from the County’s funds but shared a budget of $5,000 to $10,000 would help cover some expenses for the event. Our logo is going to be We, The People of DeKalb County.
ADJOURNMENT Crawford moved to adjourn the meeting. Johnson seconded the motion and it was carried unanimously.
https://dekalbcounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/minutes-cow-03112026.pdf
