The Hillcrest Village Board of Trustees on Wednesday, Dec. 10, unanimously approved three ordinances that will allow for the future construction and operation of a 200-acre, 49-megawatt solar farm north of Twombly Road.

The board approved a special-use permit to allow for the solar farm. It also approved a text amendment to its code to allow for the location of commercial solar panels on agriculturally zoned land, and a zoning variance for the project to have barbed wire on its fencing, which the village does not allow.

All three ordinances were approved by a vote of 3-1 with Village Trustee Eileen Braski voting against each of them.

The village previously approved a special-use permit for the solar farm in 2021 and extended it in 2022. Work on the project has seen delays and construction has not started, which made the project’s special-use permit through the village expire.

The project is now owned by Greenbacker, which purchased it from Enel Green Power, which submitted for the first two special-use permits. The project has seen no changes besides the need for a special-use permit after its previous versions expired.

The project has seen delays due to interconnection agreement issues with ComEd and the sale of the project. The project recently cleared a hurdle and came to an agreement with ComEd and is in the preliminary design and construction phase.

Construction is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2026 and be completed by May 2028. Greenbacker also has plans for a solar field in the same area south of Twombly Road that it is working with the city of Rochelle on that would be constructed at the same time.

Jim Rodriguez, an attorney for Greenbacker, said during the meeting that the power from the solar farm will go onto the grid for purchase, and that the city of Rochelle is among those that have considered purchasing it. The project will generate about $152,000 in property taxes for the village over its 25-year life, and $4,136,951 in total property taxes to local taxing bodies.

Hemstock

Village President Rick Rhoads read a report from Village Engineer Kaitlin Wright during the meeting that said a planned repair of the Hemstock Road bridge to reopen it in the spring is estimated to cost $85,000.

The bridge was closed by the Illinois Department of Transportation in mid-October. In July, Ogle County inspected the bridge and found that its load rating declined sharply from a 7 to a 4. After seeing those numbers, IDOT inspected the bridge in October and determined the steel piles that support it have deteriorated and that it should be closed. The bridge is owned by the Village of Hillcrest. Baxter & Woodman inspected the bridge on Nov. 6 and found that all eight steel piles are corroded, with two severely corroded and no longer supporting the bridge.

The bridge is 50 years old. Long-term, the bridge needs to be replaced in its entirety, which could cost about $1 million and take 3-4 years for funding and construction.

In the short-term to reopen it, the village will be pursuing a repair of the bridge. Corroded parts of the two failing steel piles would be removed and then encased in concrete. Concrete work would need to be done in the spring. Inspection and reopening would take place after that. Rhoads said Wednesday that the village plans to go out for bids for the project in January.

For the full replacement of the bridge, the village will work with IDOT long term. Eighty percent of the anticipated $1 million project could be covered by federal funds. Hillcrest would cover the remaining amount. The multi-year process would begin soon with potential funding in 2028 or later, Wright said in November.

The bridge was previously owned and maintained by White Rock Township. When Hillcrest annexed land in the area of the bridge in recent years, it came under village ownership due to village land being on both sides of it.

Open trustee position

Rhoads informed the board during the meeting that Trustee Tim Ball has resigned from his position due to moving out of the area. The village will be seeking applicants for potential appointment to his trustee seat. Ball handled ordinances for the village. The Hillcrest Village Board is currently made up of Rhoads and Trustees Dan Potter (water), Braski (finance), Pam Pittman (community relations), Patricia Garcia (health and welfare) and James Wiley (public works).

Donations

The village is still collecting donations for an “Adopt a Grandparent” campaign to benefit Liberty Village residents for the holidays. Monetary donations and unwrapped gifts can be dropped off at Village Hall at 204 Hillcrest Ave. by Dec. 19. Gift ideas include lap blankets, slip-proof socks, sweaters M-2XL, large print word search books, coloring books with colored pencils, 300-piece or less puzzles, wooden puzzles, mini cans of soda, shatter-proof plastic or acrylic tumblers, Squishmallows, new release DVDs, and plastic shower caddies. Monetary donations can be made in cash or checks made out to Liberty Village.