The Rochelle city council voted unanimously Monday to sell 2.5 acres of property it owns on Technology Parkway for $218,000 to a developer with plans for a hotel on the land.

The land will be purchased by Up Next Hospitality. Pratyush Patel is president of the purchasing business. The property was purchased at a price of $2 per square foot. Technology Parkway is located on the east edge of Rochelle off Dement Road near the Petro Travel Center.

The city will split the costs of the plats for the property, which the developer can pay for and then identify as a credit at the closing of the sale.

Contract

The council voted unanimously to award a contract to Michels Power for $11.89 million for the construction of new 34.5kV transmission line connecting Rochelle Municipal Utilities’ Ritchie Road electric substation to its new Centerpoint Drive substation. Construction of the new substation and line is currently in preliminary stages and the total project is expected to cost around $20 million.

The city received four bids for the project. The low bid was from Helm Electric for $10 million, but the city and its consultant on the project, BHMG Engineers, concluded that Helm Electric did not have a track record of experience for the size and complexity of the project. Michels Power was the second lowest bid.

The substation and line project is being done to improve RMU power redundancy, support system resiliency and provide necessary capacity for future commercial and industrial growth in the west end of RMU’s service territory.

A 2023 engineering estimate for the line work was $7.99 million; $10.4 million was budgeted for the expenditure. A BHMG representative said Monday that the bids received were consistent with current industry pricing.

LCIDA

The council unanimously approved an extension to its agreement with the Lee County Industrial Development Association (LCIDA) for continued economic development services through April 30, 2027, for $100,000 per year.

The council approved the original agreement with LCIDA in July 2024 and it expired in December. LCIDA came into play after the city’s previous in-house economic development director, Jason Anderson, retired in 2024. Tom Demmer has been handling the work for LCIDA and the city.

Under the contract, Demmer will work up to 25 hours per week assisting Rochelle’s city manager with economic development.

Farm leases

The council voted unanimously to approve two farm lease agreements with Kevin Herrmann and Petry Farms.

Over the past several years, the city has purchased over 55 acres of land for future city railroad expansion. Until that rail expansion happens, the property is being leased out as farmland.

The city approved a farm management agreement in early 2025 with Martin, Goodrich, Waddell, Inc. to manage the property and the agreement will be automatically renewed for successive one-year terms unless either party gives no less than 30 days’ written notice.

The city pays 6% of gross revenues, with the fee being no less than $1,500, to the farm manager.

Agreement

The council unanimously approved an amendment to a 2024 redevelopment agreement with Rochelle Hub, LLC for 1663 S. Main St. that will see its required timelines extended. The business is a truck center.

Originally agreed to on Oct. 28, 2024, the development agreement has three phases, ranging from 1-5 years. The developer asked for a new extension of phase one to June 30, 2026, due to weather constraints on construction in 2025.

Phase one includes a hard surface area on the corner of South Main Street and Steward Road. Phase two and three timelines will remain the same under the original agreement.

Fees

The council unanimously approved the extension of a moratorium on building permit fees and sewer, water and electric connection fees for new single-family residential housing construction. The council originally put the moratoriums on the fees in place in 2019.

The savings per house on average is around $400 for the building permit depending on square footage, a $700 sewer connection fee and a $50 electric connection fee for a total of $1,150.

The same fees will be waived for properties that have been vacant for six months or more, with a minimum investment of $15,000 to “assist with addressing blight” and “encourage habilitation of existing housing,” the meeting’s agenda packet said.

The moratoriums will be extended to the end of the year, with the availability for the city manager to extend them through the end of 2027.

“Anything we can do to stimulate growth in the housing market is important,” City Councilman Tom McDermott said. “This is one of those small things the city can do.”