Vermilion County Board VCAB's Zoom Meeting

Vermilion County Board meeting, October 13, 2026. The board adopted amendments to its wind and solar ordinances to align with Illinois law, including fee caps of $125,000 for special-use applications and $75,000 for building permits, at a stated rate of $5,000 per megawatt. The revisions also add public-open-house and battery-storage provisions and limit required solar vegetative buffers. Members discussed two community-solar proposals and conditions addressing decommissioning, annual reporting, weed management, fire-district coordination and reimbursement of emergency-response costs; one proposal’s conditions prohibit battery storage. The transcript indicates approval votes on solar matters, but the vote details are garbled. The board also discussed state-law limits on county authority and pending Illinois Supreme Court review of solar-permitting discretion.

The board approved the county budget, described as holding the property-tax rate below the prior year and relying in part on fund balances. Budget and capital discussions included a roughly $4 million facility-project placeholder, alongside a $2.5 million Naylor Foundation commitment; courthouse exterior work is underway with Performance Services, with lintel repairs still unresolved and costs subject to contract limits. Members also noted a proposed $1 million state contribution to the arena after the county’s prior $100,000 HVAC contribution. A technology-department grant was recognized. A board member proposed, but did not move for adoption, a notice-of-intent and possible $250,000–$500,000 filing fee for future nuclear-reactor projects.