Committee of the Whole October 26, 2026

The City of Belvidere Committee of the Whole met on October 26, 2026. The committee approved renewing the city’s property and casualty and workers’ compensation coverage with IML RMA for January 1, 2027–January 1, 2028, at $85,117.17, including $2,000 in dues and an early-payment discount. The RFP was sent to three firms; Robertson Ryan Insurance was the only competing proposer. The city also received the Ida Public Library’s tax levy request of $895,340, a 5% increase ($42,635), for information only; council approval is required by late December.

Most of the meeting’s discussion concerned the proposed Project Hawkeye data center. Residents raised concerns about electricity and water demand, utility costs, noise, pollution, emergency response, land use, and transparency. The mayor said no final decision or agreement had been made and that the project’s detailed scope was still awaited. A motion directing the city attorney to draft a resolution instructing the mayor and administration to cease discussions and negotiations with Datawatt Energy was put to a vote; a motion to table it failed, and the underlying motion appears to have passed 8–2. This was a direction to draft a resolution, not a final vote approving or rejecting the data center. The city attorney noted legal questions about the council’s authority to restrict the mayor’s communications and said further research was needed. The mayor also said a $150,000 reimbursement arrangement was intended to cover city due-diligence expenses, not a project approval.