The Waterloo City Council approved a land annexation and a union contract during its regular meeting Monday night, but has also discussed topics ranging from chickens and bees to solar power and video gambling in committee meetings.

Following a public hearing, the council approved an annexation agreement with Dennis R. Brand and BMW Trust for 15.22 acres contiguous to the corporate boundaries of Waterloo city limits. 

Brand said this tract of land, to be known as Hart Acres, is located behind Cedarhurst Senior Living off Hamacher Street and will comprise of one residence on the lot.

In other action, the council OK’d the purchase of a new skid steer loader for the city’s street department at a cost of $117,485.11 from Fabick CAT. Per Waterloo Public Works Director JR Landeck, this new piece of equipment came in under what was budgeted and will replace an older item being used by the street department.

In his report, Landeck told the council that paving will be taking place this week on Third Street and that this project “should be wrapping up” soon.

A 13-minute executive session was followed by aldermen approving a two-year contract between the city and the Fraternal Order of Police representing officers in the Waterloo Police Department.

Waterloo Mayor Stan Darter said this union contract involves a 4 percent cost of living adjustment for officers in the first year and a 3.75 percent raise the following year.

These salary increases are consistent with those included in the most recent contract for the city’s workers in the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, Darter said.

Also as part of the new FOP contract is the relaxation of a residency requirement for WPD officers  from within 10 miles to within 25 miles of city limits.

Darter said the city had been operating on the 25-mile residency limit for the past few years but wanted to make sure it was stated as such in this contract.

Prior to the council meeting, an ordinance committee took place during which the allowance of chickens, bees and other animals within city limits was discussed.

The relevant ordinance currently prohibits possession of animals including swine, goats, horses, cattle and fowl within city limits. 

There wasn’t much of a discussion, though, as Alderman Jim Hopkins quickly made a motion to keep the existing ordinance as it is.

“I believe the ordinance has served us well,” Hopkins said. 

The motion carried, and the committee did the same on the topic of bees. 

Also at this committee meeting, Darter asked aldermen if video gambling in the city has reached a point of saturation. The consensus among those present was in the affirmative.

A discussion on how best to move forward on the handling of video gambling licenses in the city going forward and what would need to be included in an ordinance amendment offered an array of opinions.

Darter said he was basically looking to “get the ball rolling” on this topic, and the ordinance committee will revisit the matter in an upcoming meeting.

During a June 9 utility meeting, Country Club Hills resident Paul Pecha approached the council about net metering and the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency’s Fair Solar Credit rate. 

Pecha said he installed solar panels on his home in  2023. The Fair Solar Credit rate went from 82 percent to 44 percent and now 30 percent since that time, he said, while electric rates have shown a slight climb.

“Why wouldn’t the net metering rate kind of track the electrical rate?” Pecha asked. “I understand the goal is to just compensate the citizen of Waterloo that’s putting electricity back on the grid, you know, kind of offset the savings the city has for their electricity, but still charge the resident for like line maintenance fees and program fees and stuff like that.”

Pecha told the Republic-Times that since he installed solar panels on his 2,300-square-foot residence in September 2023, his average monthly electric bill is $126.20 (plus an average of $7.41 in tax and a $12 flat fee), and his average solar credit is $37.02 spanning three different periods of changing solar credit rates. 

Darter replied that the city has a long-term contract with IMEA and that Landeck has provided information on this Fair Solar Credit rate to Pecha previously.

“Why does it continue to drop?” Pecha asked Darter.

“I can’t tell you that,” Darter replied, adding later that the city pays “what IMEA calculates it at.”

Darter further added that of the estimated 5,000 utility bills issued in Waterloo, there are 20 solar customers.

“I’m working on educating myself on the subject matter a little bit better so we can have a conversation where I can give you more of the information that you are asking for,” Landeck told Pecha.

When asked by one alderman if he had contacted IMEA directly on this matter, Pecha said had received a call from an IMEA representative but labeled it as a “confusing conversation.”

When a request for this information was sent by the Republic-Times, IMEA Vice President of Government Affairs and Member Services Staci Wilson offered the following official response:

“Rooftop solar creates bill savings. Under net metering, Waterloo customers receive full rate bill savings for offsetting their on-site energy needs with solar generation. They also receive bill savings (or a credit) for exporting any excess generation back to the grid beyond what they self supply or use in their home. The City of Waterloo uses a Fair Solar Credit for the rate at which this excess power is calculated to best reflect the value of energy being pushed on to the system at the time that it is being produced.  In implementing this approach, a utility is trying to ensure fair cost allocation and protection of affordability between residents who do and do not have solar.

“The Fair Solar Credit is a one-year lag indicator that reflects the value of energy being pushed onto the system at the time that it is being produced. This means it will change year-to-year based upon energy and capacity markets and transmission charges. The Fair Solar Credit will fluctuate based upon these market conditions. Some years it will be higher and other times it will be lower.

“To ensure an accurate and data-driven policy, the Illinois Municipal Utilities Association hired Utility Financial Solutions, a consulting firm, to help create the Fair Solar Credit methodology for net metering. This FSC is calculated from the actual value of the capacity, energy, transmission and avoided distribution costs and losses from the prior calendar year. This calculation best reflects actual avoided costs that are no longer incurred by the utility upon receipt of the customer’s solar energy.  Each of these components fluctuate not only year-to-year, but also on an hourly basis. This is why IMUA utilizes public data for each component such as the real time weighted solar value from the Regional Transmission Organization, the annual capacity prices established by annual auction through the Regional Transmission Organization, and transmission costs charged based on usage at system peak times by the Regional Transmission Organizations.”