Retired engineer challenges met towers’ design

Gordon Woods
Posted 7/24/17

Retired engineer challenges met towers’ design

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Retired engineer challenges met towers’ design

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CLINTON — A retired mechanical / structural engineer is challenging the design of meteorological testing towers being erected in the northeast portion of DeWitt County.  

Don MacIsaac addressed the county board on Thursday, telling board members his opinions were based on “design, and they are based on the law.”

The testing tower will gather data to determine the suitability of the site for wind towers.

“I do not believe the design of these towers (met towers) are in accordance with the state requirement,” MacIsaac said.  

MacIsaac supplied the board with a packet containing what he felt were the design discrepancies of the met tower.  He said his concerns were outlined as design obligations, state requirements and engineering requirements, including code and stress requirements.

Reading a statement, MacIsaac said the design of the met tower was incomplete and that there was no conclusive proof that the design of the towers met State of Illinois requirements.  He said there was no documentation about the towers’ structural loading capacity.

MacIsaac also said that the drawing of the tower provided by the company building it cited the requirement on which it based its design but that it was “incorrect” according to state law.

He said that the towers did not meet state code or loading conditions.

An application for a special use permit for the met towers came to the full county board with the recommendation of the zoning board of appeals.  The zoning board (ZBA) conducts legal hearings to gather testimony before making its decisions.

When prompted by county board chairman David Newberg, MacIsaac said he had not submitted his information to the ZBA during its hearing.  County zoning administrator Angie Sarver said MacIsaac was aware that the ZBA meeting was scheduled to take place earlier in July.

“I told him that, in order to voice his concerns, he needed to go through the ZBA hearing that night,” Sarver said.

This created an obstacle for MacIsaac’s effort, since the county board is prohibited by statute from considering any information not presented as testimony to the ZBA.

“The only thing this board can consider is what was presented at ZBA,” Newberg said.

MacIsaac asked, “So …you are willing to violate state law and good engineering practices for the sake of me not being able to make that meeting?”

MacIsaac said his next step would be to contact the State of Illinois’ chief engineer.

The board voted to approve the special use permit.