BRADLEY — The Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School Board OK’d a 2025 farm lease Monday for the part of the district’s farm property not slated to be taken up by a community solar project.
The lease for Robert Kohl, who farms part of the district’s 111-acre property on Larry Power Road in Bourbonnais Township, is renewed annually.
With a 40-acre community solar project in the works by California-based company Forefront Power, the amount of farmland Kohl is able to use was reduced to 66 acres with last year’s lease.
The 2024 lease charged Kohl for 60 of those acres, for a total cost of $14,580; he was not charged the $1,458 cost for the remaining six acres. This was considered payment for the additional upkeep required around a new access road around the solar array fence, including mowing and spraying for weeds.
The 2025 agreement will charge Kohl a rate of $248 per acre for 60 acres, for a total cost of $14,880, with the $1,488 cost for six acres waived again for the upkeep of the land.
The rate is based on the previous year’s average cash rent for the county.
The district originally purchased the Bourbonnais Township farmland in 2005 with the intention of building a second high school campus there.
That plan was eventually dropped.
In February 2023, the BBCHS Board approved a contract with Forefront Power to move forward with a community solar project on the land.
Superintendent Matt Vosberg said the company has not yet begun construction, but it is expected to start soon.
The company is currently working out details with a drainage commissioner to ensure safe construction on the property, he said.
He noted the school district is still receiving rent from Forefront even though construction hasn’t begun.
Over its 20-year lease with Forefront, the district is slated to receive a total of $2.4 million in rent.
According to a subscription agreement approved by the board in January 2024, BBCHS will subscribe to 10% of the energy generated from the site and receive a 15% discount from ComEd, resulting in an estimated on-bill savings of $283,000 over 20 years.