Hillcrest Village officials are exploring new ways to enforce local ordinances and considering forming a shared police force with nearby villages after recent conflicts with residents and enforcement difficulties.

At their Oct. 8 meeting, trustees discussed ongoing issues with ordinance violations such as vehicles parking in yards, tall grass, and rubbish accumulation.

Village President Rick Rhoads said some residents have resisted enforcement efforts, including one incident where a resident threatened to call the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office for trespassing when a village official tried to issue a citation.

During the meeting, Trustee Tim Ball was named ordinance trustee, taking over from his previous role overseeing health and welfare. The village also employs an employee who handles ordinance enforcement alongside water-related duties, as well as a building inspector.

Rhoads said the village is considering purchasing body cameras to document interactions during ordinance enforcement and water shutoffs. Village Attorney Paul Chadwick advised caution in dealing with ordinance violations.

“It’s hard to enforce the ordinances, outside of visual observation by the village building inspector and taking photos and documenting things and sending letters,” Chadwick said. “I would caution the village on interactions like that. I would advise the village to pursue a few of the worst ordinance violators in court, and hope that word gets around.”

Hillcrest currently relies on the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office for policing, but Rhoads said he is exploring the possibility of creating a shared police force with nearby villages such as Creston, Steward, and Ashton.

“These small towns can’t afford a police force all on their own,” he said. “If you split it 3-4 ways, it would be easier. You could split the hours each week and share the vehicle and insurance. I have someone looking into that.”

Lead

The board and Village Engineer Kaitlin Wright discussed the remaining 60 unknowns in a state-mandated water service line inventory project. Over the past two years, the village was required to check to see if water lines running into homes were made of lead or galvanized pipe for future replacement.

The village’s next submission to the state is due April 15, 2026 and by 2027 it must provide information on all lines or they will have to be replaced. One line made of lead was previously reported, but was found to be copper. No lead has been found in Hillcrest thus far.

The outstanding 60 homes have received two letters and one door knock with no success. Wright stressed to the board the importance of finding the makeup of those lines before 2027 to avoid costs of replacing them.

Trustees and Wright discussed possible solutions on Oct. 8 including additional letters, slowing down or shutting off water service to the homes, outdoor potholing to find the makeup for $600-800 a home, or sending a local plumber to check the lines. The village does have a right to view its water meters, which are located with the water service lines inside homes.

Solar

The board tabled a public hearing for and vote on a special use permit and variance for the construction and operation of a 49-megawatt solar farm north of Twombly Road due to necessary changes to its zoning code and representatives from the solar company not being present.

The village previously approved a special use permit for the solar farm in 2021 and extended it in 2022. Work on the project has seen delays and construction has not started, which made the project’s special use permit through the village expire.

The project is now owned by Greenbacker, which purchased it from Enel Green Power, which submitted for the first two special use permits. The project has seen no changes besides the need for a special use permit after its previous versions expired.

The project has seen delays due to interconnection agreement issues with ComEd and the sale of the project. The project recently cleared a hurdle and came to an agreement with ComEd and is in the preliminary design and construction phase. If the special use permit is approved, construction is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2026 and be completed by May 2028. Greenbacker also has plans for a solar field in the same area south of Twombly Road that it is working on with the City of Rochelle that would be constructed at the same time.

In the past, the village has heard public comments against the proposed solar farm from nearby property owners.

A public hearing is needed due to a solar ordinance the village passed since the last special use permit that will allow it to charge building permit fees for the project. That ordinance will have to be amended to include language for solar on agricultural land, which it does not currently include. The matter will be revisited in November.

Sewer

Wright said environmental sign-off work is ongoing in preparation for Hillcrest potentially applying for a grant to help pay for the installation of additional sewer service in portions of the village in the future.

Most of Hillcrest does not have sewer service and is served by septic. Trustees have looked at adding sewer service in the past but decided against it due to costs.

The grant could provide up to $5 million in funding if Hillcrest is selected for it, and the amount would depend on the size of the project the village wants to take on.

The village has discussed the idea of running sewer to Hillcrest’s business district on Powers Road in the past, along with running sewer to homes in the southern portion of the village, which is where its oldest homes with the smallest yards are. If sewer were to be run to residential homes, hookup would not be mandatory for residents until the time that their septic failed.

“We need to do sewer work,” Rhoads said. “The need for it is on the south side. We’ll look into all of that and I think we need to move forward on trying to get a grant.`

Parking lot

A new asphalt parking lot was recently installed at Village Hall and is awaiting striping. Back in July, the board unanimously approved a $68,875 bid from Royer Asphalt for parking lot paving and striping at Village Hall. The paving also included the maintenance shed parking lot behind Village Hall.

The recently-completed Priority 1A water main project saw the Village Hall parking lot torn out and not completely put back into place. Rhoads said striping will be done as soon as the contractor is available.