EUREKA -- Some farmers who signed contracts with Navitas Energy for a wind tower have become disillusioned with the project near El Paso.

"If I had it to do all over again today, I wouldn't sign the contract," John DeLaney, who farms southwest of El Paso, told the Woodford County Conservation, Planning and Zoning Committee Tuesday.

"I'm really getting the feeling that we've been taken advantage of," he said.

Last month, the County Board rejected an extension in time for construction permits for El Paso Wind, LLC. The 34-tower wind farm faces a deadline of Aug. 19 to apply for construction permits. The $160-million, 80-megawatt project was developed by Navitas Energy of Minneapolis and later sold to Babcock and Brown of Australia. The company has gone through bankruptcy reorganization, and the project owners are now called Pattern Energy.

DeLaney said property owners had to sign confidentiality agreements about the amount of their lease payments, and, "Since that time it seems that every other project around us has had a much higher rate."

He asked that the committee and the County Board to "try to hold their feet to the fire to get them to be equitable and fair and honest about this if in fact this project is going to proceed."

His comments came during the Public Input portion of the agenda. No action was taken by the committee.

The committee received a summary of the Woodford County Comprehensive Plan, which has been in the works for more than a year by a committee made up of public officials and two businessmen.

Maggie Martino of the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission said the previous plan was written in 1996 and they should be reviewed every five or 10 years as things change.

She outlined six themes and principles in the plan. The themes are economic development, proactive collaboration, Illinois River, balanced growth of agriculture and other types of development, respect for the environment, and transportation.

"When did the communists take over Woodford County?" committee member Doug Huser asked Martino. "My father owned 600 acres out there; he's busted his butt his whole life - worked three jobs; I've worked seven days a week. If I fall down and break my leg where I can't work, and if I want to subdivide that land out, why should the government tell me what I can do with my family farm?

"I don't think they have that right. And on the transportation, years ago - I live in Germantown Hills - years ago, they fought and fought to get this ring road down. It was obvious the citizens down there did not want that ring road. Here it is several years later, we're wasting tax dollars to try to put the ring road in again. I don't think that's right.

"Then you want to talk up here about your economic development. This country was built on home-based business. After this whole plan was written, Woodford County went and wrote this new ordinance and basically killed home-based businesses. They killed them! So I don't understand we want to say hey, economic development, let's get the businesses boosted, but yet we write an ordinance to where nobody can have a business. It doesn't make sense."

When Huser finished, Martino said, "This is exactly why I'm here to get feedback from this group to see if we should proceed or not proceed."

County Board Member James Fyke, who is on the land use committee, said members have received extensive input on the plan and that it will be up to the full county board if it wants to follow it.

"The County Board can do whatever it wants to because it's their comprehensive use plan," he said.

Committee members agreed to discuss the first three of the plan's themes at their next meeting and the remainder at their October meeting.

Fyke also urged people to attend an open house on options for the ring road that will be from 3 to 7 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 20, at Countryside Banquet Facility, 659 School St., Washington.

In other business, Zoning Administrator John Hamann informed the committee that some land in the Spring Bay area is within the corporate limits of Peoria Heights.

Peoria Heights does not assess taxes or provide services to the area. Mayor Mark Allen said Wednesday that the land was purchased about 40 years ago after concerns about legislation in Springfield that might require the Heights to be annexed to the city of Peoria. The legislation was never approved, but the city still owns the acreage, some of which is wooded or often under water.

Some of the homes on Sunset Drive that are in the flood plain are included in those corporate limits.

Patricia Heck of 1305 Sunset Drive, who has an ongoing zoning dispute with the county as she attempts to sell her home, said she might approach Peoria Heights with her dilemma.

Hamann has been meeting with the state's attorney's office to come up with a solution and is waiting to hear from FEMA on a grant application to purchase about 30 properties in the flood plain.