The Clinton County Commissioners emphatically enforced their moratorium on wind farms Monday morning with unanimous support for the moratorium and came within a step of scrapping the entire project now and in the future.
“I’m about to the point to stop this period,” said Commissioner Steve Woods. “I have never seen this county as divided on something as this has been in my over 40 years in politics.”
Woods made his comments in front of about 150 people in a meeting in the Skanta Theatre at the Frankfort Community Public Library. Woods and fellow Commissioners, President Josh Uitts and Scott Shoemaker, all reacted basically the same to a request by E.ON Development Manager Lael Eason to have an “open, honest and frequent dialogue with the county” about the project.
“It’s the overall effect of what this would mean for Clinton County,” said Uitts. “We’re talking about permanently altering the landscape and that’s a decision I don’t believe a group of Commissioners has been asked to make with the exception of the fellows that developed the landfill. I think that speaks for itself.
“It (wind farms) creates a lot of revenue but it’s also a source for a lot of complaints,” continued Uitts. “I feel like that’s what we would be dealing with again. I think that’s the one message that needed to be conveyed this morning. It’s been a divisive topic. It’s not something that hasn’t been talked about. We just haven’t had the communication from them. We didn’t feel like as Commissioners that we needed to seek that input.”
In fact, Uitts told Eason the last conversation they had in any form was an email on January 26, 2018.
After Eason made his request, Andy Robertson of Responsible Harvest spoke about the reasons not to end the moratorium.
“I think we have three Commissioners that are innovative, they have a vision for the future and I think we’re going to build on that future and become a part of that tier of Indiana right here with Tippecanoe County, Hamilton County and Boone County,” said Robertson. “That’s going to be our future which will be a bright and prosperous one.”
That was followed by four individuals, who all spoke publicly against the wind farms.
Another source of concern was the Baker Tilly report which E.ON used to paint a very gloomy economic forecast for the county.
According to statements from E.ON, the report said that in just a few years Clinton County will be running a nearly $500,000 deficit, and by 2023, will be $1.1 million in the red. The report also outlined raising taxes by $3.5 million in just three years as an option to cover the budget shortfall.
All three Commissioners blasted the report.
“I’m dismissing the report because it is too much doom and gloom,” said Shoemaker. “I take exception to that.”
Woods agreed and added “it said we would default in four years and that is not correct. I’m disappointed with the Baker Tilly report.”
Uitts said they use the report to help make decisions. “It’s not to be used as a scare tactic. We are very strong financially and we are not over budget. We are in a strong, strong financial state.”
Another thing that came out of the meeting was the fact that six of the seven counties surrounding Clinton County have all rejected wind farm projects.
Eason said he was disappointed with the decision.
“I do disagree in terms in some of the statements that were made,” he said. “We certainly feel and believe that a lot of what is dividing the community isn’t necessarily a wind farm project itself but the misinformation that is being spread regarding what a project could or would do for the county.
“I think if we were given an opportunity to at least present an application for consideration, we could then have a public process to discuss and discern fact from fiction,” he continued. “It’s disappointing that we’re not able to do that.”
Eason was asked what the next step is for his group.
“I do not know,” he said. “I think what we’ll do internally is huddle up. We’re not wanting to give up. But, they did make their statements clear. We have to figure out what out next move is internally.”
The project E.ON wanted to do was for 35 to 52 turbines in seven of the townships in eastern Clinton County.
Uitts said things could change in the future.
“Technology could change,” said Uitts. “We don’t want to bind anybody’s hands in the future. The main message is the moratorium is in place and this group of Commissioners doesn’t have any desire to lift that or move forward with anything.”