EATON — The Preble County Board of Commissioners heard from residents of Harrison Township during its regular meeting, Wednesday, Jan. 11, regarding concerns about a solar farm being built within their community.
One of the two residents who spoke to commission, Bill Hemp, requested information regarding a public meeting which had been rumored to be held in November of 2022, which never materialized. The commissioners stated the meeting is still planned to take place in the near future, and had been postponed due to illness within their office.
Hemp also read a letter of concern addressed to the board members of Harrison Township.
“Today, in our world, when it comes to our children we are told if we’d like to drive with our children in a vehicle, they must be in a car seat. This is along the laws put in place to protect the lives and safety of our children. Parents did not make this decision; the elected officials did. I understand it is difficult to tell another person what they can, and cannot do with the property that they own. However, a person should not have the ability to do whatever they want with their land if it is going to impact someone’s health, or decrease the value of someone’s land, or have the potential to cause some kind of negative impact to the neighbors,”
“Our county has taken the time to vote on elected officials to make these difficult decisions that will protect the people of our community. I ask you make the difficult decision to make Harrison Township a nonrenewable energy area,” concluded Hemp.
A second resident questioned commissioner Adam Craft about the content of a meeting he held with the solar company in 2021.
“They just were trying to plead their case. Really, it was moreso I encouraged them to go out and meet with community members, to tell their side of the story. I think they ended up doing that a short time after, some kind of meeting held at the firehouse,” answered Craft.
The resident also inquired about the board of commissioners’ stance on Senate Bill 52, which is an amendment of the Revised Code to permit a board of county commissioners to prevent Power Siting Board certification of certain wind and solar facilities, to provide for ad hoc members of the power siting board, and to establish decommissioning requirements for certain wind and solar facilities, according to Ohio legislative documentation.
“I think that, for me, I’ve just wanted to gather more facts in this case. I’ve been paying attention to the surrounding counties and how they’re handling the language,” stated Craft.
“With Senate Bill 52 being brand new, it’s kind of one of those things where you don’t want to buy the first truck off the assembly line of the new year,” Craft added.
Commissioners expressed, they have not felt the need to act with urgency in this situation, as currently no official documentation exists to indicate the solar company plans to build in Harrison Township, according to the commissioners.
The resident went on to ask, “So as commissioners, going forward with anything, speaking of any kind of project, what impacts you the most to say yes, or no? What do you look for to make a justified decision?”
“Well, that’s a good question,” began Craft. “I think for me, and I’m going to pick on my own self and my age here, being the young guy, I want to protect and preserve Preble County for my kids. I’ve got a twelve-year-old, and eight-year-old and a five-year-old, as I watch them grow up — I grew up in Preble County and I want to be able to continue to protect that.”
“I want it to be a good investment for the county moving forward. So, if we don’t allow the county to grow in a smart meaningful way, the only other option is to let it die,” finished Craft.
“I’m very similar, but I sit back and look. There are two sides to every story, maybe more sides. I grew up farming, that’s what my income has been, and I’ve lived through a lot of hard times. Didn’t make much money, made a lot of high interest. I look at these people who have farms around here, and you say, ‘they need a break,’ they’ve toiled their whole lives. But yet, we got to look at both sides. I’m not going to shut them out, I understand their position,” stated Commissioner David Haber.
“First, I’m going to ask if it’s legal, then in my mind if I find out whatever is being requested is legal, then I’m going to look at impacts from both sides. I hear the discussion related to private property rights — if you could do whatever you wanted with your property, we wouldn’t have planning and zoning. So, with that, I very much appreciate individual rights, but I also respect that as a society we’ve come together to set rules. Those rules are in place so that future generations aren’t left with a mess that they get to clean up, and I know for younger generations, why can’t we do it better than the other guy?” answered Commissioner Rachael Vonderhaar.
“So, when we look at this discussion specifically, for me, solar is not new to the west, and not new related to large solar arrays out west, and they have problems related to how solar and wind are made out west. My thought is, there has got to be a way to do it better. We should have learned something by now, and we shouldn’t have to repeat the past,” said Vonderhaar.
For more information regarding Senate Bill 52, visit www.legislature.ohio.gov.
In other business:
• The commissioners approved the new hire of Autumn Cooper, as outreach coordinator with MHRB.
• The commissioners approved the resignation of Melissa Cobb, executive assistant with Veterans Services.
• Commissioners noted receipt of the 2022 Dog Warden’s report: 205 dogs were impounded, 130 calls were made to the dog warden, 44 dog drop-offs, with 32 of those being retrieved by the owner. Fifty-eight dogs were retrieved by individuals other than the original owner; 21 dogs were euthanized, and 120 were rescued.
Reach Nathan Hoskins at 937-683-4057.
