November Logan County Board briefs Planning and Zoning, Building and Grounds, Road and Bridge plans

 

[December 01, 2021] 

At the Logan County Board’s Regular meeting, the board voted on action items from several committees.

Board members present were Board Chairman Emily Davenport, Vice Chairman Scott Schaffenacker, David Blankenship, Janet Estill, Bob Farmer, David Hepler, Steve Jenness, Keenan Leesman, Dale Nelson, Bob Sanders and Jim Wessbecher.

Planning and Zoning/Economic Development Committee update

Planning and Zoning Chairman David Hepler brought forward two motions:

- To amend the conditional use to allow the continuous pour extended hours for Mulligan Solar Farm for six months at the receipt of the delayed transformer.

- To approve extended hours for site inspection, monitoring, and testing at Mulligan Solar Farm. Mulligan Solar asking for relief from the daytime restrictions due to supply chain issues and unanticipated activities.

Kyle Barry, attorney for the project, explained the need for the extended hours at the Planning and Zoning Committee meeting and Board Workshop.

Supply chain issues have delayed the delivery of the transformer, but they hope to have it soon. Once the transformer is installed at the substation, it will need to be filled with oil. Barry said there is a filtering process that will continuously pump oil into the transformer over a 72-hour period.

For the continuous pour, Barry said they would use an electric pump, which is not loud. The continuous pour would be done about 1,000 feet west of the existing Fogarty Switchyard, where the new substation is going in. It is right along the frontage road near the switchyard and not far from the interstate with the nearest home about one-quarter mile away.

Additionally, some testing will need to be done after dark. Barry said testing will be done on transformers, the control system, underground cables, inverters and the weather station.

Project Site Manager James Richards said they would probably start doing testing in mid-December. Because they would be using laptops and flashlights, there would not be any loud noises emitted during testing.

Both motions were approved 10-1 with Schaffenacker abstaining.

Economic Development

For the Economic Development portion of the meeting, Hepler brought forward a motion to approve the Logan County Board Chairman as a contact person for any economic development inquiries for Logan County. This was unanimously approved by the 11 members present.

Building and Grounds Committee Update

The Board approved the following motions by Building and Grounds Chairman David Blankenship:

- A new Orr Building lease in the amount of $2,000 per month through 2023 subject to state’s attorney’s approval.

The Orr Building will continue to be used for office space and meetings during the restoration.

- A request for proposals from photographers within Logan County for the purpose of historical documentation of the Logan County Courthouse Restoration.

Project Manager Bill Walter of MRTS said that with other restorations he has done they generally follow a set schedule for having photographs taken. He said they could have a photographer come once a week to take photos of predetermined activities. When something unexpected is being done, the photographer may get additional calls. Walter would like to have a series of photos on a loop to show the process on a video screen.

Animal Control Committee update

The board approved two reappointments for Logan County Animal Control. Jane Whiteman was reappointed as the Warden and Matthew Viner as Assistant Warden.

Road and Bridge Committee update

The board approved the following Road and Bridge Committee motions:

- A utility agreement with Frontier to move communications cables along Fifth Street Road. The county’s share is $42,864.47 payable from Motor Fuel Tax funds.

- A resolution for the 2022 Motor Fuel Tax Maintenance Program on County Highways in the amount of $1,036,470.87.

The next regular board meeting will be held Tuesday, December 14 at 6 p.m. in the Orr Building. The regular meeting and the board workshop have been moved by a week due to the holidays.

[Angela Reiners]