County at standstill in solar farm negotiations

The Putnam County Council may have agreed last month to grant tax abatement to a proposed solar farm near Russellville, but it was contingent upon further agreements between the developer and the Putnam County Commissioners.

Such an economic development agreement does not appear to be close, according to one commissioner.

“We couldn’t come to terms on a dollar amount,” Commissioner Rick Woodall said Tuesday. “We are still $1 million apart.”

The $1 million figure refers to the economic development payment that developer Tenaska and Arevon, the ultimate operator of the proposed Cold Spring Solar Farm, would agree pay to Putnam County in lieu of the personal property taxes not paid due to an abatement.

Woodall noted that there has been no communication with recently.

“It’s been crickets,” Woodall said. “The solar company — I haven’t heard a thing from them in three weeks.”

Not only must the commissioners come to terms with the developers on the economic development agreement, but also documents regarding road use and decommissioning of the solar panels.

And none of that takes into account stipulations the Putnam County Board of Zoning Appeals could place upon the project.

“I want to keep that in everybody’s mind that there are still agreements we have to work through, and the BZA too,” Woodall said.

The proposal is for a 1,800-acre and up to 200-megawatt solar farm east of Russellville. The land would not be owned by Arevon, but the owners would sign 30-year leases for the company to use the land for energy generation rather than agriculture, its current zoned use.

While participating landowners are on board, many neighbors are skeptical, citing reasons such as quality of life, property values, potential hazards, reliability of the technology and simply questioning the overall wisdom of taking productive agricultural land out of production for at least 30 years.

Jay Alcorn and Larry Parker, the two dissenting members in the 5-2 passage of the proposal, questioned the location in casting their votes.

However, developers say the location is important, as they need it to be near an electrical trunk line to make the plant viable.

Earlier in 2022, the Montgomery County declined to grant abatement to the project, which prompted developers to move the bulk of the proposal to Putnam County.

Skeptics have also questioned why the project should be approved if a tax abatement is the only way to make it viable. The abatement that was ultimately approved is a 75-percent reduction of personal property taxes on the equipment over the course of 10 years.

The land owner will continue paying property taxes on the land, and at an increased rate once the land is used for energy generation rather than ag production.

Even with the delay cited by Woodall, Tenaska’s schedule is likely not adversely affected, as construction is not estimated until 2026-27.

In other business, the Commissioners:

• Opened eight bids for the demolition of Jones School, with a wide range of costs.

The bids include Collom Excavaring (Rosedale), $163,000; Denney Co. (Plainfield), $166,948 (plus $42,000 for topsoil, seed and straw); All-American Construction and Hauling (Indianapolis), $172,000; Wooldridge Construction Group (Memphis, Ind.), $174,096; Gentry Demolition (Paragon), $182,000; PFS Excavation (Crawfordsville), $205,169.90; JASchroyer LLC (Muncie), $284,000; and S&G Excavating (Terre Haute), $299,650.

No decision was made, as the Commissioners review the bids.

They set a special meeting for 8 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 23 to make the determination.

• Granted a request by new Clerk Tracy Bridges for updates to her office.

Bridges noted that it’s been more than 20 years since the office has been updated, and that cabinets have been painted around, blinds are broken, counters are chipping and the carpet is bubbled, cuasing tripping hazards.

“I think we’re the last office on the second floor to be updated,” Bridges said.

Bridges noted that 12.5 percent of the Title IV D fund may be used for the upgrades, but the remaining $17,202 would need to come from elsewhere.

Auditor Kristina Berish noted that the money could be taken from Cumulative Courthouse Fund, as money is already earmarked for repairs and maintenance.

Approval was unanimous among President Tom Helmer, Vice President David Berry and Woodall.

• Approved a request from People Pathways to build maintenance access to the Putnam County Nature Trail at Limedale.

The access area will be east of the dead end of County Road 285 South and will include a gate so that only authorized personnel may reach the pathway with a vehicle.

Allison Leer of People Pathways noted that there will not have to be any drainage added to the area, simply clearing some brush and some stone to toughen up the ground that would be driven across.

• Speculated on the future of the county’s dust control plan for gravel roads.

Loren Hoopengarner, who previously installed the road oil in a program in which the county shared the cost with homeowners, has retired.

County Engineer Jim Peck asked the Commissioners if they would like to get out of the business or continue with a new conractor.

While a number of options exist, including using different materials, the Commissioners and Peck will consider options at an upcoming meeting.

• Met with County Treasurer Kathy Minnick as the County Board of Finance.

Minnick noted that moving some accounts to different banks had yielded more interest, as the county earned $113,000 in interest in 2022, up from $34,000 in 2021.

Woodall said he would like county officials to consider how they are using money and budgeting, considering that the county has $27 million currently in bank accounts.

“I feel like we have more money sitting there than we think,” Woodall said. “If we’re thinking about things like building an annex, are there other things we can do than borrowing?”