March 29, 2024

Moving forward

County supervisors hold public hearing, vote to move forward with wind ordinance

The Union County Board of Supervisors held the first public hearing on a proposed wind farm ordinance 10 a.m. Monday at the Union County Courthouse. Approximately 25 people including the three board members, the county auditor and the county attorney were present.

During the hearing, concerned citizens spoke about the wind ordinance. Joanie Finck of Adair County said the board of supervisors has done a good job with the ordinance, but she feels there are areas which need to be addressed further before the ordinance is passed.  She does not agree that a 1,500 foot setback from non-participating landowners’ inhabited structures is sufficient.

Finck cited examples of fires and pieces of broken blades from turbines as dangers to the neighboring farms. She also commented on the fact that the setback from inhabited structures is only 1,500 feet. This could infringe on the non-participating landowners’ ability to build an additional residence on their own property because it might be too close to a turbine. Finck suggested that the wording be changed to “1,500 feet from the property line of a non-participating land owner or three times the height of the wind turbine, whichever is greater.”

Finck also commented on the lighting used on turbines, which she feels can be annoying, and the decommissioning plan, which only requires structures to be removed to 48 inches below the surface. She spoke of the possible disruption to Creston’s Hot Air Balloon Days and the revenue that brings to small business owners in Creston.

Walter Fengler, who lives along the northern city limit in Creston, wanted to know why residents are not informed before wind farms are erected, however he also stated that he does not subscribe to the newspaper and learned of the public hearing via “hearsay.”

Union County Supervisor, Ron Riley, later addressed this question stating, “We’ve had it on the agenda; we’ve been talking for about six months. It’s been on the paper and on the radio a lot.”

Larry Mark questioned why the supervisors would allow wind farming in Union county at all. He stated, “Financially it makes no sense.” He quoted Warren Buffet, “If we didn’t get government subsidies these things would make no sense at all. He urged the supervisors not to allow wind farming in Union County.

Paul Ehm of Adair County spoke of the difficulties such as noise, the red lights and disagreements between neighbors, which arose because Adair County did not implement such a thorough ordinance before allowing turbines to be built. He urged the Union County Board of Supervisors to learn from Adair County’s mistakes.

Jesse Giza, who works with the turbine companies erecting windmills, countered the issues raised by stating that fires can happen with any machinery and tornadoes can deposit debris just as easily as a wind turbine.

Giza listed the benefits to the county from possible turbine projects; tax dollars, jobs and county road improvements. He went on to say that wind turbine companies such as MidAmerican upgrade roads and bridges before using them to bring in their heavy equipment and then return the roads to the upgraded condition when the project is completed, saving the county money on road repairs.

Randy Miller, a Union County resident who has already leased approximately 480 acre farm to MidAmerican for use in windfarming, talked about the impact that the added income can have for small farmers. He also said he would prefer the temporary road disruption from constructing turbines to the permanent problems caused when large groups of houses are built in an area accessed by gravel roads.

Miller stated that farmers are small business owners, too; and they operate year-round, unlike the three-day balloon festival.

After the meeting, Miller commented on the minimal disruption that having wind turbines would bring to his farming operations. He will still have cattle and crops, and although there might be some reduction in those, with the price of corn and beans so low, he would rather have the secure income from the easements.

Roger Vicker, a Union County resident who has been present for many of the supervisor meetings where the ordinance was discussed, responded to a comment from a previous speaker that the citizens have not been sufficiently informed. He said, although there have been many opportunities for public input on the ordinance and plenty of publicizing in both the newspapers and radio, “the residents haven’t shown up.”

Adam Jablonski with MidAmerican Energy responded to some of the comments. “There is no metal in the blades.” Accidents happen, “but they are very few and far between.” There are 50,000 of these across the United States with MidAmerican owning 2,600.

Jablonski also stated that although the decomissioning plan only requires removal down to four feet, the land owner can speicify in their agreements that the structure must be removed entirely.

Riley addressed some of the questions from the gallery. He stated that the county would not limit the total number of wind turbines because there is no zoning in the unincorporated areas of Union County – this decision is between the landowner and the company.

Union County Attorney Tim Kenyon also stated that due to the amount of land in Union County which is not eligible for wind farming because of wildlife, lakes, parks, city limits and incorporated areas, the total number of wind turbines is already limited.

After everyone who chose to do so had had a chance to speak, Dennis Brown, County Supervisor Chair closed the public forum. The board of supervisors voted unanimously to approve the first reading of the ordinance, although they stressed that this is only one step in the process and that the ordinance can be modified as needed in the future.

The second public hearing will be held 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Union County Courthouse, 300 N. Pine St.