| Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005. |
Wind farm concerns capture Knox County Board’s attention
Translate: FROM English | TO English
Translate: FROM English | TO English
Several Knox County Board members said Wednesday it was time for the county to begin addressing concerns about wind farms.
One issue raised Wednesday by Member Greg Bacon, D-District 2, was the permit fees for industrial and private use. A couple building a 67-foot wind tower is being charged the same fees as a for-profit company. Bacon said a two-tiered system is needed for private individuals versus companies.
With wind energy company Invenergy beginning to put up structures to measure the area’s wind capacity, Board Chairman Allen Pickrel, R-District 1, said several issues need to be addressed. One of his biggest concerns is protecting farmers from contract language that grants the company easements rather than leases. The second is setting up a bonding procedure to make sure the county has money to decommission towers in case the company goes bankrupt.
In other business, Knox County Supervisor of Assessments Chris Gray, said the three buildings known as CRC Cherry Street Facility, more commonly referred to as St. Mary’s Square, had received tax exempt status from the Illinois Department of Revenue. It had applied in 2004 and 2006, and was rejected both times. CRC appealed the 2006 ruling, and in December the Department of Revenue granted it.
Therefore, all the taxing bodies that received the $187,500 in taxes St. Mary’s Square contributed will not get their share of the money in 2008 and will have to repay the money from 2007. Gray did not have figures in front of her for the county’s portion, but said it was “way less than half,” adding Galesburg District 205 would get the biggest hit.
By Matt Hutton
24 January 2008
This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.
The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.
| Wind Watch relies entirely on User Contributions |
 (via Stripe) |
 (via Paypal) |
Share:
[ Short URL: https://wind-watch.org/news/?p=10208 ]
