August 27, 2012
Indiana

Keep an eye on wind turbine talk, city council told

By Bob Shraluka | Decatur Daily Democrat | www.decaturdailydemocrat.com 27 August 2012

Wind turbines haven’t often been on the minds of Decatur officials lately, but a rural Decatur resident, Doug Hartman, told city council this week that it should begin to take a good look at the local situation because it could be coming up in the near future.
Hartman is a member of a steering committee established by the Adams County Plan Commission. It has had several meetings in attempting to produce a proposal to govern wind turbines in the county. An eventual proposal would go to the plan commission, which could accept it or make changes, then pass it on to the Adams County Council for possible adoption.
Hartman said he has heard rumors that a proposal would allow the turbines to be set up within 1,500 feet of the city limits for a 40-year period. That would, he noted, block any ideas of annexation, or the establishment of a new business near the city.
Also at the meeting:
• Making his first report at a council meeting, the city’s new civil engineer, Nathan Rumschlag, called his first week on the job “a very interesting” one.
• An amendment to the salary ordinance was approved on third and final reading. It provides salaries for Rumschlag – who, in effect, is taking over the storm water department duties of the resigned Joan Eichhorn – and a part-time non-certified customer service representative for the water department, John Baker.
• Sewage Treatment Plant Superintendent Ann Butcher said the department had identified 33 homes and businesses which still had downspouts dumping storm water into the sanitary sewer. All received letters and 21 – who were given Butcher’s appreciation – have already complied; the other 12 will receive a second letter.
It’s all part of the city’s attempt to meet the latest govenment mandate to achieve a certain standard on Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs).
• St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church was given permission to close two streets from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, September 23, for its annual Fall Fest: Fifth St. from Madison St. to Monroe St., and Madison from Fourth St. to Fifth St. The Madision-Fifth intersection will stay open, however.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/08/27/keep-an-eye-on-wind-turbine-talk-city-council-told/