July 1, 2015
Kansas

Pratt County Commission defers to planning and zoning board on turbine height

By Gale Rose | Pratt Tribune | Posted Jun. 30, 2015 | www.pratttribune.com

The Pratt County Planning Board will decide if the height clearance on the proposed wind farm in Pratt County will be changed from 85 feet to 70 feet.

Tim Branscom, county emergency manager, said the change had two options. The planning board could pass the change or NextEra, the company that will construct the proposed wind farm, would have to get a variance for each individual wind generator.

The Pratt County Commissioners voted Monday at their regular meeting to let the planning board decide the issue.

The public fireworks display at the Pratt County Veterans Memorial Lake has been moved to Friday, July 3. The move was necessary because the fireworks shooter was unavailable on July 4, said Lake Supervisor Nick Birdsong.

All the campgrounds sites are reserved for Independence Day weekend but all the piers are a first come first served basis.

Pratt County Counselor Bob Schmisseur informed the commissioners that the county has 135 parcels on which owners have not paid property taxes since 2011 or longer resulting in $320,000 in unpaid taxes and $53,000 in interest. Schmisseur will notify the property owners to pay taxes or face foreclosure.

Randy Phillippi, county road supervisor, requested and got approval from the commissioners on another agreement with the state concerning the replacement of signage in the northeast quadrant of the county in September.

Debbie McGraw, director of public health, presented the comparison stats for May 2015 and May 2014. Again, the total number of visits continues to be much lower than a year ago with 328 patients in 2015 compared to 477 patients in 2014. Procedures are also dramatically lower with 352 procedures in 2015 compared to 499 a year ago.

McGraw said she can’t find a specific cause for the drop but it could be the decrease in oil field activity or the economy.

General services and drug screens are up but all other services are down. The department had 17 percent no shows on scheduled visits. In one day, only 14 of 34 WIC appointments showed up even when they received calls to remind them to come in, McGraw said.

Nurse Mary Ohl of the County Health Department reviewed the county policy on providing a place for women to collect milk when breastfeeding.

Schmisseur said Pratt Regional Medical Center would provide such an area if needed.

When the final draft of the policy is written, common sense needs to be exercised if it would be more convenient for the woman to go home instead of going to the hospital, Schmisseur said.

Jason Winkel, county landfill manager, said the air conditioner has gone out on the scraper and the cab interior is about 120 degrees so he is calling Caterpillar to get the unit repaired. He had no estimate on cost yet. The scraper is getting a lot of use as the landfill prepares to put clay down on Cell C.

Robert Torres, environmental services manager, said a septic tank on K-64 had space issues and he would have to contact Kansas Department of Transportation to get a variance before they hand K-64 over to the county.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2015/07/01/pratt-county-commission-defers-to-planning-and-zoning-board-on-turbine-height/