April 8, 2017
Texas

Wichita Falls Mayor trying to keep wind farms away from Sheppard

By Alex Achten, Reporter | KAUZ-TV | www.newschannel6now.com

Wichita Falls Mayor, Stephen Santellana, is doing everything he can to prevent wind farms from being built near Sheppard Air Force Base.

Mayor Santellana was in Austin, Texas testifying for Representative James Frank Wednesday on a bill that would stop tax incentives from going to wind farms.

The Mayor testified to the House Ways and Means Committee and focused on economic impact.

His testimony was not just focused on the negative impact it would have on the Wichita Falls economy, but also the entire region.

Mayor Santellana said if a wind farm is built within a 30-mile radius of Sheppard, it could affect air force training and Wichita Falls cannot run the risk of losing Sheppard.

“I really wanted to touch on the one out of eight people that are employed out there has some sort of impact at Sheppard,” Mayor Santellana said. “The $803 million dollar economic impact. The $5.6 billion dollar economic impact for the state of Texas.”

There was also an Air Force Colonel in Austin talking about how many problems it would cause, despite what anyone might say.

Mayor Santellana said that he wants to see the military grow and not shrink.

He added that anything that affects Sheppard affects the city and they will do whatever they have to, to stop it.

He said one of the first things the wind farms should have done is contact Sheppard to sit down with them and talk about coming up with a solution.

Mayor Santellana said the committee wanted to hear from the air force and wind farm experts more than anything.

Representative Frank is hoping to get the bill out of committee and onto the house floor.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2017/04/08/wichita-falls-mayor-trying-to-keep-wind-farms-away-from-sheppard/