January 1, 2019
Kansas

Landowners to receive written notice of wind farm hearing

Mary Clarkin | The Hutchinson News | Jan 1, 2019 | www.hutchnews.com

Owners of property within a thousand feet of any proposed wind turbine location in NextEra Energy’s planned Pretty Prairie Wind Farm will receive notice by first-class mail of the public hearing – tentatively expected to take place Feb. 21 in Hutchinson.

As of Monday morning, NextEra Energy had not submitted its application for a conditional use permit, but that probably needs to be filed before Jan. 15 if the company wants to meet pre-hearing requirements for a Feb. 21 hearing, according to County Counselor Joe O’Sullivan.

In the application, O’Sullivan said, the exact proposed location for each of the towers should be identified.

At least 20 days before the public hearing, a publication notice will appear in The News. The letters to property owners similarly will be sent weeks in advance of the hearing. The county’s website, renogov.org, also will carry notification of the expected Feb. 21 hearing before the Reno County Planning Commission.

The location for the public hearing will be a venue – such as Memorial Hall or the Atrium hotel – that can accommodate a large turnout.

Reno County Commissioners needed only about 35 minutes Monday to handle business during their last meeting of 2018. They tabled action on an approximately $21,910 annual independent contractor agreement for behavioral health services with Horizons Mental Health Center, Hutchinson.

Under the agreement, Horizons would provide case management services to inmates and recently released inmates from the Reno County Correctional Facility. In addition to the sum, Reno County would provide office space and equipment.

“I see nothing but really positive things coming out of it,” said Commissioner Dan Deming. Commissioner Bob Bush also praised the plan for 2019 but voiced concern about the open-ended nature of the agreement.

The agreement would automatically renew annually unless either party gives at least 60 days’ notice of its intent not to renew. The county will propose language be inserted to require Horizons to make a full presentation on the program at the end of three years.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2019/01/01/landowners-to-receive-written-notice-of-wind-farm-hearing/