MADISON TOWNSHIP — Brian McPeek said he wants to see “as many energy-producing facilities as possible” to keep up with expected energy demands in the State of Ohio.
McPeek, business manager for the IBEW 688 in Mansfield, spoke to Madison Township trustees during public commentary Monday.
“I not only come tonight as a concerned citizen, but as an electrician and the representative for 300 union electricians and another 200 retirees who live, work and play in our community,” McPeek said.
Trustees asked at their last meeting for residents to share their thoughts on wind and solar projects, following a February request from the Richland County commissioners to gather input.
“I do not think now is the time to deny any energy generation facility, especially before we even see the benefits to our community or before a project has even been proposed,” McPeek said.
“I also would take a strong stance against any elected official telling a property owner what they can and cannot do with their own land, especially before even hearing the individual out.”
The IBEW manager said he has been involved in the permitting and approval process of solar factories around the state, including in Crawford, Wyandot, Morrow and Knox counties.
“The property owners and community, trustees, the county commissioners and the state all get to go through the application and project details,” McPeek said. “This process takes 12 months-plus and they give a significant voice to the trustees and public comment.”
Township trustees have option to request a ‘restricted area’ declaration
Trustee Dan Fletcher said at a previous meeting that there is no specific land he’s aware of that is currently being considered for a solar project, but township boards can tell county commissioners whether or not they would like their townships designated a “restricted area” for development in the future.
According to the Ohio Revised Code, commissioners are authorized in each of the state’s counties to adopt a resolution designating “all or part of the unincorporated area of the county as a restricted area.”
This type of resolution would prohibit the construction of wind or solar projects in areas designated as restricted. Townships may also choose to prohibit specifically wind and not solar, and vice versa.
Commissioners requested any board of trustees intending to request a designation as a restricted area do so before April 30.
McPeek also spoke about the PILOT program, required for a project to fall under Qualified Energy Project Program guidelines.
The program requires project owners to pay into a county’s general fund and includes tax incentives for landowners and local schools. It also requires agreements to train emergency responders and repair any roadway infrastructure disturbed during the project.
Knox County commissioners voted to ban utility-grade solar projects in 20 townships at their Feb. 27 meeting.
Road department receives garage doors, security camera upgrades
Road superintendent Larry Weirich said the department received new garage doors, which trustees approved nearly $27,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funds for in December.
He also said the roof of the salt shed was repaired for safer salt storage, and shared updates to guardrail projects.
Weirich also suggested township trustees update the township’s driveway and roadside pipe policy to account for costs associated with work. The township occasionally installs culvert pipes around gas lines for new homes or driveway replacements.
He also asked if trustees could change the minimum length for a corrugated culvert pipe to 40 feet from 30 feet.
“We have this policy that was adopted in 2015 and the engineer’s office wrote it up in 2004,” Weirich said.
“For 40 feet of pipe, we only charge $200. It takes about 20 tons of gravel to cover a 40-foot pipe … you pay by the cubic yard for concrete, so a typical driveway costs us $890. The township’s taking a beating right now on those costs.”
Trustees will discuss a resolution at a future meeting for cost changes that most frequently affect driveway replacements and new home builds. Trustee Tom Craft suggested language of charging what covers the costs of materials, as well as potentially fuel and labor.
“Fuel, labor and material — those are our costs,” Craft said. “Ohio Revised Code allows us to recuperate costs.
“We don’t have to charge that if we don’t want to, and we can’t markup our costs, but we can recuperate them.”
Also in Monday’s meeting:
- Trustees approved a new credit card policy that fiscal officer Leanna Rhodes recommended. She said the only changes were accounting regulations and establishing an authorized user list for township credit cards. All purchases must be work-related and need a purchase order in place before using the credit card. Receipts are to be submitted to the fiscal officer, who will keep the receipts until the credit card statements are received.
- Trustees approved an appropriation reallocations to transfer $7,200 into the repairs and maintenance fund for door replacements at the township hall and transferring $50,000 to contracted services for the Manner Drive culvert replacement.
- Trustees said NOPEC has sent enrollment letters with instructions on how to opt out if an electric consumer wants to. The aggregate charge, beginning in March, will be 6.499 cents/ kWh for a 14-month period. Energy Harbor also sent switch notices to customers. Ohio Edison will send an additional switch notice after the opt-out period ends for enrollment notice into NOPEC.
- New zoning inspector Max Garber delivered his first zoning report, thanking Wayne Liggett and Tom Brandt for their assistance in his first month on the job.
- Rhodes said she received an email from the Ohio Township Association asking trustees to support Issue 2 on primary ballots this year. The Ohio Public Works Commission’s state capital improvement program relies on an amendment to the state constitution every 10 years. Trustees will consider a resolution at a later meeting.