To the editor, we need to talk about this May 5 wind and solar referendum.
I have been reading the local newspaper for a few years. Last year, the Richland Source released an article about a future meeting of the county commissioners banning wind and solar development in parts of the county.
When I saw this, I was angry and baffled. Why are they banning this?
The whole answer:
Senate Bill 52. This bill from the statehouse allocated the power for county commissioners to outright ban large-scale wind and solar development in their county. Not other means of electricity production like oil and coal—just wind and solar.
I went to the commissioners meeting. They filed the motion BEFORE hearing out the full room of citizens who were against these bans. The commissioners’ justification was that the township trustees wanted this for their townships.
The commissioners had previously sent out a letter to the township trustees giving them 90 days to decide if they wanted to ban any wind or solar development in their townships. Why did they force the trustees to make this decision?
No projects had been proposed to the county, might I add.
The commissioners said they wanted to do what the trustees wanted. However, the citizens at the meetings felt their trustees did not make a choice that reflected the voices of their constituents.
And now, we are here. A citizen-driven effort of collecting petition signatures and educating the public has gotten a referendum on the May 5 ballot. The choice is back into the hands of the voters.
Voting no means landowners and farmers will have their own choice of saying “yes” or “no” to a solar company if ever a case was presented. Voting no means any proposed projects would be considered case-by-case.
Voting no means we prefer the government to not say what we can do on our own land.
Morgan Carroll
Shelby, Ohio