County tables wind regs for another six weeks
With no surprise, the suggestion didn’t go anywhere.
Instead, the board tabled until next month acting on regulations the commission has been considering for the past several months.
The commission did informally agree, however, to consider at its next meeting a related suggestion from Hirst that the county initiate public discussions or at least informational sessions on expanding zoning to other parts of the county.
Commissioner Daniel Friesen s successful motion to table for six weeks considering adopting the proposed Wind Energy Conversion System regulations wasn t in response to Hirst’s effort. Rather, Friesen said, it s intended to push parties on both sides to continue negotiating on a solution.
The Reno County Commission will leave in place the governor’s mask mandate for the county until at least March 30, when the board will take it up for discussion once again.
Local health officials asked the commission on Tuesday to leave the order in place at least for another month, to allow more employees in high contract critical jobs to be vaccinated against the virus.
But Commission Chair Ron Hirst and Commissioner Daniel Friesen wanted to review it sooner.
Hirst initially asked that the item be placed on Tuesday’s agenda after he visited family in Texas and found, in the brief time he was there, that masks were still being worn in most businesses despite the governor of Texas lifting that state’s mandate.
It was unclear if the commission will take public comment on the issue.
Also on Tuesday’s agenda, as the meeting’s final business item, are the proposed regulations on commercial wind systems.
No public comment is expected on that item since the commission heard an hour of debate two weeks ago.
Commission Chairman Ron Hirst asked that the mask issue be placed on Tuesday’s agenda, said County Administrator Randy Partington.
Hirst was also the one who had it placed on the commission agenda on Dec. 22, when, after 90 minutes of public comment, the commission allowed the restriction to stand. At that time, however, Hirst indicated he’d bring it up again in the future.