The Washington County Board of Supervisors tabled the first reading of a proposed wind energy property assessment ordinance at their meeting Tuesday.
The reading was placed on the agenda following a public hearing that was held at the Washington County Conservation Education Center on February 17th. Supervisor Jack Seward Jr. shared that most of the public feedback he has received since then has been opposed to wind energy, while Board Chair Richard Young says the feedback he’s received has been the opposite. Supervisor Bob Yoder stated his belief that the wind energy assessment is a “sweetheart deal” for landowners that would have windmills placed on their property, and he drew concerns on whether a wind farm would be environmentally friendly. Supervisor Stan Stoops referred to the wind mills as “obnoxious,” but he mentioned his belief that the board has historically been a champion of landowners’ rights. The board decided to table the first reading until next week, wh
The Washington County Board of Supervisors approved a proposal to clear an area of brush and timber near the Kewash Nature Trail during their meeting Tuesday.
Supervisor and Conservation Board member Stan Stoops presented a request from Jason Bell, a tenant of county-owned farm ground, to clear an area south of the trail. Conservation Executive Director Zach Rozmus explained that the area proposed is all south of the trail, including a waterway that has had a lack of maintenance, “We went out there and looked at it with them, it’s not going to impact the trail whatsoever. We had kind of approached the idea of we know that we had the second phase of the Kewash Trail coming up and we were just going to tie it in at the same time, so we were going to have some equipment involved with that too where we could potentially extend it out there. But I just wanted to let everyone know that from the conservation side of it we don’t have any objection to it at all because it’s just goi