Commissioners approve school, solar farm CUPs

Charlie Henery was elected as chair of the Antelope County Commissioners for 2020, when they met last week.

Henery takes the gavel from Dean Smith, who took on the chairman duties when the former chair was removed from office. Regina Krebs, who was appointed to the board in October 2019, was elected vice chair. Henery and Krebs were each the only nominee for their positions, nominated by commissioners Eli Jacob and Carolyn Pedersen, respectively.

Reorganization of the board was delayed until late in the meeting as Smith guided the commissioners through a lengthy agenda including two public hearings, scheduled speakers and board of equalization business, along with routine decisions and approval of payroll and other claims. The county leaders sat at the board table at the Neligh courthouse for more than seven hours Tuesday, Jan. 14, with just a three-minute break three hours in.

County clerk Lisa Payne informed the commissioners of an error that resulted in a check being printed and mailed twice.

"It was cashed once in November, once in January," she said. "It put my Imprest Account over by $109,000, give or take...It was a check that was printed twice, wasn't issued twice, the exact same number, exact same everything. Long story short, you can't pay the same check twice, the bank went ahead and sent it back. Just so you know, the account is good now, it was just kind of a panic moment for an hour or so on Friday morning.

The bank said there is no harm, no foul."

A public hearing was held regarding a conditional use permit application submitted by Ewing Public Schools, on behalf of the Summerland School, due to Summerland not becoming a legal entity until June.

A motion by Henery to follow the planning commission's recommendation to grant the CUP, with five conditions, was approved unanimously.

County zoning administrator Liz Doerr presented the Antelope County Planning Commission recommendations, with conditions including compliance with county permitting requirements for entrances and exits; state building codes, Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy regulations, parking and loading requirements and submission of landscape plan.

Appearing on behalf of the school was superintendent Dale Martin and Summerland board member Steve Thiele, who also represented the builder, Hausmann Construction.

Area landowner Robert Johnston asked if consideration had been given to the condition of the Orchard/Clearwater Road.

"Specifically, I might address an issue that I am a part of," he said. "We chop a lot of haylage, I actually have alfalfa fields a half a mile in three different directions from the site...We are a little concerned about the traffic situation. Has there been any discussion about a turning lane?"

Johnston also voiced concern about a potential four-way stop and the number of trucks using the road.

"I would like to see turning lanes, but I don't know if we have room for it," Jacob replied.

It was also noted there is a power line near the right of way.

Smith asked if there are special road specifications in areas where rural schools are built. Road superintendent Casey Dittrich said he conferred with the county engineer Brian McDonald and there are no requirements for road width.

Referring to a suggestion to repave area roads, he provided an estimated cost to overlay 13 miles of two asphalt roads in the vicinity, Summerland Road and the Orchard/Clearwater Road, at $400,000 to $450,000 per mile for hot-mix asphalt or $535,000 per mile for six inches of concrete (citing a recent bid letting in Holt County for a seven-mile project). He said costs for hot mix are expected to come down this year, due to lower demand.

"If the board is willing to consider a project of that scope – you are looking at $5 million to $7 million ...The engineering costs for those seven miles was $53,000...using those numbers, we would have over $100,000 in engineering costs alone," he said. "My feeling is, we don't need 13 miles of new road, not right now. We can do some shouldering, possibly some overlaying...if that's the way the board wants to go."

He said the responsibility of the board regarding a four-way stop and turning lanes is to hire an engineering firm to do a study, which he said would cost a fraction of the engineering study for an overlay project.

Thiele agreed, saying it wasn't an all-or-nothing decision. He also said primary parking for athletic complex events is to the east of the school, onto the Orchard/Clearwater Road. He suggested either using a historic traffic count or conducting a new one.

"With current traffic, they are going to have a baseline. Based on occupancy and parking count at the school, they are going to be able to make a fairly decent estimate of what projected traffic flow is once that's open for business," Thiele said.

Smith asked what the school expects.

"Personally, I would like to see a study done and see what is recommended," Martin said. "I understand what (Johnston) is saying about the trucks...but my concern is for the safety of the kids. So, if we have is a recommendation for a four-way stop, I would certainly encourage you to look at that part...If we have one accident on there and something happens to somebody, that's worth anything we're spending, in my mind...I'm probably in favor of that four-way stop right now."

Smith referred to a previous statement he said was made by school officials regarding "going above" the commissioners to get road repairs done.

"That's why I asked the question," he said.

Martin clarified the statement Smith referred to.

"We expect a road that is a safe road to drive on," he said. "Beyond that, that's up to you, what you can afford."

Smith said it is safe now.

Henery favored a four-way stop study being done immediately, with consideration of turning lanes in two years, after construction, and road upgrades in five years.

Dittrich reported on suggestions for looking into the state taking over the road and looking for grants to help with upgrades and asked for direction from the commissioners regarding studies.

The commissioners unanimously authorized a stop-sign study on a Smith motion, seconded by Pedersen.

The leaders voted unanimously to grant a CUP for a new solar farm west of Elgin, following a public hearing. As part of the approval, a decommissioning plan with a letter of credit will be posted in year 15, with review every three years. The motion was made by Henery, seconded by Jacob, with all five commissioners voting aye.

The application, submitted by SunVest Solar, was explained by Patrick Dalseth, regional director of development. He said the company is based in suburban Chicago, with corporate headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Dalseth said SunVest has contracts with six Nebraska public power entities. The Antelope County project, along with two Madison County sites, is contracted to provide a total of 6.5 megawatts of power directly to Elkhorn Rural Public Power District. The Antelope County site will produce two megawatts.

"What they wanted to do was have these solar projects distributed throughout their service territory, to help with peak load in the summertime and irrigation peak in July and August," he said. "These projects will interconnect to Elkhorn Rural on the three-phase line...We're not going to any specific substation; we're going to interconnect on the distribution end and the power is going to be used locally."

Dalseth said the property is owned by the Poulsen family, five miles west of Elgin, an eighth of a mile south of Highway 70. The north side of the site is heavily wooded and has tree lines on three sides. It is set back about 776 feet from the highway and about 331 feet from 516 Avenue. He said, with the trees and change in elevation, the site will unlikely to be seen from the highway or the county road.

Each of the projected 4,100 solar panels will produce 365 watts of power. Equipment includes an inverter at the end of each row of panels, with a single transformer. There will be no buildings, with total of 10' by 12' in concrete pads. I-beams for the racking systems that will hold the solar panels will be driven into the ground, with no earth-moving equipment used, according to Dalseth.

He also indicated the company will establish a "pollinator-friendly prairie habitat" on the approximate 15-acre site after construction. He said life expectancy of the solar panels is about 35 years.

Construction is expected to take 12 to 14 weeks, with component delivery during the first two weeks. No wide turn radii or other road modification is needed, according to Dalseth. After construction, he anticipated traffic once a month in addition to twice-a-year mowing. Construction is planned to commence in May.

Henery questioned if a bond was included in the company's decommissioning plan. Dalseth said an estimated cost of decommissioning was included in the application. He asked that a letter of credit be accepted rather than bond, and to delay until year 15. He said Madison County regulations includes decommissioning terms. Antelope County zoning regulations do not. Liz Doerr, zoning director, said the cost to decommission the project was significantly less than the cost to take down one wind turbine.

Smith brought up the possibility of components containing materials deemed hazardous down the road, which he said was another consideration in determining decommissioning terms. Although he voted to approve the permit, Smith went on record as being opposed to the letter of credit to cover decommissioning costs, citing his preference for a bond. Krebs suggested the form of security be determined on a case-by case basis, to be determined by the size of the project, while Henery opined the zoning regulations need to be updated.

Terry Brookhouser of Brunswick asked if area fire departments had been notified of plans. Dalseth said the company will reach out to them.

Additional commissioners' coverage will appear in the Jan. 30 edition of SAM.