A wind energy developer discussed its plans for Pulaski County operations with local officials Tuesday. Among those was Francesville Clerk-Treasurer Linda Bennett. “Well, it was a little over two hours,” she says. “There were a lot of questions asked, a lot of answers given. Of course, you don’t know exactly. I mean, you would hope that they are being truthful with you.”
A number of filings with the Federal Aviation Administration for possible wind turbines in Pulaski and Jasper counties have triggered concerns from local residents. But the company behind the proposal, RES, hadn’t actually spoken with Pulaski County or Francesville officials before Tuesday, other than a brief discussion with Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan Origer.
Francesville is currently in the process of setting up a plan commission, to consider possible changes to the town’s zoning rules. Bennett says an ordinance that would establish a plan commission was presented for first reading, during Monday’s town council meeting. “We basically had one according to our zoning book,” she explains, “but there was never an ordinance that really established it, so we’re doing that now.”
But Bennett says that in her opinion, it will ultimately be up to landowners to decide whether they want wind turbines or not. “We could put in zoning that would basically prevent them, but then, down the road, if there was something else that came in that was something we would want, then it would prevent that, too,” she says. “So I don’t know what will happen.”
Meanwhile, Pulaski County has hired an attorney who specializes in wind energy, to help update the zoning rules in the county’s jurisdiction.
