The Starke County Council members held a public hearing Tuesday night concerning tax abatement requests from Hoosier Solar for the Starke Central and North Bend solar projects.
Hoosier Solar Vice President Nick Barbknecht explained economic benefits for Starke County for when the projects come online. In total, it is a 410 MW project. Over the course of 20 years, the county would receive about $24.6 million in revenue in agreements from Hoosier Solar which can be used on anything that the Starke County Council and the Starke County Commissioners believe would best benefit the county. The projects will create 10 jobs at a salary of about $75,000. Barbknecht stressed that these projects will be solar energy projects only. Construction on the projects would not start until 2026.
There are no plans by the company or their subsidiaries or corporations to propose Battery Energy Storage Systems.
There were over 20 people who spoke during the public hearing who were mostly in support of the Economic Revitalization Area documents and the economic benefits for the county. Farmers spoke in favor of the projects as it benefits their families and their futures, and believes the money Starke County will receive as a result of these projects will help the schools, libraries, police departments, fire departments, and EMS with needed equipment and other needs in the county where funding may not be available. There were comments made that it has been a struggle to attract manufacturing jobs into Starke County and the revenue can help continue those efforts and make improvements to attract business.
There were several people who remain opposed to the projects citing the lack of a drainage maintenance plan, the concern in loss of property values, health risks, fire response needs, and the need to slow things down so county officials can review paperwork more closely before making a rushed decision.
Councilwoman Cassandra Hine pointed to several concerns in the Economic Development Agreement including the lack of a drainage maintenance plan, if a lawsuit is filed then it would be moved to Marion, Indiana and further to southern Indiana in the event litigation moves forward to another level of hearings, a financial analysis, fire protection needs, good neighbor agreements, and overall guarantees. She commented that another financial study should be done to give the council better numbers. She wanted to move a decision into next year so more information on clean energy initiatives can be reviewed and as a new federal administration comes into office in mid-January.
Councilwoman Kay Gudeman stated she wanted more information and Councilman Todd Leinbach said he was not ready to vote on what was presented. Councilman Bruce Bennett, Councilman Howard Bailey and Councilman Tony Black agreed it would benefit Starke County and understood there were other concerns.
After much discussion, the council voted 5-1 to table the approval of documents. Howard Bailey, Bruce Bennett, Cassandra Hine, Kay Gudeman, and Todd Leinbach voted in favor of the motion made by Leinbach and seconded by Gudeman to table the decision. Tony Black voted against the motion.
Hoosier Solar Vice President Nick Barbknecht asked the council to make the necessary corrections to move forward with agreements Tuesday night as there are other steps needed to keep the projects on track in terms of investors and financing. He commented that there were concerns brought up Tuesday night that he was not aware of and would have liked to respond to them Tuesday night, but the council ultimately voted to continue discussions and negotiate terms for approval during the council’s next meeting Monday, December 16 at 6 p.m. CT. The meeting will be held in the ground floor meeting room in the Starke County Annex No. 1 building at 53 E. Mound Street in Knox unless otherwise determined by the council. The motion was made by Howard Bailey and seconded by Tony Black. Bailey, Black, and Bennett voted in favor of the motion while Hine, Gudeman and Leinbach voted against the motion. Council President David Pearman voted in favor of the motion as a tiebreaking vote.
