The Carroll County Quorum Court approved the second reading of a proposed ordinance that would impose a moratorium on future industrial wind and solar energy projects in the county at its regular meeting on Tuesday, April 15, but that did little to ease the tension that has become a nearly constant element at the court’s meetings for the past two years.
Justices of the peace voted 8-0 to approve the second reading of the proposed ordinance, which will require one more vote for passage. District 6 JP Craig Hicks and District 8 JP Bobby James were absent and the District 1 seat is vacant.
Several people addressed the quorum court during public comments, including both supporters and critics of the proposed moratorium.
Among those was local resident Lisa Price-Backs, who has been an outspoken opponent of Scout Clean Energy’s Nimbus wind farm, currently under construction near Green Forest. The proposed moratorium stipulates that it will not apply to the Nimbus project.
Price-Backs objected to the fact that the proposal was revised from its initial version after an attorney representing Scout contacted county officials by letter on March 13 regarding what he described as “some ambiguity on whether Nimbus would be exempt from the moratorium.”
“To me, that’s corporate fascism when public to private transgresses like that,” Price-Backs said. “That’s all I have to say. It’s outrageous, it’s ludicrous and this is not fair government.”
District 10 JP Jerry King responded, saying the county could be vulnerable to legal action if it intervenes or disrupts the Nimbus project.
“I’ve said numerous times, the county can’t afford a lawsuit,” King said. “We cannot.”
“The burden falls on the taxpayer,” Price-Backs replied. “It’s us, too, who will be drug into litigation. Why do you fear a corporation? … You bent your knee to the will of Scout Clean Energy.”
Both King and County Judge David Writer interjected, saying Price-Backs’ comment was “not true.”
King then asked Price-Backs: “If you’re talking about tax dollars, how would you pay a lawyer if we got in a lawsuit?”
“We would wave our magic wand, and by the will of the people, we would make it happen, but you cannot fear a corporation like that,” Price-Backs replied.
‘Stupidity at its Very best’
Price-Backs went on to say that county officials “had made numerous trips” to County Road 905, site of the Nimbus project to “work out a deal for the road use management.” The county has signed a road use management agreement with Scout that is the subject of an ongoing lawsuit filed by several local landowners, including District 11 JP Caroline Rogers.
“That is stupidity at its very best,” Writer responded. “There’s not a county official that’s taken a penny and we’re not bowing to this. We don’t have the laws. You want us to break the law and all of us go to jail.”
Former county judge Richard Williams, who also has been an outspoken opponent of the Nimbus project, said during public comments that tort immunity would protect the county from legal action and that the county’s prosecuting attorney would be responsible for defending the county in the event of a lawsuit.
Grievance process
Later in the meeting, JPs discussed the process for redressing grievances. Rogers, who asked for the discussion to be placed on the agenda, suggested that the court form a committee to address a grievance by local resident Steve Chase regarding potential fire hazards with the Nimbus project. Rogers also sponsored Chase as a speaker earlier in the meeting. District 3 JP Harrie Farrow said Rogers could sponsor a proposed ordinance on the topic. Writer interjected to say that the county could not impose retroactive restrictions on Nimbus.
Other business
In other business, JPs:
• approved a resolution confirming the appointment of Leslie Echols to the Mundell Heights Subordinate Service District Board of Commissioners;
• approved a resolution appointing Nixon Guzman to the Green Forest Library Board;
• and approved an appropriation ordinance for a $600 Juvenile Probation Grant.
A proposed emergency ordinance that would allow Ledbetter Construction Services LLC to perform work on the Berryville and Eureka Springs historic courthouses failed to gain enough votes for passage. The proposed ordinance was necessary because the owner of the construction company is the brother of a county employee. Five of the eight JPs in attendance voted for the proposal, with District 2 JP Bruce Wright voting no and District 4 JP Hunter Rivett and District 7 JP Kellie Matt abstaining. The proposal required a two-thirds vote in order to be approved.
Purple Flower
Shiloh Grace, executive director of The Purple Flower Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Resource and Support Center, updated JPs on the organization’s efforts and funding. Grace said federal grant funding for organizations like The Purple Flower has been sharply reduced.
“The total federal grant pool for this kind of stuff is reduced by 60 percent,” she said. “And the way that they’re disbursing is different than it has been the last five years that we’ve been able to get federal funding. And so we’re worried that we may not get anything this time.”
Grace said there is a fund that collects money when jurors decline to be paid and she wondered if The Purple Flower might qualify to receive some of that money. Circuit clerk Sara Huffman said The Purple Flower is the designated recipient of that funding.
“We’re very grateful for that,” Grace said.
Propert y Fraud
On a separate topic, Huffman told JPs about a bill recently approved by the state legislature to address property fraud, which she described as the fastest-growing white-collar crime. The bill approved by legislators will require county recorders to verify information before recording a deed to real estate. Huffman said residents can sign up to receive notifications of potential property fraud by visiting PropertyFraudAlert. com or calling the Property Fraud Alert Hotline at 800-7283858.
The next regular meeting of the Carroll County Quorum Court is scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 20, in the courtroom of the Eastern District Courthouse in Berryville.
