The quorum court met April 18, and the public comments period featured another round of complaints about a proposed wind farm south of Green Forest.
At the March meeting, an overflow crowd spilled into the hallway, with most of those opposed to the project. Last week, only a handful attended the meeting to explain their opposition. Several voiced concerns about aesthetics, with towers 500 feet tall dominating the landscape. Property values might be adversely affected. Others worried that the plastic delaminating from the blades would contaminate the local environment.
Joyce Carlton, a resident of Green Forest, said efficient operation would require average wind speeds of 12-18 miles per hour, and this area has average wind speeds of only six mph. She said a migration route for ducks and geese runs through the area.
Former County Judge Richard Williams suggested the justices of the peace could derail the project by passing an ordinance limiting the height of windmills. He said wind farms cause “documented infertility in livestock and humans.” He also complained that a public meeting with the company planning the wind farm did not provide enough answers. Williams was asked if any state laws might apply, and he said the state has no wind farms, and no laws concerning them.
In other business:
- Suellyn Frye said a class will begin May 1 in Holiday Island for the Community Emergency Response Team. A disaster drill is scheduled for May 20. She invited JPs to attend, especially the new ones, “to have an understanding of what we do.”
- Robert Anderson, owner of R & R Towing in Green Forest, came to the microphone during public comments. A previous sheriff removed him from the county’s rotating list of companies to call in case of accidents or impoundments, and Sheriff Daniel Klatt has not restored him. Anderson said another tow company does not have to follow the same rules as he does. In his previous appearances in quorum court, JPs have told him they have no authority over elected officials. The Arkansas Towing and Recovery Board gives the sheriff complete discretion over which companies to include in a call list. “I’m trying to figure out the best way to get the county not to discriminate against my business and admit they’ve done me wrong,” Anderson said.
- Gary Wright spoke about election procedures. He called for a national holiday on election day, with paper ballots. He would like to see more public debates before elections to help inform the electorate. Wright said voter rolls need to be purged and suggested a serial number on each ballot to help eliminate fraud.
- This was the first meeting for District 8 JP Francisco Pedraza, who was appointed to fill the remainder of the term of former JP Don McNeely.
- The appointments of Dave Teigen and Jim Fain to the Mercy Hospital Board were approved. Their three-year terms will begin in July.
- The reappointment of Dave Abendroth to the Mundell Heights Subordinate Service District was approved.
- An employee in the office of Circuit Judge Scott Jackson was approved to receive two weeks’ pay instead of vacation time. JP Jack Deaton said the committee reviewing such requests looks at each case. “I don’t think the circuit judge would have brought this to us if he didn’t really need it,” he said. Deaton said the JPs “try to do the right thing for our employees,” but he also acknowledged concern for authorizing the unbudgeted funds. Only county employees with at least 10 years of service are eligible for the exchange.
- JPs authorized an additional $25,000 for repairs at the Sheriff’s Office and the Detention Center. JP Craig Hicks said Sheriff Klatt is trying to improve maintenance at the facilities, and the money will come out of the jail tax fund. JP Kellie Matt had also toured the buildings, and she said, “So many things were left undone by the previous administration.”
- JP John Howerton said a committee studying a new judicial building for the eastern district has recommended an architectural firm to the county judge.
- During JP comments, Howerton said the detention center needs more storage, and the committee working on a new judicial building will ask the architect about creating a storage solution. Deaton said other departments also have pressing needs for more storage space.
- JP Harrie Farrow said she was reluctant to criticize a fellow JP, but she took offense at “horrifying and disgusting” comments by District 4 JP Hunter Rivett at the March meeting. During a discussion of a proposed wind farm, someone complained about allowing a few landowners to make a profound change affecting everyone. Rivett objected to “the philosophy that we are all comrades in this together. That’s the same philosophy that led to gulags and concentration camps.” Farrow said those who survived concentration camps would not agree that a philosophy of being kind to each other led to those camps.