Abatement gains approval

A tax abatement has been approved for the construction of a second wind farm in Jay County.

Scout Clean Energy got the OK for the abatement for Bitter Ridge Wind Farm on a 5-2 Jay County Council vote Wednesday at the conclusion of an hour-and-a-half-long public hearing.

The decision marked an about face for council from May, when a similar proposal by Scout was rejected 5-2. The Colorado-based company made some adjustments to its application and reapplied, leading to Wednesday’s decision.

Council members Faron Parr and Mike Rockwell both changed their stances, this time voting in favor of the abatement along with Jeanne Houchins and Gary Theurer. Amy Runyon Barrett, who took her council seat Aug. 1 following the resignation of Bob Vance, also voted in favor.

The votes against the abatement came from Ted Champ and Cindy Newton.

Parr said after the meeting that he felt Scout was too early in the process when initially requesting the abatement — it had yet to receive Jay County Plan Commission approval, which came in June. Rockwell noted that he changed his vote because of public opinion, saying he had heard from far more Jay County residents in favor of the wind farm than against since the May meeting. Runyon Barrett also said public support for the project swayed her vote.

“At the first meeting, it seemed like it had no support in the county. Everybody was against it,” said Rockwell. “But since then, I’ve had a lot of calls and gotten a lot of information, and most of the calls that I’ve gotten have been in support of it. So I saw that it did have support in the county.”

It was another packed house for Wednesday’s meeting in the Jay County Courthouse auditorium, following large crowds for both the abatement hearing in May and the plan commission hearing in June.

Opponents of the wind farm made several arguments as to why the abatement should be rejected, including that:

•The vote against the abatement in May should have also resulted in council rescinding its April decision to designate the area of the project as an economic development area.

•The land involved, because it is profitable farmland, does not meet the requirements for that designation.

•“Res adjudicata,” a legal term meaning that something cannot be judged again after a ruling has already been issued, should apply and that Scout should not be allowed to reapply for the abatement.

•Not enough long-term jobs (two to four) will be created by the facility to justify the abatement.

•The county should not offer help to a large corporation while residents do not get similar tax breaks.

•Abatements are meant to go to businesses that create personal property (a tangible product) rather than a commodity like electricity.

Scout countered those points, noting that all previous wind farms in the state, including Bluff Point Wind Energy Center in Jay County, have received tax abatements under similar circumstances. The company and county attorney Bill Hinkle said res adjudicata does not apply for several reasons, including that the circumstances and details of the abatement request had changed, allowing council to look at it in a new light. Scout lawyer Mary Solada noted that there is no job creation requirement for tax abatements. And they likened the abatement to an up-front investment from the county that will help bring in millions of dollars more in the long run.

Beyond those issues, the commentary was much as it has been in meetings over the course of several months. Opponents of the wind farm spoke about diminished property value, noise, issues with reception for electronics, shadow flicker and health problems. Proponents focused on the financial incentives, including economic development payments, increased assessed value, property tax income and jobs created during the construction process.

In all, 11 members of the public spoke in favor of the abatement while six spoke against, though several who had signed up to speak in opposition ceded their time to others who shared their opinion. Four elected officials — state representative Greg Beumer, county commissioner Chuck Huffman, Portland Mayor Randy Geesaman and Redkey Town Council member Mike Wright — spoke as well, all in favor of granting the abatement.

As a result of Wednesday’s vote, Scout will receive a 10-year graduated tax abatement on Bitter Ridge Wind Farm, if it is constructed. (The key step to moving forward is finding a buyer for the energy the wind farm will produce.) The abatement is expected to save the company about $4.29 million in taxes.

Scout will pay an estimated $13.7 million in property taxes over the 25-year life of the wind farm, and it has also committed to a total of $1.56 million in economic development payments to be made to the county in four installments. The first installment of those economic development funds have been earmarked, with $250,000 going to Jay School Corporation, $70,000 to Redkey and $10,000 to each of the other five municipalities in Jay County.

The $135-million construction project calls for 52 turbines in Jefferson and Richland townships. Scout estimates that 41 landowners who have signed leases for the project would be paid $13 million in rent over the lifetime of the project.