The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1398862
A-6 Wednesday, August 4, 2021 The Press-Dispatch Commissioners approve solar decommissioning agreement Bonds needed for road use agreement By James Capozella The Monday morning August 2 Pike County Commissioners' meeting got several major is- sues settled, while others needed to be contin- ued. Commissioners Ryan Coleman, Jeff Nel- son and president Mark Flint, along with coun- ty attorney Val Fleig and highway superinten- dent Josh Byrd, discussed the Ratts 1 Solar Road Use agreement and accompanying de- commissioning agreement. The decommissioning agreement for the 150 Megawatt project, to be located on 1,200 acres in the Dutchtown Community, is set at 35 years when the project bond is released. The bonding of bridges and final agreement on the Ratts 1 Solar Road Use agreement still needed to be worked out, according to Mark Flint, but the August open house and decom- missioning agreement was approved. The fi- nal road use agreement contained no escrow account for bridge bonds, according to county highway superintendent Josh Byrd. It was decided by the commissioners and Fleig to wait on approving the agreement. Byrd said he could get a value for a bridge on CR 500 fairly quickly, so as to allow for the set- ting of that bond. County attorney Val Fleig, Byrd and the commissioners wanted to have the Solar Road Use agreement put on hold un- til bonds for county bridges and roads could be assessed. Fleig said contractors need instruction from project management on road and bridge use during the construction phase. Byrd said past history is that equipment trucked into the county many times results in damage to coun- ty roads, bridges and railings. The project anticipates approximately 350 construction jobs within the county or the equivalent of 188 full-time, full-year jobs. Four full-time direct operations jobs are expected upon completion. Pike County GDP is expect- ed to be $19.3 million during construction and $ 800,000 per year during operations, with an initial direct investment of $128 million. The project will have a footprint of approximately 1,200 acres of land for solar panels, including an operations and maintenance building, in- verters and access roads. The facility is expect- ed to generate enough solar energy to power the average electricity consumption of approx- imately 28,000 Indiana homes each year. Lo- cal goods and services annual expenditures are expected to be in excess of $ 350,000 per year for 35 years. ISBA REQUIRING ASSET INVENTORY Pike County Recorder Judy Gumbel will be tasked with developing a Capital Asset consult- ing agreement that is now being required by the Indiana State Board of Accounts (ISBA). Gumbel reported that the inventory and val- ues are to be completed by December 2021. The commissioners voted unanimously on the Pike County/Solid waste Management District Interlocal Agreement. Byrd said the county will use the old truck from solid waste to get workers to job sites around the coun- ty. An additional county road appropriation of $74,000 was also approved for work on Coun- ty Road 1100. COVID-19 UPDATES County Health Nurse Amy Gladish reported that one fully vaccinated resident tested posi- tive for COVID-19. She said there were 25 ac- tive cases in the county, which has seen 1,434 positives since the beginning of reporting. Gladish added that Pike County is at the 7.1 percent positivity rate among residents. The expected rate for vaccination in the county will be somewhat less than 50 percent, according to Gladish. Mark Flint asked if there were any reports of residents having problems months after be- ing inoculated. Gladish stated there were no symptoms reported by individuals months af- ter the vaccination, except for common unre- lated allergies. AMBULANCES IN TEMPORARY SHORT SUPPLY Pike County EMS Director Chris Young re- ported that ambulance runs exceeded last year by 209 and that the new ambulance that was supposed to be delivered recently has been de- layed. Another ambulance that was involved in an accident on July 22 should be back in ser- vice soon, but is still at the Ford dealership for repair, according to Young. He added that the ambulance service has had to turn down transfers because of the delays in repair and delivery of ambulances. OTHER BUSINESS The WTH Data request from Orion Re- newable Energy Group and the AME annu- al license renewal were both approved unan- imously. Flint informed those in attendance that AES Indiana had issued a press release on a 250 megawatt solar plus storage project the corpo- ration intends to acquire in Pike County. The retail electric service provider will buy the project from a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources LLC and the latter will develop and construct the plant once clearance from the In- diana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) is secured. The Petersburg facility will go live no later than May 1, 2024, according to an Au- gust 2 AES press release. The project includes a 250 megawatt solar power generating capac- ity and 180 MWh energy storage. The plant will generate enough power each year to sup- ply power to the equivalent of 45,000 homes during peak hours. 812-354-8500 to get all your local news and stories! Call Today! Hwy. OAKLAND Phone: Fax: POWERS PARTS EST. 1970 Welcome Green Willow sweet corn Dale State 211 Oakland Bus: dale.grinstead.bylw@statefarm.com dack.mathis.byoi@statefarm.com Set the thermostat where you want for a more comfortable home. The Ultimate Wood Heat. *US Internal Revenue Code Sec. 25(D) effective Jan. 1, 2021, for heating a residence. 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Now Locally Owned and Operated Dr. Clint Shoultz 715 S. 9th St., Petersburg 812-354-9400 Call For Appointment it takes 3 minutes to subscribe to Call 812-354-8500 COVID numbers on the rise By Andy Heuring COVID numbers in Pike County and Indi- ana are continuing to rise, but still remain well below where they were when COVID was at its peak last winter. There were 23 new cases of COVID in Pike County over the last seven days. Twenty of those were recorded from July 27 to July 30. Since then, there were only three other cases reported on August 2. A total of 1,440 cases have been reported in Pike County. No COVID deaths have been reported in Pike County since March 10, 2021. Pike County Health Nurse Amy Gladish said there is one fully-vaccinated person in Pike County who tested positive. On Monday morning, she said there are 25 active cases in Pike County. As of Tuesday, Pike County's seven-day positivity rate was 7.9 percent. Statewide, new cases topped 1,000 for five consecutive days July 27-31, ranging from 1,055 on the 27th and up to 1,429 on the 30th, before falling back down to 614 on Monday, Au- gust 1. Typically, the number of cases posted on a Monday are lower because it represents those reported on Sunday. They then more than doubled to 1,609 new cases reported on August 2. Deaths statewide were seven on July 27 and five the next two days, and a total of 23 for the last seven days. A few weeks ago, 80 counties were in the blue range, which is the lowest rating. But now only 30 counties remain in the blue category. Pike County has been increased to a yel- low rating. Statewide, hospitalizations have increased to 902. They steadily increased from 781 on July 27 to 902 on Monday. Pike County Schools Superintendent Su- zanne Blake said as of now Pike County Schools will start on Wednesday, Aug. 11, with masks recommended but not required.