JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP — Despite the echoes of nearly everyone in the crowd of more than 50 residents calling for supervisors to pass a recently drafted wind siting ordinance, members of the Jefferson Town Board effectively killed its passage by refusing to second a motion during a special meeting Wednesday. 

Only two members, Chair Harvey Mandel and board supervisor Rick Nusbaum, were voting. The third board member, Lyle Sampson, abstained due to a contract he holds with incoming wind energy company EDF Renewables to place turbines on his land.

“There’s been more unhappy feelings about what we’re looking at,” Mandel said. “I think the town should pass this back to the county.”

A chorus of “no” erupted throughout the room at Jefferson Community Center, prompting Mandel to instead move for its approval.

Mandel moved to pass the law after more than an hour of airing grievances, outright arguing back and forth and smatterings of applause and standing in solidarity among those present at the public hearing. The motion hung in the air as Nusbaum addressed the public, citing his frustration over the process and the lack of difference between potential town law and legislation already passed by the Green County Board of Supervisors.

“Everybody’s having a fit,” Nusbaum said. “… It’s all our fault. We’ve been accused of being on the take, accused of not doing our jobs. I’m on the verge of saying let it go back to Green County.” 

Members of the public called on him to pass the ordinance and take control of regulation. If relegated to county control, people emphasized that the EDF project will not be properly evaluated during the application process.

One Jefferson resident, Diane Elliman, expressed disappointment at such subjective statements.

“The ordinance being denied because of personal feelings is irresponsible,” she said. “We’re trusting you.”

Cindy Blanc, a leading opponent of the wind project, said despite its lack of protections, the ordinance should be passed to allow the township to hold EDF’s “feet to the fire.”

Contention over wind turbines began in September, when EDF Renewable Energy, a company headquartered in France with regional offices throughout the United States, began to publicly express an interest in developing a wind farm project within the township. EDF officially submitted an application at the end of January. It includes plans for 24 incoming 500-foot wind turbines spanning 5,580 acres of agricultural land within the township, stretching east from Five Corner Road to County S. 

Mandel noted that in the years of interested parties measuring wind within the county, no one attended meetings to bring it to the board as a concern. He also said he was not necessarily in disagreement with landowners who are worried over their property values or their health, but said he has seen towns go bankrupt trying to fight large companies in court. Mandel also said he believes the county has more resources to handle the application. 

Residents have expressed concerns in other meetings as well as the one held Wednesday that the company is only interested in money and will likely sell the project long before the 20-year lifespan of the turbines end. 

The ordinance considered by the board was nearly identical to the one passed by the county, Jefferson Town Attorney Dan Bartholf said. The county ordinance reflects the state rules implemented by the Public Service Commission in 2012, commonly referred to as PSC 128. The law requires that any “political subdivision” like a county or town be no more restrictive than state guidelines to encourage uniformity throughout the state. 

However, the ordinance up for consideration had more provisions in it as requested by the Jefferson Plan Commission, Bartholf said. He added requirements in the “grey areas,” including an increase in laydown yards to 2,000 feet, the requirement of an independent testing agency and requiring decibel levels be an absolute, rather than an average over time. 

Mandel added that the idea of a wind farm was essentially unknown to the board in recent years, but native Luan Janssen cited emails she sent to both Mandel and Green County Chair Art Carter in April 2017. She and family members had met with EDF representative PJ Saliterman about a contract with the company and she wanted to let her representatives know a company was interested in developing a wind project there. She only received a response from Zoning Administrator Adam Wiegel outlining how PSC 128 works.

Residents at the meeting echoed one another as they noted that the state had taken away local control, a sentiment that has been shared at the county level. Wiegel said during the last Green County Board of Supervisors meeting on March 12 that the laws were created with health and safety in mind, but local property owners have been calling on more restrictive setbacks to protect their health. For most at the public hearings, 1,250 feet is not enough distance between a home and the behemoth structures.

A number of people also lamented how the topic has split the community. Janssen, who was disappointed at the outcome of the meeting, said even area family members were in serious disputes because of differing opinions on the incoming project. 

In the end, Nusbaum refused to second the motion and the ordinance effectively “died,” in Mandel’s words.

“If you want us off the board, vote us off the board and I promise the next board will be thanking us,” Nusbaum said.