Minutes before Wednesday’s hearing began at the Catlin Village Hall, Mayor Justin Bargo and Planning & Zoning Commission member Mike Sacre had a spirited discussion regarding Catlin residents’ representation. “Are you their mascot?” asked Bargo, which set the tone for the two-hour hearing to follow.
The public hearing, which commission chairman Jeff Fauver described as a “study session” and a “work in progress” for the village’s ordinance on the proposed wind and solar ordinance, brought comments from local residents and the commission, as well as hired village attorney Andrew Mudd and representatives from Earthrise Energy, the group in charge of the proposed wind and solar materials.
A recurring theme of Wednesday’s meeting was the inconsistency of the ordinances available to the commission and the public, with people receiving different updated versions of the ordinance. Ted Hartke, who was vocal throughout the meeting as a local resident, said these inconsistencies fueled his lack of confidence in Mudd being able to properly represent the village. “He has a very preliminary ordinance,” said Hartke, who questioned the amount of trust the village has put into an attorney with limited knowledge of wind and solar ordinances. “I think that the village and citizens here probably need to get a more heavy-hitting attorney that specializes in this,” said Hartke.
Hartke was one of a handful of citizens that spoke during the hearing, with Mayor Bargo emphasizing in his pre-hearing conversation with Sacre that people with concerns need to show up to meetings and hearings. Bargo acknowledged the prominence of agriculture and farmers in the local community, but said he feels most residents are indifferent about the proposed wind and solar ordinance, with the people against the ordinance being the ones showing up to hearings.
Commissioner Sacre, who spoke throughout the hearing, said Wednesday was the first time the commission had gone over the proposed ordinance as a meeting. “Honestly I don’t think it’s gone real smooth,” said Sacre, who reiterated the confusion about which version of the ordinance the commission was going to discuss. Mayor Bargo printed out versions of the April 7 version of the ordinance for the audience, while attorney Mudd frequently mentioned throughout the meeting that items discussed could have been part of the most recently updated version.
The next meeting for Catlin is a village council study session set for the evening of June 10, with the next village council meeting set for June 16.