The DeWitt County Board Thursday night continued its micro-focused efforts to initiate change to the County code regarding wind energy.

Buck Carter proposed a six-month review of the County's wind ordinances and additionally, as a part of the motion, any new applications for wind farms would fall under any changes made after the six months.

Melonie Tilley and Aaron Kammeyer chimed in wondering about speeding the process along. Board Chair Terry Ferguson indicates this process is underway and gave a vote of confidence this can be accomplished in six-months.

According to Carter, anything longer than six-months and the County Board runs into legal ramifications. If the reviews are not completed in six months, he says they will return to the issue then.

The motion passed with only two dissenting votes. 

Before the meeting was adjourned, a short and mildly tense exchange took place between Tilley and Jay Wickenhauser regarding the following recommendations of the zoning board of appeals (ZBA) and the regional planning commissioner (RPC). 

Tilley pointed to an abundance of legal advice since the vote on the special use permit last summer as the County faces a handful of lawsuits over that vote. Nate Ennis questions where all the legal advice was at that time.

During the public input session of the Board meeting, the Board heard from a handful of residence urging review and action on the wind ordinance but also the reversal of the decision by the previous Board to approve the special use permit from Tradewind Energy.

Thursday night the Board also approved Kenneth Robinson to the Kenney Fire Protection District and approved an emergency declaration to replace a gas dock at the Clinton Lake Marina.