Solar applications have been piling up on the desk of DeWitt County's Zoning Administrator, with applicants urgently trying to get projects approved before the end of the year. 

At Tuesday night's DeWitt County Land Use Committee Meeting, Chairman Buck Carter brought up agreements for professional services from Chastain Engineering for the Revere Rd and Madison St Solar Projects, which are two projects set up within the same 68.6-acre parcel of land. Zoning Administrator Elizabeth Weikle indicated that Cummins would treat the two as a single project for billing purposes. 

Carter and Board Chair Joe Witte felt the two projects needed to be treated separately through the zoning process. Chris Hammer agreed and felt that if Chastain cleared up some of the language in their responsibilities within the agreement, their higher cost would be worth it. 

Weikle pointed out that if they were to go with Chastain for the projects, they would ask for clarification on which entity is being billed by the firm. She notes that it currently says the client, which is DeWitt County, when it should be the applicant. 

Weikle added that this project is moving quickly, and the applicants would likely not have a preference over which firm was chosen. The Committee decided to go with Chastain should they make the billing correction. 

The recommendation of Chastain Engineering will now go to a vote at this month's DeWitt County Board Meeting, taking place next Thursday, October 23rd. 

The Committee also discussed standardized plans for decommission when it comes to solar projects that are no longer producing, as well as a path for community complaints. We'll have more on those in the days ahead from the Hart Media Group.