York News-Times Press Release
Written by Parker Garlough
County commissioners faced heavy pressure this week to pass solar zoning regulations with half-mile setbacks.
Some of that pressure was targeted toward specific commissioners. As the newest commissioner, and therefore the person who has participated in the fewest solar zoning discussions at County Board meetings, Commissioner Deb Robertson was singled out by name by several people who wanted her to vote in favor of the regulations.
“We already know through the past history that at least one member of the board has an agenda and is going to probably vote against the zoning regulations,” McCool Junction resident Chuck Byers said. “Randy will probably vote against them because he doesn’t like the large setbacks. We already know that. We know that Daniel and Andy will probably vote in favor of the zoning, which leaves it to Deb.”
At a County Board meeting April 14, Robertson voted to include half-mile setbacks for non-participating homes in proposed solar zoning regulations.
“I’m going to commend Deb Robertson for voting on the setbacks two weeks ago,” Hayes Township resident Tim Jackson said. “I appreciate her standing up for the rural parts of York County.”
Commissioner Joe Burgess faced heavy criticism.
“I was shocked and disgusted by the way you, Joe, treated me and others who stood up to voice our grievances,” Waco resident Julie Wellman said. “I don’t think you’re a bad person, but rolling your eyes and laughing in the faces of the people who are only trying to protect our children and our land from destruction is not the answer. I urge you to consider kindness next time someone stands up here in front of you asking for help.”
Several public commenters alluded to Burgess’ status as one of the youngest commissioners in Nebraska.
“Do they no longer teach respect in your home or in high school or college?” Henderson resident Diana Johnson asked. Burgess is a chemical engineering student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
“This isn’t a college class,” Byers said. “You’re the commissioners representing the citizens of York County.”
Johnson suggested Burgess is an outsider to the county. He moved to York in 2022 as a high school freshman.
“Coming from Washington state, he also does not understand the family farm,” Johnson said.
A city-versus-country divide was a common theme at the public hearing Monday evening and County Board meeting Tuesday morning.
“I think what they should do is take a vote on just all the country people, and leave the city of York out,” Henderson resident Eugene Enns said in an interview conducted while he protested outside of the courthouse before the hearing.
Rural residents have different priorities than those living in city limits, Wellman said.
“At the end of the day, people who live in town go home, drink a cold beer, visit with a person on the other side of the parking lot and laugh and talk about their day,” she said. “The people behind me, they go home, they sit down at their supper table, and they pray for this board, that God will send you the Holy Spirit into your heart to grant you all wisdom.”
McCool Junction resident Grant Jackson suggested that people who live in the city of York are dismissive of the huge change a solar farm would represent for a rural area.
“If we wipe the whole city of York out and put crop ground and feedlots and swine confinements, would that be all right with you guys?” Jackson said. “It’s the same thing.”
Rhetoric equating solar farms to the destruction of agriculture was common.
“The heat from the solar will destroy the land and the livestock around it,” Wellman said. “The solar panels will be destroyed by hail, and glass will blow all over the county. The land will be worthless after it is destroyed. It cannot be clean. It cannot be farmed again, and our water is at risk.”
OPPD Government and Community Relations Manager Dustin Marvel cast doubt on those statements.
“Many of the assumptions underlying these rules about heat, water and storm impacts lack credible support and are based on speculation, not evidence,” Marvel said.
Several public speakers expressed uncertainty about health and safety concerns.
“We have no idea what all those inputs, what they’ll do in time … what they’ll end up with 30 years down the trail, I don’t know,” York County resident Jess Dax said.
Fear of the unknown was a common refrain.
“Common sense says that we’ve planted crops for 150 years in York County, and it’s worked out great,” York resident Jason Todd said. “The unknown of the solar panels is the unknown.”
To Willard Peterson, an uncertain future is a fact of life and cannot be avoided by pushing away the unfamiliar.
“200 years from now, what will York County look like?” Peterson said. “Nobody knows, but I guarantee you it will not look like it does today.”
There has already been dramatic change in the way land is used in this area, he pointed out.
“They keep saying this area has been farmland for 150 years, and they say it hasn’t changed,” Peterson said. “It has changed. The American Indian tribes that lived on this ground way before this had no choice. They were driven off this land by some of our ancestors, and they would beg to differ with you that this ground now is being used for a good purpose.”
Appeals to emotion were frequent.
“Look at these people behind me,” Wellman said. “They are sad. They are devastated because of decisions that have been made by this board that will affect their lives forever.”
Peterson was skeptical of their concerns.
“It seems to me like a lot of people’s testimony is based on emotion and fear,” he said. “What emotion can do to you is it can take away your normal thought process. And I feel like I’ve seen an awful lot of that. I know what it does to me sometimes.”
He urged the commissioners to see beyond public commenters’ appeal to pathos.
“Leadership requires something difficult,” Peterson said. “It requires separating facts from emotions. It requires lowering the temperature when emotions run high.”
After he spoke, several people defended the emotional content of their speeches and those of other pro-regulation advocates.
“When Willard says, ‘You can’t be emotional,’ oh yes, we can, because it is our family legacy,” Amy Pohl said.
To York resident Morris Weyers, emotion was not a hindrance but a benefit.
“Sometimes points are better made with some emotion,” Weyers said.
Few statements advocating shorter setbacks were made. Marvel and K-Junction supporter Clinton Schwartz criticized the half-mile setbacks as excessive. Peterson, who has described himself as neutral on solar in the past and has suggested that commissioners reduce the proposed setbacks, criticized people’s reasoning for supporting half-mile setbacks.
“Those people that didn’t want to come talk today is very few compared to the ones that have stood up against the solar,” York County resident Connie Hall said.
Obermier has heard from many supporters of the proposed solar project, he said.
“Coming into a room like this is not the most comfortable thing for anybody, let alone somebody that knows when you walk in here, they don’t want you here,” Obermier said.
Several pro-regulation advocates said public speaking was uncomfortable for them as well.
“You implied that we are a bunch of evil people that are going to destroy the people that are for it,” Byers said. “You implied that we were going to harm them and bring harm upon them. I beg to differ.”
Byers suggested they make written comments instead.
“If they don’t want to show up, they have the right to make written comment and have it inserted into the record,” he said. “Where’s their comments?”
Some written comments in favor of the proposed K-Junction solar farm have been released publicly.
“There’s probably somewhere between 10 to 15 letters of support from businesses, landowners and other community leaders on the record,” Marvel said. “That has not changed. The claim that there are no voices or names to these support folks is false.”
Schwartz echoed Obermier’s claim that fear of inciting other county residents’ anger was a discouraging factor.
“I’m totally disgusted with the mudslinging and name-calling that some of the residents as well as politicians of this county have made concerning this subject,” Schwartz said. “As a county, we should be ashamed of ourselves. Not only has it been directed toward us landowners, but toward anyone that would support this project. That’s uncalled for.”
