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by Eloise Lushina, WSBT 22 Reporter
LAKEVILLE, Ind. (WSBT) — A crowd gathered in Lakeville Wednesday night to voice concerns about St. Joseph County's ability to clean up solar farm projects once they've served their purpose.
Many residents are blaming two local leaders in particular for mismanaging funds, with most complaints specifically surrounding the Honeysuckle Solar Farm near New Carlisle.
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In that project's approval back in 2022, Economic Director Bill Schalliol accepted a decommissioning bond of $250,000, which some think should have been $15 million dollars.
Those decommissioning bonds ensure that developers safely remove equipment and return the land to its original state after a project's operational life ends.
Now, many are worried that the price won't cut it when it comes time to decommission the solar farm, and that the cost will instead fall on the shoulders of county taxpayers.
It’s not just the Honeysuckle Farm project that Gean is concerned about – he claimed the county has been left short nearly $80 million dollars total for all solar projects in the county.
Gean said that it all comes back to Schalliol and County Commissioner Carl Baxmeyer.
Both were invited to Wednesday night’s meeting, but did not show up.
Gean and other concerned taxpayers called for both of their resignations.
But other county leaders questioned the information presented at the meeting.
Gean encouraged people at the meeting to reach out to the drainage board to try to stop these projects and has created a petition to remove those county leaders from their positions.
WSBT reached out to Schalliol and Baxmeyer for comment but has not yet received a response.
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