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Overcast with rain showers at times. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
Updated: September 13, 2026 @ 11:20 pm
Solar panels reflect off the sun’s rays along Turkey Knob Road west of Mount Jackson.
Solar panels reflect off the sun’s rays along Turkey Knob Road west of Mount Jackson.
MOUNT JACKSON — Mount Jackson gave the unfinished Turkey Knob solar project five more years Tuesday, approving an amended agreement that calls for Energix to make $1.375 million in voluntary payments to the town.
The Town Council voted 4-2 to extend the project through 2031, allowing Energix more time to build about 450 acres and 75 megawatts remaining from the solar development west of town. Council members Madison Estep Heltzel and Kyle Kennedy voted no.
Council then adopted the resolution carrying out the extension on a 5-1 vote, with Kennedy opposed.
The extension follows Energix’s disclosure in April that its software mistook a Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative line for Dominion Energy transmission infrastructure. The company must restart the PJM Interconnection process and has projected commercial operation in 2031 or 2032.
An existing 15-megawatt portion began generating electricity in 2021.
Under the amended agreement, Energix will pay $275,000 within 60 days of the extension, $350,000 after site-plan approval, $425,000 when construction begins and $325,000 when the project reaches commercial operation. The payments total $1.375 million.
They are separate from annual revenue-share payments. The agreement’s payment schedule projects $127,050 in revenue-share payments beginning in 2033, with the amount increasing over time.
Council member Todd Holtzman said property owner Robert Whitehurst has also offered $21,000 annually for 36 years, totaling another $756,000.
Holtzman said another $25,000 would go to the Shenandoah County Community Center and $25,000 to Mount Jackson Rescue and Fire. Kennedy said after the meeting that Whitehurst offered a voluntary donation and Energix agreed to match it.
“This may not be our very best deal,” Holtzman said. “It is a very good deal, in my opinion, for the town of Mount Jackson.”
Holtzman said afterward that he meant the town could only push negotiations so far without risking the agreement.
Vice Mayor Rod Shepherd said council received updated comparison data Tuesday showing Mount Jackson’s negotiated solar payments were slightly above the average received by other Virginia municipalities.
“The information we had six weeks ago was a very broad set of data that had not been refined,” Shepherd said. “We’ve refined that data, and it looks a lot better.”
Kennedy said the timing of that information was part of why he voted no.
He said council learned Tuesday about Energix’s matching donation, a provision involving a town share of profits if the solar farm is ever sold and the financial data used to help determine what the town should seek in the siting agreement.
Kennedy said the donations came with the condition that half go to the community center and half to fire and rescue. He said those terms should have been disclosed publicly before the vote, particularly because council members have connections to the organizations.
“I think that would be just more transparent and more open and honest for everybody,” Kennedy said.
Town Manager Olivia Hilton said the documents council was being asked to approve had been available since Aug. 11. She said no new information affecting the vote had emerged except for a town counteroffer rejected by Energix during private negotiations.
The town delayed action Aug. 11 because the amended siting agreement had not been made public early enough for residents to review it.
Steve Stein questioned the financial terms during Tuesday’s public hearing, calling the extension the town’s “second bite of the apple” and asking whether the additional money was equitable.
Stein also questioned landscaping and screening around the existing solar panels.
Hilton said the installed buffer meets the town’s approved requirements. She said Energix has planted more than 2,200 trees and replaced trees that died.
The updated conditions require existing vegetation within buffer areas to be maintained and additional landscaping where natural topography does not provide sufficient screening.
“I’m not thrilled by it, but I think it’s the best use of that land,” Shepherd said. “The revenue the town will receive from that is significant.”
Gospel Street
Council unanimously approved prohibiting on-street parking along Gospel Street between Depot and Wunder streets, a restriction it delayed in August after a resident said his home had no private parking.
Hilton said staff has since checked access to off-street parking along the street and a gravel parking area has been added behind the home of the resident who raised the concern.
She said the town will not implement the restriction until staff is comfortable that affected residents have somewhere else to park.
Community center
Two speakers asked Mount Jackson to restore financial support for the Shenandoah County Community Center.
The town had made an annual cash contribution to the center in previous years. For fiscal 2027, council instead planned to spend $50,000 purchasing about four acres behind the facility, with the land deal serving as the town’s support for the year.
Holtzman later proposed pairing the sale with $250,000 in town support over 10 years, paid in annual installments of $25,000. Council abandoned the land purchase in August and did not adopt the proposed annual payments.
Community center President Devon Pence said a $25,000 town contribution would equal one-twelfth of the center’s annual operating expenses.
Dave Jones, treasurer of the Open Door Food Pantry, said demand has increased 22% since the pantry moved into the community center in December. It now serves more than 450 people each month, he said.
“We’re not asking for the town to pay for everything, but as a partner, we would love your continued support,” Pence said.
Fire and rescue
Council also unanimously agreed to use its existing $25,000 contribution to Mount Jackson Rescue and Fire as a dollar-for-dollar match for donations made to the department during October.
The department is raising money for a new ambulance to replace a 2015 Dodge Ram 5500 with about 141,000 miles. The replacement costs $386,137, compared with $208,176 for the existing ambulance, and is expected to arrive in mid-2027. A $180,000 state grant leaves $206,137 to cover.
Shenandoah County’s fire chief Steven Hall, Jr. told council the department is trying to return the ambulance fleet to its regular replacement cycle.
“Every dollar counts,” Hall said.
Tree ordinance
Council unanimously adopted a tree care ordinance as Mount Jackson works toward a Tree City USA designation.
The ordinance creates a four- to six-member Tree Advisory Board and establishes standards for planting, maintaining and removing trees on town property. It also allows the town to require treatment or removal of hazardous trees on private property and sets a fine of up to $500 for violations.
The town plans to apply for Tree City USA recognition in December and hold a certified Arbor Day celebration in April 2027.
Hilton said the town is now looking for residents to serve on the advisory board.
“If you’re excited about trees, let me know,” Hilton said.
— Contact Ryan Fitzmaurice at rfitzmaurice@nvdaily.com
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