The Mukwonago Town Board is seen at a Joint Plan Commission and Town Board meeting on Wednesday night. From left: Deputy Clerk/Treasurer Kelly Mueller, Town Chairman Peter Topczewski, Town Attorney John Macy, Town Planner Ben Greenberg, and Supervisor Lyle Boucher.
The Mukwonago Town Board is seen at a Joint Plan Commission and Town Board meeting on Wednesday night. From left: Supervisor Gilbert Yerke, Supervisor Richard Wrasman and Supervisor Kay Clabault.
The Town of Mukwonago Plan Commission is seen at a Joint Plan Commission and Town Board meeting on Wednesday night. From left: Rob Schuett, Kathryn Bell, Bill Moulas, Bob Usarek, and Peter Bratz.
Peter Murphy of OneEnergy Development LLC is seen at a Town of Mukwonago Joint Plan Commission and Town Board meeting on Wednesday night. Murphy represents OneEnergy, which seeks to install a solar project near the intersection of Highway I and Section Road in the Town of Mukwonago.
The Mukwonago Town Board is seen at a Joint Plan Commission and Town Board meeting on Wednesday night. From left: Deputy Clerk/Treasurer Kelly Mueller, Town Chairman Peter Topczewski, Town Attorney John Macy, Town Planner Ben Greenberg, and Supervisor Lyle Boucher.
The Mukwonago Town Board is seen at a Joint Plan Commission and Town Board meeting on Wednesday night. From left: Supervisor Gilbert Yerke, Supervisor Richard Wrasman and Supervisor Kay Clabault.
The Town of Mukwonago Plan Commission is seen at a Joint Plan Commission and Town Board meeting on Wednesday night. From left: Rob Schuett, Kathryn Bell, Bill Moulas, Bob Usarek, and Peter Bratz.
Peter Murphy of OneEnergy Development LLC is seen at a Town of Mukwonago Joint Plan Commission and Town Board meeting on Wednesday night. Murphy represents OneEnergy, which seeks to install a solar project near the intersection of Highway I and Section Road in the Town of Mukwonago.
MUKWONAGO — A public hearing for a proposed 6-megawatt solar energy project in the Town of Mukwonago on Wednesday night wound up being mostly discussion between members of the Town Board and Plan Commission, with residents only getting about 15 minutes to ask questions at the very end of the night.
The Joint Plan Commission and Town Board meeting held at Brooklife Church, 857 S. Rochester St., on Wednesday included a public hearing regarding a conditional use permit for the proposed Spring Lake Solar project on its agenda. The public hearing was a continuation of a previous public hearing at St. James Catholic Church on Oct. 26, which was adjourned after several hours of public comment.
On Wednesday, the Town Board and Plan Commission reopened the public hearing and gave the floor to the applicant, Peter Murphy of Seattle-based OneEnergy Development LLC, the company wanting to install 13,000 solar panels across approximately 28 acres on property northwest of Highway I and Section Road in the Town of Mukwonago.
Murphy spent about 45 minutes providing answers to questions posed by residents at the previous public hearing. He addressed concerns, including how many projects were included within OneEnergy’s proposal, with Murphy confirming that only the 6-megawatt project is part of the proposal, and that the project would coordinate smoothly with the Mukwonago Fire Department.
The Town Board and Plan Commission then decided to hold off on further public comment, instead spending the next hour allowing Town Board and Plan Commission members to question the applicant. The most frequently discussed topic among board and commission members was that OneEnergy plans to sell the solar project to We Energies once construction is complete.
Town Board Supervisor Kay Clabault questioned who would be responsible for decommissioning the project at the end of its 30to-50-year useful life; Murphy confirmed that the project owner, We Energies, would be the decommissioner.
Several members of the Town Board and Plan Commission, including Clabault, Supervisor Gilbert Yerke, and Town Chairman Peter Topczewski, expressed concern about whether We Energies would honor the decommissioning of the project at the end of its useful life. Murphy said a condition of the CUP is that the project must be decommissioned at the end of its useful life, meaning the project owner, regardless of who that may be in 30-50 years, would be legally required to decommission the project.
“The conditional use permit has the decommissioning plan that requires that to happen,” Murphy said. “So, your permit is legally enforceable. That’s the local enforcement pursuant to the permit, and then (there is an) additional level of regulation from the state Public Service Commission.”
Topczewski said his concern stems from the town not being a signatory to the lease agreement for the project. He said he wants to see a copy of the lease agreement before moving forward.
“I’m going to be dead probably in 30 years,” Topczewski said. “My obligation here is to protect the interests of the town.”
Among other comments about the project, Supervisor Lyle Boucher said he believes there isn’t enough local benefit to Town of Mukwonago residents.
“The benefit I get as an electrical customer (in the Town of Mukwonago) is not greater or no less than a We Energies customer in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan,” Boucher said.
Residents did not get to take the microphone until about 9 p.m. Residents were limited to only questions, not comments, about the project that had not already been discussed earlier in the evening. Answers to those questions will be provided at another continuation of the public hearing on Dec. 2 at Mukwonago Town Hall, W320-S8315 Beulah Road, according to Town Attorney John Macy.
Residents who spoke included Tarri Stanzer, who asked how much power would be generated by the solar panels on cloudy days as opposed to days with more sunlight. Tony Kuczynski, who said he lives a few doors west of the development, asked why the power provided by the solar project is needed at all. Meanwhile, multiple residents, including Brent Radobicky, disputed an earlier claim by Murphy that OneEnergy attempted to reach out to all nearby residents who might be affected by the development; Radobicky said he did not receive any correspondence.
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