Darned All Around

The county commissioners are in a bad spot. Darned if you do, darned if you don’t as the saying goes. A showdown in court may be imminent.On one hand, you have a group of concerned citizens approaching the county hoping that the repowering project for the wind farm in the county has more transparency. Now that there are new regulations that make it very difficult for new wind turbines to be erected in the county, the corporation that headed up the wind farm may adjust those current turbines to be more efficient, in essence, make up for the loss of new turbines while maximizing the income potential of the current models.These concerned citizens are hoping that all angles are examined in this process and that the wind farm folks can’t just go ahead and do this under the grand-fathered old clauses in the county. The hopes of these concerned citizens is that the wind turbine company must abide by the new rules and regulations. This may hinder or halt the further adjusting of these turbines. It has not been outwardly stated, however, the vibe I get is, if this repowering project goes through, then these concerned citizens, or even one concerned citizen, may, just maybe, consider a lawsuit against the county to prevent this situation from going further.On the other hand, the county attorney has warned in the past that, maybe, just maybe, if the county does follow the lead of the concerned citizens and throw up some roadblocks in regard to the repowering, the major corporation could or may, themselves, seek a lawsuit.In business, you have to weigh if a fight is able to be won and how easily it can be won. Do you have the power, money and angle to defeat a big corporation? Do you have the funds, means and acumen to defend against concerned citizens? On one side of the coin, the concerned citizens, if they are all from this county, are constituents to the commissioners. They are the people the commissioners serve.The other side of the coin is this big corporation pays a hefty amount in property taxes, which goes to the schools, roads, etc. They are also big corporations, with many highly trained lawyers that can drag a fight out a long time and could cost the county millions.Look, anyone can sue anyone for anything. Senator Ernie Chambers once sued God.This is a very complicated issue as there are guidelines in place, but those guidelines can be changed. There is a moral obligation to do what is right, follow the rules and keep the lights on, business-wise. Sometimes those obligations, rules and business decisions don’t always align perfectly.Now, on a side note, in my experience, the people that say ‘don’t worry about money,’ when making a decision usually have plenty of money. Decisions become harder to gauge and make when you are broke.The county has a lot to weigh-in on and in-coming commissioner Danielle Schwab will have to take in as much information as she can between now and the new year as she may be in the middle of some major decisions or may have to help the county defend a lawsuit.Regardless of the outcome, it will be up to the commissioners to decide what is best for all citizens of the county.

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