APC hears people’s opinions about a possible bypass around Ossian and solar farms
By DAVE SCHULTZ
The Wells County Area Plan Commission heard from residents Thursday night about two aspects of the county’s comprehensive plan, known as Vision 2035.
The discussion went on for 190 minutes, ending at 10 minutes after 10 p.m. When it was done, the nine APC members present felt they had enough to achieve a consensus on the matter of large-scale solar power facilities, but still needed to refine the plan’s language on the future of surface transportation in and around the Ossian area
As a result, they’ll have another discussion on that issue when the APC reconvenes July 7, and assuming they reach agreement on the language, they will vote in August to send Vision 2035 to the various units of government that are represented on the APC.
Make no mistake: The people who spoke to the commission were passionate about their opposition to building any new highway that would bypass the town of 3,200 people close to the county’s northern border. The near-universal sentiment was that the county needs to improve and maintain the roads it has.
A study has been produced, at the request of Wells County government, on a north corridor for traffic. That study suggests a bypass, and the conversation centered on that — in particular, as people talked about it, why it was a bad idea.
The revised plan that was in front of the APC members Thursday night listed options — Should it go around Ossian? Should it go all the way out to Thiele Road (Wells County Road 450E)? Should more of an effort be put into improving 300W from Zanesville south to U.S. 224? Should Ind. 116 or Ind. 124 be considered as alternatives?
Or, should nothing be done at all? Many in the audience, and just shy of 30 people addressed the APC members — some more than once — said that any effort to make the trip from Bluffton north to Interstate 469 and on to the rest of Fort Wayne quicker than it is was more of a “want” than it was a “need.”
Randy Springer, one of those who spoke, said creating a bypass would save seven minutes off the drive from Bluffton to Fort Wayne as it now goes through Ossian. “Get up seven minutes earlier,” he said, concluding with: “This is stupid.” He returned to his seat, as did several others, with a round of applause for his remarks.
Many people spoke of how they would lose their farmland if it was taken for more roads.
Many were also concerned that the APC did not do when they considered to be an adequate job of notifying citizens about the meeting. “Many people in this room knew nothing about it,” said Mindy Love, who lives on Ind. 1. “Whatever you’re doing is not working.”
The language under “potential county and state road projects” in the Transportation section of Vision 2035 will be revised prior to the July meeting. It will again be held in the lower level of the Commerce and Visitors Centre.
The APC also heard testimony on solar energy, which drew much less comment than did the transportation plan Thursday night. Much of the APC members’ conversation was with Ben Herman, who expressed reservations with the plan’s concerns about state control of renewable energy — wind and solar. Wind turbines on a large scale have been banned in Wells County for several years, and the APC is considering what the county should do regarding large solar farms
However, as was noted by Mike Lautzenheiser, the APC’s executive director, and County Surveyor Jarrod Hahn, bills have been introduced in the Indiana General Assembly that would remove local control of such matters and place them entirely under state control.
“It’s not if it’s going to happen,” Hahn said. “It’s when.”
The revised plan reviewed Thursday night made a simple statement: “There is a lack of support for utility scale solar.” That has been the most commonly expressed statement in public discussions, but Jerome Markley, the APC’s president, thought that statement needed to be refined. He planned to make a recommendation on that prior to the next meeting.
When all was said and done Thursday night, however, nearly all involved expressed satisfaction with the process.
The revision of the comprehensive plan started before the COVID-19 pandemic, and public meetings about it were put on hold until it was considered safe to hold them again. “This is why we wanted to have these kind of meetings,” Lautzenheiser said. “This is what we’re trying to get to. I’m happy to see so many people here.”
And several members of the public, as they concluded their remarks, thanked the APC members for their service — even though, as many of them said, they did not want to do it themselves.
The APC also agreed, on a 9-0 vote, to recommend to the Wells County Commissioners that a parcel of land at 600N and 200W not be rezoned to I-2 (industrial) to allow for a more intense junkyard. Neighbors expressed their opposition and the APC members agreed with them.
APC members present were Tyson Brooks, Hahn, Bill Horan, Josh Hunt, Markley, Tim Rohr, John Schuhmacher, Becky Stone-Smith, and Melissa Woodworth. Harry Baumgartner Jr. and Cory Elzey were not present.
daves@news-banner.com
