By HOLLY GASKILL
Representatives from Paddlefish Solar spoke with the Southern Wells school board Tuesday night to maintain communication alongside their solar development.
Trena Roudebush, community and government relations for the company, said the project will soon enter the bidding process and wanted to touch base with the school district. Roudebush also stated the project has recently finalized a decommissioning agreement, which reportedly outlines plans to return the land for agricultural use after 40 years.
Roudebush then announced the company is opening an office in Bluffton with Kody Kumfer as the local project representative.
“He’ll be here on the ground and pretty generally accessible to the community for questions and just to provide some fact-based information,” Roudebush said. “There’s a lot of misinformation out there.”
Board member Todd Fiechter then asked how the district could be better involved in economic development conversations. “We maybe got started on the wrong foot,” Fiechter said.
Roudebush stated the company had to go through county government for the tax abatement process but wants to maintain individual involvement with the district as well. She also clarified that while the company will be exempt from taxes on the land’s personal property, the tax revenue for the land itself will still increase from changing its classification.
Roudebush then referenced the public hearing for the development’s tax abatement when Superintendent Trent Lehman asked for “a seat at the table.”
“As much as we can advocate for what is important to you guys, we will,” Roudebush said.
Board member Delora Schneider then asked how they planned to determine their construction routes, as it could interrupt bus routes. Roudebush said their contractors planned to meet with the school to view the bus routes and times of travel to determine the best course of action.
The solar development will be based in Liberty and Chester townships across multiple properties. When Paddlefish Solar received a 10-year tax abatement in December, the group pledged to invest a minimum of $250 million in the project. It is expected to have a $90-100 million tax impact, said Roudebush.
Paddlefish Solar LLC is a partnered venture between Geenex Solar, a solar energy company based out of North Carolina, and EDF Renewables, a global renewable energy group.
Other updates included:
• Two new positions were created — lead custodian and instructional facilitator. The lead custodian role was requested by Maintenance Director Ryan King, who stated leadership within the role was necessary. King hopes to hire the role internally. Similarly, Lehman stated the instructional facilitator role hoped to fairly compensate those doing work above a general instructional assistant. Annette Thompson was the only proposed hire for this role.
• The board reviewed multiple policies following changes by state legislation and recommendations from the Indiana School Board Association. These policies will be revisited at the board’s next meeting and will be available for review on the district website, as requested by Fiechter.
• Two retirements were accepted — football coach Mike Roeder and cafeteria assistant manager Gwen McElhaney. Resignations were also accepted from elementary instructional assistant Kendra Steffen and elementary instructional assistant Brenda Rockwell.
• The board approved Southern Wells Elementary School Assistant Principal Jessica Killingbeck’s recommendation for Camelia Robles as a full-time bus driver. They also approved Cafeteria Manager Chris Mossburg’s recommendation to move Lisa Steiner into Gwen McElhaney’s position as assistant manager.
• The following coaching positions were approved by the board — Taylor Thompson as assistant for varsity cross country, Gary Paxson as varsity track coach with Gary McFarren as assistant, and Mark Gates and Cory Leas for junior high track.
• Donations were accepted from Montpelier Ag and Whitetails Unlimited for the archery club.
• Approved fundraisers were volleyball fundraiser at Wings, Etc. on Aug. 2; football Raider Cards from Aug. 2-16; FFA Chicken BBQ from Aug. 14-31; FFA Greenhand Member Auction on Sept. 12; FFA apparel wear from Sept. to Nov.; FFA fruit sales from Nov. 1-Dec. 18; FFA scrap metal dumpster from April 15-May 15; and FFA picnic tables from May 1-29.
• Several field trip requests were approved: FFA to Trafalgar, Ind. from Oct. 6-8; Indianapolis from Nov. 1-3 for the National Convention; and Southern Indiana for the State Soils Contest with the dates to be determined.
holly@news-banner.com
