Resident raises transparency concerns after unposted solar action; commission hears public comment

During the public‑comment period of the Jan. 27 meeting, resident Donald Butler Walker urged the Bourbon County Commission to improve transparency and slow decisionmaking on solar projects and related agreements.

Walker said he left a prior meeting early and later learned the commission signed an item on solar that had not been on that meeting’s agenda and that public comment was not taken when the item was first signed. "You didn't amend the agenda. And then you bring it up a week later, and that's fine. This actually signed it a week later, and the public finally gets to notice. But when you signed it that time, there was no public comment on that. And so I think you're making decisions a little, not just on solar, a little fast," he said.

Walker described local solar installations in Fort Scott, Maple and Uniontown and questioned how the county evaluates risks and benefits, including references to lithium batteries used in solar systems. He said the county had effectively "picked winners and losers" by approving several businesses for solar projects and expressed concern about whether agreed tax projections would materialize.

The commission did not take formal action in response to Walker's remarks during the meeting but commissioners heard his comments and later discussed related permitting and ordinance authority in separate agenda items during the meeting.

The transcript captures Walker’s remarks during public comment; commissioners acknowledged the concern and said questions about ordinance authority and noise complaints tied to generators will be referred to the county counselor for legal guidance if needed.