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Commissioners press for accounting, workforce data and possible ordinance review amid solar-project concerns
Summary
Commissioners and residents on July 7 pressed county staff for documentation and oversight of recent large-scale solar projects, raising questions about $225,000 in consultant payments, disparities between promised and actual local hiring, and enforcement of setback and fencing rules under the UDO.
Pulaski County commissioners devoted a lengthy portion of their July 7 meeting to public comments and staff discussion about large commercial solar developments in the county. Speakers raised questions about financial accountability, employment projections used to support tax abatements, enforcement of local development standards, and whether to pause new project approvals while the county’s unified development ordinance (UDO) is reviewed.
Accounting and payments: Commissioner comments and public speakers focused on a $225,000 sum that county materials show was to be provided by solar developers to cover consultant and legal work (items cited included drainage, a model UDO, road-use agreements and decommissioning planning). Commissioners said two vendors — Tankersley Law and Baker Tilly — confirmed they received payment directly from developers; one firm (Barnes & Thornburg) had not yet provided confirmation to the county. Commissioners requested a records review to trace whether county funds were…
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