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Commissioners approve $650,000 hydroelectric contract amendment over one dissent
Summary
The board voted 2–1 to approve a contract amendment for a hydroelectric project described as part of the county’s capital program; one commissioner said details were insufficient and recorded opposition.
The Montgomery County Board of Commissioners approved Jan. 9 an amendment to a contract for a county hydroelectric project after brief discussion and a recorded 2–1 vote.
The motion to approve the contract amendment (Agenda Item: Exhibit B, item 10) passed with two votes in favor and one opposed. Supporters said the hydroelectric project would help the county meet renewable energy goals and save money over time because technology has improved. A commissioner who opposed the amendment said staff had not provided sufficient detail and therefore withheld support.
Earlier in the meeting, a public commenter urged the board to delay contract votes he said would increase county spending and contribute to rising property taxes. In response, county officials and other commissioners clarified that many capital projects are funded through bond proceeds included in the county’s 2025 capital budget and that the planned bond sale would provide proceeds for projects scheduled in 2025–26.
The hydroelectric contract amendment’s approval was recorded in the transcript as passing by a 2–1 vote; the meeting record did not identify a roll-call naming each commissioner’s vote in the excerpt. The board did not provide a full detailed cost breakdown for the life-cycle capital costs of the hydro project during the discussion but indicated the item had been under study by county staff for several years.
The board moved on after the vote to other agenda items; staff have not yet provided a single consolidated lifecycle cost estimate for the hydro project in the Jan. 9 discussion.
