County planner updates commissioners on Mammoth, Moss Creek, Bottlebrush and Mayapple solar projects
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Summary
A county project planner told commissioners that Mammoth North will undergo a landscape-buffer site visit on Nov. 7 and that Moss Creek and Bottlebrush remain on schedule for preconstruction and construction in 2026; staff flagged ongoing compliance checks, a recent safety incident, and near‑exhaustion of supplemental compliance funding.
Pulaski County project staff provided a multi‑project status update on utility and solar developments that are under county compliance oversight.
The planner reported an AEP utility upgrade notice affecting the area but said details — including precise locations and timing — were not yet available. Staff said they are monitoring the situation and expect public questions about unusual vehicles or road use related to AEP work.
On the Mammoth project, county officials scheduled a landscape‑buffer field visit for Friday, Nov. 7 to review dense‑screening locations at Mammoth North. An Oct. 30 setback inspection with representation from the drainage board, the developer and county staff found sites in the southern area to be in compliance; a central area required adjustments and a follow‑up inspection is likely in the coming week or two.
Planner also reported an emergency response meeting that discussed an earlier incident in which a worker required airlift to higher care. The planner said response protocols were followed and, to the planner’s knowledge, the worker is expected to make a full recovery. Road‑use agreement (RUA) fines were issued the prior Monday and staff anticipated another round of fines for compliance enforcement.
Other projects — Mayapple, Moss Creek and Bottlebrush — were discussed together. Mayapple has no progress meeting in the last two weeks but a meeting is expected in November following its AEP interconnection work. Moss Creek staff confirmed the developer is not selling the project and is preparing to begin road‑use agreement negotiations with county staff (Gary and Carla); Moss Creek remains on schedule for preconstruction in late spring and construction in 2026. Bottlebrush assigned a new project manager but remains on a similar timeline and is working with AEP.
The planner said developers will submit updated maps showing proposed dense vegetation buffers ahead of the Nov. 7 site visit, and that Nexus (field representation) will verify flagged parcels on the ground when cloud analytics detect potential changes. Staff also told commissioners they had circulated a detailed breakdown of hours and tasks to county and developer attorneys and that additional compliance‑oversight funding was almost fully expended and may be exceeded by month‑end.
Commissioners asked questions about buffer locations and financing; staff said they will follow up and provide additional documentation to the board and attorneys.
