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Residents press commissioners over solar, hospital talk as heated public comments surface
Summary
Public commenters at the Aug. 12 Bourbon County Commission meeting pressed commissioners over solar project setbacks, accused officials of rude behavior and spread social‑media criticism of the hospital negotiation with Freeman; commissioners denied rumors and urged residents to be constructive.
Public commenters at the Bourbon County Commission meeting on Aug. 12 sharply criticized commissioners’ handling of solar‑project setbacks and urged civility around ongoing hospital negotiations with Freeman.
Pete Owens, introduced by the chair as a county resident, said citizens had prepared legal precedent on controlling solar projects and objected to what he described as commissioners’ dismissive behavior. "Those 2 commissioners received a vote of no confidence," Owens said, and he publicly called for "your resignation, Jim." Owens told the commission it was "blatantly going down the wrong path" and said citizens had been left without clear legal responses on their proposals.
Other speakers urged calm. Mark McCoy said hospital administrators and KRI contacted him about negative Facebook comments and social‑media claims that Freeman or KRI were "fleecing" the county, including assertions that a "$500,000" payment had not been made. "If I'm lying, they're lying," McCoy said, and asked residents to be positive so Freeman will remain engaged in the hospital project.
Leroy Krueger, who said he won the Republican primary for District 3, told the commission he had heard rumors he and another candidate would "ruin this hospital" or break solar contracts and denied those claims. "I want the record straight so the people of Bourbon County know I'm gonna do what I promised," Krueger said.
Commissioners responded directly to the accusations. One commissioner said he had not heard the rumors and congratulated Krueger on his primary win. Another commissioner defended the hospital negotiations, saying Freeman "is a very very good health care program" and that he would remain in office until he felt the hospital was secure. "I will continue doing my job until my time is up," that commissioner said.
The meeting included several procedural actions—the commission approved routine payroll and accounts‑payable items and later moved briefly into an executive session related to a preliminary discussion of real property—but much of the public comment section was devoted to solar setbacks, allegations about commissioners’ conduct, and the community effort to secure a hospital partner.
What's next: Commissioners said they will continue the setback‑committee process the public requested and that enforcement tools for any setback rules would need legal guidance and could be addressed by the county counselor.
