Board reviews easement terms for solar project, schedules public hearing on 199-foot tower
Loading...
Summary
County staff described a proposed 80-foot-wide easement (about 1.65 acres) to connect the Ekiti/Hackney solar project to a Dominion substation, outlined option payments and expiration date, and the board set a Feb. 10 public hearing on a 199-foot Arcola Towers telecom tower application.
County staff presented terms of an easement agreement tied to the previously approved Ekiti (referred to as Hackney Solar LLC) project and asked the board to authorize the county administrator to execute the agreement.
Staff described an 80-foot-wide easement across county-owned land at the transfer station and park that would create a roughly 1.65-acre corridor to reach a Dominion substation. Financial terms recited by staff include a grant-of-option payment totaling $78,400 with an initial option payment of $10,000 due within 45 days; subsequent option payments were described as approximately $10,000 in years two through four and $5,000 in years five through seven. The option period would expire April 30, 2030. Staff noted the agreement allows continued agricultural use of the easement area and timber-recapture options tied to clearing, and includes restoration obligations after work is completed.
An applicant representative told the board staff and the developer had explored private-land easement options but characterized the county easement as the necessary route to connect distribution to the substation.
A supervisor who said he had previously opposed the project moved to approve the easement on the condition that any lease or sale funds be earmarked for repairs to Samuel(s) Drive, the road leading to the transfer station; the motion and proposed earmark were discussed on the record but the transcript excerpt does not show a final vote on that conditional motion.
Separately, staff presented a conditional-use application (CUP 25-03) to erect a 199-foot monopole telecommunications tower (Arcola Towers) on property owned by Wayne Jamerson and asked that a public hearing be set for Feb. 10, 2026; the board set the public hearing as requested.
What’s next: the board set a Feb. 10 public hearing for the Arcola Towers CUP; the easement matter remains under consideration with a motion proposing to tie project proceeds to local road repairs.
