Commissioners hear concern that large solar project was advanced administratively; town-hall planned June 10

A Southampton County commissioner raised concerns that a separate large solar project had been advanced administratively without formal Board of Supervisors sanction, and staff said the developer plans public outreach, including a town-hall on June 10.

During new business, Mr. Prince distributed flyers describing a shared-solar opportunity. One commissioner said he had already received multiple phone calls from residents surprised by the scale and location of a proposed solar project and asserted the project had not gone through the Board: “This did not go through the Board of Supervisors… the red carpet was rolled out before anybody knew anything about it,” the commissioner said, urging skepticism.

Response and next steps: Mr. Prince said the project will follow the standard public-notice process, with letters to adjacent property owners, and that the project team planned a community meeting on June 10 at the Cortland community center (the Rosenwald School site), scheduled for 5:30 p.m. He told commissioners he would post the invitation on the county website and circulate it to the commission.

Why it matters: Commissioners said earlier projects had been handled differently and requested that staff ensure robust notification; the planned town-hall will give residents an opportunity to ask questions before the matter advances to the Board. Commissioners also asked staff to confirm whether newspaper notice had been placed and requested that any advertising be at the developer’s expense.

The commission closed its special meeting after the discussion and staff confirmed the June 10 meeting logistics.