LISBON — The Columbiana County Board of Commissioners came out against the Kensington Solar Project Wednesday, saying in a resolution that it’s not in the best interest of Summitville or Franklin Township residents.

“The Kensington Solar Project will surround the village of Summitville to the extent that it will inhibit future expansion of the village and impact future economic development projects within the village of Summitville and the Township of Franklin,” the resolution said.

A large number of residents have objected to the proposed project and let their feelings be known to commissioners, both last year after the project was introduced by Liberty Power and this year. A petition against the project was presented to commissioners signed by more than 225 residents.

In a recent letter to the editor, Diane Brown, lead organizer of the group now known as FAKS-PAC, which stands for Franklin Against Kensington Solar Political Action Committee, shared information about a public meeting the group held. She wrote that the primary mission of the community-based group was to “stop this over-sized, industrial scale solar project that the community simply does not want.”

“The panels would cover a space equivalent to 856 full-sized football fields,” Brown wrote. She also indicated there will be “39 miles of unsightly chain link fencing, with barb wired tops.” She wrote “the solar panels themselves are projected to be up to 13 feet tall while the substation will have transmission structures that reach 70 feet in height.”

Commissioner Tim Weigle abstained from the vote due to his appointment as an ad hoc member of the Ohio Power Siting Board as a voting member for this project only. He said Franklin Township Trustee Mike Johnson was also appointed as an ad hoc member.

According to the resolution, which was passed by Commissioners Mike Halleck and Roy Paparodis without comment, the project will impact 2,264 acres of agricultural and forested land. The project will surround the village of Summitville on all sides according to a map which shows the proposed locations of the solar arrays.

The resolution in opposition to the project will be sent to the Ohio Power Siting Board. The applicant for the project is named Kensington PV 1, LLC, care of Algonquin Power Fund (America) Inc. in Ontario, Canada, for a solar-powered electric generation facility.

In other business, commissioners reappointed Ann Weigle as trustee for the Multi County Juvenile Attention System and gave permission to hunt on County Home Road property to Mark and Zachary Wagner.

The next meeting will be 9 a.m. Aug. 24 at the courthouse in downtown Lisbon.

mgreier@mojonews.com