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LISBON -- Columbiana County commissioners approved a ban on construction of large solar facilities and large wind farms in the unincorporated areas of seven more townships, all at the request of trustees.
Butler, Center, Middleton, Salem, Unity, Wayne and Washington townships joined Fairfield, Franklin, Perry and West townships on the list of areas where the large wind and solar operations can't be built -- that's 11 out of 18 townships in the county with the ban.
Madison, Hanover and Knox townships have submitted recent resolutions requesting the ban, but they haven't been accepted yet by commissioners and no date has been set for the next public hearing. Previously Commissioner Tim Weigle said the board wanted to see if any more townships stepped forward with resolutions before setting another public hearing. Only four more townships remain that have not submitted resolutions or indicated one way or the other what their plans are: Yellow Creek, Liverpool, Elkrun and St. Clair.
During Wednesday's meeting, Weigle said that even though he serves as an ad hoc member of the Ohio Power Siting Board due to the Kensington Solar project, that doesn't prevent him from voting on these bans. The Kensington Solar project, located in Franklin Township, won't be affected by the ban in Franklin Township because the vote came after the project plans were already submitted. The project remains pending before the Ohio Power Siting Board.
Weigle and Commissioner Mike Halleck voted to approve the requested bans, with Commissioner Roy Paparodis unable to attend the meeting this week.
In other business, commissioners were ready to host a bid opening for a Community Development Block Grant project for village of Salineville street improvements, but no bids were received. Action related to the project was tabled for now. The project involves resurfacing Washington Street from Main Street to the Brookview Apartments in Salineville.
Commissioners appointed their former colleague Jim Hoppel to the Buckeye Water District board to fill the unexpired term vacated by the resignation of Mike Ryan of Wellsville. The term expires on Dec. 31, 2026. The commissioners have three appointments to the board. Township trustees and incorporated municipalities also have three appointments each.
At the request of Columbiana County Department of Job and Family Services Director Rachel Ketterman, commissioners approved a new public guardian contract for Jacqueline Trimmer with funding from the senior service levy for a period from May 1 to Dec. 31 and a ceiling of $2,000. The commissioners also amended a contract for public guardian and legal services for indigent wards with attorney Dan Solmen through the senior service levy from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, increasing the contract ceiling by $15,000 to a total of $40,000.
The next commissioners' meeting will be 9 a.m. May 17 at the downtown courthouse.