photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Douglas County commissioners discuss the Kansas Sky Energy Center solar farm project at their business meeting on Wednesday, August 14, 2024.

A newly approved agreement will require a proposed solar farm in Douglas County to pay about $200,000 annually over 10 years for local government services — and a rural township wants to make sure that it’s included in the discussions and gets its share of the money.

At the Douglas County Commission’s meeting on Wednesday, commissioners unanimously approved the Payment in Lieu of Taxes, or PILOT, agreement with the developers of the Kansas Sky Energy Center project. State law significantly exempts solar and wind projects from traditional property taxes, and the roughly $200,000-a-year amount in the agreement is intended to make up for that as a payment for essential services, which can include fire protection and road maintenance.

County Administrator Sarah Plinsky said the PILOT agreement would distribute local government service payments in the same manner as taxes are distributed, which is different for numerous departments with varying tax rates and mill levies.

But a few people living in Grant Township, the rural township north of North Lawrence, had some concerns about the agreement. They said they hadn’t been included in the discussions about the agreement, and they wondered whether the agreement would really collect enough to cover the cost of providing services to the project.

As the Journal-World has reported, the $234 million Kansas Sky Energy Center project, which would include approximately 8 million square feet of solar panels, would be located just north of North Lawrence.

Plinsky said that the county was willing to work on improving its communication with the township residents moving forward. And Commissioner Patrick Kelly highlighted a section of the agreement that he thought might have raised public concerns and requested an amendment. He said he wanted to make sure that Grant Township would get its percentage.

“The comment that I heard from the public is, ‘How can we trust that those dollars will come to us?'” Kelly said. “When I read the agreement, it says it’s the county’s intent to distribute the PILOT payments. Intent? Or we will?”

The commissioners agreed to amend the language to say that the county “shall” distribute the PILOT payments. Kelly also requested data on current and projected taxes for Grant Township over 10 years, including the PILOT balances, to better assess the project’s impact.

The county and the project’s developers also said they plan to establish a separate agreement to cover several other expenses, including plans associated with stormwater management and agrivoltaics, a farming system designed to work alongside the project.

As the Journal-World reported, the stormwater management and agrivoltaics plans have not yet been presented to county commissioners, but the county and the Kansas Sky Energy Center team are currently working on those agreements. County staff noted in a memo that these plans could incur additional costs for the county, which the project should cover.

The Kansas Sky Energy Center would be the largest commercial development in Douglas County’s history and has elicited strong reactions of both support and disapproval from community members. The project is planned to be situated on farmland surrounding the Midland Junction grain elevators, north of North Lawrence, and, according to a memo included in Wednesday’s meeting agenda, is not expected to start producing electricity before 2027.

The project also currently faces a lawsuit filed by Grant Township, the North Lawrence Improvement Association, and over 20 other local businesses and individuals. It alleges that Douglas County Commissioner Karen Willey inappropriately worked behind the scenes to shepherd the project through the county’s approval process. The county has denied all such allegations, asserting that the plaintiffs are frequently misinterpreting texts and emails or using them to make misleading claims.

County staff confirmed at Wednesday’s meeting that the PILOT agreement would only become effective once the solar project was completed and that it would not affect the pending lawsuit.

In other business, commissioners:

• Approved the site plan for the Stull Solar Farm, situated in the northeast corner of the intersection of East 400 and North 1700 Roads.

The updated plan incorporates a new gravel drive in the northeast corner, linking the front access and parking area to the electrical equipment pad on the property’s north side. Additionally, the agenda’s report includes a drainage and soil assessment, indicating that the development of the Stull Solar site will result in a net reduction in runoff for all the watersheds in which the site is located.

• Authorized the director of maintenance to seek construction bids for improvements to the 2024 Douglas County Parking Lot and Juvenile Detention Center. This project, previously approved in the current capital improvement plan, involves replacing deteriorated parking lot pavement, updating parking lots to meet ADA requirements, addressing drainage issues, and replacing sidewalks.

• Accepted the financial summary for Douglas County for the year ending Dec. 31, 2023, which encompasses the Douglas County Extension Council, Lawrence-Douglas County health department, and Douglas County Fair. This summary includes details of receipts, expenditures, remaining cash balances, and accompanying notes.

• Approved the SFY 2024 Kansas Department of Corrections Juvenile Quarterly Grant Budget Amendment to transfer $7,875.79 in unexpended funds to pay for office and drug testing supplies.