Amy Lathen, El Paso County commissioner, spoke at the Eastern Plains Chamber of Commerce November meeting about the land use and public safety issues of the Multiband wind power project in Calhan.The Colorado Legislature gave the counties authority over land use through House Bill 1041 in 1974. ì1041 regulations allow us to negotiate issues before the land use hearing,î Lathen said. The county is negotiating road and bridge remediation, setbacks from property lines for the turbine towers and ensuring there is a bond in place to remove the towers if the project fails, she said.The impact of oversized and heavy trucks traveling to the Calhan project through Falcon is a major concern to the county. ìOur road and bridge fund is not a deep bucket, so those impacts need to be mitigated,î Lathen said. ìThere is no business personal property tax in the county, but 1041 is designed to be less onerous and allow us to negotiate to make sure those things are agreed to before we approve it.îChamber members were also concerned about the status of the equipment and towers if the project is not successful. ìIt’s not our prerogative to rule on their business plan,î Lathen said. ìWe can’t use that as a decision for land use. But we can make sure that if they’re no longer active, that the field is deconstructed.îAfter the presentation by Lathen and a short debate, the chamber membership voted to approve a resolution expressing the chamber’s support for the development of the wind energy project.Chamber businessChamber secretary Debra Williams of Edward Jones Investments resigned from the board because of time commitments with her National Guard position. Only two of the six board positions listed in the chamber bylaws are currently filled. ìWe need people to step up,î said Connie Johnson, president.Pat Jeffrey, board chairman and pastor of Grace Community Church, suggested the membership hold a vote in December on the future of the organization. Discussions at the December meeting will include the option of dissolving the chamber. ìScripturally, it’s said before there can be new life, there must be death. And sometimes we have to let something die for there to be a hunger for something new,î he said.The next chamber meeting is Dec. 4 at 7:30 a.m. at Grace Community Church in Falcon.
