(Plymouth, IN) - On Monday State Senator Mike Bohacek ruffled some feathers down in Marshall County by challenging how conversations about proposed solar farms are going.
Bohacek told commissioners that he had received a complaint from the state's Public Access Counselor about an alleged closed-door meeting of the Marshall County Plan Commission touching on such topics as data centers, battery storage, and carbon capture, as well as wind and solar farms. The hour-long meeting occurred on January 25th and was conducted under the notice of employment issues.
Bohacek admonished the commissioners and the plan commission attorney for allowing such a meeting to take place. He reminded commissioners that public matters, especially hot-button topics like those mentioned, should not be discussed behind closed doors, and he warned that doing so opens up local government to lawsuits or regulation by state legislators.
Bohacek asked that they nullify any actions subsequent to the meeting and pass a one-year solar and battery storage moratorium. Several members of the public also expressed their disapproval. After some discussion, commissioners took no action.
