Rachel Charniak <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Jefferson County\nBoard met on Tuesday, October 22 at the courthouse to continue discussions\nregarding the 2020 budget, the Badger State Solar Project, Broadband internet,\nand many other items. The 2020 budget is\n$85 million, and major categories of spending include road projects, paying off\ndebts, and remodeling Jefferson County buildings, especially the Jefferson\nCounty Courthouse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Jefferson County\nCourthouse renovations are for maintenance and operational purposes, as the\nbuilding needs to be modernized to account for our tech savvy society. In January and February of 2020, it will be\ndecided specifically what building updates need to happen. The project will span over 2-3 years, with\nchanges mostly occurring in the interior of the building. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jim Schroeder, Chair of\nthe Jefferson County Board, said \u201cIf you have a car that\u2019s nickel and diming\nyou to death, that\u2019s not really a good way to spend your money. You\u2019re better off either putting a new engine\nin the car or buying a new car, because in the long run your money will be spent\nmore wisely.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Major revenue sources for\nthe 2020 budget include property taxes, but interestingly, property taxes rates\nhave been steadily declining ever since 2017. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anita Martin from Lake\nMills who works for the Land and Water Department spoke at the public hearing\non the budget. She says the department\nis down a person and was wondering if that position is going to be filled in\nthe budget or not. The board will make a\nconclusion at a later date. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Badger State Solar Project<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two areas are being\nimpacted by the Badger State Solar project, which involves the installation of\nsolar panels used for making clean energy. \nThe project to the west off Highway 18 in the towns of Jefferson and\nOakland was the location of discussion at the meeting. The other location that has not moved forward\nwith the Public Service Commission (PSC) is in the northeastern part of\nJefferson County in Watertown, Ixonia, Farmington, and Concord. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The proposal between the\ncounty and the developer states that the site would be 1,500 acres, and 149\nmegawatts. It also discusses fencing,\naccess roads, and landscaping. The\naccess roads would use existing soil levels and the conditions that are\ncurrently in place today. Repairs to the\nsite are required to be made within 30 days, and drainage repairs must be\ncompleted within 90 days. The height of\nthe panels is not to exceed 12 feet, with exceptions to the already existing\nproject substations. The useful life of\nthe project is anticipated to be between 25-50 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Community members have\nvoiced concerns over the project and its noise levels during construction, and\nit may not be pleasing to the eye. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The State Public Service\nCommission will give community members the opportunity to comment on the\nproject on Nov. 6 at 2 and 6 p.m. at the Jefferson County Fair park grounds in\nthe activity center. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nearing the end of the meeting, a few updates were\ngiven regarding the Broadband internet access project:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two following community members from Jefferson County made\nclaims against the county for damages. \nBoth cases were disallowed because the county believes they were not\nresponsible for the alleged damages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n