VIENNA — Maries County Commissioners received a letter from Azimuth Renewables, LLC, in St. Louis at their Dec. 27 meeting that prompted a phone call to State Representative Bennie Cook.

Azimuth Renewables will facilitate the solar panel project that Jade Solar has had in development on Lanes Prairie near the junction of Highway 28 and Highway Z. Development of the project began in late 2020 with a goal to begin construction in 2023 and be fully operational by 2025. The project encompasses more than 2,000 acres.

In the letter, Azimuth Renewables asked the commissioners to sign and return it to confirm that Maries County has no planning and zoning restrictions. The commissioners were hesitant to respond.

“On a deal like that, it makes you wonder if there shouldn’t be (planning and zoning restrictions),” Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman said about the solar panel project. “It’s not like someone’s building a shed, or a garage, or a shop. Landowners like to have the freedom to do what they want, but on a deal like that, I don’t know if zoning wouldn’t be a good thing. Right now, they don’t have to consult us at all.”

“A lot of time zoning is unnecessary,” Western District Commissioner Ed Fagre said.

“If you have planning and zoning, then you’re going to have to have some kind of inspector,” Stratman said.

“You might need to have a board and everything,” Fagre said.

“It’s not a good deal,” Eastern District Commissioner Doug Drewel said about the letter. “We’re going to give away a lot of good stuff right there. It looks like that gives them free and clear to do what they want.”

“It’s no different than you or me building a shop or something,” Stratman replied.

Stratman wondered if they should consider running a ballot measure to implement some kind of planning and zoning restrictions. He was unsure if such restrictions would apply to the solar panel project or if the project would be grandfathered in under previous rules.

“Nobody in the county wants planning and zoning,” he said. “It would take a lot of salesmanship to get that passed.”

Fagre mentioned that Pulaski County had tried to pass planning and zoning restrictions as a ballot measure several years ago, but it failed by a wide margin. He also suggested asking Prosecuting Attorney Tony Skouby about their options.

“There has to be some wiggle room there somewhere,” Drewel said. “Instead of having planning and zoning, could you have two or three different ordinances about what has to be done to the road or something?”

The commissioners tried to talk to Skouby, but he was out of the office.

“I don’t want anything to do with it until we can get it lined out,” Fagre said. “Everybody is asking the same questions. Every county you see is getting these. They (companies) are wanting to know how you’ll tax them, how you’re going to do this, how you’re going to do that. I get emails all the time.”

Stratman said the lack of communication on the project was displeasing.

“There’s a reason for that,” Drewel said. “When you’re in the dark, they can slip a one-or-two-liner in, we’ll sign it off, and when you come back to it, they’ll say ‘Oh, look at what you signed off on.’”

Stratman called Cook to ask if tax exemption for solar energy systems is state or federal law.

“There was an exemption passed in the 1990s when this was all kind of a dream,” Stratman said. “They’re taking out agricultural land. Shouldn’t this be commercial after it’s developed?”

He also asked Cook if he knew any options the county might have for adding planning and zoning restrictions to projects such as the solar panels on Lanes Prairie.

“We don’t want planning and zoning, but it seems to me that when you get to this scale for a project there ought to be some kind of regulations,” Stratman told Cook.

Cook said he would research the issues and get back to the commissioners with more information. He said he would try to visit a future commission meeting to share his findings.

The commissioners decided to hold onto the letter until they have more information about their options.

Recreational 

Marijuana

During the call with Cook, Stratman asked the representative if he knew how the state would adjust to the legalization of recreational marijuana.

“There’s still guidance coming out on it,” Cook said. “I’m trying to find out as much as I can on the law enforcement perspective of it. It doesn’t look good on the law enforcement side. It could hinder them when they have to deal with some of those issues. It’s going to take some transitioning because a lot of people still don’t understand how to enforce it.”

He added that he anticipates that someone will propose a bill to potentially change Amendment 3 through another vote by the electorate.

“I’m not saying it’s definitely going to happen,” he said. “But going by history, I would anticipate something being put up to fix some of the things that came up with that. Will it pass? Will it get on a ballot? I don’t know. That conversation has happened though.”

Stratman said he would answer questions from any concerned Maries County residents about the ballot measure to add a three percent tax on marijuana sales ahead of the election in April.

“They can call me or talk to me,” he said. “If a group has questions, I can come and explain that we’re not trying to legalize marijuana. It failed in Maries County, but it passed statewide, and it’s going to be state law. We may just as well get the revenue for it. Whoever doesn’t participate by purchasing the recreational marijuana doesn’t pay anything.”

The phone number for the county commission office is 573-422-3388. The commission usually meets from 9 to 10:30 a.m. on Monday and Thursday at the Maries County courthouse.

Farming

The commissioners also discussed the state of farming. Drewel shared a story about someone he knows selling hay for $55 per bale.

“A lot of those guys are getting $80 or $90 for baled hay,” Fagre said.

“That’s outrageous,” Drewel said. He asked Stratman how cattle farmers make money paying those costs to feed their cattle.

“Some of those guys have spent their lives developing their herd, their brand,” Stratman said. “They can’t sell their cows now because everybody is in the same spot with this hay thing. They’ve cut back, so when things turn around in a year or so, calves could be $3 (per pound).”

Drewel said he knows some young men who bought farms in the last few years who have been losing money after investing in cattle and machinery.

“I don’t know how they’re going to make it,” he said.

Fagre said he heard of parts of Kansas getting only four inches of rain this year.

“I don’t see how they can raise corn out there like they do,” Stratman said. “I know some of it is irrigated, but not all of it.”

Drewel said there are two springs on some of his property.

“I never did see those springs go dry,” he said. “In the last two years, one of them went dry and came back. The other one never did go dry, but it’s the lowest Dad has ever seen it, and he’s been there since 1956. What’s happening to the water table? If you haven’t got water, I don’t care how much grass you have. You’ll have no cows on there.”

Drewel said he liked having springs because they are more reliable for watering cattle than pumped wells.

“If you don’t have a good generator, and the electric’s off for a little while, you’re screwed,” he said.

“You might not want to rely completely on a well,” Stratman said. “You might want to have a pond or something around.”

“That’s what’s good about those springs, especially in the winter,” Drewel said. “They never freeze up. And they do better in the winter than they do in the summer. The cattle don’t drink so much.”

Drewel said that most smaller farms are becoming hobby farms.

“They say the average-sized herd in Missouri is about 28 head,” Stratman said. “That’s a pretty good hobby farm, but when you consider the people who have hundreds of cattle, there are a lot of little operations out there.”