With little discussion, the Reno County Commission Tuesday approved a permit to allow construction of a meteorological tower by NextEra Energy at the corner of East Irish Creek Road and South Mayfield Road which the county previously ordered the company to take down because it was not permitted. The permit is for a 199-foot tall tower, below the 200 feet that would required lighting by the FFA. It will gather data on wind speed and direction and other weather-related information. The permit is for three years, at which time it can be extended, or the tower must be removed.
The landowner where the tower is sited and the Reno County Planning Commission both recommended approval of the permit. Two people who addressed the planning commission on the tower last month opposed it and one person spoke against it on Tuesday.
“At Haven, at the first meeting NextEra had, they had a copy of the zoned and unzoned areas,” Commissioner Chairman Ron Hirst said. “I accept their apology. But with all the geological information today, with GPS, it’s hard to understand why this (permit) was not done. They were provided a map. I’ll leave it at that.”
(Read more: News – The Hutchinson News)