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Powhatan Today, June 15, 2022
Supervisors approve Beldale Solar project to move forward By Laura McFarland Managing Editor
POWHATAN – The Powhatan County Board of Supervisors paved the way for the addition of another solar facility in the county with the approval in May of a conditional use permit for Beldale Solar. The board approved the conditional use permit (CUP) in a split 3-2 vote at its May 23 meeting. Chair Mike Byerly, who represents District 3; Steve McClung, District 2, and Karin Carmack, District 5, voted to approve the CUP, while David Williams, District 1, and Bill Cox, voted against. The solar facility will take up 350 acres on a much larger grouping of properties consisting of 2,942 acres about 1 mile north of the 5000 block of Anderson Highway along the western edge of Cartersville Road in western Powhatan County. The company previously came before the supervisors at their March 28 for a substantial accord appeal that passed in the same 3-2 split vote. The board’s decision then was not an approval of the solar farm itself but an appeal of the planning commission decision earlier that month to find Beldale Solar was not in substantial accord with the 2021 Comprehensive Plan. When the
company won the appeal and went back before the planning commission on May 9 to have its CUP case heard, the commissioners voted 3-2 in favor of recommending it. Both in the presentation made by Beldale representatives and some of the board comments, a number of comments were made about the many concessions the company made and the amount of time its staff put in to work with the county, surrounding neighbors and others to address concerns and put forward the best possible project. A great deal of emphasis by supporters was placed on 14 new and six enhanced conditions added to the CUP (bringing the total to 35 conditions) to address concerns about buffers, protection of wetlands, erosion and sediment control, construction traffic and protection against future solar facilities on the property. The only questions about the project came from Cox, who wanted more details on the fencing and natural buffers meant to block the facility from view; wanting the decommissioning of all materials related to the facility at the end of its use, and concerns about the erosion and sediment control, which he said would not be sufficient. Four people spoke during the public hearing on the project in support of the project.
In a related matter, the board then approved a siting agreement with Beldale Solar in a 4-0-1 vote with Cox abstaining. Other business handled at the meeting included: Byerly announced a new policy stating that any presentations or documents anyone wants displayed on the large monitors during meetings must be submitted to county administration at least 48 hours before the meeting to give staff time to format and prepare them for display. Those items will be added as an addendum to the meeting agenda and sent to the other supervisors “so that there is full disclosure and transparency for the meeting.” He said it would take effect after that night’s meeting. When asked by Cox about setting policies like this, county attorney Tom Lacheney said the “chairman is tasked with the responsibility of running the orderly flow of the meeting.” However, it could be overruled by three votes. Cox said this policy would “limit the ability of the public to see what is going on” and said it is part of an ongoing effort to stop supervisors from making things clear to the public. Williams agreed with Cox that since handouts would see SUPERVISORS, pg. 7
PHOTOS BY LAURA McFARLAND
Scenes from the Rotary Club of Powhatan’s Field of Honor, held June 10, included, clockwise from top left, the crowd standing during the playing of patriotic music; a Presentation of the Colors by the Powhatan Sheriff’s Office; the Rev. Darnell Carruthers offering a special prayer; Pinckey Sowers of Powhatan taking photos of her grandchildren, Aiden and Ellie, next to a flag she purchased in memory of her fatherin-law and in honor of her son; Donna Schultz and Karen DiNardi, both of Powhatan, looking at names on the Global War on Terror Memorial Flag, and the crowd standing for the Pledge of Allegiance
FIELD OF HONOR Continued from pg. 1
… I had heard people say it is a moving experience, but to actually be here and see it is a whole different thing,” he said. The event was also a fundraiser for the civic organization that funded two $2,500 scholarships, which were awarded to Isabella Boggs and Joel Messer, the children of Powhatan first responders. All other proceeds will go back into the community through the events and organizations Rotary supports. While the flags were on display for several days for people to visit, organizers wanted to have a special ceremony to do it justice. The opening ceremony held Friday night included a message from keynote speaker Del. Lee Ware, R-65, who thanked Rotary for bringing Field of Honor to Powhatan, calling it a “tapestry of lives that you have furnished an outsized canvas to celebrate.” Ware talked about the men and women honored through the flags, who come from all walks of life but are united in the fact that they are a “solemn testimony to lives which themselves were signposts to others.” “It is a field of honor, but let me assert, too, it is a field of hope. The heroes we acknowledge and recognize give us this conviction. Their actions, their words, their very existent and the way they live revives, re-
PHOTOS BY LAURA McFARLAND
Sharon Lebron, left, sings the National Anthem; James Howard speaks about the Global War on Terror Memorial Flag he brought to the event.
kindles our hope,” Ware said. He added he posted two flags, one to his great-greatgrandfather, a veteran, and another to his high school French teacher because of the impact he had on his life. The crowd also heard from James Howard, the creator of the Global War on Terror Memorial Flag, which he brought to display in the field. The “flag” is made up dog tags bearing the names of 7,065 service members who have lost their lives since Sept. 11, 2001 (as of September 2021). “It reminds us of the price of freedom and what it takes to live under this one flag in this
country,” he said, adding Veterans and Athletes United (VAU) is working on constructing a second flag that can be taken to events. Other special moments included a prayer from the Rev. Darnell Carruthers; Sharon Lebron singing the National Anthem; a Presentation of the Colors by the Powhatan Sheriff’s Office; a playing of “Taps” on the bagpipes, and brief messages from sheriff Brad Nunnally, flag runner Donna Schultz, and Jim Napier, president of Napier ERA. After the ceremony, the field was transformed into a lively concert venue by the
music of KOS Band for Village Vibe. The Powhatan Chamber of Commerce will hold its final Village Vibe concert of 2022 on June 24, featuring the Jangling Rhineharts. The event is free
and open to the public. Gates open at 6 p.m. and the music begins at 7 p.m. Laura McFarland may be reached at Lmcfarland@powhatantoday.com.
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