Commission chair indicates county involved in lawsuit with solar farm developer

A comment by the chair of the Linn County Commission indicates that a lawsuit has been filed against the county by a solar energy developer. (Journal file photo)

By Charlene Sims, Journal staff

LCJeditor@lcloud.com

MOUND CITY – A representative from a solar energy project across the state line in Missouri met with the Linn County Commission on Monday, July 13, about a proposed transmission line going from the solar project to a substation adjacent to the La Cygne Generating Station.

The commission placed a moratorium on approving new transmission lines in May, which would block the project from feeding into Evergy’s power grid.

Barry Matchett and Josh Framel, representatives from Clearway Energy, the company that is developing the solar farm, spoke to the commission. The two men were also involved in the proposed development of a solar farm in Linn County south of the power plant before the commission voted to ban solar farms a couple of years ago.

However, a comment by commission Chair Alison Hamilton indicated that Clearway may have filed a lawsuit against the county because of the moratorium on transmission lines.

“We will listen to you. We cannot respond because we are currently in litigation, so we won’t be able to make a comment,” commission Chair Alison Hamilton said. “Any sort of communication that I received via email I haven’t been responding because I’ve been advised not to.”

Matchett said that the installation of the power lines in Linn County would involve 17 poles that would run from the state line to a proposed substation adjacent to the power plant.

“These are a really, really small impact on the land,” Matchett said. “The towers, the poles themselves from which the transmission lines would be hung would be between 100 and we think the maximum would be 130 feet.”

Matchett said that because the land the transmission lines would be on would generate about $30,000 a year for the county.

The commission did not make any further response to the presentation.

The commission in other business indicated they would be shopping for liability and workers comp insurance.

After a 10-minute executive session for attorney client privilege, Linn County Commissioners Alison Hamilton and Jim Johnson on Monday, July 13, directed County Clerk Chasity Ware to put out a request for proposal (RFP) for liability and worker’s compensation insurance. Commissioner Jason Hightower was not at the meeting.

The present insurer, Kansas County Association Multiline Pool (KCAMP), has covered the county for this insurance for several years. No reason was given why the county was looking for a new company to cover these areas.

County Clerk Chasity Ware said that she wasn’t aware of any notification by KCAMP about significant rate increases or possible cancellation.

Liability insurance for counties covers a broad spectrum of liability issues. It can cover anything from general liability to cyber liability, depending on the company or policy. Here are some examples of areas that counties are covered by liability insurance.

• General liability - protects again claims of bodily injury, property damage, and person injury that occur on county property or as a result of county activities.

• Professional liability (errors and omissions) - Covers claims that county or its employees made negligent decisions, errors, or omissions in professional services such as planning, zoning, code enforcement or public works.

• Employment practices liability - protects against claims of discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination or employment-related misconduct by county employees or officials.

• Public officials liability - safeguards county officials from claim of wrongful act, negligence, or misconduct by county employees or officials.

• Law enforcement liability - covers claim related to police, sheriffs, or other law enforcement activities, including use-of-force incidents.

• Auto liability - protects against claims from accidents involving county vehicles used for official purposes, covering bodily injury, property damage, and other liabilities.

• Public entity management liability - may cover claims related management decisions, contract disputes, or public procurement that could lead to legal action.

• Cyber liability - protects again claims from data breaches, cyberattacks, orstate-mandated insurance system that provides medical treatment, wage replacement, and other benefits to employees who suffer work-related injuries or illnesses. If you've been injured on the job, understanding workers' compensation laws and how to file a claim is essential to getting the medical care and financial support you deserve.

Workers compensation is a state-mandated insurance system that provides medical treatment, wage replacement, and other benefits to employees who suffer work-related injuries or illnesses. The employer pays for this insurance.

The commission meeting was adjourned shortly after giving this directive to Ware.