The Oklahoma State Capital

GUTHRIE, Okla. - With a focus on road improvements, new property tax revenues, and a cut of new business for local companies, the Logan County Board of Commissioners used the occasion of their end-of-month meeting to strike a preliminary deal with renewable energy giant, Invenergy.

With some induced suspense from District 1 Commissioner Mark Sharpton, who first hinted at his strong opposition to wind turbines before then moving the project forward, the commissioners unanimously agreed to move forward with a preliminary road use agreement for what will be one of the largest wind turbine farms in the state, half of which will be located in northern Logan County's District 3.

The agreement was requested by Invenergy representative Max Moore, who appeared to provide the commissioners with a map of the proposed project, a 176-turbine network, 80 to 85 of which will be in Logan County. The project, known as Wagon Wheel, has been planned by Invenergy as early as 2017. Once brought online, it will produce power for three states: Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. The project will lie along Highway 51, from Highway 74 in the east to Highway 77 in the west, and will be bookended by two substations and connected with miles of new transmission line for which the county will need to approve road crossing permits.

District 3 Commissioner Monty Piercy, whose district will host the project, pressed Moore to estimate the property tax revenues it would generate. Although Moore couldn’t provide an exact figure, he emphasized that the amount would be significant.

Piercy's question led to a round of levity between Piercy, Meadows, and Moore as Meadows laughingly suggested the project would not generate "as much as we would like" in property tax revenues.

The agreement will have Invenergy spending substantially on road upgrades. "We are going to leave the roads in as good of a condition or better as when we find them," Moore explained.

The company expects to pay up to $10,000 per mile on already stabilized road surfaces and up to $30,000 on those that have not yet been stabilized.

Before voting on the proposal, Piercy told the commissioners that, in regard to the wind turbines, "It's kind of a double-sided sword, some people love these, some people hate these."

Meadows replied, "Oh, I know, I know, I know both."

Sharpton, however, was less ambiguous than Meadows and gave an indication that he strongly opposed the turbine farms. He responded, "Hey, I am firmly on one side of that."

As Moore emitted a bout of nervous laughter, Sharpton then ended the sense of mystery, as he looked down the commission dais at Piercy, nodded his head towards Piercy, and asked, "You want it? It's your district."

Piercy, slightly inaudibly, responded with what appeared to be to the effect of, "I don't want to step away without this," a statement that was followed by a second from a smiling Meadows, "I'll second it then."

All commissioners then voted in support.

GUTHRIE - JULY 31: District 2 Commissioner Charlie Meadows casts a smile at District 3 Commissioner Monty Piercy as Meadows provides a 2nd to District 1 Commissioner Mark Sharpton's motion to advance the agreement with Invenergy and the Wagon Wheel wind farm.

According to Moore, road improvement projects will commence in January of 2024, work on foundations in April, and turbines in August.

As Moore prepared to exit the meeting, Piercy had one final question for Moore. "I guess you'll try to use all local vendors on all this foundation?"

Moore replied to Piercy, "Yeah, as much as we can," to which Piercy stated, "That would be awesome."

This isn't the first time Invenergy has been able to tout a benefit to the county. On July 14th, County Emergency Management Director Steven Haga told commissioners that Invenergy would be making of donation of $10,000, to the county for equipment.

Piercy, who appeared to have prior knowledge of Haga's announcement, repeatedly referred to the donation as a "good deal."

An Early Test of Meadows' Conservatism in Practice

The Invenergy proposal provided commission observers with an early indicator of newly elected Commissioner Meadows' willingness to apply his past declarations of conservatism to policy. In 2014, writing in the email publication of the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee, a conservative policy group which he chaired at the time, Meadows wrote:

OPPOSITION TO WIND FARMS GROWING — Over the past several weeks I have received 2 mailings from a group known as the “Oklahoma Property Rights Association.” Based on the address label, “The Meadows Household or Current Resident,” I suspect these are getting a wide distribution. Their major complaints are a lack of regulations regarding distance setbacks from homes and funds to decommission broken generating towers as well as subsidies to facilitate their installations in the first place. While I believe the setbacks and decommissioning costs are valid regulatory issues, the subsidies are the most important issue. I have never and will never support subsidies for this industry. If they can truly generate electricity, and the advocates say they can, cheaper than other forms of generation, then they need to stand on their own. Otherwise, we have just created another false market where there is no real market. In this case, we can call this a blend of fascist and socialist capitalism. We need to end the subsidies immediately, but if a subsidy will create even one job, Gov Mary will be on board with it.

During the commission's meeting, there was no attempt by Meadows to ask Moore about the ongoing federal subsidies of the industry, a hint that Meadows may not have an ongoing interest in attempting to apply his past views to his current role as an elected official.

During the hearing, Meadows indicated that he had already met with Moore, prior to the meeting.

Invenergy's Wagon Wheel wind turbine farm plan showing nearly 100 sites in North Logan County.

Expensive New Engineering Plan Encumbered for Sharpton

Sharpton asked the board to approve the encumbering of $89,000 for an engineering plan to upgrade a low-water crossing on Meridian Road, just north of Waterloo. The project would be paid for with state bridge replacement funds. Sharpton believes the recent liberalization of these funds, part of the state's ongoing policy to allow county officials more discretion in spending the millions of state dollars allotted to county road and bridge projects, would allow him to install a box structure instead of a bridge.

Sharpton deviated from the agenda to poll Piercy about another bridge project, one not listed on the agenda, over Prairie Grove Road. Piercy indicated his support for the additional project, provided it didn't delay already planned projects.

No Hint of Recognized Irony

Sharpton told commissioners of a recent presentation by Oklahoma State Auditor Cindy Byrd. Byrd is involved in the state's attempt to divest funds from companies that invest in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) projects such as green energy and Green New Deal initiatives. Sharpton and Meadows appeared to be complimentary of Byrd and the state's initiative, sans a sense of irony considering the commissioners' unanimous approval of the just-inked preliminary agreement with Invenergy and its large wind turbine farm plan earlier in the meeting.

Humorous Moment

Logan County Sheriff Damon Devereaux and Piercy lodged a playful dig at Meadows in an early test of how Meadows, given his past activism, will be able to interface with the elected officials. As Meadows highlighted Byrd's efforts, a member of the audience asked if she was a "Charlie's pick," a reference to Meadows' past policy of endorsing candidates, prior to an election, in a highly distributed publication known as Charlie's Picks. Meadows indicated that, yes, Byrd had been a Charlie's pick. Piercy then stated that he, Piercy wasn't a Charlie's Pick, and Devereaux chimed in from the audience to declare that neither was he, a declaration that caused Meadows to smile and chuckle while keeping his eyes down as he focused on signing off on various documents. Meadows had endorsed Devereaux's 2016 opponent, then-incumbent Sheriff Jim Bauman.

Lengthy Comments from Meadows

As Piercy went to wrap up the meeting, he opened the floor for comments from county officials. Meadows took advantage of the offer, declaring, "I have a whole bunch of stuff here," to which Piercy replied, "Let's have it, pour it on."

Meadows then directed the commission through approximately 20 minutes of discussion on a range of issues, notable components of which included:

- Meadows told the commissioners that the Oklahoma Arts Council would award the county a $25,000 grant to pay a band to play at the county fair in an effort to boost attendance, an amount that elicited laughter from Piercy, who responded, "I can do it for $25,000." Meadows will be working with Fair Board Chairman Dennis Ochs to facilitate the arrangement.

- Meadows said he wants the county to consider liberalizing its investment policy to better leverage the county's large cash and investment funds to earn a better return. Piercy indicated a willingness to work with Meadows on this plan, declaring, "I'm ready."

- Meadows stated that, "I've let it be known to as many as I can that one of my goals as a Commissioner is to try to get the Commissioners removed from the Open Meetings Act." Meadows told commissioners he had attended a late-night meeting with a state representative and about 10 other county commissioners from around the state. He had asked those in attendance if they would like to be removed from the restrictions of the act, and they all raised their hands but told Meadows that the Oklahoma Press Association would be in opposition. Meadows had then asked, "Who reads their papers, anyways?" Meadows also indicated he had also talked to the commissioners' paid, contract lobbyist, former state representative Bill Case, about the matter and that this would be an ongoing effort on how to best strategize getting at least a partial removal from the transparency law.

- Meadows told commissioners of his desire to require developers to build roads to minimum standards. Piercy replied that, "I am not sure we can enforce standards for people on private property," and told Meadows that there was already a "county standard." Meadows will reach out to the county's legal counsel for additional guidance on the matter.

Soon after Meadows wrapped up his comments, Piercy gaveled the meeting to a close.

The commissioners will next meet early in August.