The Oklahoma State Capital

A tense atmosphere hung over Friday's Logan County Commission Meeting as District 3 Commissioner Monty Piercy successfully challenged and defeated outgoing District 2 Commissioner Charlie Meadows' attempt to add an additional road to the county's road inventory.

The normally collegial, genial atmosphere of the commission dissipated as Chairman Mark Sharpton announced Meadows' agenda item: a proposal to add R Road in South Logan County to the road inventory.

Meadows immediately moved to approve the proposal. However, Piercy quickly stepped in, "I would like to have a discussion on it. You've got two weeks left in office, and you're accepting roads you're going to obligate the next guy to maintain. I don't think that's right."

Sharpton echoed Piercy's sentiment. "In my previous tenure, I accepted roads on this basis, even though they are good people, I've regretted every one of them. I am always robbing from Peter to give to Paul anyways. And, I'm going to not support this."

Sharpton, who has served two stints on the commission dating back to 2002, initially took office 22 years ago with a taxpayer-friendly mantra of assisting homeowners by bringing their roads onto the county road inventory.

The Board of Commissioners has the authority to decide which roads the county will maintain and which it will not. Aside from Sharpton's past approach to focus on helping out those who wanted the county to take their roads, local commissioners have historically expressed a reluctance to take on additional roads into the county inventory, as this expands their responsibilities.

Meadows said that he had found a second District 2 road, Secrest, where the residents wanted removal from the county road inventory and that section of road was comparable in length to the R Road area Meadows wanted to include on the inventory. Meadows told the commissioners that taking on R Road would allow him to serve more people, as there were more residents on R Road than on the section of Secrest Road. Meadows asked the commissioners to allow the swap and explained that it would result in an offsetting effect.

Piercy and Sharpton agreed to remove a portion of Secrest Road from the inventory but refused to allow Meadows to add R Road.

Meadows acquiesced but pointed out that the removal of Secrest, without the addition of R Road, would result in less road funding being sent from the state to the county's road funds.

Prominent Logan County Resident Addresses the Commission About Green Energy Controversy

Commissioners heard a presentation from Logan County resident Mindy Patterson. Patterson, a Mulhall-area resident who heads up a project known as The Cavalry Group, who sought to educate commissioners on green energy and climate laws that she believes are endangering the rights of property owners.

Patterson said that pushes for wind, solar, and other green energy legislation are all tied together. Patterson expressed particular concern over a federal initiative known as the SUSTAINS Act and lobbies members of Congress.

"It's very deceptive. Republicans and Democrats alike are falling for these agendas. It's all unconstitutional; it's all an attack on private property," Patterson said.

Patterson's comments appear to have been well-received by Commissioners Meadows, who invited Patterson to appear, and Sharpton, who queried Patterson about the status of Oklahoma's congressional delegation's support—or lack thereof—for the green energy policy.

Despite their sympathy to Patterson's presentation, Logan County Commissioners have unanimously cast several votes over the last few months to partner with and advance one of Oklahoma's largest wind farm projects, the Wagon Wheel project by alternative energy developer, Invenergy. This included entering into a road use agreement with the energy giant and authorizing numerous road crossing permits for the massive project's transmission lines. The project is expected to place approximately 85 new wind turbines in the county, with transformers on each end of the project, along HWY 51 from HWY 74 in the west to HWY 77 in the east.

After Patterson concluded her presentation, Meadows told attendees that the county could consider creating a special county land use committee. Meadows suggested that the county could identify sites of note, including abandoned oil well sites, Iowa Tribe grave sites, and other notable locations, and use the specific attributes of these sites as a tool to fight and slow down green energy projects such as carbon capture lines.

As Meadows outlined his plans for the new committee and stated that he had recommendations for board members he thought "would be good" on the committee, he was interrupted by Sharpton, who cautioned Meadows about proceeding with the plan since the item wasn't on the agenda. Oklahoma's Open Meeting law requires an item to be on the agenda before it can be discussed by the commissioners. Meadows agreed with Sharpton, stating, "Yeah, that's something that could become a part of the agenda, and so I am kind of, almost out of place there."

Meadows had previously advocated for legislation to remove the commissioners from the constraints of the Open Meeting Law.

MORE: Logan County Strikes Agreement with Monumental Wind Turbine Project.

Free Fair Board Elections

In other action, commissioners set February 27 as the date for the elections for the County Fair Board. Interested applicants should contact their County Commissioner. One candidate will be elected from each commission district.

Radio Communications Plan

Logan County Emergency Management officials told commissioners that local public safety departments will need to start applying for grant money as part of the ongoing effort to upgrade radio communications infrastructure in the county. Commissioners were told that Department of Public Safety officials have been assessing local departments' radio logistics and that buying used radios and mobile units could require thousands in new fiscal outlays.

Sharpton Praised by Meadows for His ACOG Performance

Sharpton told commissioners that he had spoken up at the latest meeting of the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments, where he represents the county as a voting member. Sharpton had questioned a presenter's use of the word "science" and asked if it had something to do with "Fauci," a reference to former CDC Director Anthony Fauci and his past promotion of science.

Meadows, who is the county's alternate delegate, described Sharpton's performance as "brilliant" and said Sharpton is making a difference in educating members of that board. In the past, Meadows described himself as "getting a reputation" at ACOG for his own questioning of climate policy.

The association plays a key role in the long-term planning of transportation and transportation funding.

The county is next expected to meet on December 31.