Mike Selke, Connersville News-Examiner Managing Editor
Fayette County Commissioners approved by a 2-1 margin Tuesday the rezoning request for the Whitewater Valley Ethanol plant in the western part of the county.
Commissioner President Chad Lee and Commissioner Mark Nobbe voted to approve the request and Commissioner Dave Devor voted against. The land was rezoned from agriculture to open industrial.
Devor said he reserved the right to change his mind.
Area Planning Commission Director Bill MacDaniel provided commissioners with a copy of the finding of facts along with an updated staff report. MacDaniel said the APC sent a favorable recommendation for approval to commissioners.
Devor asked if it was normal procedure to rezone prior to building. MacDaniel said it is not an uncommon practice, since purchases of properties are often contingent upon zoning. He said a property can always be returned to its original zoning status.
MacDaniel said the area was rezoned to open industrial because an ethanol plant can only operate in an area zoned as such, even though it is an agriculture-related business. Other manufacturing operations could operate in the rezoned area.
Devor said some people don't think they were given all the information about the operation.
Troy Flowers, a principal with Whitewater Valley Ethanol, said the main reason plans have not been publicized is because he just recently received a commitment for funding.
"One thing was for sure, we wanted to be in Fayette County and we had a lot of counties to choose from," Flowers said.
The Glenwood area was chosen due to its flat land and availability of rail service, gas and water, Flowers said.
"We were not withholding information from whether it was the Glenwood area or Connersville community or the county alone," he said. "We just needed to make sure all our ducks were lined up before we said anything."
Flowers said Whitewater Valley Ethanol just received a letter of intent from ICM, which will be the builder of the project.
"We didn't feel it was prudent on our part to make any kind of announcement of our involvement in the community prior to that," he said.
Flowers said there are 41 proposed ethanol plants in Indiana, but probably not be more than eight to 10 will ever be built. He said a public meeting was scheduled at the Glenwood Volunteer Fire Department but was canceled due to a winter storm. He said another was planned prior to the rezoning, but time expired before a meeting could be rescheduled.
"Our intentions are to fully disclose everything we're doing," he said.
Flowers said he visited some of the neighbors to discuss the project. He said the plant is an agriculture-based business but even with I-2 zoning, the land can still be farmed. He said Whitewater Valley Ethanol has no intention of operating any non-agriculture-related industry.
Devor asked if construction will begin regardless of whether city water is available.
Flowers said a test well will be drilled this week to determine if there is enough water. If there is not, he said, the situation will be re-evaluated.
Flowers said company representatives will continue to meet with the Connersville Utilities Board. He said the board is hiring a second engineering firm to help determine the cost to run a water line to a tower. As a private entity, Whitewater Valley Ethanol would consider the costs and work with the city for a financial package, including bonds, grants and loans, that would be beneficial to all parties.
Flowers said he doesn't expect Connersville Utilities service to be available during the construction phase. He said the company believes there is enough water on site for construction purposes. He said the plant would use 1 million gallons of water daily once production begins.
Devor asked if the water line will be considered a private line.
Bob Beeson, president of the board of Connersville Utilities, said the line would be owned by Connersville Utilities. Water could be provided to Glenwood and Orange residents and other properties along the route, he said.
Bill Ammerman, assistant director of Connerville Utilities, said the aquifer in Fayette County can provide water to the area forever.
Ammerman said there are still some unknowns, including financing.
Flowers said the plant will be productive if corn remains at $4 a bushel. That would result in ethanol priced at $1.80 to $2 per gallon, he said.
Flowers encouraged residents to talk to residents of other communities where ethanol plants are located.
"Glenwood will never be the same," he said.
Mary Richardson, Glenwood clerk/treasurer, said the community has contracted with an engineer in Columbus, Ind., for a water study.
Fayette County Council President Richie Pflum said the plant is a good project and will be state-of-the-art. He said he would rather see money go to farmers than to continued dependency on foreign oil.
Pflum urged commissioners to move forward.
"I have questions too, but I feel like the answers have been up front," Pflum said.
Lee said as a county commissioner, he was elected to be a leader of the community and to make decisions.
"I know there are some people out there who do resent this going into their back yards but we have to look at this as a whole community," he said. "We have Visteon going out and we'll lose another 900 to 1,000 jobs, and with this ethanol plant coming in, this is just going to be a start of what is going to be a bigger picture of this ag park.
"When we sit back and look at the whole picture, we're talking anywhere from 600 to 800 jobs possibly and more. This ethanol plant brings other things nationally."
Lee said it is the job of community leaders to put Fayette County back on the map and open for business.
"I stand behind my decision 100 percent in support of this ethanol plant," he said. "I think it is going to be a positive plus."
Lee said the announcement of the Honda plant in Greensburg created excitement in that community and that he hopes the ethanol plant will be the spark that creates that excitement locally.
Lee said he is working on other projects. He said he hopes an announcement can soon be made but the details are not finalized.
"There's big and broad things on the horizon," he promised.
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