County Attorney shares memorandum on Council's actions on October 10th

During County Attorney Jim Clevenger’s attorney report at Monday’s County Commissioner meeting, he said he was sending then a memorandum. 

The memorandum states that Clevenger was asked to review the Council meeting of October 10^th when they voted to file a complaint for declaratory judgement and injunctive relief based on a claimed conflict of interest of Commissioner Overmyer and his voting to approve the Decommissioning Agreement with Invenergy/Tamarack Solar.

Clevenger said he had a number of questions concerning the propriety of the Council taking such action and whether or not it has the authority to in effect sue the County Commissioners or a County Commissioner and whether or not it has the standing to do so. 

The County Attorney also reviewed the memorandum Laureen White sent to the County Council and was read during their October 10^th meeting.  He went on to say, “Most troubling is the incorrect factual basis upon which Ms. White bases her opinion concerning Overmyer’s conflict of interest and her reference to the Perry-Worth case.”

White states in the memorandum, “It is clear that Overmyer has a financial interest in the approval of Invenergy’s SES as this project directly affects the battery energy storage lease on his land.  Without Invenergy’s SES there is no energy to store on his land.” 

Clevenger said those statements were factually incorrect and Ethan Sternberg has publicly stated that Overmyer is not receiving any financial benefit from the Tamarack Solar project.  He also publicly stated that Invenergy is not working with the Tenaska battery storage project and that they are in competition with them. 

Clevenger’s memorandum to the commissioners says, “The solar energy produced by Tamarack was to be transferred to the grid most likely through the Burr Oak Substation.”  Tenaska representatives made it clear that its project was to recharge batteries from the Burr Oak substation and to then fuel the grid back through the substation upon high demand for electricity.  Clevenger said, “Contrary to White’s assumption, there is no connection between the Tamarack Solar Project and any BESS.”     

White’s reference to Perry-Worth Concerned Citizens v. Board of Commissioners of Boone County determined that a Boone County Commissioner did not have a conflict of interest simply because his wife owned real estate near the real estate that was being rezoned by a non-connected real estate developer.  Clevenger said, “Ms. White’s statements in her memo are misleading.”