By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

                Solar farming appears to be growing in popularity in Levy County and the county commission has approved a workshop for April 12 to get a better handle on what’s happening.

            The workshop, requested by Commissioner Matt Brooks, will take place at 6 p.m. at the Levy County Annex on School Street in Bronson, the new office building for the county commission, tax collector, and property appraiser.

            Commissioners gave approval on Feb. 27 to a 74.9-megawatt solar facility on what is now the Chris Hardee farm east of Chiefland, but two other solar companies have made contact with the county since then.

            “These are coming down the pike,” said County Planning and Zoning Director Stacey Hectus at the March 16 Levy County Commission meeting.

            Hectus said she would communicate with the other two solar companies that have expressed an interest in Levy County. Duke Energy, which is expected to be the future owner of Levy Solar I LLC near Chiefland, will also be invited.

            Commissioners haven’t established specific rules and regulations for solar farms. The first solar facility on Hardee Farms was approved as a special exception to existing land use regulations.

            County Coordinator Wilbur Dean said the county commission wants to look at what they have in place with regard to solar farming and what they might need in the future.

            “I think they are looking at all the options and the future circumstances if a bunch of solar farms comes in,” Dean said.

            Rising Labor Attorney Fees

            Commissioners voted 4-1 with Brooks casting the lone vote in opposition to raise the hourly fees of the county’s labor attorneys, Allen, Norton &Blue by $25 an hour for the attorneys and $10 an hour for paralegals.

            The new hourly rate is $285 per hour for attorneys and $110 per hour for paralegals. County Attorney Anne Bast Brown brought the proposal to the board noting that the company hasn’t had a raise in several years.

            Allen, Norton & Blue has been the county’s labor attorney since the early 1990s and Brooks suggested it might be time to go out for bids to find out if other firms might be interested.

            “Is there any reason we don’t look elsewhere for this type of legal service? Is it something we can consider?” Brooks said.

            “It’s something we can consider. We’re not actively in union negotiations,” responded Commission Chairman John Meeks. “I will caution the board that there are limited groups out there that do this, that provide this type of service. It’s a very specialized type of service when you’re dealing with county government, contracts and things of that nature. We certainly can go out for a request for proposals.”

            Commissioner Mike Joyner responded that he is “very well pleased with them.” He said shade meetings of the board, in which they meet privately with their labor attorneys and Brown to discuss union contracts, aren’t easy for the board, but he likes the way Allen Norton & Blue handle the meetings.

            Joyner made a motion to retain the company.

            “I don’t want my question to reflect my confidence in this firm or our attorney. I’m just asking the question if we’re not under a contract, it might be time to go out,” Brooks said.

            Brown said the county is under contract with Allen Norton & Blue and the county would have to give the company notice if it planned to go out for bids.

            Meeks called for the vote on the motion by Joyner. It passed 4-1. The contract was amended to reflect the increase in hourly fees. The contract renews automatically every year unless commissioners choose to shop for a new company.

            Bid Waiving Process

            Commissioners voted unanimously to waive the bid process and accept a proposal from iWorQ Systems to upgrade the Levy County Development Department’s software used to communicate with homeowners and building contractors.

            The cost to the county for a one-time setup is $27,000 and the annual subscription rate is $16,000. The county received one other quote from a company called Central Square for a one-time setup price of $187,360 and an annual subscription fee of $24,000, according to the meeting agenda.

            Development Department Director David Meyer said the new system will allow homeowners and building contractors to schedule and submit plans online which will speed up plan review considerably.

            “They’ll be able to go online and get the results of their inspections in real-time. They won’t have to call the department to find out if they passed or failed,” Meyer said.

            At a later date, if they buy more equipment, Meyer said the system will be set up to automatically send the contractor, superintendent or homeowner immediate notification.

            “That is fantastic news,” said Brooks. “Quite a few of us and I’m sure contractors have been waiting for a while,” Brooks said.

            Dean said he contacted other counties using the system and didn’t find any complaints.

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Board of County Commission Regular Meeting March 16, 2021; Posted March 21, 2021