Public meetings set for Jan. 17 and Jan. 22 on solar issue
The public meeting scheduled for the Whitton Community Center at 7 p.m. Thursday (tonight) regarding the proposed solar construction project between the Jackson and Whitton communities will be held without a major player.
According to Save Van Zandt County Founder David Dunagan; Pattern Development, the company that is involved in the project, will not be in attendance.
“This morning (Jan. 10), Deann Lanz from Pattern Development contacted me and informed me they would not be presenting their plans for the affected land owners on Jan. 17,” said Dunagan. “She stated that their intent was to show the plans to just a few affected land owners and not all of them. My response was that transparency and inclusiveness was important to the community and all affected land owners have a right to see the plans and ask questions at the same time.”
Representatives of Pattern Development are scheduled to be on hand for another public meeting set for 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22, at the Canton Civic Center where they will show plans and answer questions about the proposed project, according to Dunagan.
“We will still be meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday (tonight) at the Whitton Community Center in the event they have a change of heart,” said Dunagan.
In regards to the Jan. 17 meeting, Save VZC said in an e-mail that if anyone had questions they wanted answered to e-mail them at info@savevzcounty.org. Questions will also be taken at the Jan. 17 meeting via index cards, according to the organization.
A bake sale auction will be held at the end of the Jan. 17 meeting to help raise funds for Save VZC, according to Dunagan.
“If you can bake, bring us your goodies,” said Dunagan. “Mark Whitton has agreed to auction your delicious desserts off to help us raise money.”
Extra parking will be available at the Whitton Church of Christ and the Whitton Volunteer Fire Department.
“This will be an informative meeting about what is going on with the solar plant project and it will be a chance for you to ask questions,” said Dunagan. “We have quite a bit of new information and we also need everyone’s help with several issues that are in front of us.”
Pattern Development Government Relations and External Affairs representative Adam Renz released the following statement prior to the Jan. 17 meeting in Whitton.
“We were saddened to hear that a small group meeting with Mr. Dunagan, the operator of the Save VZC organization, which was set up to address his concerns around potential visual impacts on his two-acre homestead, was broadcast as a public meeting with political speakers coming from across Texas,” said Renz in response to the Jan. 17 meeting in Whitton. “The team at Pattern Development believes deeply in one-on-one communication and open dialogue, however, we are unable to participate in political meetings such as the one created for Jan. 17 at the Whitton Community Center. We have a previously scheduled open house meeting for all of Van Zandt County at the Canton Civic Center on Tuesday, Jan. 22, from 5-9 p.m. We hope Mr. Dunagan can join us there to ask questions publicly and we shall respond in a transparent manner for all to hear.”
Around 150 VZC Pct. 2 citizens packed the Whitton Community Center Dec. 17 to receive information and ask questions about the project.
