Christian Fiscal Court approved a new ordinance in relation to solar panel projects in the county at Tuesday’s meeting, and heard an update from the Christian County Ambulance Service.
The Christian County Ambulance Service is operated by Hopkinsville Fire and EMS, who provides ambulatory services to the citizens of Christian County, answering roughly 11,000 calls for service a year in one of the largest counties in the state. Board Chair Darrell Gustafson says they’ve been able to remain profitable for years, but due to a steep increase in operating costs, things will likely have to change in the future.
Fire and EMS Chief Steve Futrell says part of those increase in costs was making their wages more competitive, which was badly needed.
He says their EMTs are some of best, and most highly trained in the business, who are out there saving lives every day, so while they’re not asking for money from the Fiscal Court just yet, he knows there will need to be some discussions in the future.
Following that update, magistrates moved onto new business where they approved a new ordinance concerning solar panel projects on first-reading. This new ordinance repeals the prior ordinance that was passed in November of 2022 and moves to replace it with this new ordinance which establishes licensing requirements for solar energy system installations in Christian County.
The new ordinance keeps the setback requirements of 2,000 feet, the requirements for decommissioning a solar panel site if it is located on the ground, the process for applying for a license by an interested party, the timeline on answering that application and what actions must be taken to either approve or deny it, the rights of a participating party and more. The ordinance aligns the county’s position to be more in line with the Kentucky Revised Statute that became effective on June 29 of this year.
It will be up for second-reading at the November 28 meeting.