A moratorium on permits for the development of wind farms in Floyd County has been extended into next year.
The moratorium was originally enacted in November 2023 to give the County more time to develop a new ordinance regulating the construction of wind turbines. It has been extended more than a half-dozen times since.
During their regular meeting last Tuesday (09.30), Supervisors debated over 30 minutes on extending the moratorium that was set to expire on October 7th. All discussion occurred prior to the canvass of special election results to officially declare former County Treasurer Frank Rottinghaus as the winner of the District 2 Supervisor seat over Joshua Neupert, who was appointed to fill the vacancy following the death of then-Supervisor Dennis Keifer.
Supervisor Gloria Carr disagreed with Board Chair Boyd Campbell’s proposed moratorium extension date of June 1, 2026, and lobbied for a delay on any decision until Rottinghaus was sworn into office.
Campbell was open to revising the extension date, but not in delaying a decision.
County Attorney Todd Prichard advised, regardless of who or when the moratorium was voted on, an extension protects the County.
After striking some proposed language from the resolution to extend the moratorium, Neupert recited a revised version with a new extension date.
Supervisors approved the resolution on a 3-0 vote. After adjourning their regular meeting, they canvassed the special election results from September 23rd, certifying Rottinghaus as the winner. He was then sworn in and will serve out the remainder of Keifer’s term, which runs until the end of 2026.
