Dunlieh Energy CEO responds to county board's rejection of CUP application - Scottsbluff Star Herald
Dunlieh Energy CEO responds to county board's rejection of CUP application
Dunlieh Energy reiterated its commitment to pursuing the Situla Energy Project and a healthy partnership with Scotts Bluff County following the county board’s decision to reject the project’s CUP application earlier this month.
The CUP application was discussed in a three-hour public hearing on Monday, May 6. Following that hearing, the county board rejected the application in a 3-2 vote with “yes” votes from Charlie Knapper, Russ Reisig and Mike Blue and “no” votes from board chairman Ken Meyer and vice-chairman Mark Harris.
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Following that rejection, Dunlieh Energy CEO Thaer Flieh spoke to the Star-Herald about how the company plans to proceed. Flieh said he hoped to see a reversal from the county board, and planned to open the communication lines necessary to make that happen.
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“We’re hoping that the commissioners that objected to the project will reconsider their votes. That would be our preference,” Flieh said. “We are open to feedback from the commissioners. We understand that there are some concerns that the commissioners raised, and our invitation to them is to give us that feedback so we can work through the issues, clarify and address the concerns they may have.”
As for the events of the public hearing itself, Flieh commented that much of the conversation veered away from the topic at hand: whether or not the use of the land was allowable under the county’s zoning regulations via CUP.
“A lot of the points that were raised were not relevant to the CUP topic or process,” he said. “We understand there were comments about other topics that aren’t related to the CUP.”
In addition to those off-topic conversations, Flieh noted that a lot of the talking points during the public hearing revolved around incorrect assumptions about the order of operations in a project of this type and scale.
He went on to explain that the Situla project is being developed using a standard project timeline, and that the CUP is one of the first steps in that process.
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“I think there were some expectations that some things that usually happen in later stages would happen now. We’re open to explain the typical development process for a solar project and what the sequence of events is,” Flieh said.
He added that Dunlieh Energy is still unclear on why exactly three of the county board members opposed the Situla project with their votes, especially after its recommendation by the Planning Commission.
“Right now we don’t have clear feedback on the reason some of the commissioners rejected the (CUP),” Flieh said. “We would love to see an official response from the county or official comments stating the reasons why the application was rejected by the Board of Commissioners, given that the application was approved by the Planning Commission earlier.”
Flieh commented on the need for transparency from all parties as the future of the Situla project is decided. He added that Dunlieh has made efforts to communicate as thoroughly as possible and respond to feedback in a timely manner.
“I do believe that we need to be open, and we are open from our side to receiving feedback and addressing that feedback,” he said.
Flieh expressed his hope that the commissioners who voted against the project — Knapper, Reisig and Blue — would reach out to him and his team at Dunlieh to share their concerns and open a productive dialogue, and that he would start the conversation if needed.
“We will reach out to them, have conversations and get feedback from the commissioners who had concerns about the project so we can work through those issues with them,” Flieh said. “We view this exercise positively. It’s a process that will help us understand each other better.”
The rejection of the Situla CUP application made waves locally, with two Gering voters taking the commissioners to task for the decision on Monday evening. Those men even called for Knapper’s immediate resignation for his conduct during the public hearing, which they described as “disrespectful” and “unprofessional.”
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Contact Fletcher Halfaker: fletcher.halfaker@starherald.com, 308-632-9048.
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