Just Wind asked the Stutsman County Commission to lower the application fee for a wind farm zoning permit during the commission's regular meeting Tuesday.

The fee was set at $500 per wind turbine when the wind farm zoning ordinance was passed this spring.

"We want to show you we are different than other developers," said Athena Dunn, administrative assistant for project real estate for Just wind. "We put so much more into the community and because we put so much more money into the community it isn't feasible without a cap to the administrative fees."

Dunn said Just Wind is in the planning stages of a wind farm in the Medina area and is contemplating expanding the project from 150 to 250 wind turbines. Dunn and another Just Wind representative presented information estimating the value of each turbine at $4.7 million and the taxes paid each year at more than $3.1 million if the 250-turbine project was to be constructed.

"According to your figures, a 250-turbine project will cost about $1.5 billion," said Noel Johnson, chief operating officer of the county. "And you're saying the $125,000 permit fee would kill it?"

Other commissioners questioned why Just Wind and other wind industry representatives who had been part of the process of writing the wind energy zoning ordinance had not voiced opposition at the time it was debated.

"The zoning committee debated this at length," said Mark Klose, chairman of the commission. "I was only in on the final vote as a commissioner but at the time everyone was smiling about the $500 per-turbine fee."

After a lengthy discussion the commission determined it was not the proper board to hear the request. Johnson said because the application fee is part of the zoning ordinance any change to it would be considered a zoning variance and should be first heard by the zoning committee. If Just Wind is not happy with the ruling of the zoning committee it could appeal to the Stutsman County Commission.

The board also held a hearing on a request by Ivan Rivinius to close a section line. He requested closing the section line between sections 23 and 26 and the north half of the section line between sections 27 and 26 in Griffin Township.

"The section line has not been used in 25 years," Rivinius said. "A disgruntled neighbor has been the only one using it and both section lines end in dead ends."

Other Griffin Township residents disagreed.

"The section line is used but they (Rivinius) farm them," said Duane Suko. "We have no roads to drive on around there, we need all the access to land we have."

Jesse Smith, who identified himself as the "disgruntled neighbor," said he had knocked down corn that was within the 66 feet defined as the section line so he could get to a pasture he rents.

The hearing on the request to close the two section lines was tabled until the November meeting to allow commissioners to visit the land in question.

The commission also approved a request from the Jamestown/ Stutsman Development Corp. for $600 as the county's share of a labor availability study. The state has granted $3,000 for the study to be matched by the local governments. The Stutsman County share is 20 percent.

"We have one of the lowest unemployment rates," said Connie Ova, CEO of the JSDC. "But we have a high rate of people holding two jobs to make a living."

The labor availability study indicates the number of people willing to upgrade or change jobs in the market.

Ova also reported on the actions of the Jamestown City Council and the JSDC concerning taking a portion of the 1 percent city sales tax currently earmarked for economic development and utilizing it for repairs to the sewer infrastructure in Jamestown.

"There are rural dollars coming into Jamestown," Johnson said. "How do we get some of that money coming back to us to deal with our infrastructure problems?"

Klose also questioned the advisability of changing the focus of the sales tax from economic development to city infrastructure.

"If we take it all out of there pretty soon there is no development of development corporation," he said.

In other business the board reappointed Craig Neys as the county's delegate to the North Dakota State Fair, named Daphne Drewello as the temporary county librarian because Agnes Jensen is retiring and appointed Lary Olson to a temporary board to hear a tuition agreement appeal.