County OKs wind farm, strip club permits

The Natrona County Commission on Tuesday approved the necessary measures to allow Chevron Global Power Co. to build an 11-turbine wind farm on the Texaco property near Evansville north of the North Platte River.

The commissioners also renewed liquor licenses for the controversial strip clubs Northern Dreams and Cowboys.

Commissioner Matt Keating cast the lone no votes on these issues, which elicited scores of comments from the crowd in the overflowing meeting room of the County Annex at 120 W. First St. Commissioners Barb Peryam, Terry Wingerter and Chairman Rob Hendry voted yes on all the issues. Commissioner Ed Opella had an excused absence.

Chevron Global officials were happy with the results of more than two years of work starting with three slender wind monitoring towers in 2006, environmental site preparation in 2007, 13 meetings in 2007 and 2008 with those who live near the property, and the approval of the permits by the county's Planning and Zoning Commission in January.

"We're very pleased with the commissioners' support and the county's support," company spokeswoman Jennifer Silva said.

Silva acknowledged the concerns of some neighbors, including Stan Mundy who gathered 114 signatures on a petition opposing the project and a group of opponents who spoke during the public hearing, she said. "We want to be good neighbors."

The commercial wind farm will be the first for Natrona County and the first for Global Chevron in the United States. It will restore to productive use the land owned by Texaco, which operated its refinery from 1923 to 1982 but did not produce petroleum products on its land north of the river.

Chevron Global intends to begin construction on the 880-acre site in April or May with road preparations to handle the immense towers, nacelles and blades for the 1.5-megawatt General Electric turbines that will rise more than 250 feet above the land northeast of Evansville. One megawatt can power 300 homes for a year. The power generated by the turbines will be transferred to power lines already on Chevron's property.

Besides the conditional use permit for the wind farm itself, the commissioners granted a request to permit excavations of wind turbine foundations deeper than six feet.

The commissioners also granted a conditional use permit for the company to install a temporary concrete batch plant on the site if the general contractor needs it.

During the public hearings, project manager Bill Reese said the wind farm will cause the least disturbance to wildlife habitat compared to other uses; the company scaled back the original proposal of 13 turbines; the turbines will be no louder than the wind 1,000 feet away; and the company will continue to meet with neighbors.

Evansville Mayor Phil Hinds said the project will be a win-win proposition for the company and the community.

Eric Blake, whose property shares about a mile of common fence line with Chevron, complimented the site work performed by environmental contractor Trihydro.

Other citizens, including those who have worked in traditional fossil fuel industries, said wind power and other alternative energy sources represent the wave of the future.

"These type of applications are safe, quiet and clean," said Mark Wilson, who works for The Industrial Co.

However, some neighbors objected to the project being near residences, and Chevron Global's lack of communication with them.

"I learned about the project from a K2 camera guy," Stan Mundy said. "That pretty much set me off."

He knocked on a lot of doors and collected signatures from people who said they weren't aware of the project, he said.

Robert Shade lives near the area and wondered why Chevron couldn't trade its land for a site where no one would see the turbines. Shade also has a child who has epilepsy and wonders if the strobing effect of the turbine's blades would cause the child to have seizures, he said.

After the public comment, Peryam said she and Wingerter toured the site on Monday.

While she understands the objections of some of the neighbors, she said the land has been an energy corridor for years and should be used that way. "It's not an easy decision."

After the vote, Keating said he voted no because of his concerns about private property issues, and what he believed was a less-than-forthcoming attitude of Chevron Global.

Liquor licenses

Keating also voted against renewing the liquor licenses of the strip clubs Northern Dreams at Interstate 25 and Ormsby Road, and the three-month-old Cowboys, which opened in November.

Commissioners approved all other liquor licenses, but kept the strip club licenses different.

During the public comment, only Cowboys owner Sonny Pilcher spoke in favor of the license renewal.

Other than an incident during the first weekend the bar was open, Cowboys has had not trouble with the law or complying with county regulations. A report from Natrona County Sheriff Mark Benton verified the lack of crime.

Three Cowboys dancers, the bartender and the bouncer also attended the hearing and sometimes shook their heads "no" during the comments from opponents.

Despite Benton's clean bill of health, opponents said strip clubs lead to a rise in sex crimes, exploitation of women, prostitution, pornography and the promotion of obscenity.

Casper lawyer Mike Lansing said state law about liquor license renewals -- and the conditions about obscenity and community values -- require the county commission to deny the licenses

Donna Shellenberger said the commission doesn't need another establishment to promote obscenity.

After the public hearing, County Clerk Renea Vitto said anyone denied a liquor license has the right to appeal that decision in the courts, which prompted some in the audience to urge legal action.

Peryam acknowledged the points made by some of the opponents, but said the emergency calls some feared did not materialize, nor has there been an increase in sex crimes.

"I cannot in good conscience deny this license," she said.

Keating said the activity at Cowboys and Northern Dreams satisfies the definitions of obscenity, which requires denying the licenses. "This very much affects the community; you have to draw a line in the sand."

Wingerter wondered why no one has protested shows such as Chippendales performances or the existence of the Emporium Video store.

Hendry wished the Cowboys' critics could have spoken sooner instead of waiting until September after the commission granted Pilcher his conditional use permit.

After the commissioners voted 3-1 to renew the licenses, Pilcher said he wasn't worried about losing the licenses.

Cowboys has been averaging about 300 customers on the weekends, he said.

Contrary to opponents' concerns about the negative effects, Pilcher said the erotic dancing at strip clubs gives people an outlet.

"They keep a lot of people out of trouble by having a place like that," he said.