Now that the Prairie Queen Wind Farm is operational, owners EDP Renewals at some point this year will pay $250,000 to Allen County as a “payment in lieu of taxes” (PILOT). Those payments will be made each year for the next 10 years while the wind farm is exempt from property taxes. The only stipulation is that the money is to be used “to enhance educational opportunities.”
Allen County commissioners will distribute the money, but it is not quite clear how they will do so.
The SAFE Schools committee, a countywide volunteer group with representatives of area schools and public service agencies, plan to attend the March 3 commission meeting to ask commissioners to start thinking about how they might distribute those funds.
Commissioner Bruce Symes attended the SAFE meeting Thursday and said he encouraged the group to start those conversations. Neither he nor Commissioner Bill King were part of the commission when the PILOT agreement was signed, and no decisions about the distribution have been made. The county has not yet received the payment, and it’s not clear when that might happen though it should arrive at least by the end of the year.
The PILOT agreement specifies giving money for the Iola, Humboldt and Marmaton Valley school districts and the Rural Regional Tech Center at LaHarpe, but SAFE committee member Angie Murphy asked if it also would include Allen Community College, the ANW Cooperative and the Southeast Kansas Community Action Program (SEK-CAP). All of those entities work to educate Allen County students, she said, and the SAFE committee provides programs that cover them, too.
The group receives grants and donations to pay for its programs, but has a long list of safety initiatives and training programs it could explore with more money.
Symes said commissioners would be glad to hear proposals.
“I think a meeting with this group would be fantastic,” Symes said. “Bring us up to speed on what’s been done and what you’re working on in the future.”
