Two representatives of the renewal energy company, a developer based in Salt Lake City that focuses primarily on solar wind projects and the like, visited the Wellington City Council by means of a telephone call on Wednesday evening to speak on the Graphite Solar Project Area.
Maps of the area were given to the members of the council and were reviewed during the work session prior to the meeting. Previously, the council had discussed with the company a different access road to the project, which is slated to begin construction in 2021. The company is working with three private landowners in the area.
Circle K Ranch owns the property above the D’ambrosio land, which is where the previous access road was discussed and approved by the city council.
It was stated that it is a good route, but the company began wondering why a new road should be built that would see light use following the actual construction of the project area. From there, they came across a road, 950 East, that seemed like a great option.
The representatives spoke with Carbon County and other individuals that support the idea. 950 East is a paved road already and comes off of Highway 6, which would then connect to an existing dirt road. The company stated that they liked the idea instead of adding an additional road that connects to the already busy highway.
Wellington City Mayor Joan Powell remarked that the road is quite narrow and will have big trucks going through the area, which is a concern. She continued by voicing a further concern on dust suppression and the city maintenance having to deal with pot holes and other issues.
The mayor then requested for the dirt area to be paved. The council went into a further discussion with the company on whether paving was a major necessity or not and asked if discussion with city maintenance could take place.
It was stated that the state of the road was a concern before the proposal. The decision was made for both parties to research the possibility more in depth before regrouping and making a decision.