Creighton Prawat of East Plymouth Street in Bremen spoke to the County Council during the Public Input portion of their July 13th meeting. He told them he’s been a resident of the county for over 25 years.
Prawat told council members, “About a year and a half ago a solar panel was built in Bremen, and I went door to door along First Road because I was curious if anyone had heard there was going to be a solar panel built right across from these folk’s homes. No one had received any information or any sort of consent or disapproval for their property to be subsequently diminished in wealth building capability.” He said property is probably the most important thing a person can own because it can gain wealth. Prawat estimated the neighbors near the Bremen solar project had lost about 20% of their wealth-building ability.
He said, “While folks may get used to waking up in the morning looking at solar panels, who would want to purchase their homes?”
The issue Mr. Prawat brought forward to the County Council was the two tax increases he received this year. He went on to say the Bremen residents near the solar panels have received “a four-way whammy, a double tax increase, a diminished value of their homes, the inflation we are all suffering from, and now if they want to move, they are going to lose the value of their home.”
Creighton proposed to the County Council, “Any property in this county that is affected by industry should receive a tax abatement of a permanent statute to make up for the losses they are suffering.”
Prawat said he lives in town and has “no bone in this fight but those people do and I’m here for them.”
He asked the County Council to seriously consider helping residents who are already impacted negatively by a solar project.
