Council hears about wind turbine project

  • A certificate of appreciation was given to council member Alois “Louis” Herman from City Council for his dedication to the board. Pictured are, left to right, Brady Brown, City Secretary Natalie Fric, Gus Jaehne, Mayor Fred Hilscher, Louis Herman, David Schroeder and Greg Murrile.
    A certificate of appreciation was given to council member Alois “Louis” Herman from City Council for his dedication to the board. Pictured are, left to right, Brady Brown, City Secretary Natalie Fric, Gus Jaehne, Mayor Fred Hilscher, Louis Herman, David Schroeder and Greg Murrile.

    Shiner City Council members heard a presentation from the Moon Shot Wind project at the May 6th meeting. The project is a part of Apex Clean Energy.
    Their goal is to bring wind turbines in Lavaca County. They believe it will help the growing electricity demand in Texas with clean, homegrown energy. 
    “There are a number of other benefits that we’re excited about that will include diversifying the local tax base, adding employment opportunities locally, and having community and conservation grant programs from Apex,” Apex Senior Development Manager Dan Stendahl.
    They are currently still in the early stages of development and are scouting landowners who will agree to implement these wind turbines. 
    According to Field Manager, Seth Stokes, they expect to build at least 40 to 50 wind turbines in the southwest portion of Shiner.
    This will take three to five years to develop and could bring in nearly 300 jobs for the construction of this project.
    Also at the meeting, a request for the placement of a practice football field in Green Dickson Park was made by the Little League.
    “One of our main concerns is just having so many people concentrated in one area of the park when it is such a big park and a lot of under utilized space,” Soccer Board Secretary Angela Bays said.
    Council hopes to come up with a good space by mid-July.
    A city ordinance regarding the deposit of garbage, trash, litter, or lawn trimmings was also reinforced at the meeting.
    “With recent rains, I’ve been seeing a lot of grass clippings that have been blown into the street and it’s pretty thick,” Council member David Schroeder said. 
    “It can also be a safety hazard. We just want to get the word out that there are consequences for this.” 
    Other items on the agenda included:
    • A request was made from the Shiner Chamber of Commerce for additional Hotel Occupancy Tax funds for advertising Half Moon Holidays on KSAT 12 news station in San Antonio. 
    This would cost $3,050, however, council opted not to approve this item having given nearly $12,000 in HOT funds within the past year.
    • Council approved the Longhorn Corvette Club Car Show to occur on Saturday, June 29 from noon to 1 p.m.
    • A request from Spoetzl Brewery for a crosswalk across Highway 955 was approved.
    • A final payment to Udelhoven Oilfield System Services in the amount of $51,741.41 was approved.
    • Council decided to set a date for canvassing the election. It will occur at City Hall on Wednesday, May 15 at 8 a.m.

    • A certificate of appreciation was given to council member Alois “Louis” Herman from City Council for his dedication to the board.
    • An advertisement for a new animal control officer was approved.
    • It was reported that the roof has been completed on the old fire station.