FAIRMONT — Martin County commissioners approved amendments to the CHS tax abatement and subsidy agreement Tuesday.

Commissioner Kathy Smith explained the amended language.

“We held a public hearing on Sept. 3, 2019, in conjunction with the CHS Inc. proposed construction, and there were a couple of things the board wanted to see added to the abatement,” she said. “Our attorney did that and we sent it back to CHS Inc. They came back with basically the same agreement with a couple of changes.

“They added ‘corporation’ behind their cooperative name in the document. They also talked about the parking facility and trees and made an adjustment there.”

County Attorney Terry Viesselman was present to discuss the changes.

“So what we did last time was we approved it and had a sort of agreement on those items they added,” he said. “I think the language from our perspective is OK and consistent with what we were talking about.

“What we talked about as far as the tree barrier is that they would explore with Soil and Water in determining what appropriate trees and shrubs could be planted there, and that was just kind of generic and didn’t really obligate them to anything. Their concern at that time was they didn’t want to agree to something that they didn’t even know if it was feasible for them to do. The language there is now a little stronger, saying they will put one in.”

In addition, CHS will continue to address water and drainage issues with neighbors, and formulate an appropriate drainage plan.

“From our perspective everything is fine,” Viesselman said.

In other news, the board heard from Sarah Emery, regional manager for Avengrid Renewables concerning the Trimont Wind Repower Project. It is meant to upgrade to the existing Trimont Windfarm, a 100.5-megawatt wind generation facility that operates in Martin and Jackson counties.

The upgrades would consist of retrofitting the existing wind turbines with new components, including new and larger rotors. Project construction is set to begin in October.

In other action, the board:

o Approved a resolution certifying the proposed 2020 property tax levy at $17.3 million, a 6.44 percent increase over the 2019 levy. Cuts to the levy can be made, and are expected, but the amount can no longer rise.

o Approved an agreement with DeWar Electric Inc to replace emergency generators at the security building in the amount of $219,037.

o Approved an agreement with I&S Group, Inc. for the Courthouse dome restoration project in the amount of $194,000.