Payne County Tables Road Agreement for Energy Projects After Community Input

Payne County Board of Commissioners voted Monday to table a proposed road maintenance agreement for industrial projects after community members raised concerns about contractor protections and indefinite terms.

The board, meeting at the Payne County Administration Building, also approved updates to its industrial access permit to include multifamily developments and discussed a parking lot agreement for Stillwater Martial Arts.

Commissioners Zach Cavett, District 1, and Rhonda Markum, District 3, along with First Deputy Commissioner LeNell Bowen, District 2, unanimously voted to table the road maintenance agreement after Kathy Adkins, a member of the Payne County SOS group, presented a detailed critique of the proposed contract.

The draft agreement, modeled after one from Garfield County, would have governed how industrial operators use and maintain county roads during construction projects. The agreement specifically referenced "proposed energy storage sites" and stipulated that deliveries of energy storage components, concrete, rock and other project materials would be transported only on designated Primary Roads. Adkins submitted suggested revisions addressing multiple concerns, including unlimited operator discretion, indefinite contract terms and insufficient public protections.

"You all have the power again in this and you should put out the terms that you want to operate under," Adkins told commissioners. "There's no reason for you to address zoning or anything like that in this agreement."

Among Adkins' concerns was Section 3.1 of the proposed agreement, which stated the county "shall not enact County Zoning Regulations or County Laws that prohibit, limit, provide standards for, or burden the development, construction, or operation of the Project in any way, including, without limitation, any such County Zoning Regulations or County Laws applicable to or requiring building permits for construction of solar panels, batteries, meteorological towers, substations, electric collection lines, access roads, temporary construction areas, operations and maintenance facilities, and other infrastructures relating to the Project."

Adkins recommended removing that section entirely.

The proposed agreement would have established payment schedules, road maintenance responsibilities and documentation requirements for industrial operators using county infrastructure. It included provisions for two-stage payments: one at construction commencement and another upon commercial operation.

Markum said the county faces challenges when contractors damage roads during construction.

"By the time the public let me know that we had a problem, they were done and, 'oh, well, this is subcontracted. We're not responsible,'" Markum said. "And it had to do with OSU and it was a big deal and it was a hazmat thing. And then we can't recoup any costs. And nobody's responsible."

Cavett said his predecessor recovered over $700,000 through a road agreement with a pipeline company that damaged Duncan Road near Cushing.

"What I have done is we have a dash camera and I've sent my road foreman out and he has driven every road in my district, and I try to do that once a year," Cavett said. "That way if a company has done some damage, I have documents."

Cavett said he is looking to acquire a 360-degree camera system and work with the county assessor to create a Geographic Information System (GIS) layer documenting county infrastructure, including culverts and signs.

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Industrial access permit now includes multifamily development

In separate action, commissioners discussed an updated industrial access permit that now includes multifamily developments alongside industrial projects. The permit requires fees ranging from $2,000 for temporary 90-day access to $4,000 for permanent access, with fines up to $10,000 plus damages for unpermitted access.

The updated permit requires a $5,000 bond per temporary access and mandates that applicants follow Industrial Access Policy Resolution 2024-326.

Martial arts parking memorandum with county tabled

Commissioners also discussed a letter regarding off-site parking for Stillwater Martial Arts at 314 West 8th Av. but tabled action on the document. The letter would allow the martial arts facility to use the 50-space county parking lot at the southeast corner of Duck Street and Seventh Avenue for customer overflow after business hours.

District 2 Commissioner Seth Condley, who was not present at Monday's meeting, said in a phone interview the document was tabled because it was labeled an "agreement" when it should be an "understanding."

"It's just an understanding like, hey, you can use it after hours," Condley said. "It's free anyway after hours, like anybody can use it after hours."

Condley clarified the parking arrangement would be for customer overflow only and not for long-term parking of the business's vans, which have previously been parked overnight in downtown public parking.

"We've already talked about it, it'd just be for customer overflow," Condley said.

The proposed martial arts facility has a required parking minimum of 26 spaces, but plans to reduce to 16 spaces on-site. The county parking lot is separated from the martial arts facility by another property.