By KALEY LYON

Hays Daily News

At Monday's Ellis County Commission meeting, County Clerk Alberta Klaus is scheduled to present information regarding a protest petition filed in objection to the proposed Ellis County wind farm.

While the Ellis County Planning and Zoning Commission has made its recommendation, the fate of the proposed Ellis County wind farm depends upon the county commission.

"It's in our hands, and we will make a decision," said Vernon Berens, chairman of the Ellis County Commission.

The decision won't necessarily be made Monday, but the protest petitions will be discussed and commissioners will consider a time frame for further proceedings, Berens said.

If owners of 20 percent of the land within 1,000 feet of the area affected by the conditional-use permit application have endorsed the petition, the conditional-use permit cannot be granted except by a unanimous county commission vote.

If the 20 percent requirement is not met, the application can be approved or denied by a simple two-thirds majority vote.

In a 6-1 vote, the planning and zoning commission made a recommendation of approval to Ellis County commissioners on June 6. The deadline for protest petitions to be filed was June 20.

The three commissioners have four options when taking action on a conditional use permit -- they can approve the application as recommended, approve with conditions attached, reject the application or send it back to the planning and zoning commission for further consideration.