Shortly after one petition was verified seeking to ban battery energy storage systems in the city of Emporia, another has also been validated for a neighboring community.
According to Lyon County Clerk Amie Jones, both the petition impacting the city of Emporia and a separate, yet related petition seeking to ban high-impact data centers and tier 2 and 3 battery energy storage systems in Americus met the necessary threshold for verified signatures. The petitions will now go before the respective governing bodies — the Emporia City Commission and Americus City Council — for additional actions.
The verification of the petitions comes a week after Emporia City Commissioners voted unanimously to send a separate yet related petition seeking to ban high-impact data centers in Emporia to Lyon County District Court for a declaratory judgment.
1:44 pm Thursday: Petition seeking prohibition of battery energy storage systems in Emporia deemed valid by Lyon County Clerk’s Office
The second petition submitted by Emporia Neighbors United has been verified.
Lyon County Clerk Amie Jones, Thursday afternoon, stated that the signature verification process had been completed and that the petition seeking to prohibit battery energy storage systems within the Emporia City limits had gained the necessary 805 signatures to move forward in the process. The petition will now come before the Emporia City Commission for further action at a later time.
The verification of the petition comes a week after Emporia City Commissioners voted unanimously to send a separate yet related petition seeking to ban high-impact data centers in Emporia to Lyon County District Court for a declaratory judgment.
These petitions are two of five that have been circulating in recent weeks. The other petitions include one seeking a reform of city government from the longtime commission model to a city council structure, the recall of Emporia City Commissioner Erren Harter and the creation of a grand jury against Harter for alleged misconduct while in office.
The status of the three latter petitions is currently pending.
