Stutsman County Lists Feb. 17 Commission Entry With Minutes, Audio Coming Soon

Stutsman County’s public records and meetings page lists the Feb. 17, 2026 Board of County Commissioners agenda and shows the minutes and meeting audio as "Coming Soon" while the county’s public records hub also reflects that the Feb. 17 minutes and audio recording have been added; the Feb. 17 meeting included a 4-1 vote to amend the county zoning ordinance for solar energy conversion facilities. Commissioners Mike Hansen, Levi Taylor, Ben Tompkins and Chad Wolsky voted in favor; Commissioner Amanda Hastings voted no.

The Feb. 17 entry on the county’s "2026 Board Of County Commissioners Meeting Agendas & Minutes" page appears alongside other 2026 meeting placeholders - January 6, January 20, January 22 (special), February 3, March 3, March 17 and April 7 - many of which list Agenda, Minutes, Audio and Video with "Coming Soon" labels. The county provides courthouse and law enforcement center addresses for in-person access: Courthouse, 511 2nd Ave SE, Jamestown; LEC, 205 6th St SE, Jamestown.

The commission’s adopted amendment sets the setback from occupied residences at 1,320 feet (one quarter mile). An earlier proposed version referenced a half-mile, or 2,640 feet, setback; commissioners debated multiple distances during the hearing, and Levi Taylor said, "500 feet was not enough distance for solar energy conversion facilities from occupied residences."

Other setback and measurement details in the adopted ordinance require 100 feet from all property lines, 165 feet from the center line of any township road, 250 feet from any county, state or federal highway, and 100 feet from the high water mark of any lake and streams. All setbacks will be measured from the exterior of the fencing and gates.

The Feb. 17 action comes while New Leaf Energy is working with Fried Township to permit and build the Buffalo solar project north of Jamestown. The Buffalo solar project is planned as a roughly 247 megawatt solar farm on about 1,600 acres owned by one landowner, with an estimated cost of $370 million and a projected construction window of summer 2028 through summer 2029.

Stutsman County’s meetings page states its accessibility practice for official minutes: "To offer the best digital accessibility we publish official meeting minutes in PDF (Portable Document Format) without signatures. If you wish to obtain minutes with signatures please contact the Auditor’s office." To request signed minutes, copies of the Feb. 17 minutes or the meeting audio, contact Auditor / COO Jessica Alonge at 511 2nd Ave SE Suite 102, Jamestown, ND 58401, by phone at (701) 252-9035 or by email at auditor@stutsmancounty.gov. County office hours are Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Central.

Residents seeking to review the official record of Feb. 17 should check the county’s 2026 meetings page and the public records hub for the posted PDF minutes and audio file, and contact Auditor Jessica Alonge if signed minutes or the full ordinance text are required for local permitting or project review.