LAMAR — The Lamar Township supervisors held their monthly meeting Tuesday night to discuss EMS concerns and ordinance requests, among other items.

Emma Azadan, development director for SunShare Solar, attended the meeting along with Justin Stewart and Daniel Dotterer to request a zoning text amendment to solar ordinance 2024-01. The amendment would permit agrivoltaic solar projects — solar arrays combined with agricultural use — as a conditional use within the township’s agricultural district.

“We recommend that the ordinance be amended to allow specifically for agrivoltaic solar projects with applicable regulations to hold projects accountable to agricultural standards,” said Azadan.

The proposal, following the amendment, centers on a 5-megawatt solar project on approximately 25 acres along Belles Springs Road with sheep grazing and hay production. The site would connect to existing three-phase power lines feeding into a substation in Mackeyville.

While addressing community concerns of lowering home values, noise and traffic increases and environmental impact, Azadan assured those in attendance that SunShare Solar has provided third party studies that have shown no significant long-term effects from the project.

Dotterer spoke in support of the model, describing the challenges many farms are facing.

“Our family has been farming here since 1819,” he said. “Every generation has had to reinvent themselves to survive.”

While citing data from the American Farm Bureau, Dotterer noted that most farm households now rely heavily on off-farm income, arguing that integrating sheep grazing with solar offers diversification without removing land from agricultural production.

Public reaction was divided at this time leading supervisors to remind those in attendance this was an amendment request to take into consideration before continuing the meeting.

The original ordinance was discussed amongst the board of supervisors back in 2024 and was unanimously approved. The supervisors said they would be open to discussing future amendments with their solicitor.

EMS Captain Joseph Hart attended Tuesday to share the department’s updates following an incident that occurred earlier this year.

The incident, which saw emergency responders enter an incorrect home while responding to an emergency, prompted questions from the family involved, which were directed towards the first responders surrounding their current response protocols.

Among their concerns were whether the matter had been formally discussed, if there is meeting documentation and what corrective actions are planned.

In response, Hart confirmed the incident was reviewed during their meeting, with available minutes and that no disciplinary action was recommended against those involved.

According to Hart, those involved acted in good faith under what they believed to be a medical emergency.

“Under justification laws, if we believe there is a life-threatening emergency, we are permitted to make entry to render aid,” he said.

Hart acknowledged the family’s concerns and offered an apology to the family, describing the situation as avoidable but unintentional.

Going forward, volunteers that encounter an inaccessible residence will pause to verify through the county communications center and notify state police before making entry.

“We are going to slow down, even on high-priority calls like cardiac arrest or choking, to double-check we are entering the correct address,” said Hart. “That extra verification step may not have been taken before, but now that we have hindsight, we want to do better.”

At this time, EMS will continue to use this as a learning opportunity to provide better support to the community.

In other business:

— Rote yard sales are scheduled for April 24-26 according to secretary Tracy Roberts.

— Supervisors approved the purchase of three radar signs totaling $9,735.

— Supervisors signed their acceptance letter from the Clinton County Community Foundation grant for $13,000 to go towards their restroom construction.