00;00;00;02 - 00;00;13;22
Stephanie Wiechmann
Muncie's mayor has spent two years planning to turn 53 acres of a former GM plant into a solar energy field. Mayor Dan Ridenour has said a solar field is the best way to reuse the industrial brownfield. Muncie Police Chief Nathan Sloan agrees.

00;00;13;24 - 00;00;22;03
Nathan Sloan
It doesn't seem like we can do much with this field. It doesn't seem like GM's going to come in and make this right anytime soon. And nothing productive has been done there since 2006.

00;00;22;09 - 00;00;26;21
Stephanie Wiechmann
But community members have questioned if that's true. As City Councilman Troy Ingram puts it -

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Troy Ingram
Why is it going to be more profitable or even better for the city to have a solar field here, rather than an industrial complex that could provide jobs and everything else? And tax and revenue.

00;00;40;07 - 00;00;58;25
Stephanie Wiechmann
At Monday night's meeting, the council and public showed a general support for solar energy, but many worried Muncie would pay more for this particular project than it would get back for selling solar energy to the grid. City Council President Jeff Robinson said Muncie would pay to lease the land, which takes it off city tax rolls. And that's not the only annual cost the city would pay.

00;00;59;00 - 00;01;16;15
Jeff Robinson
Because we are responsible for maintenance and repairs, my concern, 15 years from now, 18 years from now, something catastrophic happens. Maybe it cost $ 300 - 400,000. Now we're wiped out.

00;01;16;18 - 00;01;23;13
Stephanie Wiechmann
The council's 5 to 4 vote means the project won't go forward through the city. In Muncie, Stephanie Wiechmann, IPR news.