JAMES WOOD

Staff Writer

Duksan Electera sought to receive city approval to expand the company’s outdoor storage facilities during the Shelbyville Planning Commission’s latest meeting.

Originally being deferred during the commission’s January meeting, an updated plan from the company outlined an approximately 11-acre outdoor storage area labeled as a “Logistics Transferring Area.”

The purpose of the area would be for containing up to approximately 2,700 liquid electrolyte portable storage tanks.

Each tank would be temporarily stored for up to 24 hours on site.

Due to the potential hazards brought by liquid electrolytes, several questions were raised over ensuring that the area would be compliant with safety requirements set by the City.

City Planner Thomas Batchelor added that the recommendation by staff was to add the condition upon approval of the plan to reserve the right for the City Fire Marshal or a Building Code official to inspect the building on occasion to ensure compliance.

According to the City, fire protection had not yet been included in the most recent plans as of the meeting.

City Councilmember Josh Blevins commented on the spontaneity of the plan, arguing that more time should be invested into more communication between the City and Duksan Electera before any definitive action is taken.

The commission consulted Fire Protection Engineer Mark Platfoot from Performance Design Technologies, who was the lead designer for the fire protection systems for the tanks.

He specified that the facility would use a set of fire monitor nozzles, similar to a permanent fire hydrant capable of spraying around 350 gallons of water per minute.

“As far as what’s sufficient, I can’t tell you that it would be 100%,” said Commissioner David McGee. “I would say it’s an improvement.”

Commissioner Bo Gill inquired about the 24-hour presence of personnel on site who will be able to operate the fire protection systems, to which it was specified that a security guard will be present at all times who will be trained to operate the fire protection systems if an accident were to occur.

A motion was made by Blevins to defer the plan to the Planning Commission’s next meeting to allow time for the Fire Department and Building Codes to inspect the plan for a more informed decision.

The motion passed unanimously.