Credit: Patrick Grego
With a series of motions on Thursday evening, the Pine Plains Town Board passed three resolutions related to the proposed Carson Power solar project at Pulvers Corners. Two of them — a pay in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement and a host community benefit agreement — are designed to secure funds for the town and the school district from Carson Power.
New board member Kevin Walsh also proposed the formation of a sewer committee, which would study the creation of a central septic system in the town’s business district. That was approved unanimously. The board also unanimously approved the creation of a new part-time, minimum-wage job whose primary responsibility will be to water the town’s 17 planters.
After hearing from residents — who expressed concern about the board’s lack of transparency and frustration over their inability to contact the town’s building inspector — board members and the attorney for the town, Warren Replansky, went into an executive session.
Replansky negotiated the PILOT agreement between the town and Carson Power. Because the solar project is tax-exempt under state law, the agreement will provide income that the town would have otherwise not received. The payments will increase 2% over the course of 15 years, beginning at $4,583.60, with a final payment of $6,479.70. The town will receive 25% of the funds, with the majority going to the Pine Plains Central School District.
A host community benefit agreement — which is essentially a payment requested by the town for operating a solar project within the town’s borders — was also negotiated by Replansky, who secured a $25,000 payment from Carson Power to be used at the town’s discretion.
A decommissioning agreement for the solar project — which guarantees the town against the future costs of decommissioning the solar arrays in 15 years — was approved by the board, pending receipt and approval of the two decommissioning bonds from Carson Power.
The board also voted to hold a public hearing to extend the current moratorium on new solar developments for a period of six months. The resolution passed unanimously, with the hearing scheduled for 7 p.m. on April 18.
In his report to the board, Replansky called for a resolution to schedule a public hearing to remove all four members of the town’s conservation advisory council. “The conservation council has not really functioned for a period of at least five years in its current state,” Replansky said. “I think the best solution for this problem is to have a public hearing to remove the current members of the conservation council, as required by town code. If they are removed they will be replaced by new members who hopefully fulfill the functions of a conservation advisory committee.”
The resolution passed unanimously, with a hearing set for April 18 at 7 p.m. “I am working behind the scenes to get people to fill those roles, so we have some interest,” said Kevin Walsh.
Additional developments
Pine Plains Police Sgt. Michael Beliveau announced that officer Zachary Alpay is leaving the force after finding full-time employment with Saugerties Police Department. Another officer, Aaron Fantroy, is scheduled to join the force in the coming weeks at a rate of $22 per hour. Beliveau also said that town police would soon complete an advanced roadside impairment driving enforcement class to combat the increasing number of drug-impairment offenses.
In early May, the water department will be issuing bills by post that will include a copy of the 2023 water quality report and information on the town’s new electronic billing system.
Director of the recreation department Brian Coons received approval for Andrew Anderson to join his staff as both assistant director of recreation and director of the summer camp at a combined salary of $10,000.
The property at 41 Hoffman Road, where an explosion leveled the house and killed Lawrence Pariseau in October 2021, was sold to Skyler Nuccio and Grayson Wheeler.
George Keeler raised a question of time. “What’s the status of the Town Clock?” he asked. “It’s been stuck on 12 for the last three months.” The Town Board informed him that it does not run during the winter because the hands are made of wood. “It’s always right twice a day,” Keeler said.
The full March 21 Town Board meeting is available to view on the Town of Pine Plains’ Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XgKfnwjzjs