Press Release, Apex Clean Energy (Heritage Wind)

BARRE– After an extensive period of public outreach and engagement, project engineering, and numerous studies, Apex Clean Energy’s Heritage Wind project filed its Article 10 permit application with the New York State Board on Electric Generating Siting and the Environment.

The first project to file an Article 10 application this year, Heritage Wind would consist of 33 wind turbines located within the Town of Barre in Orleans County. (Click here to see the layout for the proposed turbines in the town.)

If approved and built, the 184.8 megawatt project would connect to the New York State electrical grid via an interconnection substation that would be constructed within the town along the existing National Grid Lockport-to-Mortimer 115 kV power line.

“We are excited to be formally submitting our application, bringing Heritage Wind one step closer to becoming a reality and helping New York reach its clean energy goals,” said Karlis Povisils, senior vice president of development with Apex Clean Energy. “We have worked closely with community members and stakeholders for several years to bring this major economic development opportunity to Orleans County and look forward to a long-term partnership with the local community for years to come.”

Heritage Wind was awarded a 20-year contract for Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) in the New York State Energy & Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) 2018 REC Solicitation and is currently working to secure buyers for the energy generated by the project.

In addition to generating enough clean, homegrown New York energy to power over 45,000 homes, Heritage Wind would create millions of dollars in economic activity for the Town of Barre and Orleans County, including an estimated $50 million in Host Community and PILOT Agreement payments to the town, county, and local school districts. The project would also support over 100 construction jobs and 12 local full-time jobs once the project is operational.

“Heritage Wind is one of the biggest economic development projects to come to Orleans County in memory,” said Larry Gaylard, a lifelong Barre resident and former Barre Town councilman of 18 years. “If approved, the project would invest millions of dollars in our communities throughout the construction process and life of the project. Permanent clean energy jobs and payments to local governments will be a benefit for decades. Congratulations to Apex Clean Energy and the entire Heritage Wind team on this major project milestone.”

In addition to the construction investment and payments to local governments, area farmers and landowners stand to benefit from the project through landowner lease payments totaling $50 million over the life of the project.

“It has been a tough couple of years for farmers, causing many young people to move out of rural farming communities” said Kirk Mathes, a sixth-generation farmer in Barre who will host a turbine on his property if Heritage Wind is approved by the New York Siting Board. “The revenue provided by harvesting the wind will help stabilize farm incomes and allow family farms to continue on for generations to come.”

With the application formally submitted, Heritage Wind developers expect a response from the Siting Board in the next three to six months requesting additional information before the application is deemed complete. Once it is deemed complete, the Siting Board must decide on whether to approve the application within 12 months.

For more on the project, click here to be directed to the Heritage Wind website.

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Photo by Tom Rivers

BARRE – The merry-go-round at the Barre Town Park was removed today by the highway department.

The town’s insurance provider, New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal, said the merry-go-round posed a safety risk and considered its removal a high priority. A merry-go-round can be dangerous to get on or off while it is rotating.

The Town Board on Wednesday authorized Dale Brooks, highway superintendent, to take out the merry-go-round at the park on Route 98.

The town last year put in two loads of wood chips near the merry-go-round so children would be less likely to slide underneath it. But Pogue said that wasn’t enough to ease the concerns of NYMIR, the insurance provider.

NYMIR also urged the town to put concrete barriers on the edge of the parking lot so vehicles can’t drive on the playground. Pogue said those barriers are at the park and will be put in place soon by the highway department.

(The highway department also is repairing the backstop fence at the Little League field. Those repairs weren’t identified as an action item for the town by the insurance company but town officials want the fence in good shape for the upcoming baseball season.)

NYMIR also suggested the town clerk have a panic button that would alert law enforcement if there was a safety concern or emergency at the town hall. Pogue said the town officials are discussing installing a panic button.

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BARRE – The Town Board on Wednesday accepted a $945,633 construction bid to build Water District No. 9.

Sergi Construction of East Aurora will install the water district. The project will extend public water service to 42 residential users and one commercial user on sections of Kams Road, Maple Street, Pine Hill Road, Gray Road, Eagle Harbor Road and Hemlock Ridge Road.

Barre has been approved for $1.3 million in federal funding – $708,000 in a low-interest loan and $493,000 in a grant – for Water District No. 9.

Town Supervisor Sean Pogue said he expects construction will start in the next four to six weeks.

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Photo by Ginny Kropf: Sheriff Chris Bourke, left, and Undersheriff Mike Mele, right, congratulate Jerry Bentley after the sheriff announced he had nominated Bentley as the February Employee of the Month in Orleans County for assisting in the delivery of a baby while working as a dispatcher.

BARRE – A Barre firefighter and Orleans County dispatcher has been named the county’s Employee of the Month in February for what turned out to be a historic delivery of a baby.

Jerry Bentley was on duty as an Orleans County dispatcher at the 911 emergency communications center on Feb. 28 when a call came in at 3:23 in the morning from a man who said his wife was going to have a baby.

He requested an ambulance and Bentley proceeded to get the pertinent information.

“I told him I was going to get him some help and just as I was going to hang up, the man said, ‘She’s going to have the baby right now,’” Bentley said. “I asked if her water had broken, and he said no, but he could already see the baby’s hair. I snapped my fingers to my partner, which is the signal to dispatch, and I stayed on the phone as he dispatched the ambulance and East Shelby Fire Company.”

Bentley, a past Barre fire chief, began to tell the father what to do. He instructed him how to clamp the umbilical cord and told him to wipe the baby’s nose and mouth. Then he asked if the baby was breathing. Finally, Bentley heard the baby cry, and it was pure joy, he said.

Only four minutes elapsed from the time Bentley took the call until the baby was born, he said. East Shelby was on the scene seven minutes after the call, followed right behind by COVA and Orleans County Sheriff’s deputy Dave Martek.

Responding for East Shelby was president Mike Fuller, Dave Green and Scott Barber.

“When we walked in, the father was down on his knees holding the baby,” Green said.

Green has been a volunteer firefighter with East Shelby for 59 years, served nine years as Orleans County Fire Coordinator and Emergency Management director and then spent 20 years as sheriff, and this was the first time he was involved in the delivery of a baby, he said.

Bentley added he has been in the fire service 30 years and this was his first experience in the delivery of a baby.

“I may never get an opportunity like that again,” he said.

The delivery will also go down in history as the first birth certificate which has been issued in the town of Barre in more than 30 years.

As an added note, Sheriff Bourke stated there is pending legislation currently in the works to designate dispatchers as first responders. The sheriff emphasized that this incident is a perfect example of how dispatchers can be called upon to act as a first responder.

Bentley said passing the law would provide added benefits to dispatchers, and the public is urged to contact their local legislators and tell them they are in favor of passing of the law.

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BARRE – The Barre Betterment Committee today will celebrate Founder’s Day at the Barre Town Hall in honor of the town’s 202^nd birthday.

The event will kick off at 10 a.m. with bingo, popcorn and a historical talk from the town historian. At 5:30 p.m. there will be children’s activities and stories.

The Founder’s Day celebration will close out the event with cake, milk and a “Toast to Barre” at 7 p.m.

All the events are at the Town Hall, 14317 West Barre Rd.

The Barre Betterment Committee works to promote, united, improve and enhance the quality of life for the common good in Barre. The group formed two years ago to help organize the town’s bicentennial. It has continued to organized events in barre, including the lighted tractor parade in December and other activities.

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ALBION – A representative from the State Department of Public Service will go through the Article 10 process during a 6:30 p.m. meeting on March 18 at Hoag Library.

The state created the Article 10 process for energy projects more than 25 megawatts, which includes many of the wind and solar energy projects proposed in the region.

Apex Clean Energy, for example, is proposing to construct 33 wind turbines in Barre that have a capacity for nearly 185 MWs.

The meeting on March 18 gives community members a chance to understand the Article 10 process and ask questions about the procedure for reviewing the large-scale energy projects.

The DPS representative will not address any specific Article 10 projects or proposed Article 10 projects, said Kerri Richardson, a member of the Barre Town Board.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo last month proposed a bigger state takeover of the process to speed up siting renewable energy projects.

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This map from Apex Clean Energy shows proposed locations for wind turbines, access roads, substations and met towers in Barre.

BARRE – Apex Clean Energy said it will be submitting an application to the state to build 33 wind turbines with a capacity to generate up to 184.8 megawatts.

The company announced a notice of submission of application today, saying it expects to file its application on or about Jan. 31 to authorize construction and operation of Heritage Wind, the project in Barre.

Apex will seek approval for the project from the New York State Board on Electric Generating Siting and the Environment. The state will review the project through the Article 10 process, where local laws are considered but the state has the final say in whether the project moves forward or not.

Heritage Wind will include wind turbines, access roads, electrical collection lines, substations, permanent meteorological towers, an operations and maintenance building, and staging/laydown areas to be used during construction, which may include a potential temporary concrete batch plant, Apex said.

A point of interconnection substation will be placed in Barre, along the existing National Grid Lockport-Mortimer 115 kV power line, to deliver electricity generated by the facility to the New York State electric grid, Apex states in the Notice of Submission Application.

The application will include:

• an analysis of the environmental setting of the facility (33 turbines), a description of the facility, including preliminary design drawings and related information; copies of reports, studies and plans submitted in support of the application

• an assessment of impacts of construction and operation of the facility relating to land use; consistency with state energy planning objectives, including climate change and renewable energy goals; public health and safety;

• terrestrial ecology, water resources and aquatic ecology, including avian and bat species and wetlands; communications, transportation and utilities; cultural, historical and recreational resources; visual, including shadow flicker; sound; electric magnetic fields; and impacts on the statewide electrical system.

If the state Siting Board deems the application to be complete, the Siting Board will schedule a public statement hearing on the application, to be held in the Barre area.

The Siting Board will also issue a notice of availability of $184,800 in intervenor funds to municipalities and other local parties to help pay expenses, including attorneys and consultants, associated with participating in the Article 10 process during the application review phase. By law, at least 50 percent of these intervenor funds are reserved for municipalities.

(During the Preliminary Scoping Statement, Apex needed to provide $350 per megawatt or $70,000 in intervenor funds for the local community to hire experts to review the Apex proposal, back when it was projected as a 200-megawatt project. A judge determined in 2018 the Town of Barre would be allocated $40,000 in those funds and Clear Skies Above Barre would get $30,000.)

Click here to be directed to the NYS Department of Public Service website that details information and submission about Heritage Wind.

Local officials have been meeting to discuss a PILOT arrangement with Apex, where $1.2 million to $1.8 million in annual revenue is expected to shared the next 25 years among the Town of Barre, Orleans County and Albion Central School. (Oakfield-Alabama also would get some funding because one turbine is proposed to be in the O-A school district.)

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Provided photos

BARRE – Landon Flansburg meets Santa and got to ring his bell on Sunday.

Landon, 18 months, is held by his mother Sara Flansburg. Brian Neal, a Barre firefighter, is in back. (Ben Flansburg, Landon’s dad, is a Barre firefighter.)

The Barre Volunteer Fire Company took Santa to 24 homes on Sunday during the 5^thannual Santa Express.

People dropped off gift-wrapped presents at the firehall and those gifts were then delivered by firefighters and Santa.

Firefighters and Santa posed for photos with many of the families. About 35 firefighters helped with the effort.

The fire company wants to spread holiday cheer. The Santa Express also is a fundraiser for the fire company with families paying $30 for a stop from Santa.

Here are some more photos from the Santa Express:

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Photos by Tom Rivers

BARRE –These tractors head down Route 98 to the Barre Town Park after starting on East Barre Road. About a dozen tractors and farm vehicles were in the parade, despite heavy falling snow.

The operator of a tractor is lined top on East Barre Road, waiting for the parade to start.

Lacey Meyers drives this tractor on the snow-covered road. Kurt Dudley joined her for the trip.

The Van Lieshout farm pulled a trailer with a cow statue. Lamb Farms of Oakfield has the tractor behind with the American flag.

The Van Lieshout farm had a sign on their tractor saying, “A Barre Merry Christmas To All.”

Tom Decker wore a Santa hat while driving this tractor in the parade.

Lamb Farms carried a patriotic message on its tractor.

Santa rode in the parade and then joined people at the Barre Town Park for refreshments and photos.

The Barre Betterment Committee thanks the parade participants, the spectators, the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office and the state Department of Transportation.

(Click here to see a video of some of the tractors before the parade on East Barre Road.)

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Photo by Tom Rivers: Many local farms last December put lights on tractors in Barre’s first Tractor Light Parade.

BARRE – The Barre Betterment Committee is hosting its second annual Tractor Light Parade on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. The parade starts on the corner of East Barre Road and heads north on Route 98 to the Barre Town Park.

Parade participants are encouraged to line up by 5:15 p.m. on East Barre Road. No RSVP is required.

The community is welcome to join in hot chocolate, cider, cookies and caroling at the Barre Town Park after the parade.

On Sunday, the Barre Volunteer Fire Company will have its fifth annual Santa Express with a fire truck coming to homes with Santa to deliver presents. The Santa Express will visiting homes from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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Photos courtesy of Melissa Ierlan

BARRE – The historical marker on Route 98 in Barre, next to the Barre Center Presbyterian Church, was reset on Thursday after getting new coats of paint by Melissa Ierlan of Clarendon.

This is the 20^th local historical marker she has repainted since 2015.

Many of the markers had flaked off paint and could barely be read by passing motorists.

Ierlan starts by removing the top of the sign and then taking it home to give it a fresh look. She scrapes off the paint. This sign had bubbled paint and was peeling, and had a chunk missing from the bottom, which Ierlan repaired with some J-B Weld material.

After stripping off the paint to the bare metal, she gives it a coat of gray primer.

Then she paints the sign with two coats of blue.

Ierlan gives the sign two coats of yellow and a final clear coat.

The Orleans County Historical Association has given Ierlan a grant of $400 to cover the cost of materials for four signs.

She has started work on her 21^st sign, the one in front of the St. John’s Episcopal Church in Medina.

Ierlan is looking for more signs to paint.  Anyone with suggestions for signs in need of paint, can contact Ierlan at the Clarendon Town Hall, 638-6371 ext. 104.

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Photos by Tom Rivers

BARRE – Tom Decker and his wife Julie were in charge of making pancakes this morning for the first opening day hunter’s breakfast organized by the Barre Betterment Committee. The Deckers are volunteers with the BBC, which served the breakfasts in the Barre highway department garage.

Martin Bruning stopped in for a plateful of food at the breakfast. Many of the food items, including the biscuits, sausage and sausage gravy, were cooked ahead of time at the West Barre United Methodist Church.

Betsy Miller makes scrambled eggs. There were also biscuits, pancakes, venison sausage, beverages and a 50/50 raffle.

The volunteer group includes, from left: Jennifer Leverenz (BBC secretary), Kelly Dudley (BBC president), Janice Grabowski, Margaret Swan, Susie Gaylord, Cyndy Van Lieshout (vice president), Alice Mathes, Betsy Miller (treasurer), Julie Decker and Tom Decker.

Kelly Dudley, BBC president, thanked the Highway Department workers for cleaning the floor and taking some of the trucks out so there was room for the breakfast.

The BBC’s next event will be the second annual lighted tractor parade on Dec. 14 at 5:30 p.m. It starts on East Barre Road. The ending spot will be at the Barre Town Park.

Participants in the parade are encouraged to show up near the start by the Van Lieshout dairy farm. There isn’t a registration.

The BBC also is looking to have a community garden at the Barre Town Park next year.

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