Photo by Tom Rivers: Sean Pogue, Barre town supervisor, speaks during Wednesday’s Town Board meeting.

BARRE – The developers of a wind energy project in Barre say the 30-plus turbines would bring at least $1.2 million in revenue to the local governments in the first year of operation, with that total increasing to about $1.8 million in the year 25.

The money would be divvied up among the Town of Barre, Orleans County and Albion school district.

In a normal PILOT (payment of lieu of taxes), the money is split up in a pro-rated manner, to be shared based on the municipalities’ tax rates. The school district tends to get the most money because its tax rate is higher.

Barre town officials want a different revenue-sharing approach with the potential turbine money, where Barre could get as much as 80 percent of the revenue.

That is the position from Sean Pogue, the Barre town supervisor. He favors a Host Community Agreement where the town would get 80 percent of the revenue, with the remaining 20 percent to be shared by the school district and county. (One of the proposed turbines is in the Oakfield-Alabama school district, which could receive an annual payment equal to the average of turbine.)

Representatives from the three taxing entities have met several times, and Pogue said Wednesday the county and school district want a bigger percentage than 20 percent.

The talks are ongoing, and Pogue said the agreement won’t be a normal PILOT. If that was the case, Barre would get 26.8 percent of the revenue, with the county getting 29.0 percent and the school district, 44.1 percent. That is based on the 2019 tax rates – Barre, $9.18, county, $9.96, and school district, $15.10.

Apex Clean Energy is working on an application for 33 wind turbines with a 5.6 megawatt turbine. The negotiations have called for $8,500 to $9,000 per megawatt from Apex, with the company to increase the payments by 2 to 2.5 percent each year.

Pogue said on Wednesday Apex has agreed to $8,900 per megawatt. That adds up to $1,644,720 for 33 turbines with a 5.6 megawatt capacity.

The number would go down if there are fewer turbines or smaller turbines.

If Apex pays $8,900 per megawatt to start, Pogue said the inflation rate to be paid from Apex could be 2 percent more from years 1 to 10, and 2.5 percent from years 11 to 25. If Apex paid $9,000 per megawatt to start, the inflation rate would stay at 2 percent longer – to year 14, then increase to 2.5 percent in years 15 to 25.

“These are just numbers we’re looking at,” Pogue said during Wednesday’s Town Board meeting. “We’re not voting on anything at this time.”

Paul Williamson, Development Manager for Apex’s proposed Heritage Wind, has urged the three entities to “be generous with each other and don’t just try to secure your piece.” He spoke recently to the Orleans Hub.

He said the company is close to finishing its application for the project, which is submitted to the state Department of Public Service and could take two years to review.

Normally, PILOT funds aren’t paid until construction is complete with a project. That could be three or four years from now if the Heritage Wind project is approved.

Williamson and Apex are proposing Barre receive some upfront money before construction starts as part of the Community Host Agreement.

Apex has offered $20,000 for Barre to be paid within 30 days of the signing of the Host Community Agreement. Another $30,000 would be paid on the one-year anniversary of the signing of the HCA. At the commencement of construction, Barre would receive another $200,000, Pogue said.

That is money outside of the HCA and PILOT.

The town supervisor discussed the funds during Wednesday’s board meeting.

“There’s more numbers for you to digest that we can talk about,” he told the board members.

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BARRE – The Town Board will have a special meeting at 6 p.m. on Nov. 25 to vote whether to hire a consultant to review the town’s wind energy ordinance.

The board had the matter on its agenda during Wednesday night’s board meeting but didn’t have a quorum to vote on that issue following the resignation of Richard Bennett as a town councilman and the absence of Tom McCabe.

The three other members at the meeting included Larry Gaylard, Lynn Hill and Town Supervisor Sean Pogue. Gaylard has agreed to lease some of his land to Apex Clean Energy for a wind energy project so he abstained from the vote. That left Barre with only two voting members at the meeting.

Apex has agreed to pay up to $50,000 for the town to hire a consultant to review the Barre ordinance for wind energy projects.

A consultant affiliated to the University of Buffalo will be asked to make a recommendation on turbine height, setbacks from property lines and homes, shadow flicker and sound from turbines.

The town didn’t detail the name or organization of the consultant at Wednesday’s meeting. Lance Mark, the town attorney, said he didn’t want the consultant to be “harassed” with phone calls, emails and messages. He said the consultant isn’t affiliated in any way with Apex or  citizens group – Clear Skies Above Barre – opposing the project.

The Town Board and Planning Board debated how to modify the wind energy ordinance for much of 2018, but the Town Board in January 2019 decided to leave the ordinance alone. That decision didn’t seem to please anybody.

The town ordinance caps turbine height at 500 feet. Apex wants turbines at 650 feet or higher for the Barre project, which could include up to 33 turbines. If the town sticks to 500 feet, Apex could seek a waiver from the local law from a state siting board, which reviews the large-scale wind energy projects as part of a new Article 10 process through the state.

Barre last updated the ordinance in 2008, at a time when most turbines were about 400 feet high. The current ordinance says the turbines need a property line setback of at least 1.5 times the tip height. That is for the property lines where the turbine is located.

The current ordinance also says the turbines need to be at least 1,000 feet from any existing residential or commercial building.

Apex, during discussions with the town in 2018 and early 2019, agreed to 1,500 foot setbacks from residential buildings. The company also suggested 1.5 times the tip height for setbacks from property lines for non-participating property owners, or landowners without an Apex lease.

Clear Skies said the setbacks should be six times the turbine height. That would be at least 3,600 feet or more than a half mile for 600-foot-tall turbines.

The town also wants to set rules for shadow flicker, noise and other environmental issues, as well as the decommissioning of the turbines.

John Metzler, a vocal critic of the proposed project in Barre, urged Barre officials to tell Apex that Barre doesn’t want the project.

He noted a group of about 100 property owners and residents in northern Chautauqua County in September filed a lawsuit in State Supreme Court against the developers of a wind farm, claiming to have suffered from having wind turbines too close to homes.

The lawsuit includes residents in the Fredonia, Cassadaga and Forestville areas, who are suing the developers of the Arkwright Summit Wind Farm. The plaintiffs say the turbines have caused sleep disturbance, annoyance, headaches, dizziness, vertigo, nausea, motion sickness, bodily sensations, fatigue, stress, depression, memory deficits, inability to concentrate, anxiety and an overall reduced quality of life.

Metzler has sent town officials copies of the 78-page lawsuit.

“Why are we even considering something that will harm the citizens?” he asked the Town Board.

Chris Loss, a supporter of the project in Barre, said the recent town election shows the majority of the voters back the project.

Sean Pogue was re-elected town supervisor with 360 votes compared to 272 for Gerald Solazzo, who ran under the independent “Citizens for Change.”

“There was an election,” Loss said, directing her comments to people critical of the turbines. “The people have spoken. They want the wind turbine project to go through. You guys need to back off.”

There were five candidates on the ballot for town council seats. Two will be elected. Margaret Swan, a Republican and Independence candidate, is in the lead with 307 votes, followed by Kerri Richardson (Citizens for Change, Conservative) at 296 and Cindy Burnside (Citizens for Change) at 270. Other candidates include LuAnn Tierney (Democrat), 237; and Bradlee Driesel (R, I), 105. Driesel stopped campaigning and urged residents to support Swan and Tierney.

The Board of Elections will count absentee ballots on Nov. 19.

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Betterment Committee also doing hunter’s breakfast on Saturday

Photo by Tom Rivers

BARRE – The Barre Betterment Committee  hosted its first lighted tractor parade down Route 98 last Dec. 15.

The photo shows a tractor with a large American flag in back. Lamb Farms of Oakfield brought this tractor. There were about 10 tractors in the debut parade.

The parade will be back on Dec. 14 at 5:30 p.m. It starts on East Barre Road. The ending spot is to be determined.

The Barre Betterment Committee also is putting on its first hunter’s breakfast from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday at the Town of Barre highway garage. Saturday is the opening day for regular hunting season with firearms.

The committee will be serving all-you-can-eat venison sausage and gravy, biscuits, pancakes, eggs, juice and coffee. The breakfast is open to the community and costs $10.

For more on the Betterment Committee, click here.

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Voters in the Town of Barre had the highest turnout among the 10 Orleans County towns in the recent election.

Barre, at 51.2 percent turnout, topped 50 percent, which is unusual in a local election. Countywide, the turnout was 34.8 percent, with 8,048 voters going to the polls out of 23,183 registered voters. That rate was less than the 38.2 percent turnout for local elections in both 2015 and 2017.

In Barre, 645 of the 1,260 registered voters cast a ballot on election day, and also, for the first time, during nine days of early voting. Countywide there were 374 people who voted during the nine days of early voted. That accounted for 1.6 percent of the registered voters in the county.

Bare had seven candidates seeking three spots for the Town Board. That was the most intense election day battle among the 10 towns.

Most of the positions on the ballot throughout the county did not have opposition. At four towns – Albion, Carlton, Kendall and Yates – there weren’t any contested races.

That is reflected in the turnout there. Albion had the lowest voting rate at 30.0 percent.

Ridgeway, which had three candidates for town supervisor, had the second lowest turnout at 31.1 percent.

Here is a breakdown of turnout at the 10 towns.

Source: Orleans County Board of Elections; Orleans Hub calculations.

The position of sheriff was likely the most profile race in the county, but only one candidate, Chris Bourke, was on the ballot. He received 78.4 percent of the vote and withstood a write-in campaign. Brett Sobieraski lost a close Republican Primary to Bourke on June 25. Many of his supporters pushed him as a write-in candidate. There were 1,570 write-in votes. Bourke, the current undersheriff, received 5,693 votes.

Of the seven county legislator seats, six were unopposed. Don Allport of Gaines was challenged by Chase Tkach, a Libertarian Party candidate. Allport received 87.8 percent of the vote.

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BARRE – Sean Pogue has the lead to continue as town supervisor in Barre, according to unofficial results announced at the Barre Town Hall.

Pogue received 322 votes today, compared to 258 for Gerald Solazzo, who ran under the independent Citizens for Change.

Pogue in his campaign said there is more to the town government that the wind turbine issue. He said that project could bring significant financial benefits to the town, wiping out town taxes and allowing Barre to invest in its highway garage, firehall and town park.

Solazzo and two other Citizens for Change are critical of the project, and the town’s communication with residents about meetings and information with Heritage Wind.

The results announced tonight don’t include early voting, absentees or affidavit ballots.

There were five candidates on the ballot for two other Town Board seats. Richard Bennett and Larry Gaylard both didn’t seek re-election.

Kerri Richardson has the most votes tonight with 282 followed by 272 for Margaret Swan. Richardson is the president of Clear Skies Above Barre, a citizens group that has pushed for bigger setbacks, smaller turbines and more studies on the health and environmental impacts of the turbines. Richardson ran under the Citizens for Change and also was backed by the Conservative Party.

Swan was endorsed by the Republican Party.

Cindy Burnside, another Citizens for Change candidate, also is close with 256 votes for a Town Board seat.

LuAnn Tierney, a Democrat, received 202 votes. She ran as a team with Pogue and Swan.

Bradlee Driesel, a Republican, was on the ballot but withdrew from the race. He still received 101 votes.

Other candidates were unopposed in Barre including Town Clerk Maureen Beach, 327 votes; Town Justice Rick Root, 317 votes; and Highway Superintendent Dale Brooks, 403 votes.

In the race for Orleans County Sheriff, Chris Bourke received 417 votes in Barre today, while there were 92 write-ins.

Brett Sobieraski, who lost a close Republican Primary to Bourke in June, has been promoted by many of his supporters for a write-in campaign. The election officials at Barre didn’t have the names for the write-ins tonight.

Orleans Hub will have more election coverage later.

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BARRE – The town has been awarded $1.1 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for Water District No. 10. That includes a $601,000 grant and $500,000 loan.

The water district will serve 31 residential customers on parts of Angevine, McNamar and Transit roads. The district will replace wells that lack safe, potable water. Installing water mains will provide reliable water service to the residents as well as adequate fire protection, the USDA said.

The USDA is providing the funding through the Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant program. Eligible applicants include rural cities, towns and water districts.

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Photos by Tom Rivers

BARRE – Shirley Nigro stands on the stage of her art studio in the former Barre Grange. Nigro opened the space to the public today for the first time.

There were five artists featured in the art show – Colleen Ware, Joan Barton, Debra Wilson, Lori Laine of Albion NY Rocks and Nigro.

They were among about 20 artists featured in Orleans County today as part of an open studio tour coordinated by the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council.

Nigro of Albion owns the Fired Up – Ready to Paint Ceramics. She makes ceramics in a style known as bisque wear. She also makes dolls, necklaces and other multi-medium artwork. She is known for her faces and has been featured in books and magazines.

Nigro is pictured in the first floor of the former Grange with many of her molds. She bought the former Grange from the Barre Presbyterian Church.

The building at 4688 Oak Orchard Rd, appealed to her because of its “big empty space,” with heat and electricity.

Debra Dale Wilson is one of the featured artists today in the open studio tour. She joined Nigro at the former Grange. She has done stained-glass painting and crafts, and has really embraced putting artwork on flat rocks.

Debra Dale Wilson works on painting a dragon on this rock.

Debra Dale Wilson had this painted rock of “Foxy Lady” on display.

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BARRE – Representatives from the Town of Barre, Albion school district and Orleans County are expected to soon sit down with Apex Clean Energy to discuss a payment in lieu of taxes plan for how much revenue the wind-energy company will give the three tax entities to have 33 turbines in Barre.

The Town Board on Wednesday voted to invite representatives from the school and county to join the town in negotiating a PILOT with Apex. The Orleans Economic Development Agency will also be part of the discussion and will administer a PILOT if a deal is reached.

Sean Pogue, Barre town supervisor, said the vote was just an invitation to start negotiations and doesn’t mean the town is supporting the project. Pogue and Town Councilman Richard Bennett both said Apex needs to “put more money on the table” for the community.

The company wants to build 33 turbines that would peak at 650 to 680 feet high. The company has said it would pay $8,000 per megawatt annually in a PILOT. At 4.8 megawatts each per turbine or 158.4 MWs total for 33, that would add up to $1.27 million.

In a typical PILOT in Orleans County, the money is divvied up based on the percentage of the tax rates in the taxing entities. In Barre, in the 2019 the town tax rate is $9.18 per $1,000 of assessed property, while the county is $9.96 and the school district, $15.10. That is $34.24 total.

Barre represents 26.8 Percent of the total tax rate, with the county at 29.0 percent and the school district at 44.1 percent. Divvying up $1.27 million based on those percentages would result in $340,360 for the town, $368,300 for the county and $560,070 for the school district.

However, town officials say they are looking for a PILOT where Barre gets a bigger percentage of the revenue, where it isn’t shared based on the tax rates.

Kerri Richardson, president of Clear Skies Above Barre, urged the town to tax the turbines at full value and not do a PILOT where Apex pays the local governments at a discount.

Richardson urged the Town Board to not let Apex drive the process. She urged the board to insist on the standards in the local laws that limit turbines to 500 feet.

She said insisting on health and safety protections for residents won’t chase the developer away. She pointed to the towns of Somerset and Yates, which have stronger laws than Barre for setbacks and anti-turbine candidates in office. That opposition hasn’t caused Apex to cancel the proposed Lighthouse Wind. The company announced it isn’t submitting an application this year for the project, but it isn’t abandoning its plans for Lighthouse. Right now the company is focused on Barre.

The Town Board on Wednesday voted to accept $50,000 from Apex so the town can hire an expert to help Barre consider concerns about the turbines and what would be reasonable for height, noise and setbacks. The town will hire an expert without input from Apex, said Lance Mark, the town attorney.

Residents questioned if the vote had enough support on the board because two members, Larry Gaylard and Tom McCabe, abstained. That left only three voting members. Richard Bennett voted against the reimbursement agreement while Pogue and Lynn Hill voted for it.

Some residents questioned if only two votes in favor was enough for the motion to carry. Mark said it was two out of three voting members and was enough for a majority.

Robin Nacca, a town resident, said she would seek a legal opinion about the vote. She said three votes should be needed to pass a resolution on a five-member board.

She also said she is concerned about conflicts of interest among board member who are involved in the process when they should be fully abstaining. She thinks there should be a moratorium on any discussions until there are officials in place who don’t stand to benefit directly or indirectly from Apex.

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PERRY – A veteran skydiver who died in an accident Saturday at Perry-Warsaw Airport was affiliated with Pine Hill Airport in Barre for many years.

Richard Cordero, 68, of Bergen ran Rochester Skydiving at Pine Hill for more than a decade. He left around 2014 when former airport owner Gene Haines decided to sell the airport.

News reports say Cordero, who had thousands of jumps to his credit, died when his parachute cords became tangled and he plummeted into a cornfield.

He was well-known in the Pine Hill area and was very dedicated to the sport of skydiving, said Ace Caldwell of Albion, a member of Pine Hill Airport for more than 30 years. Caldwell has cooked breakfast on Sunday mornings at the airport for decades, and he said Cordero’s wife would sometimes come in for breakfast, but if the weather was sunny, Richard was in the air.

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Photos by Tom Rivers

BARRE – About 50 kids do baseball and softball drills today at the Barre Town Park with instructors from NextLVL Sports Institute in Georgia.

North Point Chapel in Albion brought the baseball and softball academy. Retired Major League Baseball pitcher Chris Hammond will be joining the group from Wednesday through Friday with a special presentation for families on Wednesday evening at North Point Chapel.

Hammond pitched 14 seasons in the big leagues with the Reds, Marlins, Red Sox, Braves, Yankees, A’s and Padres. He had his best season in 2002 with a 0.95 ERA with the Braves. He is only the third pitcher in the history of the Major Leagues to maintain an ERA under 1.00 for a full season.

Matthew Kemp, general manager of NextLVL Sports Institute, offers fielding instructions during the camp today at Barre Town Park. The camp continues through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. There is still time for people to sign up if they arrive before the 9 a.m. start time Tuesday to register. The camp is open to boys and girls, ages 8 to 18, in Orleans County and other nearby communities outside Orleans.

NextLVL is teaching hitting, agility and footwork, as well as strength training, diamond work and the fundamentals of the game.

The North Point Chapel Facebook page has more information.

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Photo courtesy of Sean Pogue

BARRE – Kelly Dudley (left), president of the Barre Betterment Committee, and Cindy Van LieShout, the vice president, are pictured Friday on the dance floor under the pavilion at Barre Town Park.

The park is hosting a square dance from 6 to 9 p.m. today. Cabin Fever will be playing the music and Margaret Matthews will be the caller for the event, which has no admission charge. There will also be hot dogs, soda, basket raffles and 50/50 raffles.

“We’re just trying to hold some fun events for the community to get together,” Dudley said this morning. “We’ll have beautiful weather. Hopefully we can get the community together and have fun. If you don’t want to dance you can still come out and talk to people.”

The Betterment Committee officially formed this spring. It organized its first event last year with a tractor parade down Route 98 on Dec. 15.

The group’s volunteers have also planted flowers around the town’s signs.

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ALBION – The Orleans County Planning Board is backing the expansion of a quarry in Barre.

Keeler Construction/Barre Stone Products has acquired land to expand its quarry by 24 acres at 14120 West Lee Rd. The parcel is surrounded on three sides by Keeler’s existing quarry.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation holds jurisdiction over mining and excavating activities. However, local communities retain control over where there should be quarries, the County Planning Board said.

The Keeler expansion “is the next logical step in the life of the quarry,” planners said.

Keeler could start mining from the site later this year. It plans to go down about 30 feet to the mine the high-quality dolomite.

The final reclamation plan includes the entire quarry and will result in a 220-acre freshwater lake, varying 20 to 70 feet in depth.

In other action, the Planning Board:

• Recommended the Town of Ridgeway approve the site plan for a pool services and supply business at 3932 Salt Words Rd., which is in the Light Industrial district.

Sarah and Joshua Ferguson are running a business, Express Pool and Spa, from the site. They sell pool supplies, covers, chemicals and parts, heaters, filters and pumps, as well as in-ground and above-ground pools. Joshua also operates JKF Services, for which he performs handyman services.

• Recommended the Town of Yates approve the site plan for a 40-by-80-foot storage building at 10708 Millers Rd. This property was rezoned on April 11 from Agricultural/Residential to Industrial.

The building will serve the Medina Window business, which is owned by Merle Yoder. The addition will allow Yoder to store windows and window materials.

• Recommended the Town of Shelby approve the site plan and special use permit for an aesthetic pond at 10500 West Shelby Rd. in an Agricultural/Residential District.

Tim Winters is seeking approval for the pond. The town requires 100-foot side and rear setbacks for ponds. Winters is requesting variances of 80 feet for the setbacks. If the town insists on the setbacks at 100 feet, Winters won’t be able to have the pond in the most poorly drained area of the property, planners said.

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BARRE – Motorists should expect some delays on Route 98 in Barre through next week while a section of the state road, from Route 31A to Puzzey Road, is repaved.

The $980,000 project is being funded through the PAVE NY Initiative, which includes $128 million in repaving of state roads, including about 1,000 lane miles with at least one project in every county.

The repaving started on Tuesday in Barre and is expected to be complete later next week, with a break for the construction crew during the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

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