BARRE – The Town Board meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday will be virtual only with no one allowed to attend in-person.

Three of the five Town Board members are currently in Covid quarantine, Town Supervisor Sean Pogue said.

He also is concerned about the high community spread of Covid in Orleans County.

People can observe the meeting live through Barre’s YouTube channel or they can call in to hear the session. More information about calling in is available on the Town website (click here).

Suhr and Lauricella is close battle for Yates Town Board

The town races were fairly quiet this year with many of the candidates unopposed. However, Barre had the most contested races and incumbent Sean Pogue is ahead 289 to 258 over Gerald Solazzo.

Among the Town Board candidates, George McKenna has 346 votes and David Waters 336 for two seats. Steve Harling and Tom Decker mounted a write-in campaign and 427 write-ins were totaled. A breakdown isn’t available.

McKenna and Waters had the Republican line and also the independent “Voice of the Citizens.” Solazzo also ran with the “Voice of the Citizens.”

In other town results:

Albion — All of the candidates are unopposed.

• Richard Remley, town supervisor – 444
• Sandra Bensley, town councilman – 410
• Arnold Allen Jr., town councilman – 397

Carlton – Two are vying for town clerk with incumbent Karen Narburgh having the Republican and Conservative lines while Dori Goetze runs under the independent “Be the Change.” Other Carlton candidates are unopposed: Kevin Hurley for town justice, Jeff Gifaldi and Debbie Yokel for Town Board, and Kurt Van Wyke for highway superintendent.

• Town Clerk – Karen Narburgh, 409; Dori Goetze, 211
• Town Justice – Kevin Hurley, 469
• Town Board – Jeff Gifaldi, 435; Debbie Yockel, 433
• Highway Superintendent – Kurt Van Wyke, 495

Clarendon – Richard Moy is unopposed for another term as town supervisor, while three candidates seek two spots on the Town Board. Chris Caufield and Marc Major are backed by the Republican Party and William Fox is running as a Democrat.

• Town Supervisor – Richard Moy, 501
• Town Board – Chris Caufield, 479; Marc Major, 460; and William Fox, 94

Gaines – The Republicans are all unopposed including Tyler Allport for town supervisor, Susan Heard for town clerk, Charles Prentice for town justice, and James Kirby and Kenneth Rush for Town Board.

• Town Supervisor – Tyler Allport, 309
• Town Board – James Kirby, 337; Kenneth Rush, 314.
• Town Clerk – Susan Heard, 341
• Town Justice – Charles Prentice, 332

Kendall – The candidates, all running under the Republican Party line, are unopposed including Anthony Cammarata for town supervisor, Amy Richardson for town clerk, Debra Kluth and Robert Fagan for town justice, Wayne Martin and Paul Jennings for Town Board, and Warren Kruger for highway superintendent.

• Town Supervisor – Anthony Cammarata, 476
• Town Board – Wayne Martin, 472; and Paul Jennings, 444
• Town Clerk – Amy Richardson, 516
• Town Justice – Debra Kluth, 473; and Robert Fagan, 443
• Highway Superintendent – Warren Kruger, 478

Murray – The candidates are all unopposed on the ballot, including Joe Sidonio for town supervisor, Cindy Oliver for town clerk, Gary Passarell for town justice, Michael Mele and Paul Hendel for Town Board, and Dirk Lammes Jr. for highway superintendent. However, Ron Vendetti mounted a write-in campaign for town supervisor and Art Knab sought write-in support for the Town Board.

• Town Supervisor – Joe Sidonio, 454; write-ins, 157
• Town Clerk – Cindy Oliver, 553
• Town Justice – Gary Passarell, 539
• Town Board – Michael Mele, 513; Paul Hendel, 460; write-in, 49
• Highway Superintendent – Dirk Lammes Jr., 546

Ridgeway – There were races for town clerk and the Town Board. For town clerk, Hannah Hill ran under the Republican line and independent “Hannah Hill for a Better Ridgeway” against Laurie Kilburn, who was endorsed by the Conservative Party and also ran under the independent “Laurie Kilburn for the People of Ridgeway.”

Three sought two spots on the Town Board including Jeff Toussaint and Cliff Barber, who ran as Republicans against David Stalker, who was backed by the Conservative Party. John Olinger was unopposed for highway superintendent.

• Town Clerk – Hannah Hill, 695; Kilburn, 222
• Town Board – Jeff Toussaint, 729; Cliff Barber, 705; David Stalker, 213
• Highway Superintendent – John Olinger, 762

Shelby – Jeff Smith was uncontested for town supervisor and Stephen Seitz Sr. and Edward Zelazny ran unopposed for the Town Board.

• Town Supervisor – Jeff Smith, 509
• Town Board – Stephen Seitz, Sr., 474; Edward Zelazny, 481

Yates – Three sought two spots as town councilmen with Harold Suhr and Terry Chaffee Jr. running as Republicans against Paul Lauricella Jr., who was backed by the Conservative Party and also ran under the independent “Lyndonville Taxpayers First Party.” Jim Simon was unopposed for town supervisor and Donald Grabowski was uncontested for town justice.

• Town Supervisor – Jim Simon, 330
• Town Board – Terry Chaffee Jr., 286; Harold Suhr, 256; and Paul Lauricella, 253
• Town Justice – Donald Grabowski, 397

BARRE – The Barre Betterment Committee will be hosting its second annual “Trunk or Treat” this Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Barre Town Park on Route 98.

Parents are welcome to bring children in costume to the event. Residents also are encouraged to dress their vehicles up in costume, too.  There is no charge for this event.

More information is available on the Barre Betterment Committee’s Facebook page.

Press Release, Heritage Wind

BARRE – Over $54 million in new revenue will be generated for the Town of Barre, Orleans County, and local school districts under the terms of two agreements approved this month between local jurisdictions and Heritage Wind.

On October 13, the Barre Town Board voted to approve a Host Community Agreement (HCA) with Heritage Wind that will bring more than $40 million in new revenue to the community over the next 25 years. Payments will increase annually from $1.2 million in the first year of operation to $2.1 million by year 25. These annual payments are based on the installed nameplate capacity in megawatts of the turbine model, resulting in stable, guaranteed payments each year that increase over time.

The Town of Barre collected just under $1.2 million in total property taxes in 2021, meaning the Heritage Wind HCA will effectively double the town’s annual collections, providing much-needed revenue to invest in local priorities, including property tax relief.

In addition to new revenue for the Town of Barre, the project will benefit local schools and county services through a Payment-in-Lieu-of-Taxes (PILOT) agreement. On October 8, the County of Orleans Industrial Development Agency (COIDA) unanimously approved an inducement resolution to enter into a PILOT agreement. Under the agreement, Heritage Wind will pay $13.5 million to Orleans County and local school districts over the next 25 years. That revenue would be allocated as follows:

• $6.7 million to Orleans County
• $6.6 million to Albion Central School
• $200,000 to Oakfield-Alabama Central School

Annual payments for both the PILOT and HCA increase by 2% each year for the first 15 years and by 2.5% annually from years 15-25. Payment amounts are based on a nameplate installed capacity of 184.8 megawatt (MW).

Now that local governments have approved the project’s community benefit agreements, road use agreements, and decommissioning agreements, the project is only awaiting final approval from the state before construction can commence next year.

“It is great to see such a collaborative effort with the jurisdictions come to fruition. We look forward to getting this project permitted and starting construction in 2022,” said Heritage Wind Development Manager Carmen O’Keefe.

Press Release, Heritage Wind

BARRE – The Heritage Wind Community Grant Program is now accepting applications for its Fall 2021 grant cycle.

The program provided more than $9,000 during its last cycle to support local organizations working to build healthy communities, increase environmental sustainability, foster economic development, and promote education, including Community Action of Orleans and Genesee, Supportive Care of Orleans, The Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern, Medina Fire Department, Town of Barre (Powering the Park), Orleans Community Health Foundation, Orleans-Recovery Hope Begins Here, Christ Church Community Kitchen and United Way of Orleans County.

Local organizations working in the Town of Barre or the broader Orleans County community are encouraged to apply. Grants are typically awarded in $250 to $4,000 increments, with priority given to proposals that demonstrate meaningful impacts to the greatest number of area residents.

We will be accepting applications until October 29 on our website (click here).

The four focus areas for the Heritage Wind Community Grant Program are:

• Building Healthy Communities – Programs that support public health, good government, open communication, citizen resources, and/or enhance the quality of life in the community.
• Economic Development – Apex Clean Energy supports and encourages the entrepreneurial spirit. It is part of our mission to serve as a catalyst for economic opportunity and development within the communities where we operate.
• Environmental Sustainability – Programs that possess a strong link to environmental revitalization, sustainability, or education thereof, empower residents to be stewards of the environment, and/or encourage partnerships to address environmental concerns and sustainability.
• Promoting Education – Programs that support educational institutions, the advancement of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), and training programs for careers in the wind industry. This may include curriculum development, literacy, school readiness, and other initiatives that help students grow into young leaders. Vocational training institutions that help build a skilled workforce are also included and encouraged to apply.

If you have any questions about the program, please contact Brian O’Shea at brian.oshea@apexcleanenergy.com, by phone at (952) 393-2986 or Anna Mathes at anna.mathes@apexcleanenergy.com or (585) 590-2254.

Heritage Wind would pay county, 2 school districts about $400,000 annually; PILOT doesn’t include over $1.2 million to Town of Barre

BARRE – There will be a public hearing at 10 a.m. on Oct. 4 at Barre Town Hall about a proposed PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) plan from Heritage Wind, where the company will pay over $400,000 annually to Orleans County, Albion Central School and the Oakfield-Alabama school district.

The PILOT doesn’t include the Town of Barre, where 33 proposed turbines would be located. The town negotiated a separate host community agreement with Heritage Wind’s parent company, Apex Clean Energy.

That agreement gives Barre 75 percent of the local municipal revenue for the project or more than $1.2 million annually. Barre also will receive an upfront payment of $250,000 if the project is approved by the state, and the host community agreement would also provide about $75,000 annually to the Barre Fire District.

Apex proposed $9,000 per megawatt annually or $1,663,200 in total municipal revenue in year one of the project to be divvied up among the Town of Barre, Orleans County, Albion school district (where 32 turbines would be located) and Oakfield-Alabama (which would have one turbine).

Barre would receive $6,750 per megawatt or 75 percent of that total of the 184.8 megawatt project or $1,247,400.

The other taxing entities would share $2,250 per megawatt capacity through the PILOT or $415,800 in year one. That increases by 2 percent each year through year 14, and then 2.5 percent annually for years 15 to 25.

The details of the PILOT haven’t been made public yet. But the Albion Board of Education in December 2020 voted to accept the PILOT agreement with Apex.

In December the terms of the PILOT called for to receive $1,091.91 per megawatt annually or $201,600. One of the 33 turbines also is proposed to be in the Oakfield-Alabama school district, which would receive $34.09 per megawatt or $6,300 annually.

Orleans County would receive $1,125 per megawatt for $207,900 in the first year.

Heritage Wind, back in December, also agreed to $50,000 to the Albion school district for a one-time “Heritage Wind Renewables Ecology, Clean Energy, and Sustainability Scholarship and Education Support Fund.” The money is to be spent at the discretion of the district. It could be used for scholarships, science fairs, student research projects, financial support for faculty in renewable energy field, a STEM lab or “however the district deems fit.” The $50,000 is to be paid within 15 days after completion of the project.

The Orleans Economic Development Agency will be leading the Oct. 4 public hearing and administering the PILOT. The agency on Friday agreed to pay $5,750 to the Center for Governmental Research to review Apex’s Job and Economic Development Impact (JEDI) wind model and to provide an estimate of the employment, earnings and output estimate for the project.

CGR also will estimate the difference between tax revenue anticipated under the PILOT agreement and the tax revenue that would be received, were the development fully taxable. The report also is to include the value of lease payments to property owners that would host the Heritage turbines. CGR is to provide the report by Oct. 1.

Heritage is projecting 201 construction jobs paying $14.7 million for the project, another 218 job impacts through the turbine and the supply chain at $16.3 million, 90 other positions affected though “induced impacts” at $6.3 million, and five more jobs for construction-related services at $600,000. The company puts the entire construction impact for jobs at 514 workers earning $37.9 million.

Annual operation and maintenance is forecast by the company to include eight onsite jobs at $800,000, 14 other jobs impacted through “local revenue & supply chain impacts” at $1.1 million, and 10 other jobs through “induced impacts” at $800,000 for an annual reoccurring impact of 31 jobs total at $2.6 million.

The eight local jobs by Apex include two administrative/secretarial at $18.60 per hour, two technicians at $29.06 per hour, and two site management positions at $46.50 per hour, according to an Apex filing with the state.