YATES – The Town Board has formed a task force to review and amend the local law for wind energy facilities, which was passed in 2008.

The Town Board named the task force last Thursday. Town Supervisor Jim Simon said the task force will look at setbacks, noise, property value guarantees and other issues with wind turbines.

The town approved its local law for wind energy facilities in 2008, after about two years of work from the town on the local law. Simon expects the update of the local law could be complete in six weeks to two months. The town will review how Somerset has proposed to change its local law for turbines.

“We don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” he said today.

Simon set March 7 as a deadline for the task force to propose changes in the local law to the Town Board.

The updated law will be subject to review by the Orleans County Planning Board and residents in a hearing.

John Riggi, a newly elected Yates Town Board member, was part of Somerset’s committee to update its wind energy law. Riggi served in the role as president of Save Ontario Shores, a citizens group opposed to the turbine. He and Simon will both serve on the Yates task force for the turbine law.

Other members include Paul Chatfield, Town Engineer; Gary Daum, Zoning Board chairman and County Planning Board member; Keith McKinney, Zoning Board member; Russ Martino, former town supervisor who oversaw 2008 Wind Law development; and at-large resident members, Carol Neal, Cindy Hellert and Andrew Cousins.

“Let’s look at it with a fresh set of eyes,” Simon said about the local law.

Hodgson Russ LLP of Buffalo will act as legal adviser to the task force. Dan Spitzer, an attorney from Hodgson Russ, advised the town a decade ago in developing its wind turbine law and will continue as an advisor, Simon said.

Apex Clean Energy has proposed up to 71 wind turbines in Yates and Somerset, with about two-thirds of the structures, peaking at 620 feet high, expected in Somerset. The company hasn’t submitted a formal application for the project.

In November, it submitted a preliminary scoping statement. More than 300 respondents with 1,000 comments were submitted to the NY Public Service Commission. Apex had a Feb. 11 deadline to respond to the comments but sought an extension until Feb. 29. The PSC agreed to the additional time.

James Muscato, Apex attorney, told the PSC in a letter that the company will give responses that are “meaningful and robust, and will demonstrate to the parties that their comments have been heard and considered.”

A seven-member Siting Board will review the final application by Apex. That board include five agency leaders for the state, and two residents from the project area. State Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan and State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie were both to appoint a member from the local project area based on nominations from local elected officials.

Randy Atwater was previously reported to be Flanagan’s choice. But Atwater, as president of the Barker Board of Education, is an elected official, and elected representatives are now viewed as ineligible to serve on the committee.

Flanagan instead on Feb. 4 appointed Cathi Orr, a vocal critic of the project, to serve on the Siting Board. She used to live in Orangeville in Wyoming County but moved to Somerset after wind turbines were constructed in Orangeville.

“She is well-read on this issue,” Simon said. “She knows her stuff.”

Heastie didn’t name a local representative for the Siting Board. The issue has been left with Gov. Cuomo, and Simon said the governor is expected to name a resident from Yates soon.

State Assemblyman Steve Hawley and State Sen. Robert Ortt sent joint letter on Feb. 3 asking Audrey Zibelman, commissioner of the New York State Public Service Commission, to work on the appointment of a Yates resident to the board.

The two state legislators noted Somerset had a representative from that town and Yates should also have a voice in the process.

“We firmly believe that equal representation from both Counties as enumerated in Article 10 should be appointed from Orleans County,” they said in a Feb. 3 letter.

Yates and Orleans County officials have submitted the names of four people to be considered for the board: Russ Martino, Jeff Oakes, Cindy Hellert and Glenn Maid.

LYNDONVILLE – “Need to Know,” a public affairs program produced by WXXI in Rochester, aired a segment on Lyndonville’s character education program on Feb. 4.

Jason Smith, the district superintendent, is pleased with the attention for the program, We R 3C. The segment on Need to Know includes interviews with teachers and students at Lyndonville.

The core of the We R 3C curriculum promotes values, respect, kindness and compassion and recognizes the definitive responsibility of the individual to the well-being of the community and reciprocally, the community’s responsibility to the well-being of the individual.

To see the feature on Lyndonville, click here for a link to the show. Lyndonville starts at the 23:50 mark.

YATES – The president of the citizens group opposed to the wind turbine project proposed in Yates and Somerset has written Gov. Cuomo a letter, asking him to fill the seat on a Siting Board for the “Lighthouse Wind” project.

There are supposed to be two local representatives and five leaders of state agencies on the “New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment.” That board will review the proposed project that includes up to 71 turbines that could peak at 620-feet high in the two towns.

One local representative has been named to the board. Randy Atwater, president of the Barker Board of Education, was appointed by John Flanagan, majority leader of the State Senate.

Carl Heastie, speaker of the State Assembly, also could have named a local representative but he didn’t act on the matter.

Now Pamela Atwater, president of Save Ontario Shores and wife of Randy Atwater, is pressing Gov. Cuomo to fill the other local seat.

“The Article 10 Board, even with two local appointees, is already heavily skewed against local government and community Home Rule,” Atwater wrote to Cuomo. “To enter the next phase of the siting process with one local representative position unfilled would be unfair, a further insult to the concept of Home Rule and would send a signal that the entire Article 10 process is preconfigured to ignore legitimate local and regional concerns.”

The board includes five leaders of state agencies – chairman of the Department of Public Service, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, commissioner of the Department of Health, chairman of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and the commissioner of Economic Development.

The loss of “home rule” for the project has been denounced by many local municipal boards and elected officials, including the town boards in Yates and Somerset; the Erie, Niagara and Orleans county legislatures; and Congressman Chris Collins, State Sen. Robert Ortt and State Assemblyman Steve Hawley.

Surveys in Yates and Somerset have also showed strong opposition by residents to the project.

Apex Clean Energy has submitted a preliminary scoping statement and has until Feb. 11 to respond to “several hundred” comments on the PSS. After those responses, Apex officials said they look forward to more formal conversations about the project with the community and state agencies, said Taylor Quarles, development manager for Apex’s proposed Lighthouse Wind project.

LYNDONVILLE – The Lyndonville School District and the We R 3C character education program will be featured on WXXI television at 8 p.m. on Thursday.

The “Need to Know” program, hosted by Helene Biandudi Hofer, will present We R 3C’s approach to character education. Teachers and students from the Lyndonville were interviewed in November. The piece will include segments of a We R 3C lesson.

We R 3C, Inc. presents a holistic approach to character education and development as it relates to “pro-social behavior” and bullying. The foundation of organization’s work mirrors Jean Piaget’s stages of Cognitive Development and Lawrence Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development.

Specifically, the focus is on the movement from the Egocentric Stage, whereby individuals place a higher value on their own wants and needs then they do on the wants and needs of others, to the Concrete Operational Development Stage, which includes the elimination of egocentrism and allows an individual to understand another person’s perspective whether they are in agreement or not.

The core of the We R 3C curriculum promotes values, respect, kindness and compassion and recognizes the definitive responsibility of the individual to the well-being of the community and reciprocally, the community’s responsibility to the well-being of the individual.

“We R 3C is a groundbreaking way to help our students develop good habits and reinforce the strong character traits that the Lyndonville community is known for,” said Lyndonville Superintendent Jason Smith.

For more information about We R 3C, click here. For more on WXXI, click here.

Senate leader picks Randy Atwater, president of Barker Central School, for board reviewing Lighthouse Wind

YATES – One of the two local residents who will serve on siting board for the wind turbine project in Yates and Somerset has been named.

Randy Atwater, president of the Barker Board of Education, was appointed by John Flanagan, majority leader of the State Senate.

However, the other local resident was to be named by Carl Heastie, speaker of the State Assembly. But Heastie didn’t act on the matter, an “abdication of his duties,” said State Sen. Robert Ortt.

It will now fall on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to pick someone for the New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment. That board will review the proposed Lighthouse Wind project, which includes up to 71 wind turbines in Yates and Somerset.

“The speaker of the Assembly chose not to do his job,” Ortt said today following a Legislative Luncheon at Tillman’s Village Inn.

Flanagan was charged with picking one of the members, based on four submitted names from Ortt. The local state senator passed along four names of people nominated by Niagara County officials and Somerset Town Supervisor Dan Englert.

Besides Atwater, Cathie Orr, Thomas Staples and Robert Damon were nominated. Orr has been one of the proposed wind project’s loudest critics.

The Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment includes five state officials and two people from the local project area. State Assemblyman Steve Hawley passed along to Heastie four names of people from Yates who were submitted by Orleans County Legislature Chairman David Callard, and John Belson, the Yates town supervisor until Jan. 1.

The four nominated from Yates include Russell Martino, Cynthia Hellert, Glenn Maid and Jeffrey Oakes.

Hawley said he called Heastie’s office several times to press him to name one of the board’s members, but Heastie didn’t act before the deadline.

Hawley and Ortt have been critical of the loss of “home rule” on the project, with the final decision on land use made by the state instead of a local board. As part of a new Article 10 process, the decision for siting large-scale energy projects in New York rests with the Siting Board.

The five state representatives include the chairman of the Department of Public Service, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, commissioner of the Department of Health, chairman of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and the commissioner of Economic Development.

“I’m against this process,” Ortt said today.

The Siting Board wouldn’t be officially convened until Apex Clean Energy submits a final application for the project in Yates and Somerset. Company officials say they are working to submit that application this summer.

Judges say Lighthouse Wind PSS not deficient

Photos by Tom Rivers – Three administrative law judges met at the Barker Fire Hall today to decide some issues with the proposed Lighthouse Wind project. The judges include, from left: David R. Van Ort and Sean Mullany of the Department of Public Service, and Richard A. Sherman from the Department of Environmental Conservation.

BARKER Three judges decided today that Apex Clean Energy wasn’t deficient in its preliminary scoping statement filed Nov. 23 and subject to hundreds of comments.

Somerset, Yates and Save Ontario Shores leaders have been among the critics of the PSS from Apex, saying the company didn’t provide specifics on the size of wind turbines, the exact locations and the turbine manufacturer.

The judges said the PSS wasn’t intended to have “precise” information, but instead to begin the public engagement process. The sizes, locations and other issues can be addressed if the application moves forward, the judges said.

Dan Spitzer, an attorney for the Town of Yates, said the town and residents are hampered in offering a meaningful critique and assessment of the PSS with so many unanswered questions.

Apex wants to build up to 71 wind turbines in Somerset and Yates that could be up to 620 feet high.

Yates and Somerset are among the parties that asked the PSS start over with Apex being forced to provide more details. But the judges denied that request today during a meeting in the Barker Fire Hall. The judges include David R. Van Ort and Sean Mullany of the Department of Public Service, and Richard A. Sherman from the Department of Environmental Conservation.

James Muscato, attorney for Apex Clean Energy, said the company is working to provide “robust” answers to questions about the project.

The trio of judges also made a decision on how to divvy up $70,350 in intervenor funds. That is money provided by Apex for municipalities and citizens groups to review the PSS. State law requires the company to provide $350 in funds for every proposed megawatt. Apex is proposing a 201-megawatt project.

The judges asked attorneys for Somerset, Yates and Save Ontario Shores to explain their estimates for expenses. The three entities identified about $140,000 in expenses, however there was only $70,350 from Apex for the review.

The judges met behind closed doors for about 20 minutes to determine how to split up the funds.

“There is just not enough money to go around, so obviously we’re going to have to make adjustments,” said David Van Ort, one of the judges.

Somerset will get the most: $40,350, followed by $20,500 for Yates, and $9,500 for Save Ontario Shores.

Van Ort told the three groups to work together to get the “biggest bang for the buck.” He also said attorneys could reduce some of their costs for postage and printing by using electronic mail.

Somerset officials identified up to $95,550 for reviewing the initial Preliminary Scoping Statement. That includes the expense of attorneys, engineers, an ornithologist to study the impact on wildlife, an expert on raptor migration to study the impact on wildlife, a real estate valuation advisor to study the potential impact on real estate values, and an audiologist to study the potential adverse health effects caused by the proposed project.

Attorneys and representatives for Yates, Somerset and Save Ontario Shores meet in the Barker Fire Hall after today’s meeting. Dan Spitzer, an attorney for Yates, is in center facing camera.

Yates identified $26,381.25 in costs for legal and engineering services, and Save Ontario Shores sought $19,430 to focus on acoustics, electrical issues, viable alternatives, water resources, biodiversity, and wildlife impacts. SOS has hired environmental attorney Gary Abraham.

Even though the judges approved the intervenor funding today, Van Ort said the two towns and SOS will need to submit bills with an explanation of the services provided. Each disbursement will be subject to review and approval by the judges.

Apex has until Feb. 11 to respond to “several hundred” comments on the PSS. After those responses, Apex officials said they look forward to more formal conversations about the project with the community and state agencies, said Taylor Quarles, development manager for Lighthouse Wind.

Jim Muscato, an attorney for Apex, told the judges and about 100 people at today’s meeting that the company is working to address the comments on the PSS.

“We want to provide full and robust and meaningful responses,” he said.

BARKER – Three administrative law judges will meet with Apex Clean Energy and stakeholders in the Lighthouse Wind project on Thursday to discuss many issues with the proposed project.

The pre-application conference begins at 3 p.m. and is expected to take about two hours. The conference will be at the Barker Volunteer Fire Department Hall, 1660 Quaker Rd.

Administrative Law Judges David R. Van Ort and Sean Mullany, of the Department of Public Service, and Richard A. Sherman, of the Department of Environmental Conservation, will lead the session, identifying issues that need additional study by Apex.

The company is applying to the Public Service Commission to build up to 71 wind turbines that could peak at 620 feet high. The proposed project site is along approximately 12 miles of Lake Ontario shoreline and extends approximately 3 to 4 miles south of Lake Ontario.

The turbine locations are not final. The spots for the towers will be influenced by a number of factors, including environmental studies, wildlife studies, electrical studies, land leasing, cultural assessments, and public input, according to a notice from the PSC.

Apex on Nov. 23 filed a Preliminary Scoping Statement to determine the nature and scope of the studies Apex needs to undertake to develop the information that must be included Apex’s formal application for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need.

The pre-application conference is expected to give Apex direction on what issues it needs to address for the next phase of the application. Taylor Quarles, development manager for Lighthouse Wind, said the company expects to submit the next application this summer, and then the community and stakeholders will have a year to submit comments.

Another issue to go before the judges on Thursday will be how to divvy up $70,350 in intervenor funds. Apex by law needed to provide $350 for every proposed megawatt for local municipalities and citizens’ groups to hire experts to help review the project.

“Lighthouse Wind” is a 201-megawatt proposal. The intervenor funds are supposed to go 50 percent to municipalities and 50 percent to citizens’ groups. The project covers two towns in two different counties.

Yates officials have requested a 75-25 split with the two towns getting most of the funds to pay for attorneys and engineers to review the Preliminary Scoping Statement.

If the judges approve the Yates request, that would mean there is $52,762.50 for the two towns. Yates has asked that money then be split in half with Somerset and Yates each receiving $26,381.25. That would leave 25 percent of the intervenor funds, or $17,587.50, for other local parties or citizen’s groups to participate in hiring experts for the review.

Somerset offciials, in a letter to the PSC, identified up to $95,550 just for Somerset in reveiwing the initial Preliminary Scoping Statement. That includes the expense of attorneys, engineers, an ornithologist to study the impact on wildlife, an expert on raptor migration to study the impact on wildlife, a real estate valuation advisor to study the potential impact on real estate values, and an audiologist to study the potential adverse health effects caused by the proposed project.

Yates, in its request for funds, identified $26,381.25 in costs for legal and engineering services.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Jim Simon, third from right, leads the Yates Town Board meeting last Thursday when the board made numerous appointments and set salaries for town employees.

YATES – The new town supervisor has declined pay for leading the town government in 2016.

Jim Simon was elected in November in a write-in campaign over incumbent John Belson. Simon was backed by the Save Ontario Shores citizens’ group that opposes the large-scale wind energy project in Yates and Somerset.

Belson was paid $8,000 in the role as town supervisor in 2015. Simon, who works as dean of the GCC campus centers in Albion and Medina, chose to work for free for the town. The budget kept the salary at $8,000 for 2016. Simon also declined the $1,500 for budget management.

Simon said the $9,500 combined for the town supervisor will go into the general fund balance.

That salary was part of a series of appointments approved during the Town Board’s organizational meeting last Thursday.

The meeting included two new Town Board members with Simon as town supervisor and John Riggi as councilman. Michelle Harling also is the new town clerk, replacing Brenda Donald, who retired on Dec. 31.

Some of the appointments include:

Webster, Schubel & Meier of Medina for legal services at $7,500 for the year; Dan Wolfe as fire and building code officer, and also as zoning enforcement officer; Patricia Laszewski as assessor; Lynne Johnson as town bookkeeper and water bookkeeper;

Dawn Metty as Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board clerk; Gary Daum as ZBA chairman; Keith McKinney as ZBA member; Richard Kurz, Ed Urbanik and Ralph Smith as Planning Board members; Don Lamay as Planning Board chairman;

Roger Wolfe as water district superintendent and cemetery superintendent; Wes Bradley as youth agency representative; Michelle Harling as registrar of vital statistics; Dawn Metty as deputy registrar; John Donald as dog control officer;

John Riggi as deputy town supervisor; Dawn Metty as town historian ad deputy town clerk; David Hydock as deputy highway superintendent; Susanne Sanderson as court clerk; Eric Harling as court baliff;

M & T Bank and the Bank of Castile as official depositories for the town;

The Daily News of Batavia as official newspaper to publish the town’s legal notices.

The Town Board also set the following as salaries and wages for 2016:

Highway superintendent at $62,922; Town clerk, $39,900; Supervisor bookkepper at $14,500; Water superintendent at $13,325; Town justice at $8,500 for the year; Cemetery superintendent, $5,200; Town Board members, four at $3,259.75 each; Water bookkeeper at $3,100; Deputy highway superintendent at $2,500; Historian, $600; and Town supervisor at $0.

The hourly rates include: Highway motor equipment operator, $23.40; Code enforcement and zoning officer, $21.53; Court clerk, $14.69; and deputy clerk, $11.52.