Planning Board backs Albion business expansion, solar project in Kendall, new storage tank for Helena

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 July 2021 at 9:31 am

ALBION – The Orleans County Planning Board on Thursday evening voted in support of an Albion business expansion, a 5-megawatt solar project in Kendall, a new tank for Helena Agri-Enterprises, and two new ponds in Ridgeway.

• RS Automation expansion – In Albion, the County Planning Board recommended Albion officials approve the site plan for a 9,000-square-foot addition to RS Automation at 4015 Oak Orchard Rd. Rick Stacey, owner of the manufacturing company, said RS is growing at its Route 98 facility.

“We definitely need the space,” he told Planning Board members.

• Kendall solar project – In Kendall, the board recommended approval for a site plan and special use permit for a solar project at 1771 West Kendall Rd., which is south of the intersection of West Kendall and Carr roads.

DG New York CS LLC from Juno Beach, Fla., is developer of the project on land owned by Thomas Munzert. DG would use 34 acres of the site, with the solar panels on a single-axis tracking system. That will allow them to slowly rotate and follow the sun during the daylight.

The project was reviewed by the board in January, but it was up for review again when there was a change in the location of the access road and some of the panels.

There will be a 7-foot-high perimeter fence, and there will be 98 trees planted, spaced every 12 feet. Those trees include 25 Black Hills Spruce, 39 Norway Spruce, and 24 Scotch Pine.

The construction project will take 4 ½ months, company officials told the Planning Board.

• New storage tank for Helena Agri-Enterprises – The board recommended Ridgeway officials approve the site plan for a 73-foot diameter by 32-foot high tank storage for chemical bulk storage at 3956 Allis Rd.

Helena wants to add the storage tank for liquid fertilizer called urea ammonium. The non-flammable chemical is produced by combining urea, nitric acid and ammonia.

The product is in demand for farmers, especially in the spring planting season and also for “side dressing,” applying fertilizer between the rows of growing crops.

Helena will have a “double tank” or a tank within a tank to store the product, said John Ivison, branch manager of Helena’s location in Ridgeway.

• Two ponds in Ridgeway – The Planning Board recommended Ridgeway approve the site plans and issue permits for two ponds that would both be less than an acre in size.

Kirk Nice is proposing to construct a 40,000-square-foot pond to support farm irrigation at 3025 Knowlesville Rd.

Gregory Heitzenrater is proposing a 10,000-square-foot pond for recreational purposes at 2901 County Line Rd.