HomeMy WebLinkAboutTown Board Minutes 2013 05 22.pdf
Town of Enfield
Special Working Meeting Minutes for Black Oak Wind Farm Project
Enfield Community Building
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
6:30 p.m.
Present: Town Supervisor Ann Rider, Town Councilperson Chris Hern, Town Councilperson Vera
Howe-Strait, Town Clerk Alice Linton. Absent: Town Councilperson Mike Carpenter, Town
Councilperson Debbie Teeter.
Town Supervisor Rider opened the meeting at 6:35 p.m. by leading the assemblage in the Pledge of
Allegiance to the Flag.
Supervisor Rider explained the purpose of this working meeting was to inform and elicit comments from
the town board. No public comment period was scheduled for this meeting. She introduced Frank Pavia of
Harris Beach, the law firm retained by the Town of Enfield for the Black Oak Wind Farm Project; Mark
Tayrien of LaBella Associates, the engineering firm retained by the Town of Enfield for the Black Oak
Wind Farm Project; and Marguerite Wells, project manager of the Black Oak Wind Farm Project.
Frank Pavia explained the project originally was planned for 13 wind turbines, but has now been reduced
to 7. The proposed project has gravel access roads and will include a substation and temporary staging
area on approximately 1,000 acres of privately leased lands. The Enfield Town Board has been declared
lead agency under New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). A final scoping
document was adopted by the town board. The proposed Draft Environmental Statement (DEIS) has been
prepared by the project sponsor and presented to Harris Beach, LaBella, and Enfield town board
members. If the DEIS can be deemed complete at the June 12, 2013 town board meeting, the time can
begin for public comments, including a public hearing. The document will be sent to about a dozen
interested and involved agencies so they can comment. The DEIS will be available on a website
maintained by the project sponsor and at the Enfield Town Hall. Once the Final Environmental Impact
Statement is drafted, it will be presented to the town board.
Mark Tayrien stated if the town board accepts the DEIS as complete, they aren't vouching for everything
in it. The DEIS is the project sponsor's document. The town board needs to determine if the DEIS
complies with the scoping document. Mr. Tayrien went over the comments LaBella had regarding the
document.
Marguerite Wells responded to the comments made by LaBella. It was agreed that about 40 letters would
be sent to homeowners in the area stating their property has been identified as being within a certain area
and including their tax map number in the letter so they can reference their property.
If town board members have any revisions to the DEIS, they should forward them to the town clerk by
May 31 and they will be forwarded to Marguerite Wells. Once revisions have been made by Black Oak
Wind Farm, the revisions will be sent to Harris Beach, LaBella and the Town of Enfield by June 7 so
there will be time to review same before the June 12, 2013 town board meeting.
Adjournment: Supervisor Rider moved, with a second by Councilperson Howe-Strait, to adjourn at 8:18
p.m. Carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Alice Linton, Enfield Town Clerk