HomeMy WebLinkAboutI - 08a Homer Solar Energy Center Correspondence (Soshinsky)RECEIVED MAY 3 1 2022
5455 Dog Hollow Road
Truxton, NY 13158
May 25, 2022
Tom Williams
Cortlandville Supervisor
The Raymond G. Thorpe Municipal Building
3577 Terrace Road
Cortland, NY 13045
Dear Supervisor Williams:
I write this letter as a proud member of this community. And I want to express my support of the Homer
Solar Energy Center. We desperately need growth in our community. This project will bring much needed
revenue, jobs, and support for agriculture across Cortland County, including in the towns of Homer,
Cortlandville and Solon. My father, John, fondly refers to his dairy farming land as "God's Acres."
I stand in support of a financial offer from EDF Renewables for a PILOT and host community agreement that
will deliver tremendous benefits directly to Cortlandville-- benefits that are greater than our town would see
under full taxation. I know you agree this would be a step in the right direction for Cortlandville and is
something we can all get behind. I urge you to express the town's support of the proposal to the Cortland
County IDA Board and allow this project to move forward.
We see many benefits this project will bring including nearly $10 million in direct payments to the Towns of
Homer, Cortlandville, and Solon and associated school districts in the first 20 years of operation. Homer Solar
will also create up to 150 union construction jobs. After construction is completed, there will be three full-
time positions during the operational life of Homer Solar.
I've been a member of this community for over 35 years and with the outrageous inflation that has occurred,
as well as it continuously rising with no end in sight, we must focus on independent energy and get the solar
panels put in place immediately! It will not only benefit our hard-working landowners but will also benefit the
hard-working members of our communities.
Through land agreements, the Homer Solar Energy Center will support the agricultural economy by providing
me, landowners, and farmers like me, with a stable source of income. Homer Solar presents a timely
opportunity for Cortland County famers to keep land in their families as economic pressures drive many
farms out of business. Solar is commensurate land use that provides greater economic output than the land
currently provides. And when the leases expire, the land will return to its original state.
The Homer Solar Energy Center isn't only about us, but our children and families for generations to come. I
love this town and community. I hope we can count on your support for this project moving forward. I urge
you to support the Homer Solar project.
Thank you,
Betsy Sosh!nsky