HomeMy WebLinkAboutI - 08 Solar Correspondence - FrancherRECEIVED JUN 2 2 1024'r
115 Chaumont Drive
Syracuse, NY 13209
June 8, 2022
Tom Williams
Cortlandville Supervisor
The Raymond G. Thorpe Municipal Building
3577 Terrace Road
Cortland, NY 13045
Dear Supervisor Williams:
Forthree and a half decades, my father and uncles were proud dairy farmers here in Cortland County, before
selling the farm in 2016. They followed in their father's footsteps, my late grandfather William MacLean Sr. I
write this letter on the brink of motherhood, to express my support of the Homer Solar Energy Center. This
project will bring much needed revenue, jobs, and support for agriculture across Cortland County, including
in the towns of Homer, Cortlandville and Solon.
The Homer Solar Energy Center will help eliminate real estate and school tax burdens. It will take a lot of
pressure off struggling farmers and allow beef cattle to be raised on land not part of the project. And as
someone with a degree in Environmental Science, I understand and appreciate the need for renewables.
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 should all support. I urge you to communicate Cortlandville's backing 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 wraps, there will be three full-time
positions during the operational life of the Homer Solar Energy Center.
Through land agreements, the Homer Solar Energy Center will support the agricultural economy by providing
landowners and farmers including my family 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 my unborn twins, future grandchildren and great
grandchildren as well as other families in the area for generations to come. I understand the need to reduce
greenhouse gases and know this project is good for the planet. Please, I urge you t to keep the momentum
of this project alive. I am asking for your support of the Homer Solar project.
Thank you,
Kaitlin Francher