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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-10-31 Town Board Minutes OCTOBER 31, 2022 4:00 P.M. SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING The Special Meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Cortlandville was held at the Peter Alteri Jr. Municipal Garage, 3587 Terrace Road, Cortland, New York with Supervisor Williams presiding. Members present: Supervisor, Thomas A. Williams Councilman, Jay E. Cobb Councilman, David J. Donlick Councilman, Jeffrey D. Guido Councilman, Gregory K. Leach Town Clerk, Kristin E. Rocco-Petrella Others present were: Deputy Town Clerk, Abigail Albro; Tom McCall; Sheila Cohen; Town residents: Michael Barylski; Barbara Leach; and News Reporter, Kevin Conlon from the Cortland Standard. Others joining via Zoom video/telephone conference: News Reporter, Eddie Velasquez from the Cortland Voice. Supervisor Williams called the Special Meeting to order, which was scheduled to discuss a change order for the Gutchess Lumber Sports Complex and correspondence received from the Cortland County IDA regarding payment in-lieu-of-tax (PILOT) agreements for solar projects in Cortland County. Supervisor Williams asked Attorney DelVecchio to give a summary regarding PILOT agreements as it relates to solar projects. Attorney DelVecchio explained that about two years ago the Town Board adopted a resolution in line with the County Legislature’s previous resolution regarding PILOT agreements for solar projects. The policy has been that of the Town and continued even when the Town adopted its current solar laws. The IDA adopted a resolution to “keep their hands out of the PILOT issues and defer to the Town”. The IDA recently rescinded the resolution. It was Attorney DelVecchio’s understanding that the IDA has not received an application from anybody, including EDF Renewables. Supervisor Williams stated that the Board would typically discuss the matter in executive session, however he knew that there were a few people in attendance who may want to speak to it. The Board was presented with a letter from Sheila Cohen concerning PILOT and solar. Supervisor Williams asked Ms. Cohen if the letter was presented to the County Legislature and if it was read into the record, to which she answered yes. Town resident, Michael Barylski stated that what has happened at the County level is that it has gone through the Ag & Planning Committee, which has seven members. Five members voted to move the “launching” forward to rescind the minimum $7,000 PILOT and to take a cue from the Town of Cortlandville and create a preemption clause and to take out specific criteria with regards to language of the PILOT and the percentages. He stated that this has been a learning experience over the years. Not all municipalities responded within the 60-day time frame that is required in order to have a tax jurisdiction. He explained that the first solar projects to come forward were Gutchess Lumber projects (Farm East, LLC), which are not taxed at the County level at all. Mr. Barylski stated it was his understanding that Gutchess came forward out of the goodness of their heart and offered the Town compensation. Mr. Barylski stated that that issue can never happen again at the County level due to the pre-emption clause. He stated there is a clause in the existing law that requires a 15-year PILOT. Deleting that clause would allow the parties to enter into any length of PILOT even beyond 15 years. He stated that the 1.5% escalator clause in the current law would be struck and could be either lower or higher. The IDA would have more latitude and would have the responsibility to undergo the negotiations for PILOT agreements. Supervisor Williams thanked Mr. Barylski for his comments. Supervisor Williams asked the Town Clerk to read the letter from Sheila Cohen aloud for the record. Sheila Cohen/10-27-2022/Meeting of Cortland County Legislature I support transferring responsibility for determining PILOT (Payment In Lieu of Taxes) agreements to the County IDA – especially in the case of Solar Development. I suggest that the IDA is much better positioned to balance the various sometimes complex business and community dimensions particularly of Solar development, than the legislature. OCTOBER 31, 2022 SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 2 Climate change is a serious threat and continues to grow as a threat because of over -reliance on fossil fuels and certain forms of farming. We need do to everything feasible to promote the installation of sustainable forms of energy such as solar. That means attracting companies that can help us achieve climate goals through installation of solar farms. Moreover, the use of some, possibly less than prime, land for solar development may well be of considerable value to some landowners. There are some very weak reasons presented for keeping solar projects out of the county. One prominent argument is that solar farms limit foods production. However, there are a variety of ways of producing food that use less land and water for food production, e.g. aquaponic and hydroponic farming. There are also other innovative ways of farming that are compatible with solar farms, e.g. agrivoltaic systems. While there are downsides to any form of energy, we need to weigh all considerations with the urgent need to mitigate the effects of climate change by the use of much more renewable energy. In light of climate change, as witnessed, for example, by recent devasting weather events, the county should be doing its part to mitigate its effects, particularly by promoting the installation of sustainable forms of energy as quickly as possible. Attempts to prevent solar farms from being installed make no sense. Attracting companies that can lead to energy efficiency makes a great deal of sense. We should leave it to the IDA to make that possible. Supervisor Williams asked for a motion to go into Executive Session to discuss three items, one being the agreement with the IDA, a contract for a change order and another purchase contract for the Gutchess Lumber Sports Complex. News Reporter, Kevin Conlon from the Cortland Standard questioned the ability of the request to go into Executive Session, citing the Opens Meeting Law and collective bargaining agreements being the only agreements allowed to be discussed. Attorney DelVecchio responded that it would be to discuss a proposed contract and that he would not debate the matter. Supervisor Williams requested a motion for the Board to go into Executive Session. Councilman Leach made a motion, seconded by Councilman Cobb to convene to Executive Session to discuss contracts. All voting aye, the motion was carried. Town resident, Mike Barylski requested permission to address the Board as they allowed Ms. Cohen’s letter to be read into the record. He stated that he has a lot o f knowledge on the PILOT matter and wanted to speak to the Board prior to them going into Executive Session. Supervisor Williams permitted Mr. Barylski five minutes to speak prior to going into the Executive Session. Mr. Barylski commented that he lives in the Town of Cortlandville and disclosed that he has a signed lease with a solar company. He stated that it could be said that he has a vested interest, however he mentioned that his lifelong career was with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and that he considers himself to be an environmentalist first. Mr. Barylski stated that when the Town instituted a $7,000 PILOT with the IDA that it was done at a time that made sense. At the time there were projects that were coming before the Board that were not receiving the type of attention that they deserved. Fast-forward to today, he stated the Town has had “the benefit of a five-member solar committee that has drafted what I can tell you is probably one of the best town solar laws in the state.” As part of the committee, he stated that the group spent hundreds of hours; he spent several hundred hours on the law himself researching issues. He stated that the Town now has a very good solar law that will address issues such as wildlife corridors, forest conversions, ag lands, wetlands, and has the strongest visual assessment. He mentioned that former County Planning Director, Trisha Jessett went to a county- wide training and passed around copies of the Town’s solar law which got rave reviews. Mr. Barylski stated that it has been several years since the $7,000 PILOT was instituted. To his knowledge, and according to information from Cortland County IDA/BDC Director, Garry VanGorder, there have been zero applications in the County. He stated that per Mr. VanGorder, “when you look at the data for what surrounding counties are negotiating for PILOTS, they are basically negotiating PILOTS in the $3,000 to $4,500 range”. He asked the Board that while they are discussing the PILOT, there is a difference in the EDF commercial project because there is a split between three municipalities: 40% Homer, 47% Cortlandville, and 13% Solon. The distribution of PILOT money is such that out of every dollar the Town gets 3.76 cents. On a $1,000 PILOT the Town is generating $37.60. If it were a community solar project the number would be doubled. Due to the way PILOTS are split, school district receives about 50%, the County receives about 40% and the rest is split between the Town and the fire department. Mr. Barylski suggested that while the Board thinks about maximizing revenues for the Town that they OCTOBER 31, 2022 SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 3 don’t think in terms of absolute dollars. He stated, “yes, the Town does deserve a good cut, but the good cut comes from having a Host Community Agreement” (HCA), because every dollar in a HCA goes directly to the Town. He stated that a $4,000 PILOT with a $1,000 HCA, would provide approximately $300 to the Town from the PILOT but that the Town would receive the entire $1,000 from the HCA. Mr. Barylski urged the Board to think about the planet, in terms of where we are and how much we need solar and urged the Board to ensure the Town has a HCA. He passed out information to the Board and stated that a lot of what has been motivating the Town to go along with the decision to enter into an agreement with the Towns of Solon and Homer, is that there should be some sort of comradery. He stated that when we defer to the Town of Solon, “we’ve got the tail wagging the dog.” The solar law in Cortlandville is written to properly address the issues related to solar development, while the law in Solon “would have to be characterized as anti-solar”. He stated that the Town of Solon is trying to prohibit solar from occurring in Solon and commented on the restrictive nature of the Town of Solon’s law. In closing, Mr. Barylski stated that this is an opportunity and that we need to create an environment within which solar can thrive. He added that all economic development used to be negotiated by the IDA and asked the Board to consider redelegating the responsibility back to them. Supervisor Williams deferred back to the motion, second and vote already made to go into Executive Session to discuss contracts. The meeting was recessed at 4:21 p.m. Councilman Cobb made a motion, seconded by Councilman Leach, to adjourn the Executive Session and reconvene the Regular Meeting. All voting aye the motion was carried. The Executive Session was adjourned at 4:51 p.m. Supervisor Williams requested the Board take action regarding a change order for Gutchess Lumber Sports Complex Phase 2. He explained that the turf for the infield was the wrong color and did not match the original two fields. It was important to the Town that the new construction matched the original fields as much as possible. Through various negotiations the proper color would be supplied. It was difficult to determine if there was absolute fault, and if there was, who was at fault. The Town, turf supplier and the Town’s engineering firm all came together and agreed to split the costs. The turf company significantly reduced its fee by removing labor costs, as the total cost to replace the turf started at approximately $58,000. The Town’s engineering firm, CHA, will provide the Town with a reduction or credit for its professional engineering fees. RESOLUTION #304 AUTHORIZE CHANGE ORDER NO. 1 SUBMITTED BY FIELD TURF USA, INC. FOR THE GUTCHESS LUMBER SPORTS COMPLEX PHASE 2 Motion by Councilman Cobb Seconded by Councilman Donlick VOTES: AYE – Williams, Cobb, Donlick, Guido, Leach NAY – 0 ADOPTED BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board does hereby authorize and direct the Supervisor to execute Change Order No. 1 submitted by Field Turf USA, Inc., dated October 27, 2022, for the Gutchess Lumber Sports Complex Phase 2, to return the infield turf and supply new rust color turf for the infield, for the cost of $36,856.90, increasing the total contract cost to $874,425.31. Supervisor Williams added that when the Town awarded the prime contract for Phase 2 of the GLSC the Board did not award some of the alternate bids due to the cost. One of the alternate bids was for removable/portable mounds. He explained that the removable mounds would allow for little league, softball and baseball to be played on the new ball fields. Recreation Director McNerney sought quotes to purchase the removable mounds and suggested the Board award the bid to the lowest vendor, The Perfect Mound, which was also the preferred vendor. The cost of the mounds was $30,988.71 (plus $3,500.00 shipping and handling). Supervisor Williams mentioned that the Town saved approximately $50,000.00 by not including the purchase of the mounds in the prime contract. OCTOBER 31, 2022 SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 4 RESOLUTION #305 AUTHORIZE PURCHASE OF TWO (2) PORTABLE ADULT HS/NCAA MOUNDS FROM THE PERFECT MOUND FOR THE GUTCHESS LUMBER SPORTS COMPLEX PHASE 2 FOR THE TOTAL COST OF $34,488.71 Motion by Councilman Guido Seconded by Councilman Donlick VOTES: AYE – Williams, Cobb, Donlick, Guido, Leach NAY – 0 ADOPTED BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board does hereby authorize and the purchase of tow (2) portable adult mounds from The Perfect Mound, 1620 Headland Dr., Fenton, MO 63026, for the Gutchess Lumber Sports Complex Phase 2, for the cost of $30,988.72 plus $3,500.00 freight, for the total cost of $34,488.71 (Purchase Order No. 0205). Lastly, Supervisor Williams apprised those in attendance that regarding the Town’s PILOT for solar projects, the Board does not have enough information to make a decision. He stated that they know what was proposed two years ago but do not know what the IDA is proposing now. He stated that the conversation was tabled until the Board receives more information from the IDA or others. No further comments or discussion was heard. Supervisor Williams adjourned the special meeting at 4:59 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kristin E. Rocco-Petrella, RMC Town Clerk Town of Cortlandville *Note: The draft version of this meeting was submitted to the Town Board for their review on November 11, 2022. The final version of this meeting was approved as written at the Town Board meeting of .