Solar Farm Construction On Town Board’s Agenda
Submitted by Town Supervisor Dave Flemming
The Nassau Town Board met on Thursday evening, September 10 for its regular monthly meeting. The Board continues to meet on a hybrid model with some members of the Board present and others joining via conference call. All meetings are also recorded and webcast live on the Town’s Facebook page.
The Board began the meeting by reviewing and ratifying August expenditures of $504,836.79. The majority of the payments, $355,250.58, represented summer paving projects and work on the replacement of the Murdock Road Bridge project.
The Murdock Road Bridge is being rebuilt at a cost of $1.1 million with 95% of the funds coming from a federal grant secured by the Highway Superintendent Fred McCagg. The project is currently on schedule for fall completion.
The majority of the regular meeting focused on the final review of the Town Board’s draft Request for Proposals (RFP) for the construction of a solar farm on Town-owned property on US Route 20. The project site is between the Village of East Nassau and the Village of Nassau. Following several amendments, the Board unanimously granted final approval of the RFP which is to be released on or about September 17.
The project outlined would be a solar farm of up to twenty (20) acres that will require screening, fencing and appropriate setbacks from remote neighboring parcels. The proximity of a three-phase power line, necessary to handle the electrical generation load, was a major factor in the proposed siting of the solar project.
It was reported that the goal of this project is to increase revenue to the Town while also potentially lowering electric rates for the community and town operations. A recent solar power conversion at the Nassau Highway Department has led to the first billing statement listing $0 due.
The Board also authorized destruction of outdated town records as certified by the Town Clerk’s Office as in compliance with state record retention schedules. It additionally set budget meeting dates for the proposed 2021 spending plan. October 1 at 6:30 pm will be the formal budget presentation meeting. The first budget workshop will be on October at 6 pm preceding the regular October meeting of the Town Board.
The Board discussed recent construction projects on nonconforming lots in the Burden Lake area of the town. The Board has received numerous complaints about the scale of the projects and, as a result, is considering a moratorium on variances for nonconforming lots so that a review of construction standards might be considered.
Discussion during the meeting also focused on complaints relating to two of the three campgrounds in the Town that have led to nuisance complaints filed with the Supervisor’s Office and Code Enforcement. The Board announced a review of the permitting requirements for these entities and will continue to discuss appropriate responses to these issues with the Building Department/Code Enforcement.
The Town’s attorney also reported on pending actions against several properties where the owners had failed to clean up junk and debris despite nearly two years of requests from Code Enforcement. Failure to remedy these issues has led to legal action by the Town which is currently pending in State Supreme Court.