Transcript :
Original letter can be found at the end of this post
Dear Mr. Chandler:
Our office is general counsel to the Lyme Central School District. Please accept this
letter as the
district comment on the preliminary scoping statement submitted by BP for the
Cape Vincent wind farm project.
Section 2.27 on pages 171 through 177 of the preliminary
scoping statement discusses the potential socio-economic effects of the
proposed wind farm. Page 172 of the PSS provides, in
relevant part, “local spending will result in the increased
tax revenue for the towns of Cape
Vincent and Lyme, the project will provide revenues to the
local communities through property taxes or through payments in lieu of taxes
(PILOT) arrangements, increased municipal revenues
will benefit the school district emergency services and
essential infrastructure. “
Please note the Lyme Central School District Board of Education
has passed a resolution opting out of New York RPTL section 487. Consequently,
should BP move forward with the
company in seeking a PILOT agreement pursuant to RPTL
section 412 – A, the Jefferson County
Industrial Development Agency policy requires a consent of
each of the affected taxing jurisdictions
including the Lyme Central School District.
To date, the Lyme Central
school district has not consented to any type of PILOT
agreement for your proposed project or any other wind
project. The Lyme Central School
District is willing to meet
with BP and other affected taxing jurisdictions to discuss term conditions for
a PILOT agreement. We noted that no effort has been made on the part of BP to
engage such negotiations to date.
Should Board President desire to enter into PILOT negotiations with the district and other taxing jurisdictions, the district is
amenable to doing as part of the stipulation process.
Thank you for your courtesies
Very truly yours
Ferrara ,Fiorenza ,Larrison, Barrett & Reitz.P.C.
Joseph G. Shields