TOWN OF ULSTER >> The town has agreed to give up its right to buy back the former town landfill on Frank Sottile Boulevard, giving Ulster County officials a clear path for construction of a 2.6-megawatt solar energy farm on the 29-acre property.
The Town Board approved the move at a meeting Thursday.
Following the meeting, Supervisor James Quigley said county officials were concerned about the town retaining the right to buy back the property for $1.
“That clause is causing the developer of the solar project some concern,” he said. “They are negotiating with the county, but they may wake up one morning and the county won’t be there because we exercised our option.”
The landfill was sold to the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency on June 7, 1993, under a contract that gave town officials buyback right after 20 years.
County officials want private company Solar City to build and own an 8,300-panel solar energy array under a long-term contract that would have the county purchase electricity at a set rate. The equipment, which could cover about 27 percent of the county’s electricity use, then would be turned over or sold to local officials.
County officials have said the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority would not allow both the county and town to benefit under an application that provides tax breaks to a private contractor for construction at the site.
Quigley said it would complicate construction if the town were to have its own solar farm on a section of the property, but county officials have agreed to cooperate on other projects.
“We have a handshake that, if we cooperate on the landfill, they’ll cooperate with helping us on this issue on the road connecting [Anaconda Drive] and Leggs Mills [Road], and we’ll work through this process together,” the supervisor said.
Town officials in July submitted a consolidated funding application to the state for $600,000 to construct the 1,200-foot road, which would allow property owners to have an exit to main highways when trains block Katrine Lane near U.S. Route 9W. The new road would be on a 23-acre property owned by Sharad Deedwaniya, who would deed the road to the town as part of a agreement reached when a subdivision was allowed in 1995.
Quigley said the town also would also like to construct a solar panel installation and has discussed options with the county’s consultant.
“We have two facilities that are high consumers of electric,” he said. “The water-processing plant has about 14 acres of well field, which is basically just woods and grasslands, where we have three or four wells spread out. Then, down at the wastewater treatment plant, … it’s all flat and it’s all open, and it sits right next to the sewer plant, which uses a lot of electric.”
