IDA to Examine Local Benefits During Solar Moratorium
IDA to Examine Local Benefits During Solar Moratorium
The Cattaraugus County Industrial Development Agency's (CCIDA) Board has placed a six-month moratorium on new solar projects while officials review whether there are real benefits in hosting the local installations and granting tax incentives.
CCIDA Executive Director Corey Wiktor told the Board during the agency's May 24th meeting that after the 2022 state budget's passage he received several calls from solar developers seeking local incentives under the state's green energy program that also carries state tax exemptions, and brings industry competition for Western New York's rural land. He warned there are a couple of large projects lining up that the Board should be watching.
Meanwhile, many of the earlier solar project proposals around the county have "gone quiet," and some local governments have imposed moratoria for various reasons, but Wiktor said other IDA agencies are beginning to question how local communities benefit as new applicants seek larger installations with associated tax incentives and PILOT payments to local taxing jurisdictions.
Wiktor said he had hoped to receive some industry documents to help analyze the benefits, but the information is hard to get. He said CCIDA was "sold" on the industry's pitch from the beginning to create jobs and attract local economic benefits. He recalled the early days when Jamestown Community College was prepared to set up a special workforce curriculum on solar after the agency hosted roundtable discussions with the developers who promised to hire local workers.
"We put in a lot of time, got work groups and developers together," he said, but many benefits have not materialized and even the county's largest contractors, such as Kinley and Giardini, haven't even been contacted by solar developers. He's found similar circumstances when comparing notes with other IDAs.
"We've been misled a lot," Wiktor said. "If I'm having a hard time explaining it then the return to economic development is not there."
He said solar projects do use some local goods and services but he's seen documents showing this is "a pebble in the pond of what they use" and investors receive state tax credits and see a $4.5 million return in two years on a 5 megawatt project. Also, while farmers are able to receive lease payments for 20 years on marginal lands, investors receive a three percent tax credit and write off the depreciation during the PILOT term.
"It's hard to sell this," Wiktor told the Board members, adding, "They're using their own preferred contractors from elsewhere. When we ask them why they don't use local construction companies they say 'our lenders or manufacturer requires it'."
He said a moratorium could be placed on the applications that have not closed with bank financing. One unidentified Board member urged Wiktor to dig into numbers and publicize the findings and tell the public whether it makes sense locally.
Board member Ginger Schroder, a Cattaraugus County Legislator, said in a recent conference she learned the area business community is unhappy that small businesses receive no tax incentives and carry the full load but there are tax breaks for large projects that aren't very beneficial to the community.
"I've got to be honest," said CCIDA Chairman Tom Buffamante, questioning whether solar is "prime economic development" and urging a moratorium to look at the whole picture. "The last thing I want is our residents to have angst. We need to measure the economic benefits behind this."
The Board voted unanimously to "put on the brakes," effective immediately through Nov. 31st for new applications that haven't closed on financing. A written resolution will be introduced to formalize the action at the Board's next meeting.
Also expected at an upcoming session is a presentation from County Line Recovery, Inc., in its bid for a $1,050,000 project to conduct materials and post-consumer recyclables recovery at a former batch plant at 7023 Henrietta Road in the Town of Ashford. The company has already received a five-year New York State solid waste management permit through January 19, 2027 and has moved its longstanding location at 71 Nason Blvd. in Springville. The project will also be scheduled for a public hearing in June.
The company, one of four operating under the name MRC Companies, is seeking agency incentives to build a new 125'x150' Clear Span building and operate it as a transfer station, sorting, storing and marketing recyclables for its clients, which include Cattaraugus County's Refuse Department and other nearby municipalities and trash hauling firms. The facility will take plastics, paper and cardboard, along with tires. There will be no composting or food waste at the site, but construction and demolition waste will be received for sorting and recovery.
Cattaraugus County has encouraged County Line and its working owners Allison and Steven Buckley to expand its recycling operations and help seed new markets that are mandated by state Environmental Conservation Law - and by local longstanding municipal Solid Waste Management Plans that can't be enforced.
The county has recently been charged up to $750 a ton for its plastics at a material recycling facility in Niagara Falls, but the county's Waste Management Coordinator Mark Shaw said Wednesday there are few markets and those are drying up. He has traveled to Albany and testified before the state Climate Action Committee, asking the state to stop passing the problem to the county level and to provide technical, marketing and financial support to develop recyclables markets as required under Environmental Conservation Law. He's also updating the county's 1992 Solid Waste Management Plan governing waste disposal, with a concentrated effort to educate the public to change their buying habits, source separate and properly clean recyclables.
After more than 25 years of regulation, 2018 state records show only 3 million tons of plastic were recycled, but 34 million tons were tracked through local and state record keeping. Glass is also seeing a lack of recyclable markets so each year more plastic containers are purchased and overflow local recycling bins, Shaw said. In the meantime his department had to buy new, larger recyclables sorting bins for its seven transfer stations, and currently has the ability to recycle only the softer plastic items, notably graded #1 and #2.
Wiktor told the Board that he credits Shaw for seeing the big picture and telling Albany that the public is concerned that some policies don't make sense here. If the project is approved by CCIDA, County Line plans to retain four employees and will employ 10 within two years.
The Board also discussed Marquee Brewing's new application for a sales tax exemption in its proposal to brew and sell at retail its alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions of sodas, seltzers and teas. The beverages will be produced and sold to the public and vendors in the former Portville Drug Store at 12 Main Street in Portville, NY. The 3,000 square foot building is leased from Van Curen Enterprises and would be renovated.
Marquee Brewing is owned by Megalomania LLC, headed by Cory Clark, who has several years' employment experience in a similar Seattle, Washington-based business. The project would employ one manager and six production/servers. Marquee will be scheduled for further action in June and if approved would spend about $112,000 on equipment and renovations. The business is expected to open in September.
In other matters, the Board approved Win-Sum Ski Corp. inducement resolution for its $2.39 million 2022 improvement project, with the incentives coming in the form of $235,000 in sales and use tax exemptions.
Wiktor reported that the New York State Economic Development Council has awarded CCIDA the "Project of the Year Award" for the $500 million Great Lakes Cheese project now underway in Farmersville and Franklinville on Route 16. He said he has plans to hand the award off to the Cattaraugus County Legislature for its proactive involvement.
He reported several small businesses have started up in the village and GLC is continuing to hold job fairs and seek workforce initiatives to prepare for more than 200 new employees, along with housing options.
The meeting was dedicated to the memory of James J. Snyder, a former Cattaraugus County Legislator and local Republican Party leader who passed away May 11th, sending condolences to Snyder's family and expressing gratitude for Snyder's extensive public service.
The Board's next scheduled meeting is June 21st and will be open to the public after many months of Zoom meetings.
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