Town board gets update on Oxbow Hill Solar

By kAtE Hill Staff Writer

On April 12, Keith Silliman, director of regulatory compliance at Cypress Creek Renewables, updated the Fenner Town Board and a group of community members on the status of Oxbow Hill Solar, a proposed utility-scale solar project to be collocated with the existing 30-megawatt (MW) Fenner Wind Farm.

During his presentation, Silliman discussed such topics as interconnection into the electric system, the developer’s participation in the 2022 New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) Renewable Energy Credit Auction, and the 94-c state permitting process. He also responded to questions from multiple community members who expressed their concerns with and/or disapproval of the proposed project.

Oxbow Hill Solar has a proposed capacity of 140 MW, which, according to the Cypress Creek website, would supply power to approximately 30,000 households. The solar facility would connect to the existing Fenner substation and take advantage of existing wind farm access roads.

According to Silliman, Cypress Creek has done projects of this scale elsewhere in the United States, but not in New York State.

The facility site encompasses 1,586 acres leased from 10 landowner families. The facility area or “project components,” once constructed, would occupy 684 acres. Silliman said Cypress Creek is exploring uses for the acreage of the site that would not be occupied by the solar panels and other project components. One potential option is agrivoltaics, which the U.S. Department of Energy defines as agricultural production, such as crop or livestock production or pollinator habitats, underneath solar panels or adjacent to solar panels. interconnection

Over the last three years, the Ox- bow Hill project team has been working with National Grid and the New York Independent System Operator (ISO) to determine what it would take to interconnect into the grid.

Silliman said the transmission line that the project would tie into crosses one of the properties the developer is currently leasing.

He also pointed out that Cypress Creek is fortunate that ENEL Green Power North America, the owner of the Fenner wind turbines, built a substation on that property.

“That’s where we are going to interconnect,” he said. “We’ve done all the studies. We’ve gotten all the costs. We’ve agreed on all those numbers with National Grid and the ISO, so what we are doing right now is negotiating the contract with National Grid and deciding who is going to do what in terms of the building.”

According to Silliman, the contract, which would handle all the interconnection aspects of the project, is expected to be executed by the middle of August 2023.

Renewable energy credits

For the proposed project to sell its power, Cypress Creek will need to obtain renewable energy credits from NYSERDA, which put out a solicitation for bids and a request for proposals last fall.

According to Silliman, Cypress Creek submitted Oxbow Hill Solar earlier that day.

Silliman said that although he does not know exactly when the developer will hear back from NYSERDA, he thinks it would be by fall 2023.

He added that Cypress Creek believes it will be successful in that auction.

One aspect of the paperwork included in the proposal deals with community outreach.

According to Silliman, the community outreach plan that is part of the submission will be posted publicly on the NYSERDA website within a week or two.

“We discuss the outreach we’ve had up to this point,” Silliman said. “We include all the correspondence that we’ve had with the town. We include the report from the meeting we had down at the county park in I think it was June 2021 — we are anticipating having another meeting like that this year. We talk about our webpage, which we update frequently, and we are also going to get a couple more all-residents mailings out on the project this year. So, all that information is online.”

Fieldwork for 94-c application

Cypress Creek is preparing to apply for a permit from New York State’s Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) for the Oxbow Hill Solar Project.

In support of developing its 94-c permit application, the project team has conducted numerous studies at the facility site, including wildlife site characterization, breeding bird surveys, and winter raptor surveys.

As a result of those studies, the project received an occupied habitat determination from the state regulatory agencies in December 2022.

“They have no concerns for bats from this project,” said Silliman. “. . . They had no breeding habitat concerns for threatened and endangered species. There is some occupied winter habitat for northern harriers, and we are going to have to prepare a conservation benefit plan. We need to mitigate [those] impacts, and that means we need to preserve roughly 76 acres of land for wintering habitat for harriers. We are in the process of figuring out how best to do that. It’s important to have that mitigation where the impacts are. So, that mitigation site is going to be here, it’s not going to be four counties away.”

According to Silliman, a full wetland and stream delineation demonstrated that there were no Class I wetlands within the facility site, that the developer is avoiding all Class II

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“I know we have other districts in our region that are talking about 17 percent budget-to-budget increases and things like that, so really good work from our board and administrative team,” he said.

BOE President JoAnne Race said the district was able to apply some reserve funds — otherwise known as the district’s savings — to avoid making cuts to programming.

“We are in a place to support additional curricular and technology infrastructure improvements, which are needed for our growth,” she added. “You know, Cazenovia is a gem of a district in so many ways. We want to preserve what makes us special and keep improving.”

A budget hearing is scheduled for May 9 for members of the public to ask questions and receive information about the proposed budget.

The annual budget vote and BOE election are scheduled for May 16, 2023, from 12 to 8 p.m., in the Middle School Auxiliary Gymnasium at 31 Emory Ave.

The district will release its budget newsletter shortly before the vote.

Also on the ballot will be a resolution authorizing the district to purchase and finance four replacement school buses, including necessary furnishings, fixtures, and equipment and “all other costs incidental thereto,” and to expend a total sum not to exceed $633,132. According to the resolution, the sum is to be raised by the levy of a tax upon the taxable property of the school district and collected in annual installments.

Residents will also be asked to vote on a resolution authorizing the district to levy a tax in the amount of $498,241 for the Cazenovia Public Library and $187,185 for the New Woodstock Free Library. in other news

During the facilities committee report, BOE member Ron Luteran said the committee has been struggling to decide whether to move forward in the short term with pursuing a new bus garage or working to meet some other “much needed” infrastructure needs.

“It seems to me like we are headed in the direction — at this moment in time — of looking towards a tax-neutral project to deal with some serious infrastructure [needs], particularly at Burton Street,” Luteran said. “[The elementary school] is down to two boilers, almost one and a half right now. If they lose that second boiler, they are out of commission. So, we are looking at three boilers for Burton Street, to finish the roof, which is pretty extensive, and controls, along with the high school tennis courts, [which] I guess are shot.”

According to Luteran, it would probably be about a $4 million project.

Luteran said Tetra Tech Architects & Engineers has shown the district at least a dozen drawings of options for new bus garages at the current Route 20 site.

“Tetra Tech has been very creative,” he said. “It hasn’t been a waste of time. We certainly know we need a new bus garage coming down the road, but there are just so many questions that are unanswered from the state. We are just not sure we are ready to commit to that big of a project that would in all likelihood not be tax neutral or at best be close to tax neutral.”

Additionally, Luteran informed the board that he is working with someone to figure out how to get the high school tower clock synced and up and running again.

“It’s not as easy as he thought it was going to be,” Luteran said. “. . . It’s not just fixing a few dials in there, which is what I was hoping. We are looking into it though. That clock really is the [focal point] of the front of the building.”

Also during the meeting, the board adopted a resolution approving the creation of six extracurricular clubs in the middle school and high school — the Art Club, Environmental Club, Fishing Club, Haven Club, the Intergroup Dialogue, and Project CAFÉ.

The board welcomed Eric Benedict as the district’s new director of facilities II, effective April 27, 2023.

CCSD BOE meetings are usually held at 6:30 p.m. on the third Monday of each month. Meeting dates are listed on the district website and the school calendar. For more information, visit cazenoviacsd. com/board-of-education.

Richard

G.

Army veteran

Gara, 86

Richard Gregory Gara, 86, of Cazenovia, passed away on March 20, 2023, in St. Augustine, FL, after a short hospitalization. He is predeceased by his parents John P. and Elizabeth (Miller) Gara, his brother Jack Gara and son Brian Gara.

Dick is survived by his wife Kathleen (Schilo) Gara, daughter Bridget Gara (Michael) Stone and daughter-in-law Robin Whitman Gara. He was always happy giving advice to and sharing stories with his grandchildren: Hayley Stone (London, UK), Hanna Stone (New York City), Lindsay Stone (Rochester, N.Y.), Jack Stone (Austin, TX); Brian Gara (Charlotte, NC), Grace Gara (Cazenovia) and Faith Gara (San Bruno, CA). He was a great- grandfather to Isla.

Born in Glen Ridge, N.J. on July 14, 1936, Dick attended Christian Brothers Academy and graduated from Most Holy Rosary School in Syracuse. He served in the U.S. Army in Korea during the Cold War. He graduated from Colgate University with a degree in economics and was a member of Delta Upsilon Fraternity. Dick also played lacrosse for Colgate and later refereed for Connecticut prep schools.

Beginning his career in Connecticut, Dick worked in human resources for International Silver Company, AMF-Cuno and New England Die Casting until 1979 when he moved to Syracuse to work for parent company Crouse Hinds (now Cooper Industries) as manager of industrial relations. He retired from Caldwell Manufacturing in Rochester, N.Y., in 2002.

Dick’s community involvement in- cluded many years as an usher at St. James Church and serving on the board of directors at Wanderer’s Rest Humane Association. He was a member of the Cazenovia Country Club and Colgate Maroon Council. He loved sailing on Cazenovia Lake. Whether oceanside on fall trips to Chilmark, or winters spent on Anastasia Island, Dick was an avid reader. He loved traveling to London and Paris, but his most recent trip to Washington, D.C., aboard Syracuse Honor Flight Mission 17 on Sept. 24, 2022, was his favorite adventure.

There will be a funeral mass on Friday, April 21, at 11 a.m. at St. James Catholic Church, 6 Green St., Cazenovia. Contributions in his memory may be sent to Honor Flight Syracuse Inc. P.O. Box 591, Syracuse, NY 13209, or Ronald McDonald House of Central New York, 1100 East Genesee St. Syracuse, NY 13210.

Evelyn J. Spring, 92 loved the outdoors, visits with friends, family

Evelyn Jean (Kreis) Spring, 92, of Nelson, N.Y., passed away peacefully on April 8, 2023. She was born on Sept. 21, 1930, in Syracuse, to the late Oscar and Edith Kreis.

Evelyn was a graduate of Onondaga Valley Academy and started her career as a phone operator for New York Telephone. She met and married John E. “Jack” Spring in 1955 and finally settled down in Nelson. Evelyn worked for the family businesses as co-owner and bookkeeper while raising five children.

Over their years together they hosted many gatherings and really enjoyed the annual clam bakes they would host at the house.

Evelyn and Jack looked forward to their annual fishing trips to Charleston Lake in Canada, shared their love of golden retrievers and took joy in occasional trips to Las Vegas to see family and friends and to visit the many casinos and attractions there.

Evelyn loved the outdoors and tending to her gardens, feeding the birds, and fishing. She also cherished visits with friends and family and, when the weather turned cold, amused herself with setting up and working on her ever-present picture puzzles, accumulating quite a collection over the years.

One of her greatest enjoyments was trying new foods and recipes. Her famous home-made barbecue sauce was a staple of the clambakes, and she spent a good deal of time perfecting it, always guarding the “family recipe.”

Her greatest adventure was the trip she took with her sisters to Switzerland, which is her family’s homeland.

Evelyn was predeceased by her husband of 49 years, John E. Spring, as well as by her parents, Edith and Oscar Kreis, and sisters Lucille Grome and Doris Wheatley.

She is survived by her children Deb - bie (Mike) Costello of Cazenovia; Denise (Dave) Lyga of Green Cove Springs, FL; John (Amy) Spring of Cazenovia; David (Lisa Bates) Spring of Gilbert, AZ; and Thomas (Joanne) Spring of Las Vegas, NV, and Colorado Springs, CO; her sister Arlene Prugger of East Syracuse; and her sister Barbara (Ron) Huckabee of LaFayette, N.Y. Evelyn leaves behind 13 grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, many nieces, nephews, special friends and relatives including Beverly Hausaman, Anita Spring and Raymond (Sally) Dewitt.

Calling hours was held on Thursday, April 13, 2023 from 3 to 5 p.m. at Michael E. Brown Funeral Services, 2333 Fenner Road in Cazenovia, immediately followed by a celebration of life service at the funeral home by Pastor Tom Davies. Family and friends were invited to a celebration of remembrance at 6 p.m. at the Hampton Inn following the service.

Contributions in lieu of flowers may be made in Evelyn’s memory to Francis House (https://francishouseny.org / ), Hospice (https://www.hospicecny.org / ), or the Nelson Preservation Associates ( olddroverstavern.com/donat e .)

Condolences for the Spring family may be left at michaelebrownfuneralservices.co m.