The Pompey Town Board met on Monday, March 20, 2023 at 4:30pm. This was a rescheduled meeting due to a lack of a quorum for the regularly scheduled meeting the week prior. A video of the full meeting can be viewed from the Town of Pompey Facebook Page.
The Board Room was standing room only, with many town residents present wishing to speak during the public comment session regarding two industrial-sized solar “farm” projects currently being put before the Board. See Public Comment section below.
Earth Day Fair and Cemetery Cleanup
Supervisor Rotondo announced an Earth Day Fair to be held on April 22, 2023, at the Town Hall, along with a Highway Department Open House. The event will offer scrap metal, tires 20″ or less, and “e-waste” disposal for town residents. There will be a tree seedling giveaway and a local food truck vendor.
There will also be a community clean-up that same day at the town cemetery on Cemetery Road. Residents are encouraged to bring rakes and gardening tools as well as food to share with volunteers.
Town Highway Department
The Board unanimously approved a new highway garage roof.
Swim Program
The Board has been researching options for the 2023 Swim Program since Cazenovia College announced its closing. They had narrowed down the options to Jamesville Beach and Tully Lake.
There is currently $35,000 budgeted for the Town of Pompey Swim Program. It was determined that Jamesville Beach would be cost prohibitive, so the decision was made to go with Tully Lake. Fabius and LaFayette have also committed to Tully. Unfortunately, Tully will only guarantee space for 50 students from Pompey. In contrast, there were considerably more than 100 students from Pompey last year. Some local parents expressed hesitancy to send their children to lessons that weren’t in a controlled environment like the Cazenovia pool. Thus, it remains to be seen how many students request participation in the Tully Lake program. If extra slots are available, Tully will extend the 50-space limit.
NYSERDA Grant
Supervisor Rotondo reported that the Town has received another $5,000 grant from the NYSERDA Clean Energy Program. The money will be used to replace windows on the west side of the Town Hall building with new, energy-efficient windows.
Main Street Grant
There will be no Main Street Grant Program money available to the Town of Pompey in 2023. The Supervisor asked that the board consider the possibility of using some of the remaining ARPA money to offer our own local Main Street Grant. She intends to form a committee that will include members of the public to discuss the idea and what terms and conditions would apply. ARPA money must be used for tourism-related businesses impacted by covid, affordable housing, and infrastructure needs. It may not be used for day-to-day and ongoing expenses.
Town Travel Policy
Every municipality is supposed to have a Travel policy. The Town of Pompey does not currently have one. Supervisor Rotondo has written a draft policy, and it is currently under Board and legal review.
Public Comment - Solar Farms
This Town Board meeting was not an official public hearing for either of the solar projects currently under review by the Town. Those hearings are expected to be publicized sometime in the near future. However, approximately 15 people signed up to speak during public comment regarding the solar projects. Each were given 3-5 minutes to speak in order to allow every an opportunity to have their say before the Board had to convene an Executive Session and then vacate the Board Room in anticipation of the Planning Board meeting at 6:30pm that same evening.
Most of the commenters spoke out against the proposed Frank Long Road project. A few spoke against the Sweet Road solar project, which was voted down by the Town Board just six months ago and is now scheduled to be back on the agenda for reconsideration.
There were no public commenters in favor of either the Frank Long Road or Sweet Road projects. Nearly all spoke in support of small-scale residential solar arrays — such as those you find on the rooftops of homes or garages — while at the same time expressing deep concern for large-scale solar “farms.”
The overarching concerns about locating industrial-sized solar arrays in Pompey are three-fold:
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- Public safety
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- Damage to neighboring properties
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- Destruction of wildlife habitat, farmland/forest, and our unique view shed
The Frank Long proposal includes removal of approximately 30 acres of forest, prompting concerns of exacerbating the already challenging drainage and flooding issues coming off the hill.
There were at least two calls for a moratorium on any Tier 3 solar projects in the Town of Pompey until further data can be collected on the potential harm they may cause.
Comments were heated at times.
Pivot Energy, the company that proposed and lost the Sweet Road Solar project last fall, will host an informational session at Heritage Hill on March 30 regarding their new application.
