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NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
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NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency (the “Agency”) will hold a public hearing on July 16, 2024, at 9:00 a.m., local time, at Hanover Town Court, 68 Hanover Street, Silver Creek, County of Chautauqua, New York, pursuant to Section 859-a of the General Municipal Law, as amended (the “Act”). The purpose of the public hearing is to provide an opportunity for all interested parties to present their views with respect to the “Project” and the “Additional Financial Assistance” (as such terms are defined below).
Ball Hill Wind Energy, LLC, a limited liability company existing under the laws of the State of New York (the “Applicant”), previously presented an application (the “Application”) and a supplemental application (the “Supplemental Application”) to the Agency, which Application and Supplemental Application requested that the Agency consider undertaking a project (the “Project”) consisting of the following: (A) (1) the acquisition of an interest in approximately 9,715 acres of land located in the towns of Villenova and Hanover, County of Chautauqua, New York (collectively, the “Land”), (2) the acquisition, construction, installation, and equipping on the Land of: (i) approximately 13.0 miles of gravel access roads, (ii) approximately 19.8 miles of underground medium voltage electrical collection lines, (iii) approximately 5.7 miles of overhead 115 kV electric transmission line on monopole transmission poles, (iv) an electrical collection substation on a site of up to 5.0 acres (with up to 1.3 acres of that impacted by construction of Project improvements), (v) an electrical interconnection substation on a site of up to 8.57 acres (with up to 4.0 acres of that impacted by construction of Project improvements), (vi) an approximately 5 acre operations and maintenance building site, (vii) an approximately 7,000 square foot operations and maintenance building, and (vii) approximately 20 acres of construction laydown area on the Land (collectively, the “Improvements”), and a system of gravel access roads, parking, landscaping and related improvements to the Land (together with the Improvements, collectively, the “Facility”), and (3) the acquisition and installation therein and thereon of certain furniture, fixtures, machinery and equipment, including approximately twenty-nine (29) wind energy turbines that will each be up to 3.45 megawatts (“MW”) (the “Equipment”), all of the foregoing for use by the Applicant as a wind-powered electric generating facility (collectively, the “Project Facility”); (B) the granting of certain “financial assistance” (within the meaning of Section 854(14) of the Act) with respect to the foregoing, including potential exemptions or partial exemptions from sales and use taxes, mortgage recording taxes and real property taxes (but not including special assessments and ad valorem levies) (collectively, the “Financial Assistance”); and (C) the lease of the Project Facility by the Applicant to the Agency and the sublease of the Project Facility by the Agency to the Applicant.
By resolution adopted by the members of the Agency on December 9, 2016 (the “Authorizing Resolution”), the Agency determined to proceed with the Project, to grant the Financial Assistance and to enter into the “straight lease transaction” (as such quoted term is defined in the Act) contemplated by that certain Agency Lease Agreement dated as of December 22, 2016 between the Agency and the Applicant.
Pursuant to an amended application for financial assistance submitted to the Agency by the Applicant on or about June 4, 2024 (the “Amended Application”), the Applicant has requested that the Agency consider granting certain additional financial assistance with respect to the Project in the form of an amended exemption from real property taxes to reflect a decrease in the number of turbines from 29 to 25 and an increase in the output of the Project Facility from approximately 100 megawatts to approximately 107.5 megawatts (collectively, the “Additional Financial Assistance”).
The Project Facility would be initially owned, operated and/or managed by the Applicant (or such other entity(ies) designated by the Applicant and approved by the Agency).
The Applicant (or such other designated entity(ies)) would receive the Additional Financial Assistance from the Agency in the form of potential amended exemptions or amended partial exemptions from real property taxes.
A representative of the Agency will hear and accept any comments that are made orally or in writing at the above-stated time and place. Comments may also be submitted to the Agency in writing or electronically to: strandbr@chqgov.com.
A representative of the Agency will provide a report or reasonable summary of all such comments to the Agency’s members.
Subject to applicable law, copies of the Amended Application, including an analysis of the costs and benefits of the Project, are available for review by the public online at www.ccida.com.
The public hearing will be streamed on the Agency’s website in real-time and a recording of the public hearing will be posted on the Agency’s website, all in accordance with Section 857 of the New York General Municipal Law, as amended.
Dated: July 1, 2024
COUNTY OF CHAUTAUQUA INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
By: Richard E. Dixon
Chief Financial Officer
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