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News and Updates

Hot Off The Press

On December 29th, 2023 the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) released a draft permit for the Prattsburgh Wind Project. A lot of local laws were tossed aside in the draft permit. Avoca, Cohocton, Howard, Prattsburgh, and Wheeler all saw local laws overruled by the State. The draft permit is 87 pages. Content specific to Prattsburgh starts on page 11. You can read it here: Prattsburgh Wind Draft Permit

Project updates.

Work on the Main Street Project has been on hold since mid-August. The Town and the developer are trying to work out the details of what a third-party review of the building plans will consist of. Larson Engineering will be performing the review, technically called a Performance Compliance Code Analysis. If we can get things moving again, work should be completed in 2024.

The town has signed a formal agreement with Larson Design Group to retain their services for planning and preliminary engineering services associated with proposed water and wastewater infrastructure improvements. The initial plan was to construct a small collection sewer which would connect to the school’s treatment plant. That plan was scrapped in favor of a less costly plan. The new plan is to construct a system that resembles a residential system with a holding tank and engineered leach field. Estimate for the project is $2,288,000. The Town is pursuing aid from the United States Economic Development Administration, the Appalachian Regional Commission and other sources. The State establishes Special District Average Estimated Cost Thresholds for both sewer and water districts annually. In 2023 the threshold for sewer districts is $694. The Town must get projected participant cost under the threshold to move the project forward.

On October 30th of this year the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) determined that the application submitted by Terra-Gen, LLC on September 26, 2022, as amended and supplemented on November 4, 2022, April 21, 2023, August 31, 2023, September 13, 2023, October 16, 2023, October 17, 2023, and October 26, 2023, is complete. One of two things will happen next. ORES will either draft a siting permit for public comment or a statement of intent to deny this Permit Application. ORES has until December 29th to publish its decision. If ORES decides to draft a siting permit, they will publish the draft permit conditions for public comment. The public comment period will be open for a minimum of sixty days . The State maintains a website with all of the documents pertaining to the project. You can access that website here: NY DPS Docs The Prattsburgh Wind case number is 21-00749 Just enter the case number in the Matter/Case Number field and click Search. Click on the link returned to access the documents and more.

You can write to ORES the old fashioned way too. Be sure to include your return address information and the case number, 21-00749. You can share your concerns via written correspondence addressed to:

Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES)
c/o: OGS Mailroom
Empire State Plaza
P-1 South, J Dock
Albany, N.Y. 12242

The process to register as a party or subscribe to the service list for the wind project is a bit involved. Registering as a party will allow you to efile comments with the State. Registering as a party or subscribing to the service list will provide email notifications whenever new content is submitted to the project site. The process requires a couple of steps. First, you'll need to get a NY Gov ID. Second, you'll need to register with the Document and Matter Management System (DMM). The next link provides pretty good instructions for navigating through the process: Instructions

The State also maintains a portal where you can manage your Document and Matter Management System subscriptions. You can access the portal using your NY Gov ID and password. That site is here: DMM Management Portal If you've registered as a party, this portal is where you can post comments and concerns. Just reference case number 21-00749.

A compilation of updates from the 2021 year is available here: 2021 archive. A compilation of updates from 2020 is available here: 2020 archive. A compilation of updates for the 2019 calendar year is also available, 2019 archive.

Town Council meeting dates for 2022 were set at our organizational meeting on Monday, January 3rd. All regular meetings start at 6:30 PM. I'll announce special meetings here and on social media.

Date Location
January 18th Prattsburgh Town Hall
February 22nd Prattsburgh Town Hall
March 18th Prattsburgh Town Hall
April 15th Prattsburgh Town Hall
May 20th Ingleside Christian Church
June 17th Prattsburgh Town Hall
July 15th Prattsburgh Town Hall
August 19st Prattsburgh Town Hall
September 16th Ingleside Christian Church
October 21st Prattsburgh Town Hall
November 18th Prattsburgh Town Hall
December 16th Prattsburgh Town Hall
You can find documents related to the proposed wind project here

WIND PROJECT RESOURCES

* This is a bit dated now, but the constraints on the grid still exist. Link: The Case for Transmission Investments Made available by ACE NY, the Alliance for Clean Energy New York, Inc. It makes the case that significant investments need to be made in the energy grid just to transfer electricity already being generated to where it is needed. Currently, energy production is being curtailed to preserve the integrity of the grid. This might explain why usually no more than half of the turbines you see as you drive through Ingleside toward Naples are operating on any given day. There simply might not be any means by which to put the energy on the grid safely. According to the article. planned improvements to the grid will safely allow energy being produced today to be put on the grid after 2023, but will not have the capacity to handle any additional power generating capacity put online between now and when improvements are completed on the grid in 2023. I spoke with Kevin Sheen, VP of Business Development for Terra-Gen in 2020. According to Kevin, Terra-Gen conducted an injection study a while back that found that they could safely put 147MW on the grid. However, he did concede that given the large number of projects in the pipeline, the situation could change. There are currently 59 active projects in the Article 10 Queue, many of them in upstate NY. * Some of the projects first filed under Article 10 are being transfered to the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) Projects transfered from Article 10 to ORES

Link: See video below. ACE NY Transmission = Renewable Energy. A video posted recently by ACE NY reiterating the case for needed investment in our energy grid.

Get in Touch

Contact

pete_scheid@townofprattsburgh.org

10374 Pinney Road, Prattsburgh, NY 14873

607-269-7484

2019 PRIORITIES

Initiatives

The Town Council reinstituted the Town's Planning Board. Reviving the Planning Board will provide more resources to update the Long Range Comprehensive Plan. It should also result in more frequent updates to the plan. The Planning Board meets on the first Tuesday of every month at 6:30 PM. Meetings are held at the Town Hall.

Our existing long-range comprehensive plan was last updated in 2016. The plan contains some good ideas, but it was definitely not written with the degree of refinement required to win grants and bring tax dollars back to our town. I have read a lot of comprehensive plans that were successful in bringing state and federal dollars to their local communities.

Successful comprehensive plans pay extra attention to community participation, process and presentation. Our plan needs to do the same if we are to bring the tax dollars necessary back to our community in order to reinvigorate our Main Street and make our town more hospitable to business.

Our long range comprehensive plan should be checked for relevancy every year, and updated perhaps as often as every two years. If we are going to be successful in pursuing grant money and aid for our town, we need a top notch plan that looks and reads like an annual report from a Fortune 500 company.

The more input we have from members of our community, the better the plan will be. Community support will also help to bring goals and objectives from the plan to fruition. I hope you'll join us in this effort.

Long term, we have to find a way for our town to join in the regional economic growth happening around us. We're starting to take some steps in that direction. Partnerships, grants and private investment are keys to growth and revitalization.

  • As you may be aware, the Town sponsored a grant application on behalf of Chris Costanza who owns a few properties on Main Street. The Housing Trust Fund Corporation and the Office of Community Renewal awarded us a 3 to 1 matching grant of $306,950. Total investment including private dollars in our Main Street will be more than $408,000 through this project. Lining up contractors to do the work has been difficult, but some progress has been made in recent weeks. State program administrators have been kept informed of progress or lack thereof, and have stated that it may be possible to waive some of the bid requirements provided sufficient solicitations have been made and documented. On September 29, 2022 additional funding in the amount of $337,000 was applied for through the Restore NY initiative. On January 26, 2023 we received word that the Restore NY grant was awarded to the town.
  • The library worked with M&T Bank to obtain the vacant bank building on the corner of Chapel Street and Route 53. Considerable work will be required to transform the building into a library. It is hoped that building work can commence in 2024 and be completed in early 2025. The library project would result in an additional investment in our town of about $400,000, $275,000 of which would be grants. As part of the agreement reached with M&T Bank, the ATM will remain so long as it continues to be utilized. The library hopes to partner with the M&T when building renovations are complete to return some banking services to the town.
  • More than $1.6 million in aid has been announced for a proposed sewer district to serve businesses on Main Street. A few years back, a plan was put in place that would construct a small collection sewer which would connect to the school’s treatment plant. The new Town Board is reevaluating the plan to make sure it is still feasible. Necessary repairs to the school's treatment system may be greater in scope and more costly than initially thought. This project is a top prioority for the Board and other options can be considered if necessary.

The town has done a good job of developing its town government website. I highly recommend that you check it out at townofprattsburgh.org. Though a complimentary website to highlight life in our town, local events, and community organizations might still be of value, a lot of what it could achieve is already taking place on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram and others. For now the project is on hold. Marketing and promotion is the type of activity that is well suited for a small local group or committee and a local area chamber of commerce. If you're interested, please send me an email at pete_scheid@townofprattsburgh.org or just use the contact link on this website.

The Town received word from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation that the former Steuben Foods site has been issued a clean environmental report. Cleanup work is complete! The greenspace that exist today is a vast improvement from the concrete wasteland that existed prior to the cleanup.

A little aside. Dairy is still the heart of Steuben Food's product portfolio. Of New York State's sixty-two counties only ten produce more milk than Steuben County. The number one producer (Wyoming County) is just to our northwest, the number two producing county (Cayuga County) is just to our northeast, and our immediate neighbor to the north, Livingston County is the number four milk producer in the state. I'm told that the Industrial Development Agency (IDA) of Erie County was largely responsible for the company's move. We need to foster a relationship with the Steuben County IDA. Their mission is to provide the most up-to-date information and incentives to start, attract and retain businesses to create job opportunities in communities like ours.

There are a number of local organizations in our community, all of them doing good work. I'd like to bring them all together for one day each year to participate in a Shared Day of Community Service. What we'll do is yet to be determined, it could be something as simple as beautifying our Main Street with flowers and planters, or something more elaborate. The point is to bring people together, to create a narrative that is focused on all that is good in our community. There is power in numbers, and I suspect we may surprise ourselves with what we can accomplish. Unfortunately, the pandemic has made this effort impractical. However, with the number of vaccinated people rising and the virus seemingly waning perhaps we can make this happen this year.

Policy development is critical if we are to effect positive change in our community. At the top of the list should be the development of a commercial property maintenance code. The situation at the old dairy plant exists, in part, because our town does not have a commercial property maintenance code in place. Before it was purchased by Empire Telephone and razed, the old Bottoni-Wood Funeral Home on Mechanic Street was owned by Stephen P. Wood, Inc. out of Houston, Texas. Unfortunately, the building fell into a state of total disrepair. Once buildings reach this point of decay they are beyond recovery. The building on Main Street that used to house the American Legion is also at risk of being lost. Windows upstairs were broken and left unrepaired for almost a year. A commercial property maintenance code would put the onus on non-residential property owners to maintain their buildings, at minimum to a safe standard, and at best to a standard that maintains their value.

There's a lot to like

About Prattsburgh

Prattsburgh is situated in the heart of New York State's Finger Lakes Region. In the idyllic hills that surround our town, you will find numerous wineries, craft breweries, restaurants, and plenty to do. Prattsburgh is home to Prattsburgh Central School and Franklin Academy where students have access to a variety of educational and athletic programs. Our school consistently makes the list of best high schools compiled by U.S. News and World Report. We have one of the area's largest Christmas tree farms, and during the holiday season you'll find our town square full of trees dressed in lights, ribbons and bows. We're also home to a blueberry farm, numerous dairy farms, lots of community organizations, a public library, and several places of worship. You might also be interested in the Prattsburgh Gravel Classic, a 30 mile bike ride that will surely provide a good measure of your stamina. Our town also has a successful Summer Festival. Unfortunately, the coronavirus has forced the cancellation of the festival this year, but it will hopefully be back in 2021.

Census information:
Population: 2,202
Median age: 43
Education: high school graduate or higher - 88%, bachelor's degree or higher - 17%
Housing units: 1,429. Median home value: $91,000
Median household income: $50,031
Individuals below poverty level: 8%

Make your voice heard

County/State/Federal

Jack Wheeler, Steuben County Manager. Chris Brewer, Deputy County Manager
Telephone: 607-664-2245, FAX: 607-664-2282.
3 East Pulteney Square
Bath, NY 14810

Michael Hanna, Steuben County Legislator
Telephone: 607-569-3579, email: mhanna@co.steuben.ny.us.
13 Vine St.
Hammondsport, NY 14840

Marjorie Byrnes, State Assemblywoman 133rd Assembly District
Telephone: 585-218-0038, FAX: 585-218-0063.
30 Office Park Way
Pittsford, NY 14534

Thomas F. O'Mara, NY State Senator, 53rd Senate District
Telephone: 607-776-3201, FAX: 607-776-5185, email: omara@nysenate.gov.
105 East Steuben St.
Bath, NY 14810

Tom Reed, US Congressman, New York's 23rd District
Telephone: 607-654-7566, FAX: 607-654-7568
89 W. Market St.
Corning, NY 14830

Kirsten Gillibrand, US Senator, New York
Telephone: 202-224-4451, FAX: 202-228-0282
478 Russell
Washington, DC 20510

Chuck Schumer, US Senator, New York
Telephone: 202-224-6542, FAX: 202-228-3027
322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510