The Chenango County Industrial Development Agency has reserved the Columbus Town Hall for Feb. 23, starting at 6 p.m. for a public hearing on a request from NYSEG for a sales tax exemption on the electric transmission line the firm wants to build in Columbus and Sherburne.

NYSEG Chenango County Transmission Project

New York State Electric and Gas Corporation (“NYSEG”) proposes to construct the Chenango

County Transmission Project (the “CCTP” or “Project”) to enhance regional reliability and to

meet the increasing demand for electricity in the Chenango County service area, particularly by

Agro-Farma, Inc. (“Agro-Farma”).

Project Applicant: New York State Electric & Gas Corporation

Contact: Dennis Bender, Project Manager

Request: Sales and Use Tax Exemption estimated benefit of approximately $650,000, on materials purchases of $3.9 million, and taxable contract purchases of $4.2 million.

Total Investment: $13,800,061 including new construction, renovation, equipment, installation, engineering fees, and overhead. Project is to be self-financed, with significant funding for the line being paid by Agro-Farma, Inc.

Purpose: Agro-Farma has indicated that financial assistance to reduce the costs of this project is an essential component of their decision to continue expanding their operations in Chenango County. The project is necessary because it enhances regional reliability and meets the increasing demand for electricity in the Chenango County service area, particularly by Agro-Farma, Inc. in connection with its expansion activities. The existing transmission and substation facilities are incapable of providing an adequate single contingency supply to the anticipated demand at the project. The current system’s capacity is 6 megavolt amperes with Agro-Farma using almost all of that power. As a consequence, no additional load growth can be served in the Chenango County service area until this project is complete, which is expected to increase capacity to 25 mva’s. Upon completion of the Agro-Farma project, demand is anticipated to reach 12 mva’s and could reach 20 mva’s. Thus, in order for the expansion to occur, together with the related job growth, the project is necessary.

Projected job creation: 50 temporary construction jobs will be created, with wages of approximately $1.1 million.

Related job creation/retention: Per previous Agro-Farma request, an additional 106 full time permanent positions are expected to be created at Agro-Farm in the next two years. Additionally, Agro-Farma will be retaining 823 jobs.

Project Scope:

Please see attached Project Overview as provided in the SEQRA Environmental Assessment Form, as well as Figures 1 and 2 which demonstrate the proposed route of the T line. (on the Town Board page)

Anticipated Property Tax Increase: It has been projected by NYSEG that between $276,000 and $414,000 an additional property taxes annually will be paid to the appropriate towns, schools, and Chenango County.

Chenango County Public Health Advisory

 

Rabies activity has been reported in the Norwich area. Since December 12th upwards of six potentially rabid skunks have been identified and removed from the east side of the city.

 

To protect yourself, your family, and your pets please take the following precautions:

·       Vaccinate your pets for rabies! Pet dogs & cats should be up-to-date on

rabies vaccinations & dogs should be wearing current license tags on their

collar. For information on rabies vaccination for your pets, please call your

local veterinarian or Chenango County Environmental Health at 607-337-1673

·       If your pet has interaction with any rabies suspect animal DO NOT handle your pet. If you must attend to you pet where gloves, long sleeves and use extreme caution. You can be exposed to rabies from lingering saliva on a pet’s fur. The pet should be isolated and the saliva allowed to dry, this will kill the virus.

·       Keep pets on a leash when outside a fenced yard!

·       Enjoy wildlife from a distance! Do not attempt to feed, approach, or touch

wild animals. Do NOT kill healthy appearing animals merely due to this

warning. If you see a wild mammal acting abnormally* in this area, report it to Chenango County Environmental Health at 607-337-1673.

·       Do NOT trap and relocate skunks! Doing so spreads rabies to other areas. If you have a nuisance animal contact a professional wildlife control agent.

·       If you or a loved-one is bitten by an animal, wash the exposed site immediately with soap and water & seek medical care. Be sure to report the bite to public health officials.

*Note: Rabid animals may show no fear of people and may even seem friendly. Rabid bats typically fall to the ground where they become accessible to kids and pets. For more information about rabies please call Chenango County Environmental Health at 607-337-1673

A Public Hearing has been scheduled by the County of Chenango Industrial Development Agency for Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. at the Town of Columbus Town Hall building with regard to Agro-Farma, Inc. (Company) facilities expansion project and to grant the Company financial assistance for the project.

Additional information may be obtained or comments submitted prior to the public hearing by contacting the Agency’s Executive Director, Steve Craig by phone at (607) 33401404, by email at scraig@chenanony.org or by mail at Chenango County Industrial Development Agency, the Eaton Center, 19 Eaton Ave., Norwich, NY 13815.

Also, please be further advised that the Agency has scheduled a special meeting of its board to be held on December 8, 2011 at 8:00 a.m., at The Eaton Center, 19 Eaton Avenue, Norwich New York, for purposes of entertaining a motion whether or not to adopt a resolution agreeing to undertake the proposed project and whether or not to grant the requested financial assistance, in whole or in part, for the proposed project.

 To see a sample ballot for the November election http://www.co.chenango.ny.us/Elections/sample-ballots/2011-General/Columbus.pdf