##VIDEO ID:FgBtU67NH88## [Music] and commission this meeting is being recorded for future viewing on the cable channel we also have uh live via Zoom tonight and uh for future viewing on the town YouTube page can I get a motion to open the planning board meeting motion to open the meeting second favor I can uh can we get everybody to introduce themselves Peter Peter Gua member Steve member Mike Francois chairman Brian the shamps member Rick Ellis Vice chairman I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce our new town planner Victoria alaro um as previously mentioned um we joined with Mata poit with an MOA uh to share a town planner uh Victoria is employed by mam poit but shares her time with M POA and uh akush so um I'd like to welcome Victoria to aush and this crazy board welcome AB board uh okay um next we have the minutes of the July 11th meeting uh Haley had sent this out to everybody uh it's quite extensive I think she did a really good job of uh covering everything really well has everybody had a chance to look it over and do you have any comments or concerns only that's right two are absent so it is me Pete and Ryan I make a motion to accept the minutes from July 11 2024 I'll second that all in favor I all okay moving along uh correspondence for now we have none uh next is uh public hearing okay so form C 20 23-01 public hearing continuation proposed subdivision of land on 39 Key Road form C definitive subdivision owned by amn estate holding LLC applicant the engineer is Fallen Corp of Fair Haven Mass this proposal is for a six slot subdivision on a single access street I'm going to call the public hearing back to order uh quick note uh at the last meeting uh the public hearing was closed after being continued to tonight's meeting the intent of the board was to only continue the meeting and not close the public hearing uh I recommend and and entertaining a motion to resend the vote for closing the public hearing for 39 Keen Road as it was a procedural error can I get a motion a motion to continue to resend the vote make a motion to resend the vote closing public hearing for 39 keing Road as it was a procedural error I have a motion second all in favor hi hi thank you uh GF engineering Incorporated has completed an internal review and there were several comments related to our regulations and drainage the applicant is working to address the comments and requested to be continue to September 5th I entertain a motion to continue this public hearing to September 5th 2024 6:00 p.m. at the Town Hall bard of selectman's meeting so moved second all in favor I I I thank you moving on discussions and other topics Sol a special permit extension request for 540r Main Street Kris Mass the engineers Atlantic design the proponent has updated information to share with the board regarding ur's interconnection plans review matter is presented vote may be taken at the LA uh the last letter the planing board received was May 31st 2023 uh they attended the June 15 2023 meeting this is extension is being requested because the extended utility for this project that many others in the area have expired their special permit expires August 20th 2024 they also must get back to Conservation Commission due to the Wetland delineation in anr being expire is there anybody here from Catalyst energy please introduce yourself how's everyone tonight my name is uh Ed Switzer I'm with the cataly um am I able to plug in that uh I don't know hold on one quick second and before I get started um the landowner Richard W wasn't able to make it tonight but he did want to provide you with a letter of support uh we were just meeting before and um you know he's really about the project um he's just not feeling too great so he wasn't able to make tonight Mr chairman sit tight on the connection sitting tight [Music] 40 right behind the flly cloud [Music] do you know the guest Wii password I don't actually I don't Eric M Eric I don't think he's going to be able to plug into that TV right now okay all right if I'm working on it if I can get it to work I'll let you know okay thank you wor well just move along as best you can without yeah it's okay and the only real visual thing I I had repaired was just pretty much a kind of rundown of dates and Milestones to kind of run you through but I've got that here I had this none of the site plans so have changed dramatically uh at this time and and really what we're looking to do is we're requesting to extend the permit for another 12 months a year until next August in order to allow the um to get further confirmation on the interconnection upgrade schedule from osource so um just to kind of walk you through the project um you know this one's been kicking around for a while it's a it's a 2. 7 megawatt Ac project with a 2 megawatt 4 Mega hour battery uh it's located at 540r Main Street in a kushit uh it's over by the fly right behind the Flying Cloud Orchards um the project company that applied for it before tja 540r Main Street of cush LLC was acquired by my company cataly in 20 at the end of 2021 um we took over the development we've taken over the you know all all all the communication for the project and it's ours now um the special permit and the storm water management permit were approved for this project on uh August 20th 2021 the interconnection application was submitted by the previous owner of the project tja on uh in in April 2018 um after about 5 years uh we executed a interconnection agreement uh back in 2023 and we were issued a smart award the uh incentive on uh in April of uh of of last year as well so um really what we're doing is what we're asking is is for this extension to let the utility continue with their upgrades um there were in monthly meetings and I'm sure you're going to hear a very similar story from some folks who are on the agenda as well um and uh you know there you know at least from in one of the other slides I had was sort of the utility schedule that I I had sent over to you all um as part of my umal is that this schedule right here that's it so um this project itself or specifically is interconnecting into the wing Lane substation which if you look at that schedule um is actually I want want to say yep it is the on that schedule it's the first substation that's supposed to be upgraded so we're expecting that the utility will be placing their orders for long lead items once they Place those orders and they confirm that we're on a monthly call with them where they update us and you know they they tell us all the progress they made um you know that will allow us to continue uh you know advancing the engineering the project itself um we've you know reduced it actually um so it's it was I believe the last time you guys saw it it was a 5 megawatt AC project um we're reducing it to 2.7 um just due to the size constraints and some of the wetlands have you submitted new plans so what I want to do is I want to get the wetlands um boundaries reapproved and once I get the Wetland boundaries reapproved we'll then go and we'll finalize the updated plans and and then we'll run those by use so I wanted to extend the special use permit so that's still valid then go and have the um Wetlands red delineated and approved and then come back to you guys with the approved Wetland boundary with a new set of plans for the site plan review uh to go about and you know get your approval and then move forward on that set of plans so I think this to me seems like the most efficient way to kind of keep everything valid and keep everything moving along um because you know as uh we're pretty excited about this like this um this group is is moving pretty pretty well and this substation um that you know we directly connected to is um one of the you know the earliest one slated for for um operations so we're hoping that that that means we can come online sooner um you know we we've got full site control we've got our lease executed our our land owner is is very excited and been very patient um through this process and you know I think this is a very reasonable request um for a reason that you know quite frankly we can't control and we've been doing our best we we've been doing our best trying to um you know work through the utility and um you know get things get things approved so sorry that was a lot gentlemen any questions um I in terms of extensions mhm can we in extend things indefinitely Or are we limited to like one 12 month extension or you can do a month I mean a year two years um I don't know if we can do it um I'm just I just don't know if we can legally keep extending extending you know it may be up to them to just well this one has never been extended um they're at the end of their threeyear um initial permit time limit I guess you could say uh they've never been extended they're they're coming up in August uh 20 I think it is uh which is going to expire so this is their first actual request for an extension um they are going through um like we've heard from the next proponent we they're going through kind of the same thing uh than a lot of other solar companies they kind of got and then I was kind of kind of educated that um some other solar projects here in town made it through before they kind of put the halt on things uh that's why we have some that were able to go and start and complete uh and then uh urce kind of put the brakes on things so they could do this study uh and whoever didn't get approved prior to this has been on hold uh due to urce um I have been with extensive phone calls with um Town Council regarding this subject um and there's a lot of um bills proposed up in Boston up that has a lot to do with this so um I foresee a lot of changes coming down the pike um regarding um a lot of this because a lot of people are having these issues with ever Source mhm so now what does it what does it say in our B in our not our current bylaw but the bylaw that was in effect when these guys uh got their approval regarding regarding extensions like I I seems like I recall some wording that said that the planing board can grant an extension for 12 months but no more that's that's that's just my I don't know that that's correct or not I I don't I don't know I I can't tell you 100% but I'm fairly confident we can extend it for a year or up to two cuz that's what the permit is valid for is two so we can do the one or the original two uh years to the best of my knowledge and I did ask I I was 99% sure we could do it for the two and then I asked Town Council if we could Do it For Less and do it for one and he said yes Mr chairman that is correct thank you so what were you looking for an extension until you said something about what the end of next year is that what you're looking toward for a 12-month extension so basically um you know in uh next next August we're hoping that we'll be able to pull building permits and you know get well by next August I hope we're we're mobilized and you know starting to build things so um you know I think a 12-month extension certainly and you know it also allows us to build in a little bit of um leniency with uh you know ever sources schedule they've got a very complex um construction project on their hands as well um and you know any delays in procurement or things like that in during the construction process you know we need to we need to account for that but you know I think a year um you know You' S suggest it possibly two I'd love that um I didn't realize that was an option um but you know one year will certainly um you know should certainly allow us to um get a much much clearer line of sight on when we can get this thing turned on um and also I think that gives us plenty of time to advance the engineering to come back to you guys and you know as we start to have these you know CU like I said we're going to have to have our site plan review um a site plan approval um amended you know as we come in and talk to you guys I'll be able to give you regular updates kind of on the progress and you know maybe if we decide to extend the permit during that period it just opens the conversation and um you know I'm looking forward to hopefully being able to collaborate and get this thing and see it to see it to parition how long before we see those site plan changes um I mean seems like you're going to be making you change you it it's it it it isn't going to be drastically different than what you've what was what was approved um I do want to get the Wetland boundaries taken care of first so that is set in stone and then we can do the rest of our design and then I'm hoping sometime in October or November that we'll be back here and we can we can go over the site plans and I can run you through any of the updates to the layout and probably the storm water anybody else is there anybody body in the audience that has anything regarding this please stand up and introduce yourself thank you Mr chairman David fixler uh attorney at Greenberg charig in Boston and I represent DSD which is the next project I just want to add a little color on the schedule because I've been intimately involved with the eversource and so Mr Switzer is correct Wing Lane is the first substation that is supposed to be uh gone in service but what is not clear yet um is whether eversource is going to allow projects who are interconnecting with wing Lane to interconnect before they finish the rest of the upgrade um and if you look at their schedule you see there's a bunch of other substations and I don't know if you have the first page of that but the first page has a big disclaimer that says the proposed schedule is non-binding is intended to provide project milestones and will be updated monthly as priorities May shf through to life of the project so what we push for at the dpu eversource at the beginning was it going to allow anybody to interconnect until they were completely done with the whole the whole what's called a sip a capital uh Improvement proposal and they are required to finish it all by the beginning of 2027 we pushed very hard because the developers all want to get these projects interconnected as soon as they can they've been waiting for years we pushed very hard for what's called phased interconnection which would allow exactly what this gentleman has said is that the projects that are connecting to a substation that's been done should be able to interconnect while the rest of the upgrades proceed what we these are developers they're very optimistic um unfortunately I'm a lawyer I I I listen to what's not said and what and when I've been at these meetings these meetings these monthly meetings were actually our idea uh for the developer group that we represent of which they are a member and ever Source has has said they would like to do phase interconnection but they won't be in a position until they get further along to um to definitively say that so you know in in my mind the good cause which is what we're all here for that's that's the reason for the request is there's a good cause to extend it I'm not sure a year we don't know yet sitting here today whether it's a year or two years two years would certainly be be much more comfortable because I know for sure within the next you know six to to 9 10 months we'll know we'll have a much better sense from ever source as to whether they're going to all Wing Lane to interconnect we're certainly going to put as much pressure as we can on wing on that to allow this interconnection but I can't sit here today and tell you that it's absolutely for sure that the projects that are going into wing wing if it's done in the fall of 2025 we'll be able to to plug in then um it's not clear yet it may be maybe a few months after that so we we don't know that's all I want to say before you before you take a vote on on his because we have very similar situated projects thank you thank you comments how many what happens um if we agree to extend it for a year is that it or can it be extended again I mean you don't want to just keep coming every year having an extended extended I believe it's only one extension I'm not 100% sure on that Victoria do you have any idea I only got a chance to look at the bylaws briefly um I think it's one time for two years but I'm not sure I know there was two sets of that solar bylaw floing office so I'm not sure which one I was looking at we were yeah you might look at the old one we had an up two yes I think we had an up two I think we can do one up to two years um now whether or not that's the last time we can extend it I don't know um I'm going to I'm going to say it's a one-time extension and then you'd have to reapply I believe that's how I no want to do I i' like I'd like to to dig up the the wording of the bylaw when the thing was approved I mean and let's let's start there uh in terms of future extensions I don't have a problem personally with giving these guys another 12 months I mean that's that's just my own opinion but I'm I want to be prepared at the end of the 12 months or sooner uh to know whether that's it and then they've got to put a hold of the submission in or on uh I would also say that if you're during this next 12 months uh I would like to see if you're it's not going to happen in 12 months which it probably will ever source is probably not going to be that quick about it Mr mrle uh just got off the phone with Town Council yes in good cause you can extend the permits by one year and in a year from now if they have to reapply for an extension you can't extend it another year per out by law and the new Massachusetts could cause laws okay so you but after that that's then there's no more extending it again so you're more or less break up to two years you're breaking up to two years correct so you have the full two years but I would suggest my recommendation sorry Bob Hinkley V A selectman you can extend it the one year readdress it if they don't have interconnection by that year bring it back to the board and you can extend make a proposal to extend it another year so they get a total of two and we're breaking it up in half basically so why not give them the two right off but I I would say make sure that you're prepared at the end of 12 months to show us what you have attempted to complete in that 12 months of course and then that will go a long way to us looking at a a a good cause uh additional 12-month extension just a suggest as I said I I plan to get the wetlands taken care of in the next month or so and and the thing to do is to say we have done we have got the wetlands line reestablished it's good for another year you know and whatever other things that you have done uh to attempt to move the project forward absolutely uh I mean we've got a couple uh that we just Bas that just basically weree a letter that said well we've done everything we can do please give us an extension and at that time the board frowned on that one sure that's okay well with uh the new information uh from Town Council um what do we think I'll make a motion to extend it for 12 12 months um and uh to be reviewed it need be for good cause at that point second we have a motion we have a second all in favor all hi hi you have 12 months sir thank you and if possible sorry to if possible when you if you do come back in 12 months and you still aren't connected if you have any correspondence With Ur M I don't care if it's just a monthly are we ready yet no kind of email you could bring that to us at least it shows us that at least it's not you it's them sure thank you yeah thank you okay moving on uh next is the Sol special permit tolling laps dat um distributed Solar Development LLC DSD New Leaf energy at 52 Mor's Lane uh review matters presented vote may be taken at the last meeting the board voted to extend this special permit to September 19th um I invite anybody from New Leaf to come up please introduce yourself again thank you good evening uh my name again is David fixler I'm the law firm of Greenberg TR I represent DSD uh in this proceeding with me can introduce yourselves Jared Connell with new le energy good to see you guys again and Jay want to introduce yourself the land owner the land owner on the on the mle road project mle road project um so I mean we I was here before uh we T had a long conversation and um and Mr chair you you certainly uh have gotten exactly what the issue is with with eversource uh it's it is no there's no control here I just I I don't think a year is going to be enough um I just think um having talk with eversource um The Good the good cause has been right now we have we've been stuck for three years right now we've not able to do anything um in terms of getting to construction we've had to wait for eversource there's now some daylight that's on the horizon we think we have a a North star far in the Horizon but it's a little premature in my mind um to say exactly if we're going to inter if we can be able to actually interconnect in October or November of 2025 when the wing Lane station is supposed to be supposed to be ready um so what what we were what we were asking for is is to recognize that there's been a good cause extension for it's been good cause to do to toll the um the permit for 3 years already and all we're saying is we we think it should be another two years um that's you you have you have the authority to do it actually you can go as as far as you want because good cause there's case law good cause can go forever until something else happens as long as you're as long as you are trying to do everything you can do um to to activate the permit but if you're stuck like all these projects are um you know that that could cause it keeps on getting extended that's not the situation we're in I actually feel very comfortable now that with every source with this schedule I just don't know if a year is going to be enough and I'm cognizant of the coming back and doing that or just trying to get it into two years trust me these folks here want they'd like to they'd like to interconnect tomorrow nothing has aggravated the projects in this group more than just sitting around and having to wait and wait and wait and wait and the last time we talked about a project that you just mentioned that they were on the they were on the good side of the split um and that was just an arbitrary decision by eversource um one day in in 2020 they said these projects you'll get you'll get your interconnection agreement and all these other ones sorry you're in this big group and we're going to have to study you after being in the interconnection queue so um that's that's really what my ask is I know you just voted on a one year for a similarly SED project I I just don't know that's going to be enough and and I think if in in a perfect world it would be two years that doesn't mean we're going to just sit on anything we we're just waiting to see where every resource is going to go and our Our intention right now is to uh start construction um in the end of 2025 or the beginning of 2026 so that was my next question to you and what what is so let's assume that they said you were going to get it in no November okay so when would you you're going to wait till November before you start any of The Bu The build out no no it takes about it takes about a year to to to construct it there's a lot of lead time they have to order have to order equipment um there's supply chain issues the problem with with having if if the pro the way it works with solar systems is they they particularly like to align the solar projects construction schedule with the interconnection upgrade and in the old days uh pre-2020 uh before this whole group it was an easy process which is what you what you were probably used to project comes in gets its permit has for two years three years um it has it gets studied by eversource individually not as a group eversource comes back and says okay for your project to interconnect it's we have to do X Y and Z to our system it's going to cost you x amount of dollars and we're going to do it by this date that was Ironclad then the project would know exactly when it could interconnect and then it could order its components when we don't know precisely when the upgrades are going to be finished if you order the components too if you order the components too soon and they're just sitting there number one it activ the warranty is activated yet we can't use the equipment so the warranty is dissipating two you're having equipment that's just sitting there um not doing anything and there's degradation with that and three in terms of getting uh terms of getting lenders financing the first thing they're always going to see say is but when can you when is your permission to operate going to going to happen so these are all still unknown today um they'll have much we'll have much more clarity um on what's going to happen we already have Clarity with that schedule that schedule is is a very good development um it keeps on getting modified it's been modified to our benefit you know 6 months ago the dates were much further to the right uh on that schedule so all I'm saying is that I I I think and I had I had a nice conversation with Town Council on Tuesday um you know we obviously didn't say what he was going to recommend or anything like that but we had a we had a good conversation he understands the the position that my clients are in that they there's nothing that they can do and that we're just starting to see daylight so that's all I'm saying is I I know you just voted for one year but in my mind the way to really do it is just to just to say it's two years and then you know we'll be done with it um I just want to say one thing just it was a carry over from the last meeting you just referenced it about the legislation um so just for the the members of the board who weren't here um there this issue has gotten a lot of attention on Beacon Hill and there are two permanent extension um bills or or sections in bills that are floating around on on Beacon Hill one is in the governor's Economic Development bill that's a 2-year extension for all permits State local just all they would just get an automatic 2-year extension then there's another um section in the energy bill which relates to projects such as such as these and that that extends this is this tells you where where the thought was that extend that extends the pro the permits um until 2029 um the both the House and Senate pass versions of that but it's been stuck in conference committee because the legislature has this artificial July 31 deadline and I'm sure you've read all about how a lot of stuff didn't get out of conference committee so um that caused the whole uproar and the legisl is going to have to come they have to come back for a formal session um to do the economic bill which is a lot more than just than just the energy stuff and they need a formal session for that uh for the for the longer extension that's in the energy bill that could be done in an informal session so it's my understanding that the they're committed to passing that but um the last time I was here we had said that maybe when I come back it will have it will have happened by July 31st so it did not happen so while it's past both houses it's still sitting technically in conference committee let me ask you a quick question you're you're a lawyer hypothetically we vote to give you x amount of time of an extension today and then that bill passes up in the Beacon Hill going to 2029 like you said will that Trump that supersede everything that yes I mean you you can check obviously check that that's that's that's that's my understanding that was the intent of it the intent of it was there there are so many projects like this and these projects um are in a better situation because the May they're in What's called the Mary and Fair Haven group there's four other eversource groups but the mar and Fair Haven group was the first one that was submitted to the dpu by a month and the epu put that on what's called a rocket docket and that went really fast and so a decision was issued on the last day of 2022 the appeal period ran in January of 2023 and that's when the four-year clock that ever Source has to do the whole upgrade the other the other what I call sips these Capital Improvement proposals they were submitted a month after this Mar in Fair Haven but their hearing didn't get held in the dpu until May in March of 2020 um 3 and they just were decided uh a month ago uh so they're way behind they they don't they don't even have a schedule yet they don't have anything like that they haven't had their monthly meetings that's all going to happen so so these projects that you're going to be facing are in much better shape there is there definitely is light at the end of the the interconnection tunnel and I'm pleased because this is something I've been working on on behalf of all these projects for years at the department of public utilities um and you know I just I just want to say that this is there I I'm in my I'm I'm active in my own town I've sat on some boards and I know there are projects that you know the developers don't do anything they sit there this these are not this that they just couldn't do anything while they while there was all this uncertainty with eversource and now that uncertainty is starting to be peeled away and we're very excited about that um was it you that sent the email today with all the correspondents with other source it was it was um DSD that sent that though you've seen it it's just all the it's all the emails from the monthly oh okay so all right I just it did come from DSD yeah it came from these these projects so what I had just asked the previous proponent to bring the next time is what we got supplied today which is a slew of emails that um went from between DSD and uh urce so they have been going back and forth they have been trying um yeah it's all the projects actually it's not just D you'll see it's it's all it's every every project that's in the that's in the group that's been interacting with ever Source right um I understand and again I I want to say the same thing I said previously um speaking with Town Council I understand that you guys are being held up um uh with the new information that we just got from Town Council uh thank you Mr hingley um I like consistency um my personal opinion if they have more information in a year and they're not hooked up yet and they come back in a year then we extend it for the full too um but I like consistency and I think we should be consistent that's just my two sons anybody have any other questions comments um I've got I've got a couple of questions in in terms of the pro this this project are the plans that were submitted and approved for special permit purposes is that the same plan today yeah no there hasn't been any changes okay there's there's no there's no changes to that increases reductions of of the amount of area that's going to be cleared of the amount of area that uh is going to be subject to a storm water permit all that stuff that's the same is that both projects well I'm just talking about this particular two okay yeah these are there are two projects they have the same the the same owners it's so but you can answer no we have not made any changes to the plans do you anticipate making any changes uh anything's possible um I mean of any substance I mean obviously if you've got you know no battery storage where you had some battery storage before I mean there are there are certainly small changes that I'm not really too concerned about but I mean we had another project that uh they they got cut in half but they cleared everything and created a tremendous problem for us uh in town I mean so is I'm thinking in terms of changes on that order like having the size of the project doubling the size of the project uh changes that you can see right now that are anticipating uh you know before you order panels I'm I'm thinking of the things that need to be done prior to you know ordering construction materials and and getting online for that so we've got if that's the same is the wetlands is there a wetlands delineation and a Wetlands order of conditions that have been filed and approv relative to this particular these two particular uh projects yeah they have uh there's an order of conditions uh on the mle road project there also is an order of conditions on the morses and when do they when do they run out so you still have a valid you still have a valid Wetlands delineation for both of those projects the wetlands have been delineated on both on both sides the um the mle road one was extended for 3 years last July I think and the the for's Lane one um you guys may know that that the Conservation Commission did deny an extension last January on they did what they they denied I'm old and I'm old and deaf you'll have to put up with me they denied they denied the extension it's my understanding that that so that that's a litigation now it's my understanding that they're trying to they're trying to work towards a resolution of that right okay so now another reason to to go the 12 months and you demonstrate to us what conversations you've had with conservation on both these projects and what the results of those con of those uh conversations were changes modifications or whatever that certainly shows you know other than we're waiting for eversource that you're trying to move the project forward fair enough uh then we also have the storm water permit is there is there currently a valid storm water permit to construct the project that shows on the plans we did that as part of our planning permit um on both projects sorry yeah the storm water was included in the in the site plan approval EXC would you mind just standing up energy thank you and and when does that when does that run out I think that's the it's the same lap date as the as the site plan approvals I believe okay so if we give you 12 months if you have to get an extension on those other local permits you know I certain I personally rest of the board has got their own thoughts but I would want to see that that has been kept current revised upto-date Etc before I would look at a second 12-month extension I mean I understand the whole thing about lead times and not wanting to to buy product that you can't put in place but there are quite a number of things that need to happen uh before the panels start to show up on site of course and and I'm really I'm everybody's a a new player here but all of a sudden for panels to start showing up and people just to start clearing whatever they feel like uh which has happened in a couple of other projects in town I am not anxious to sanction extensions if if that kind of thing is going to happen uh and uh another reason to show us what progress you've made with conservation with the Wetland delineation with the storm water permit uh and any changes that you might uh of any consequence that you want to make on those plans I would like to see that done uh as part of your due diligence and moving forward as best you can I don't see that there's anything slowing up those types of efforts that's a fairy request that's that's just that's that's my that's my comment you're absolutely right um but that has but the trigger here is construction that that that that's what stops it so there's a lot of things that these projects are already doing and will continue to do but before they can move before they're going to move the land we don't want to be in a situation where we're doing all this work on the land and then just sitting there for years because we still can't go ahead that's why I that that's that's the only reason why I perfectly understand I'm talking about the permitting things that have to happen before the land gets cleared before right yeah Etc that's that's what I'm talking about don't I'm not anxious to have somebody come in and say well we're ready to start in 30 days you know we need our conservation approvals updated you know we you know exactly we need we need you to approve this change in plan right now you know don't laugh we understand unfortunately you're not the first ones on the agend on the you know that we've had to deal with here you're and and you're following some at least in my mind questionable practices understood completely and that's why we've been trying to be as transparent as we can being honest and and not not and not sugar coating what we've been facing as we came last year they wrote there's a long letter that's in your record that has a lot of attachments which painstakingly detailed so that that's what I'm I'm trying to say that you know I don't want to sugar coat it we're happy about the but I just I'm a little concerned I understand I understand your your rationale um I'm just a little concerned until we get a more CL more clarity from ever source that I just don't know if one year is going to be enough if that's all that you want to do today I just have to say just for the record that you know we Reser we it my there's it's good cause and good cause can go on so if if it's one year we will but I I will stay subject to our right to say continuing good cause and we we need more if I right you know um good cause is not just for you good cause is for Town's people okay that particular property below it there's been a a development going down below it so there's a lot of questions regarding storm water basically what what Rick is alluded to yeah we had aad we had a road flooded out we've had people's backyards flooded out really has to be redone and looked at extensively so that we do not ruin other people's property with storm water running off goe so that's that's that's my biggest concern that's and and that needs to be I would think needs to be addressed sooner than later if if we stick with the consistency of giving you one year like brick said and you at least you're working towards um the a proper retention of the water that's going to run off that property cuz we don't not want to wash out the new homes at the bford hill basally yeah from our standpoint um and just to characterize it maybe a little bit differently than the way David did but um anytime you know one year of the extension um is um you know what we can't see right now anytime you're dealing with eversource utility is that schedule that you guys have that shows the October date for the wing Lane station that's great that's a great milestone that we've gotten but we know that dealing with ever source and utility like that schedule could push easily and in the event that the one year isn't sufficient two would be much more safe just in case anything happens with every source of schedule but as long as there's an attitude of of um and the approach that you guys seem to be taking I understand the things with ever Source let's get the The Upfront things before you start to rip up the land taken care of you know within this next 12 month period or close to it before that's and again this is just my opinion before I would even think about a second 12 months that's all that's fair I mean you still got the option to come back at the end of that year so it's not like this we just want to make sure we're not in front of you perpetually here and that we get a a time you know for all we know ever Source could be 10 years before they let anybody connect in Pro I obviously I know they're getting pressure from the state government you know to to to not to not uh adversely hold up uh absolutely clean energy projects what what will happen I mean how this would play out if it is that they would they would say yeah it's great we got Wing Lane in the fall of 2025 but for safety it's a whole interconnected system and for safety and reliability we're just not going to let any body interconnect until we're done with the entire upgrade and that that's what I'm concerned about um understand perfectly but you know again there are things that had to be done up front before the special permit was even granted the wetlands the storm water you know the the screening you know all of the stuff and and some uh close idea of how many panels are going to go in and how much is going to be cleared uh let's get that stuff resolved I would have I mean i' i' I'm still here for another few years but uh uh you know I I certainly wouldn't have any problem if you come back and you say okay we're still waiting for eversource no surprise but we've done these three things to to keep everything current and ready to go as soon as as ever Source you know as soon as we get a commitment from ever source that we can tie in in 12 months so I think that's where we are right now though right yeah yeah yeah and and we're going to continue doing everything we can to be about the logistics of the we about the logistics of getting and and you know again it's about um you know a year and a half from now two years and I'm sure it's out there already I guess all panels in my house since 2016 yeah the efficiency of those panels today of what I on my roof and not what they're coming out with today so to what Rick's getting basically is it the amount of panels or it you could have the array could actually shrink okay if you get high because you're based on a megawatt reduction am I correct that's right yeah which your permit so if those array shrink okay we may want to take a look at to see what cuz we had one basically something shrike and they still cleared the original permit and it it caused an absolute disaster uh and we do not want to repeat that process that's totally fair and understandable yeah I think we've uh kind of gone over I think everything's been gone over more than once okay um I will entertain a motion I we make a motion that we extend this permit or permits well right now we are doing 52 more I would make it I would make a motion that we extend the special permit for 52 morses Lane by 12 months we have a motion second all in favor I I I unanimous uh let's jump without can I ask a procedural uh procedural question what date are we using for the 12 months are we go using the September 19th date that was that was given we'll give you September 19th okay just wanted to confirm that we'll give you September 19th uh and without hesitation and going over everything again I would entertain a motion for 251 mendal Road um I would make a motion that we extend the permit for the special permit for 251 Mental Road by 12 months all second all in favor all right and what's the date what's the date on that one that September 19th well thank Youk you very much you really appr all right moving on um Robinson Ro solar project the proponent is nexamp Inc the permit screen has been installed uh and discussions on cash charity for the vegetative screening and fencing this is for discussions for the vegetative screening and and fencing review matter is presented uh votes may be taken uh you have uh pictures in your packets of the permit screen that was installed the permit screen has been completed and installed have pictures and completed work uh the Conservation Commission okay so instead of reading this I'll just give everybody kind of a quick update so the Conservation Commission uh there was miscommunication so they made made a vote to for the screening for Robinson R and they voted on $20,000 um again there was miscommunication they weren't supposed to vote on the screening and um Ved a screening for Robinson Road that was under the solar um special permit that's something we are uh to do um originally I was going to just leave their vote and kind of piggyback on theirs and add to it for what we wanted but after talking to Town Council they would prefer um everything being under one so um conservation is going to resend their vote uh at their next meeting um of the $220,000 so um I asked I asked um next amp for a quote on how much it cost them for all the plantings all the vegetative plantings around Robinson Road uh and they came back with uh $76,000 I think it was uh and then I wanted to know how much it cost for the screening um that they installed and that was $116,000 so uh uh I $92,000 $92,000 thank you very much I should have had that but $92,000 um the the cash shity just to kind of uh put some light on this the Casher is so the planning board has the power to replace any of the vegetative screening or the new um Perma screen that is on the fencing uh for up to 5 years so we make sure that in case the proponent doesn't want to pay we have cash Charities that the planning board can pull and we take care of it uh the cash charity is for 5 years uh once 5 years are up uh the the trees and whatnot should have taken uh should be growing everything should be going as uh planned and uh we won't need the perm screen as much anymore so if it gets taken down the vegetative trees should take over and do their job um so we're at $992,000 it cost them $92,000 to put everything in I don't in my opinion I don't feel we should ask for a complete and total amount of what it cost to put it in but a good portion of that in my personal opinion should go into a cash charity of uh you know $50 to $60,000 uh again this isn't something that they they might we might not ever touch it and they might get 100% of that money back uh but in the instance of the case that you know they sell they move on they uh they lose our email address at least we can uh have the ability to dip into the cash and fix it ourselves that is the purpose of a vegetative uh screening cash charity so I just going to add the question I've got we voted to to allow the per screen um so the prise screen basically right now is temporary until the purpose of it was temporary it it it right so vegetation grows in Coreg scre grows cor okay so part of that um I still think you should keep that because inflation is going to take over and that's going to be minimal at at best keep what keep that 92,000 combined okay this needs to go away after 5 years correct okay and that's it that that needs to be part of they need to come in get it trash it dispose of it um in the per and and the veggie screen should be fully grown by then and we to go right but that should be just looking at what I'm seeing right there in 5 years that's going to be done and it needs they need they need to dismantle it okay get rid of it and get rid of it as part of that would they be replacing the trees that are already dead before this yes good okay that's what I want well again um our new to planner has just started she's only couple of days into her job but um part of uh a routine that we will discuss and we'll figure out uh is that she's going to go around to all the sites like we had discussed this years ago if you recall with Doug when Doug was the the planner we had taken a vote on who's going to be responsible for keeping an eye on the so on the vegetation and the you know the solar sits and we had voted that the the planner when Doug was a planner that the planner was going to be responsible I've already spoken to Victoria about it um and whether it's you know once every couple of months once a quarter whatever she'll take a little drive around town and if she notices anything that is uh dying dead needs to be replaced yes we reach out to the proponent give them a heads up you know they get 30 60 days whatever ever it is to remedy the situation uh they don't then we have access to remedy it ourselves uh another thing that we're going to try to keep a close watch on is the um the maintenance of these solar uh Fields so basically not trees that we want to keep alive and hopefully they grow uh but the cutting of the grass um they have to be on a maintenance schedule with somebody we just had neighbors and all kinds of complaints on Robinson Road cuz we're Cushing and Robinson meat people couldn't see because the grass was so high people couldn't see and you know and now you look at the the driving range over here that one's getting all overgrown and that's right on you know visual site as people are driving by Main Street so things like that they need and I know conservation has brought that up to NEX 's attention to cut the grass at the driving range they said they're going to get right on it their right on it could be who knows how long but that's the whole purpose of the cash shy for the screening um and and we do we will be on a kind of a rotation of the Town planner kind of keeping an eye on how things look so we need to to vote on a cash shity for the next 5 years for the vegetative screening and permit screen for Robinson Road how much again I don't know if we need this is my personal opinion I don't know if we need the full 92 because I don't foresee having to replace everything uh but I would entertain a motion so I do have um I guess the other question is that um do we have a um youve the right to to add the language that this stuff needs to be removed and disposed of after 5 years or as as determined uh I think we can yeah I think we okay or sooner if this stuff happens to take off and come up high enough for some you know yeah if the vegetation takes off you know um like I I I did express my concerns with this Perma screen when it came up what I'm afraid of is it's going to be ripped a shreds in about a year and they're going to have to go back and replace it hence the reason why I think we should keep the whole thing because if they walk again somebody walks away you know they get tired of it they got to replace it three times um so I might just get tired of that right it's um in the next 5 years that I wouldn't doubt that shreds in a year I've seen what this stuff does yeah what a good with a good wind well that's and that's a wide open you know what I'm saying the wind is going to be coming right through you know you got a big field right across the street and that's going to do one of two things is either going to keep them on que keep to keep up the maintenance between grass cutting and um and uh maintaining the you know what's the the vegetation screen um keeping up with it then waiting till the last minute U and then say that we get another five years for that PR screen that's just kind of how I look at it you know and the way and the way the cost of business has been going um that's you know it yeah that might be that might be inflation on 20,000 the way things have been in the last couple of years yeah and it's no joke we're all experiencing it from in everyday life you know did we have any anything um when we voted on that Perma screen did we have anything in I thought we had something in there about maintaining it for 10 years I thought we had put that in there I think it's five I think it's maintaining it for five years and then did we put anything in to uh I think Steve brings up a valid [Music] point that I don't recall off the top of my head um where would we um where would we put that asct of uh they're responsible for removing it after 5 years when uh when did you guys vote on that uh screen probably did that about April May yeah April May um I think you can just add it in now I mean did you guys discuss that at the time I know you just said you guys wanted them to main it for five years was it sort of imply that they were supposed to remove it have to look at the you don't want it to just get uh to just get left and just keep getting destroyed and ripped up and ripped up and ripped up and it just stays there forever nobody right right and after 5 years we have nothing to say while you go back and fix it and repair it they only have to do it for 5 years so I don't know if that's something we might want to look into I think that I think we should you know have this discussion but I think we should put this off to the next meeting once we eyon out what we can can can I do yep you that's my that's my biggest my biggest fair I mean I mean right now it's up it's there um I don't know if we have that you know obviously votes may be taken they don't have to be taken um tonight though it's agenda is written so I don't know what to um is there anybody out on Zoom uh from next here you know what that would be a bad idea cuz then by then uh concom would have rescinded their vote by then and then we would have uh Clean and Clear um and then we can get some clarification on what stipulations we can put on this Perma Perma screen should say Temple screen not Perma screen Temple screen should be temper screen all right what it is I'll entertain a motion to continue the Robinson Road uh screening shity to our next meeting so moved second favor hi hi fabulous continue all right uh current planning as of right now we have a planner but there is nothing to discuss at the moment uh she's still uh figuring things out getting her feet wet and figuring out how we do things around here um I will say talking with her today for the first time CU we had just met earlier this morning um she brings a lot of good knowledge she has uh good experience from her previous positions and she's already enlightened me on quite a few things so I'm looking forward to working with her and I think she's going to be a great asset to this board uh long range planning we have none other business as of right now nothing came in within the last 48 hours our next meeting is Thursday August 22nd does anybody have anything they'd like to discuss can I get a motion a motion can second all in favor [Music] [Music] [Music]