Committee says city is negotiating sale of industrial land for substation and maintenance shed tied to proposed solar project

At the Aug. 20 meeting of the New London Economic Development Committee, City Administrator Chad Hearst said the city is negotiating an offer to sell parcels in the industrial park for a substation and a maintenance shed related to a proposed regional solar project, but that no final decision has been made.

The details matter because the developer's materials indicate the solar array itself would not be in New London, while the substation and maintenance building would be sited on city-owned land. “Their proposal as they've provided information in the past, is that none of the solar array would be in New London. The only items that they're asking from the city is to purchase land for a maintenance shed and then a substation that would, connect to the ATC substation,” Hearst said.

The issue drew several public commenters. Steven Sternberg told the committee he was concerned about panel materials and potential impacts on soil, saying, “If it's galvanized steel, that puts zinc in the ground. And that that ground cannot be used against for anything planting.” Darla Mashkin asked for clarification about two separate parcels she has heard discussed: “There's 2 acres that may or may not be for sale... and then there's also 1,600 acres on the North Side,” and asked who is responsible for each parcel and when those discussions would be publicly posted.

Hearst said the city has received an offer to purchase and that staff are still negotiating the terms. “They did make an offer to purchase. We are negotiating that offer to purchase as the committee knows. I am not in a position right now yet after we're not done negotiating, and the attorneys are still involved. So I'm hoping to have something ready for our next meeting, in September,” he said.

Committee members and staff reiterated that prior meetings and a public meeting at the Washington Center about the solar proposal were publicly posted and are available online. Hearst directed residents to meeting recordings and materials for more information and said any formal sale or change would be brought back to the committee when negotiations conclude.

Discussion: committee members discussed no formal action at the Aug. 20 meeting; staff were instructed to continue negotiations and to return with a staff report and any attorney recommendations at the next meeting if a final offer is ready. No motion to sell or to approve terms was made at the meeting.

Next steps: Hearst said staff will continue negotiating the offer, counsel is involved, and the committee will be updated at a future meeting if terms are finalized.