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Committee approves solar agreements and railroad crossing for EV chargers; one procurement draws a bid protest
Summary
The committee approved an intermunicipal grant agreement with the Village of New Paltz for solar panels and advanced a contract award for a county solar installation while noting a procurement protest; it also authorized a right-of-way crossing for Tesla to install chargers at a Kingston plaza.
The Ulster County committee approved a set of items advancing county renewable-energy and electric-vehicle infrastructure while flagging procurement and exclusivity concerns.
Resolution 84 authorized an intermunicipal agreement with the Village of New Paltz to install solar panels at the village water-treatment plant; the motion passed in committee (a subsequent procedural change in the record updated earlier abstentions to a unanimous committee approval).
Resolution 85, a contract recommendation to award $1,427,490.29 to Solar Liberty Energy Systems Inc. for a county solar project through a mini-bid under an OGS contract, was moved forward by the committee but staff reported there is an active protest by a competing bidder (National Solar). Director Doyle (Department of Planning and Public Works) said the procurement used OGS prequalified bidders and that county staff are preparing a response and consulting OGS on bid-template issues.
On transportation and EV infrastructure, the committee authorized a right-to-cross the Ulster & Delaware Railroad corridor near Kingston to allow Tesla Inc. to install a directional bore and conduit for fast chargers at the Hannaford Plaza. Planning staff said the crossing would be a directional bore installed to provide a conduit to charging stations owned by Tesla; Central Hudson requested certain clearances and the applicant had consulted adjacent property owners and the plaza site plan. Several legislators raised equity and exclusivity concerns because Tesla chargers can be less universally compatible; Legislator Green noted cost and availability implications for non-Tesla drivers while Legislator Nolan said he uses a non-Tesla vehicle with an adapter to access Tesla chargers.
Ending: The committee advanced the solar grant and contract items for further processing while noting the pending bid protest; the railroad crossing for Tesla chargers was approved in committee with recorded opposition from three legislators.
