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Members back MOU to pursue lien waiver and redevelopment opportunities at Charlestown site
Summary
The membership supported a memorandum of understanding to seek an EPA lien waiver on a Charlestown property and discuss potential retail battery storage redevelopment; county staff said the lien was reduced from $14 million to $10,000 through negotiation.
Herkimer County members voted to support a memorandum of understanding to pursue approvals related to a Charlestown property, including seeking a waiver of an EPA lien, county staff reported at the meeting.
Speaker 3 said the county had negotiated with the lienholder and “finally convinced them to waive the lien for $10,000,” down from a previously cited $14,000,000 lien. The county plans to market the parcel for redevelopment and identified retail battery storage as a potential compatible use because of nearby power lines. Speaker 3 noted the parcel is roughly 14 acres.
The speaker said earlier cleanup work by the DEC (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation) and EPA indicated no off‑site migration from the property and that the county used an assessment grant to fund a Phase 1 environmental review. “We were able to use our assessment grant for the phase 1 environmental,” Speaker 3 said. The speaker also told the membership that a NYSERDA project would require an additional $10,000 payment but that the county was more likely to pursue private battery-storage developers than a NYSERDA-led approach.
Why it matters: The negotiated lien reduction and the county’s effort to clear title are prerequisites for marketing and redevelopment. Staff said the site’s condition and nearby transmission lines make it a candidate for retail battery storage, which would be a new private investment on county‑owned land.
Votes and next steps: The meeting record shows members voiced approval for the MOU and to move forward with approvals for EPA processes; the transcript does not list individual roll-call votes. Staff said there will be additional environmental work and subsequent meetings to finalize marketing or sale terms.
Supporting details: Speaker 3 described the site as largely clean after DEC/EPA work and said testing suggested contamination, where present, consisted mostly of metals rather than petroleum or chemical contamination. The speaker also noted the county has a survey map and said it can be circulated to members.
