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Residents and board hear proposal for sidewalk tied to proposed solar project; district weighs maintenance and liability
Summary
Residents who live adjacent to the proposed solar site across Boyd School Road urged the Board to consider stormwater, glare and sound concerns; district facilities staff described an offer by the developer to install and donate a sidewalk that would land on district property and flagged long‑term maintenance and liability issues.
Two residents who live near the high school told the Board they oppose a proposed solar farm north of Boyd School Road and urged trustees to consider potential impacts on district property if the developer's plan advances.
Holly Fox, speaking with her husband Larry Plank, said she and an engineering and legal team have reviewed the developer’s materials and believe the plan contains deficiencies. Fox told the board the family has filed a land‑use appeal in Pennsylvania court and offered to provide the district copies of independent engineering reviews concerning stormwater, solar glare and sound studies prepared for the project’s developer.
Josh Reynolds, speaking for facilities, described the developer, Soul America (on behalf of Adams Miller Solar Development), as proposing to meet Strabane Township’s sidewalk requirement by installing a sidewalk on the district side of Boyd School Road and then donating that sidewalk to the district. Reynolds said the district has not taken a position on permitting the solar project and that the sidewalk offer is still at the conceptual stage.
Facilities staff noted pros and cons: the district would receive a built sidewalk without upfront cost, but the district would assume long‑term maintenance, snow and ice removal, repair and liability for a path that currently “leads to nowhere” where the sidewalk terminates in grass. Reynolds also said the township could allow Soul America to fulfill its obligation by installing equivalent footage elsewhere in the township if the district declines the donated sidewalk.
Reynolds explained municipal land‑development rules that could trigger a district obligation to install sidewalks: if the district were to build a permanent structure over 1,000 square feet (for example, a large concession building or permanent bleachers), that could trigger land‑development requirements and a local obligation to provide curb, gutter and sidewalk along the relevant frontage. He said the district has no current plans in its five‑year outlook that would trigger those requirements.
Board members thanked the public speakers and said the item was informational; no board decision on accepting a donated sidewalk or taking a position on the solar project was made that night. Trustees asked facilities staff to continue due diligence and to bring design and maintenance details for any donated infrastructure forward for review before any acceptance or transfer of maintenance responsibility.
Ending: The district will monitor the township permitting process for the solar project and expects further information and any proposed donation agreement to return to the board for formal consideration.
