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Rhinebeck board approves amended community solar agreement, to attach village addendum on payment schedule
Summary
The Village of Rhinebeck approved an amended intermunicipal agreement to join Marbletown’s community solar project and authorized drafting a village addendum to shift the village’s payment date to July.
The Village of Rhinebeck board voted to approve a revised intermunicipal agreement (IMA) to subscribe village utility accounts to the Marbletown (Panda/Marbletown) community solar project and authorized drafting a village addendum to change the village’s payment schedule to July.
The board’s action formalizes Rhinebeck’s recent decision to add village water and wastewater accounts to the community solar subscription after the solar project was commissioned. Eric, a representative from Vanda who attended the meeting, confirmed the change aligns with the project’s current operations. “I understand your concern. I think...we’ve always filled the villages in July,” Eric said, referring to the payment timing.
Board members said the standard IMA dates are driven by town fiscal calendars — which require earlier commitments — and do not match Rhinebeck’s budget cycle. A board member who led the motion said the village would sign the IMA as written but attach an addendum specifying that the village will pay on a July schedule rather than in November. The same board member said, “If we’re gonna sign this contract, then we should do an addendum if we are going to be paying in July instead of in November.”
The board approved the motion by voice vote. No dollar amounts or specific subscriber counts were stated at the vote; the transcript shows the board will pay based on subscriber numbers provided by Panda in January and will arrange to pay on the village’s fiscal timetable.
The board did not adopt a separate Rhinebeck IMA; members said having multiple IMAs with Panda would be impractical. Instead, the village will attach its addendum to the standard agreement and circulate it for signatures.
The vote was taken by voice; the transcript records the motion, a second, and a successful “aye” vote. The board did not specify an effective payment date beyond the commitment to use a July payment schedule in the addendum, and the board did not disclose the precise financial obligation at the meeting.
