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Port Jervis board clears environmental review for proposed 2.25 MW solar field; engineering contract approved
Summary
The Port Jervis Board approved a SEQRA agency-establishment resolution and an engineering contract to advance a proposed 2.25-megawatt solar array, and authorized municipal-advisor services to support financing of the energy performance contract; the board said voter approval will be required under the contract structure.
The Port Jervis City School District Board of Education voted to classify the proposed Vicaretti/Route 209 solar project as a Type I action under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and approved an engineering services contract to move the project into design.
During discussion the board described the project as a roughly 2.25-megawatt array sited on about 10 acres intended to offset the district’s electricity costs. Board members said construction procurement will follow the engineering contract; the board also approved engaging a municipal advisor to help structure the performance-contract financing and any bond sale related to the project.
Board members explained that the project is structured as an energy performance contract and therefore will require voter approval. At the meeting a finance explanation noted that New York State energy performance contracting rules include a guaranteed payback window (the board cited an 18-year statutory horizon and estimated a shorter local payback of about 13 years under current assumptions). Members said a clean audit and sound finances improve the district’s position when seeking favorable bond rates.
Votes on the SEQRA classification, the engineering contract and the municipal-advisor authorization were taken by voice; each motion was seconded and carried with no recorded opposition. The board indicated construction-vendor approval will be considered at a subsequent meeting after completion of the design and procurement steps.
What’s next: the district will complete engineering design, finalize procurement for a construction contractor, work with the municipal advisor on financing documents, and present any voter proposition required under the energy performance contract rules.
