Supervisor details town finances, solar farm financing and draft Bard water agreement

Supervisor Robert opened the board meeting with a financial snapshot for the period ending Jan. 31, 2026. "We started with an opening balance of 10,828,000 and change receipts of 1,658,000... an ending balance of $9,554,000," he said. He directed board members to the variance report prepared by the town bookkeeper and noted that one small premium adjustment ($690) related to retiree insurance was included in the adjustments.

During questions about the town's solar farm project (previously authorized borrowing), Supervisor Robert summarized financing and incentives: he said the project borrowing totaled approximately $1,820,000, NYSERDA incentives were around $150,000, and a direct-payment option created by the Inflation Reduction Act produced a roughly $450,000 payment that the town expects after the system is live and the required IRS paperwork is filed. He described the current borrowing as a 12-month bond anticipation note and said longer-term borrowing (e.g., 15 years) would be considered later depending on final costs.

Later in the meeting the board reviewed a draft water agreement with Bard College concerning contribution to tank rehabilitation. Supervisor Robert said Bard proposed a total contribution of $200,000 (two future payments of $100,000), roughly 12% of an anticipated project estimate of about $1,670,000 including contingencies. A council member asked how Bard arrived at the figure; Supervisor Robert said he could not speak for Bard and that the college may have calculated value based on avoided costs if Bard were charged out-of-district rates over time.

The board asked staff to circulate the water-agreement draft to the water board for comment and to continue negotiations with Bard.

Next steps: Town staff to circulate grant/variance schedules and the draft water agreement to the water board and return with more detail at a future meeting.