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Canajoharie board declines road widenings sought for Flat Creek Solar project
Summary
The Town Board adopted Resolution #15 on Aug. 11, 2025 declining to approve a Road Use Agreement that would widen limited rural roads to serve the proposed 300-megawatt Flat Creek Solar project, citing lack of property rights and fiscal impracticality; the board noted changes would not serve the public absent the project.
The Canajoharie Town Board on Aug. 11 adopted Resolution #15 refusing to accept the Road Use Agreement proposed by Flat Creek Solar NY, LLC for a proposed 300-megawatt industrial solar facility.
The resolution, sponsored by Town Supervisor Michael Muhlebeck and seconded by Councilman William Armitstead, says the draft agreement sought road widenings on constrained, seasonal roads — specifically naming Canyon Road and Miller Drive and flagging Lincoln Road as similarly limited — and that the town does not have the property rights needed to widen those roadways. The resolution states, in part, "That the Road Use Agreement is unable to be accepted and approved by the Town due to the limitations of size and scope of the proposed roads." The board cited fiscal impracticality and the finding that, "absent this Project, the proposed changes to these rural agricultural roadways serve no practical purpose for the general public and residents and visitors to the Town."
The resolution notes the Town has participated in the proceeding under Public Service Law Article 8 related to the project's siting and that road-use commitments are a component of the applicant's transportation plan and of the siting review by the state siting authority. Town officials said they had retained planners, engineers and roadway experts to review the draft Road Use Agreement and that the agreement contains many provisions the Town found unsatisfactory.
The board recorded the action as an official refusal to approve the draft Road Use Agreement; the resolution instructs that the agreement "is not accepted or approved" because the Town declines to acquire adjoining private property to facilitate widenings and because applying public funds to such work was deemed excessive and unreasonable. The resolution was adopted by the board; the vote was recorded by town staff as carried.
The Board's action does not itself block a state siting determination by the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (the state siting authority for major projects), but it signals the Town will not agree to road-acquisition or widening on the terms proposed. The resolution leaves open the prospect that the applicant could revise its transportation plan or negotiate a different road-use arrangement with affected landowners and the Town.
