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RIPLEY – Ripley Town board members approved two resolutions relating to the solar zoning bill at their regular meeting this month.
The first resolution was a negative statement of environmental significance under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA).
City Supervisor Doug Bowen reviewed actions the city has taken since May 13, when the city introduced the Solar Law. The city council returned the solar law to the Chautauqua County Planning Council for review and comment. After that, the city did a full environmental assessment, then the council accepted public comment, and then held a public hearing on August 12.
City council members held two meetings / working sessions with lawyer Benjamin Wisniewski to review comments from the August 12 public hearing on the solar zoning bill. The first special meeting / workshop took place on August 26th and the second on August 31st.
The second resolution was to pass the proposed solar law and ask City Clerk Rebecca Carvallo to file it with the Secretary of State in Albany. “A lot of works have been incorporated into the law by a lot of people”, Bowen said. “It’s a law we can all live with.
After the board approved both resolutions, Wisniewski, who joined the meeting via ZOOM, told the board that there was a proposal from LaBella Associates for the 94C procedure for the solar project. He recommended that council accept the proposal, noting that “They did a great job.
Wisniewski also told the board that there was a request for $ 213,000 from New York State. He said about $ 88,000 would go to LaBella and $ 125,000 would cover legal fees. “It could be decided in about a month from now”, he said.
In other cases, the council has approved the hiring of Gloria McCormick as the city’s dog control officer. Board member Paul Chimera suggested that she be hired on a probationary period and the motion was brought forward and passed to have a one-year probation period for her.
In another staff case, Bowen told council that two weeks’ notice had been received from one of the road workers. “We have to post for the job” Bowen said. “Applications must be received by October 15th and Jim (Spacht) will interview applicants.”
Bowen also suggested that the board consider hosting a brush collection day. The motion was presented and approved to set brush collection for the second Saturday in May, starting in 2022.
It’s the same day as the big garbage collection day and will take place from 8 a.m. to noon, Bowen noted.
Assistant Supervisor Mike Rowe and Carvallo raised the issue of leaf collection. “We have a lot of early leaves falling this year, especially maple trees”, Rowe said. “We may need an early harvest of leaves.” “It seems the leaves have been falling since July”, Carvallo added.
The council decided to start collecting leaves on the first Monday in October, probably one day a week at the start. They also set the big fall day for garbage cans for Saturday, October 2.
Carvallo also informed the board that an offer of “Wooden nickel” which were made to celebrate past events at Ripley are available for sale. She circulated a collection of five of them in a wallet and asked the board to set a price. The council decided on $ 1 for a memorial “wooden nickel” or $ 5 for a pack of five.
The board of directors has decided to move its meeting from October to Tuesday, November 9.
During the public comments, questions were raised about the approval of the South Ripley solar project. Bowen replied: “What we have approved here tonight is the zoning law, not the project – there is a big difference.”
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