The Clymer Town Board held its final public hearing on a proposed solar project on Upper Road. Members of the public are pictured at last week’s Town Board meeting where the project was discussed. P-J photo by Sara Holthouse

CLYMER — Clymer residents have a lot of questions about a proposed solar project — and now Clymer Town Board members will have to decide if the questions outweigh the benefits.

The Clymer Town Board recently held its fourth and final public hearing regarding the solar project on Upper Road.

Familiar faces and some new faces were in attendance to let the board hear their questions and concerns regarding the project. Main concerns addressed from the public remain the same — setback request, aesthetics of the area, noise, weather, taxes, neighbors not being notified of the project, and the decommissioning process.

“We know there’s a lot of issues at stake, and we certainly appreciate everyone’s attendance here tonight,” Town Supervisor Brian Willink said at last week’s meeting.

The solar farm built in the village of Sherman was also discussed, with a question if that company had gone bankrupt. Town Attorney Joel Seachrist said he had not heard anything about the company working with Sherman going bankrupt.

“That project is different from just about every other project in Chautauqua County in that it is the village of Sherman that is doing the project,” Seachrist said. “The village of Sherman has contracted with Solar Liberty, a company based in Buffalo, to build that project. Solar Liberty then contracted with what I believe is a Spanish company for the actual installation.”

Seachrist added that Solar Liberty has other projects across Chautauqua County.

Specifically for RIC Energy, representative Andy Welch reminded those in attendance that they have a bond issue agreement with the town to be revisited every five years. When asked how long the company has been around, he said they have been in existence for 20 years and in the United States for 10 years. They have only started projects in New York state recently.

Other concerns brought up include what might happen if 6 feet of snow ends up on the panels in the winter, and if the town allows for a setback waiver for the first project, will that then set a precedent to do that every time, even with the specific setbacks stated in the law?

Willink officially closed the public hearing, adding that there is more research to do.

“There will be no vote taken tonight,” Willink said. “We have research to do and, obviously, we want to make sure we get everybody’s comments at least addressed and hopefully answered to the best of our ability.”

Willink said the board will do its best to get the information out to everybody, adding that there is not currently a good form of mass communication for the town of Clymer as everyone has different ways of communicating and not everyone has Facebook or receives the newspaper.

In other business:

¯ the first public hearing for the town’s second solar project, located on Clymer Hill Road and being done by Clean Choice Energy, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8;

¯ the board has begun to look at the town’s preliminary budget. Appropriations have increased along with the sales tax. There will be a tax levy increase of 7.8%. The current tax rate is $4.73/$1,000 of assessed value. A 7.8% increase would take that number to $5.09 /$1,000.

A homeowner with a property assessed at $100,000 would see a $36 increase in their taxes. There are other items to consider, like the STAR program, as well as any equalization rate change that may be coming;

¯ the sidewalk project has been tabled for spring 2024;

¯ The board has been hearing comments in regard to Clymer pond being green because of an increase in algae. There was no gully washer or chance to flush the pond this summer. Willink said they will see what happens as the board does not currently have a lot of money to devote to it;

¯ Clymer’s Trick-or-Treat hours will be from 5-7 p.m. on Halloween.