John Cowley Dec. 7, 2007 Letter to the Editor

To the editor:

I live in Naples NY.

Canadiagua Power Partners has a wind farm project in Cohocton NY. UPC is the Developer in Cohocton and other Townships surrounding Naples. Steuben County Industrial Developement Agency (SCIDA) along with its Executive Director, James P Sherron have guided this Wind Farm Project to our south. A PILOT Program (payment in lieu of taxes) is due to be adopted for the area on December 20th. This PILOT Program will net Cohocton-Wayland School District $37,500.00 per year. This figure is published by the Town of Cohocton.
One need not try to put an accurate figure on the cost of the Wind project(s) in question to realize that the PILOT Program is rediculous when it comes to the tax base for the Towns and School Districts. Who has paid for the project to begin with? YOU! The projects are heavily subsidised by NYS and then we would have us give up Tax revenue to our Schools as well.

In Naples NY on December 12th at 7pm, Naples Central School Board of Education will have its monthly meeting. James P Sherron has been invited to inform the Board of the PILOT Program along with a UPC representitive. They will likely tell us why Tubines #1,#2,and #3 on the point of Pine Hill and in the Naples School District will be beneficial to our community.

Rumour has it that the State will dissolve SCIDA at the end of 2007 and UPC is under the Canadaigua Power Partners an LLC with no Board or elected officers. What is going on here. What has happened? Turbines 1,2 and 3 have an estimated value of $2-3 million apiece. Apparently the location within the School district of these 3 turbines is new to the Board of Education (BOE) and Superindant at Naples Central. This is believable. What isn't believable is that NYS supports a progam that takes tax revenue from its School Districts and puts it the hands of for-profit companies. Why in this world would a State expect its own Schools to roll over in this way.

Just for the record there are 50 Wind Turbines in this single project and Wayland-Cohocton School District is getting $37,500.00 annually. That is $750.00 each. What might be offered to us for just three. HMMMM. We will find out.

1) Canadaigua Power Partners has no Board of Directors that I could find. They are an LLC...Low Liability Corporation and perhaps those in the know understand that they are very 2 dimensional. But of course NYS sanctions these LLC's. What are you going to do?

2) Who is James P. Sherron? and who is UPC..I guess they have the Jobs to develop. They get to manage the money coming into their projects. What about taxation for this project when it comes to Schools. Who has the Job to tell a Taxing Governing Body i.e. a School District in another county that they must accept a PILOT. It is not a Developer and not the horse he rode in on.

3) Does the Board of Education in Naples have to take the Money or get nothing? Not according to New York State real property law. It states that any School District in NYS has the authority to tax within its School District.