March 13th, 2018
ARKPORT, NY – The Hornellsville Town Board took the first steps in applying for a $50,000 grant Tuesday night by passing 4 resolutions. There are 10 communities vying for 5 grants and in order to qualify 4 out of 10 criteria must be met for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). If the town meets all of its obligations and for some reason does not get the grant, it is still guaranteed $5,000.
The first is for the town to adopt a NYS solar energy permit process. This involves reducing the cost of solar projects by streamlining the process via installation of new procedures. This will allow the codes enforcement officer to issue building permits for small scale photovoltaic systems. The fees for such systems will be set by the Town Board.
A photovoltaic system is a power system designed to supply usable solar power by means of an arrangement of several components, including solar panels and a solar inverter that changes electric current from DC to AC, as well as mounting, cabling, and other electrical accessories.
The second criteria to be met will be benchmarking. This involves taking bills from any building over 1000 sq ft and submitting them to a NYSERDA panel and then they will decide where money can be saved.
The third involves sending the code enforcement officer to NYSERDA training and the fourth will involve installing an electric 2 port car charging bay. According to Town Supervisor Dan Broughton, the location of the bay has yet to be determined and grants and rebates will be available to help with the cost of the new bays.
In other news the board has increased the building permit fees to $10 per year with a penalty increase to $50 and the Town Hall is now issuing hunting, fishing and trapping licenses.
