NOVEMBER 27 - DECEMBER 3, 2014 • 3
THE RIVER REPORTER
Cooperative forms to bring clean energy to non-profits By ISABEL BRAVERMAN
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ONESDALE, PA — Sustainable Energy Education and Development Support, or SEEDS, is a community-based organization in Northeastern Pennsylvania committed to developing local renewable energy infrastructure and promoting more sustainable living in our area. Out of SEEDS, the Clean Energy Co-operative was recently formed. Jack Barnett, the president of the co-op and a member of SEEDS, said one of the things they wanted to do was take what they are doing at SEEDS and increase its scale by expanding to commercial and bigger businesses. “We wanted to do it in a way that would benefit the community,” Barnett said, “especially all the nonprofits and other community organizations that really make our place here in Northeast Pennsylvania what it is and why we love it.” Many individuals and for-profit businesses can receive incentives, tax credits and grants to help fund the installation of a solar system. However, those kinds of benefits are not available for non-profit organizations. Also, the availability of incentives has recently decreased in Pennsylvania. So non-profits don’t have the range of options for financing that other types of businesses or residential users do. The Clean Energy Coop is a way to help with that. “Our first set of things we want to do is finance, build and operate medium-scale solar systems on non-profits in our area,” Barnett said. They will do this by getting funds from members of the co-op. The member will be able to buy preferred shares in the co-op and that money will get a return on it. It will be used to finance the system, and the nonprofit owning the building the system is built on will pay Clean Energy Co-op for the energy produced, allowing the co-op to pay back the investors with a modest return. “It’s a win and a win,” said board member Sue Currier, “because I’m going to get a return on my investment—it’s slow money so it’s not going to be like I’m investing in the
stock exchange—but it is going to be something I really feel good about, because I’m investing in a green local business. I’m putting my money where my mouth is in a very local way.” Recently, Clean Energy Co-operative held its first meeting. More than 30 people attended and signed on as members. They also elected a seven-member board of directors. Barnett is the president; Chuck Heyn is vice president; Mike Rollison is treasurer; and Michele Sands is secretary. The board is completed by Sue Currier, Dick Riseling and Mark Terwillinger. Barnett said they are “all local champions of doing things for our community.” The members pay a little capital up front to acquire their membership, which provides enough money to get started. The co-op is governed by practices known as “slow money,” and one member equals one vote. The slowmoney business model circulates the money locally and provides other benefits to the community. “The slow- money model is all about pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps and aligning our wallets with our value system,” Barnett said. He explained that the concept is generally used with food-oriented businesses, but they took the same model and applied it to energy. “We say, let’s use our own wallets to do what we care about, which is seeing our community powered by clean energy,” he said. “It’s a wonderful self-empowering thing.” Barnett said most people finance solar systems through a special-purpose entity, or limited liability corporation. “Those are owned by people who invest in them; and the rights to dictate, or manage, or direct that legal entity is corresponding to the amount of money the investor puts in. So, more dollars equals more votes,” Barnett said. In contrast, the one member, one vote concept ensures that “each of us gets one equal vote in directing how the co-op is managed and what projects we take on and things like that,” Barnett said. The first project that Clean Energy Co-op will take on is installing solar panels on the roof of The Co-operage
Photo by Roy Morsch
The newly elected members of the board of directors for the Clean Energy Cooperative, based in Honesdale, PA, are Dick Riseling, left, Mike Rollison, Sue Currier, Jack Barnett, Mark Terwillinger, Michele Sands and Chuck Heyn. in Honesdale. So far they have a letter of intent, and are working on an engineering study. They still need to get quotes for installation costs and get building permits, and the owner of the building needs to replace the roof. The construction will start in the spring. “We’re just getting started,” Barnett said. “We envision ourselves as being able to do projects both wider geographically than just Wayne and Pike counties, and we envision ourselves as doing more than just community solar-type projects.” Some of those projects could include a buying club for renewable energy, such as sustainably raised wood pellets, and water projects similar to the hydro-powered radio station WJFF. “We envision not just what we’re doing in this first project, but doing that and a lot of other business activities that bring clean energy and a more sustainable environment to our community,” Barnett said. [For more information and to become a member, visit www.cleanenergy.co-op.]
Lumberland budget approved By DAVID HULSE
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LEN SPEY, NY — As a large school bond issue vote looms next month, Lumberland taxpayers learned last Wednesday that town tax increases will not be adding much to their concerns next year. Following their November 4 public hearing, the town board on November 12 approved a $2,455,068 appropriations budget for 2015. The budget employs a $125,000 fund balance to keep the town property tax rate increase to 0.73%. The January property tax bill is a combination of county and town taxes and Supervisor Nadia Rajsz’s comments were mostly directed at the county budget and proposed spending for a new jail. Noting a newly reported decrease in the town’s assessed valuations, she asked, “Do we really need such a luxurious facility?” Legislator and majority leader Kathy
LaBuda had been asked to attend in order to detail the county budget, but LaBuda notified the town she was unable to attend the Wednesday evening meeting.
ECS presentation The greater portion of the board meeting was devoted to a presentation by Eldred Central School District Superintendent Robert Dufour and Board of Education President Douglas Reiser. Last month, a resident complained of an upcoming $5 million school district bond issue, which prompted the town to invite school officials to detail their plans. Dufour said the bond issue resulted from recommendations in the district’s Five-Year Capital Facilities Plan, which was prepared by Savin Engineers of Pleasantville, NY and submitted to the board this spring. The report, on a scale of one to five, prioritized needs for repair and replacement of various facilities on
the district’s two campuses. Priority one includes “health and safety/life safety,” and items of non-compliance with codes. The report listed priority one items on the two campuses totaling $3,218,750. Priority two items, totaling $1,075,200, included items having “significant risk” of increasing or rapid building deterioration. Priority three items included building repairs totaling $382,520. Priority four and five issues covered athletic field improvements at both campuses totaling $885,225. Dufour and Reiser’s appearance prompted some questions and opposition. There were questions about the district’s oversight of past projects, subsequent additional public costs for earlier repairs, which were not bonded by the contractors. One resident accused the district of hiding the question from the public and scheduling a vote during the holiday season, when many people would be away.
Dufour said the district board has been reviewing and discussing the report since May and finally authorized the bond issue vote in October. The $5.56 million bond issue vote will take place on December 16 at the high school, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Complete project details and Dufour’s video presentation are available online at the district website, ecs.schoolwires. com//site/Default.aspx?PageID=2951 . In other town business, the board approved a proclamation of recognition for former town constable and chief constable Steven Crum, who served the town for over 20 years and died unexpectedly on October 5. The proclamation cited his volunteering in New York City after the 9/11 attack as well as his saving of two lives at a house fire scene in 2002. The board also approved an amendment to the volunteer emergency service Length of Service Award Plan (LOSAP) allowing a lump sum payment.