Oakfield wind farms expansion subject of special town meeting

  OAKFIELD, Maine — Residents of Oakfield will have an opportunity to express their opinions on a proposed wind farm project in the community during a public hearing Monday, Nov. 21, at 6 p.m. in the Oakfield Community Center.
A special town meeting will follow the hearing at 7 p.m. At that town meeting, residents will be asked if they favor creating a TIF (Tax Increment Finance) district for First Wind, a company who hopes to develop a wind energy project. A TIF district is a public financing method, which allows developers to use future gains in taxes to help fund a project. TIF districts can be used to help fund new projects or redevelop areas within the district.
First Wind was originally permitted for 34 turbines along Sam Drew Mountain in September 2009 at a special town meeting. Construction never commenced as the Martha A. Powers Land Trust challenged the project. Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court rejected the Land Trust’s appeal in March 2011.
Now First Wind is looking to expand its project to 50 turbines, with 40 of those located in Oakfield. The remaining 10 are in unorganized territory. Many of the turbines would be located on a ridge about three miles from Pleasant Pond and Mattawamkeag Lake.
The turbines are similar to the ones First Wind erected at Mars Hill and Danforth and reach a height of nearly 400 feet. A portion of the windmills would be visible from Interstate 95.
In order to move forward, another town vote is required, according to Oakfield Town Manager Dale Morris. He admits there are some who oppose wind farms, but voters approved the Oakfield project in September 2009 by nearly a 9-1 measure.
“We do have some people locally who are concerned about noise impacts,” he added.
The financial benefit to the town of Oakfield will be immense.
“The town is scheduled to receive about $14.3 million over a 20-year period,” Morris said. “The fiscal impact to this project is astronomical.”
The town has 14 projects it will be able to fund over a 20-year period with the money it receives from First Wind. Among those projects are the construction of a centrally located public safety building to include the town office and fire station at a cost of about $2.5 million.
Other projects include:
• Acquisition and replacement of fire station equipment, including two new fire trucks, at a total cost of $750,000.
• Local road reconstruction of about 21 miles, at a cost of $7,525,000.
• Purchase and replacement of public works equipment, including a plow truck, grader, backhoe and other equipment, at a cost of $392,000.
• Capital improvements for the village area of town ($750,000).
• Construction of a town salt shed and materials ($900,000).
“Some of these projects really need to be done, but in order for us to do them, taxes would have to go up,” Morris said.
Oakfield’s mill rate is $16.70. Morris said he doesn’t think a reduction in the mill rate would be likely.
“I think there should be tax stability,” he said.
The town also plans to create a “local mitigation review process” for public and private noise abatements and also establish a $500,000 fund to mitigate any public or private loss in property values that may occur if the TIF district is created.
The town manager would also see a 20 percent increase in salary ($12,000 annually) associated with the increased tasks of community and economic development, while the town’s code enforcement officer (currently Barry Higgins) would get a 50 percent increase in salary ($15,000 annually) due to increased responsibilities.
“By state law, the developer must provide tangible benefits to the community,” Morris said. “What they have done is offer the town a payment of $600,000 per year, with 90 percent of that being used for local property tax relief.”
Any full-time resident who receives a Homestead Exemption on their tax bills would receive a check in the amount of about $2,300 a year for 20 years.
Seasonal residents, which total about 100 people according to Morris, will not receive the tax rebate.  There are 235 full-time households in Oakfield. Therefore, it stands to reason that many of those in opposition to the project are seasonal residents, he said.
The power will be exported onto the New England “ISO grid,” Morris said. That requires the construction of a transmission line from Oakfield to Chester.
“Some people think that the power goes to the out-of-state residents,” Morris said. “There is a lot of misunderstanding with this. Maine is one of 10 states that belong to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Utility companies must have a percentage of renewable energy. The power can stay here, but it depends on who buys the power.”
First Wind is an independent North American wind energy company located in Boston that focuses exclusively on the operation of utility-scale wind projects in the U.S. The company operates 11 wind projects in New England, New York, Utah, Vermont and Hawaii that generate 735 megawatts of electricity. The Oakfield project is one of three currently under development that will add an additional 141 megawatts of energy.
A similar wind farm exists in the Danforth area and is one of the largest operational utility-scale wind farms in New England, generating 83 megawatts of energy.
According to the company’s website, “Oakfield Wind is a new renewable energy project proposed within Maine’s Aroostook County. The wind farm will be located approximately 2.5 miles from the center of Oakfield, helping the community harvest and utilize the area’s abundant wind resource.
“To date, First Wind has analyzed the wind resource, met with Oakfield town officials, and established partnerships with landowners to lease land for the wind turbines and transmission line right-of-ways. First Wind will also be working with several leading companies in Maine to develop the Oakfield Wind project, including: SGC Engineering, based in Westbrook; and Stantec, based in Portland. SGC Engineering will be providing both civil and electrical engineering, transmission system design, aerial photography and control, and support land acquisition services. For more details about SGC, visit their website (www.sgceng.com). Stantec will be providing environmental consulting services, which will include drafting applications and conducting a wide range of environmental studies.”