ANTRIM PLANNING BOARD
MEETING MINUTES
July 7, 2016
Joint Meeting
Members & Staff Present:
Jeanne Cahoon(Vice-Chair) Chris Condon (Chair) Michael Frosch (Member) Colleen Giffin (Planning Assistant) Bob Holmes (Member) Steve MacDonald (Member)
Janet McEwen (Member) Carol Ogilvie (Consultant Planner) John Robertson (Ex-officio) Bob Edwards (Selectman) Mike Genest (Selectman) Donna Hanson (Town Administrator)
Members Absent: Elsa Voelcker (Alternate)
Public Attendees : Diane Chauncey, Ben Pratt, Shelly Nelkens, Paul Hardwick, Ron Haggett, Richard Edmunds , Scott Kearns, William Bryk, Lynne Rosansky,
Presenters: NH Solar Garden Developer Andrew Kellar, Nobis Engineer Brett Kay
7:00PM Public Hearing:
Chair Condon opened the meeting at 7:00.
Chair Condon explained how a public meeting would be run. He introduced the Board of Selectmen and the Planning Board.
The Secretary read the Public Notice.
The Board of Selectmen and the Planning Board for the Town of Antrim will be holding an information session at 7:00 PM Thursday, July 7, 2016 at the Antrim Town Hall.
They will be providing information on the Solar Array project to be built on town land at the Water & Sewer Department off Depot Street.
Town Administrator Hanson answered that the notice was published in a local newspaper twice, the town website, the town bulletin boards in the Post Office, inside and outside of the town hall.
NH Solar Garden
Mr. Kellar explained what his company does and gave a list of the company’s credentials and towns where they have projects going. His company goes into a town an chooses a piece
of property that is under used, builds a solar array, attaches it to the electrical infrastructure and they share the power with the town and residents. This is called a community solar project.
They have projects in Rochester, Keene, Hinsdale and several other NH towns. They have the largest solar project in the state ready to be turned on in Milton NH.
Mr. Kellar came before the Planning Board to address the concerns of wetlands being found in the area of where the solar garden will be set up. The company is trying to design
the array to maximum the benefits of the towns land lease, design an array large enough to help still help the town lower its electric bill and be respectful to the wetlands and the abutters.
The solar panels will be south facing tilted at a 45 degree fixed angle. Panels will be six to eight feet long and stand two to three feet off the ground. Please see attached.
Mr. Kellar explained that Mr. Kay from Nobis would be filling out and filing all the necessary wetland permits and submitting them to Department of Environmental Services.
Chair Condon opened the floor to the public for questions.
Questions were asked about the buffer between the abutters and the panels.
About the tree line in the buffer zone. Will the trees left affect the light going to the solar panels.
Mr. Brett answered about the decommission process. When the panels are decommissioned the property will be set back into its original condition,
with just the cement pad where the electrical equipment will be set up left behind. The holes will be seeded and the company will be in charge of keeping up the vegetation.
The Solar Garden Company has an erosion plans set in place for all their projects. They physically maintain the property after the panels are removed.
A drainage analysis has to be done to see what the company has to do to keep the wetlands intact.
Discussion ensued about DES involvement and the panel’s upkeep.
Mr. Kellar personally does most of the landscaping work himself on the solar projects. Keeping the vegetation under control can be the most challenging part of the up keep of the solar panels.
He also does most of the snow removal himself as well pointing out that the winter month contributes the most power to the panels.
When asked how residents could connect to the panels Mr. Kellar explained how easy the process was. This process included filling out a form found on the NH Solar Garden website,
using electricity, paying your bill every month and receiving a check at the end of the year based on how much electricity the resident used. Rates are on average a penny a kilowatt.
The benefits to Antrim are the land lease benefits as well as the energy savings could be up to $12,000 the first year.
Chair Condon closed the public hearing.
Approve June 16 Meeting Minutes
Ms. Cahoon moved to approve the amended meeting minutes of June 16. Mr. Holmes seconded.
Vote: By a voice vote, all agreed.
A question was raised to Ms. Ogilvie if it would be possible for her to add some criteria in the updated Home Business/ Occupation Ordinances about people having daily yard sales all year round.
Motion: Ms. McEwen made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Frosch seconded the motion.
Vote: By a voice vote, all agreed.
Meeting adjourned 7:40 pm
Respectfully Submitted By,
Colleen Giffin
Secretary of the Planning Board
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