Referred to: The Energy, Environment and Sustainability Committee (Chairman Hewitt and Legislators Donaldson, Greene, Litts, Nolan, Stewart, and Walls), The Public Works, Capital Projects and Transportation Committee (Chair Nolan and Legislators Donaldson, Kovacs, Litts, and McCollough), and The Ways and Means Committee (Chairman Gavaris and Legislators Collins, Hansut, Kovacs, Nolan, and Roberts)

Chair of the Public Works, Capital Projects and Transportation Committee, Kathy Nolan, and Deputy Chair Herbert Litts, III offer the following:

WHEREAS, this resolution has been submitted at the request of the County Executive on behalf of the Department of Public Works; and

WHEREAS, the Hall of Records is a records storage facility located at 300 Foxhall Avenue in Kingston, which has been owned and occupied by the Ulster County government since 1997; and

WHEREAS, Pursuant to Resolution No. 416 of 2019, it is the policy of the County of Ulster to explore and consider engineering all new, renovated and/or replaced roofs on County owned buildings to support solar arrays; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Public Works commissioned a study to determine the feasibility of a rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) system and said Feasibility Study determined that a rooftop solar PV system is feasible at the Hall of Records building; and

WHEREAS, the Hall of Records roof is approximately 22,550 square feet; made of steel trusses and a concrete plank roof system; served by a single electricity meter; and a rooftop solar array would produce approximately 56% of the building’s average electricity needs each year; and

WHEREAS, the approved 2024-2029 Capital Improvement Program includes a project “Solar Array Siting Project” in the amount of $2,700,000.00 for the life of the program and 2024 project expenditures in the amount of $450,000.00; and

WHEREAS, Capital Project No. 653, Hall of Records Rooftop Solar Array Project, was established pursuant to Resolution No. 638 of 2022 on December 19, 2022, and funded engineering services to design a rooftop solar array on behalf of the Department of Public Works; and

WHEREAS, Capital Project No. 653, Hall of Records Rooftop Solar Array Project, was amended pursuant to Resolution No. 452 of 2023 on August 15, 2023 and funded construction of a rooftop solar array on behalf of the Department of Public Works in the amount of $361,600.00 for a total project cost of $410,100.00; and

WHEREAS, the Solar Array Siting Capital Project is a multi-year program that aims to maximize the use of solar arrays on county property; Solar arrays come in many different forms and uses, such as covered carports; stand-along ground-mounted; rooftop; and side-mounted to a building, to name a few design options; and

WHEREAS, a goal of the Solar Array Siting Capital Project is to develop onsite renewable solar energy to meet existing and future electricity demands and individual project locations will be established as specific projects are planned and created; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Public Works understands and recognizes climate change poses an increasing threat to the environment and is exacerbated by burning fossil fuels; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Public Works is committed to supporting the County’s ongoing efforts to combat climate change, including community-wide greenhouse gas emissions targets and the adoption of the Ulster County Climate Action Plan; and

WHEREAS it shall be the responsibility of the contractor to remove, move, or disconnect the solar array in the event the roof needs to be inspected or repaired in the future; and

WHEREAS, this project is eligible for reimbursements from NY Sun Incentive through NYSERDA and Federal Direct Pay Rebate in the amount of $159,030.00 to reduce taxpayer costs; and

WHEREAS, the Commissioner of Public Works requests that Capital Project No. 653 be amended to increase the funding available for construction in the amount of $120,000.00 for a total project cost of $530,100.00; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, based upon examination by the Ulster County Legislature, the County’s funding of this Project constitutes a Type II action as defined under section 2 of the County of Ulster’s State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) Type II List, which was adopted pursuant to Resolution No. 118 dated April 20, 2010; and, be it further

RESOLVED,  Ulster County has determined that this funding action does not pose a significant potential environmental impact and may be progressed as a Type II action in accordance with 6 NYCRR Part 617 of SEQRA, and does not require any further determination or procedure under SEQRA; and, be it further

RESOLVED,  that Capital Project No. 653 is hereby amended as follows:

INCREASE                               AMOUNT

Capital Project No. 653                HOR Rooftop Solar                     $120,000.00

and, be it further

RESOLVED, that the 2024 Ulster County Capital Fund budget is hereby amended as follows:

and moves its adoption.

ADOPTED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:

AYES:                       NOES:             

Passed Committee: Energy, Environment and Sustainability on ________________.

Passed Committee: Public Works, Capital Projects and Transportation on ________________.

Passed Committee: Ways and Means on ________________.

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

$120,000.00 – COUNTY CAPITAL FUND APPROPRIATIONS

$120,000.00 – COUNTY REVENUE - SERIAL BONDS (BONDS ARE ELIGIBLE TO BE OFFSET BY FEDERAL TAX REBATE FOR $159,030.00 OR 30%)

*** A BOND RESOLUTION WILL BE REQUIRED ***