The Peru Gazette

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“I am proud to support many of the projects Governor Hochul announced will be receiving funding as part of the most recent round of REDC grants. This funding will go towards community enhancement and will help local towns, municipalities and nonprofits improve water infrastructure, expand regional sports and recreational activities, increase tourism, and continue to make the North Country a great place to live. In total, my district will receive $8,233,130 for economic development projects and I want to congratulate all of the projects that received funding in the North Country. This is great news for our region, and I look forward to seeing these projects come to fruition.”

Here is a breakdown of the winners in Assembly District 115:

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Kirsten O’Jida Blair (L) with her wife Crystal, and their children Liah, 10; Jazlynn, 6; and Olivia, 4.

Peru – Thanks to a letter to Santa from 10-year-old Liah O’Jida Blair, her mom’s reaction, and many peoples’ generosity, hundreds of local children will enjoy a more joyful Christmas. The young Peru girl wrote to Santa asking him to bring presents to kids whose families can’t get them gifts. Leah’s mom Kirsten Ojida-Blair couldn’t help but try to fulfill her child’s wish, so she decided to ‘fill the truck’ with gifts for local foster children. O’Jida Blair is familiar with the situations many foster children face. Before adopting them, she and her wife Crystal fostered two of their daughters Jazlynn, 6. and Olivia, 4, through the Clinton County Department of Social Services (DDS).  

When word of Kirsten’s goal got out through friends and social media, her co-workers, friends, family, and the community responded in a big way. Yesterday, several DDS staff members gasped when Kirsten opened the doors of a U-Haul trailer, revealing hundreds of gifts. It took several volunteers almost 30 minutes to bring them all inside. Over the next few days, DDS staff members will sort the gifts and deliver them to the children they serve throughout the county.

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Source: Weekend storm claims the life of Mooers man | Sun Community News MOOERS | As crews continue to restore power and deal with widespread damage from the weekend wind storm, one Northern Tier family is now mourning the loss of a local man who died in the heigh

Developer David Byrne

By John T. Ryan 

Peru – Plans for a solar farm on the Moffat property at 3831 Route 22 are moving forward. The Peru Planning Board gave its conditional stamp of approval at its December 8th Zoom meeting. The Board declared that the project would not have a negative environmental impact according to the terms of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR). 

Along with complying with its submitted plans, the developer David Byrne, President of RENUA Energy, must comply with two Peru Solar Law provisions prior to a building permit being issued – the decommissioning bond amount and the nature of a required public benefit contribution. 

Peru’s Zoning Law requires a decommissioning bond sufficient to remove the solar system and any ancillary structures, plus repair any property damage. It also requires a 2% annual inflation escalator clause over a 30-year minimum. David Byrne said decommissioning costs are usually determined near the end of construction. However, after this meeting, Code Enforcement Officer told the Peru gazette that Planning Board would determine the bond amount before granting final project approval. In fact, Byrne submitted a decommissioning plan and suggested a bond amount of $175,000 on Friday. December 10th. 

The Zoning Law also requires that Tier 3 solar developers make a public benefit contribution in the amount of 1% of the project’s total value. Byrne told the Board that he estimates that the project will cost about $8 million depending on several factors, including supply-chain issues. The law suggests such benefits as an electric vehicle charging station, sidewalks, purchasing ecologically significant land, bus shelters and bike racks, public park improvements, LED street lights, and urban tree planting/greenery. Byrne said he would work with the assessor on determining the fair market value and that his company has previously installed charging stations. 

Click here to view Peru’s Solar Law

Click here to view the previous Peru Gazette Solar Farm story. It has more project details. 

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