To the Editor:
In March, the Knox Planning Board voted on a resolution to override the recommendation of the Albany County Planning Board to reject a proposed solar farm near my home on Old Stage Road. The board needed a supermajority — or 67 percent — to override the county recommendation.

The vote on Thursday, March 11, at about 7:30 p.m. was the moment of truth following months of public opposition to the project. Six members of the board had voted and the tally stood at 4-2.

Many of us in the neighborhood who have opposed the project attended the meeting virtually. We were feeling anxious.

Just as board member Debra Nelson was set to cast the deciding vote, she unexpectedly dropped off the virtual meeting and could not be reached. No one knew what had happened and no one knew what to do next.  

Today, we know what will happen next. Voting results are being reviewed by lawyers to determine: Is it a valid vote and is a 4-2 vote total a supermajority?

I don’t know the legal answers. What I do know is that board Chairman Thomas Wolfe said RIC Energy lawyers and Knox town lawyers would seek a legally binding opinion and that would be reported at the May meeting.

That arrangement presents problems because the RIC lawyers are being paid to achieve one result: Get the solar farm built.

One assumes the town lawyer is independent, but one also assumes that responsible leaders would agree not to force an industrial project into a residentially zoned area against the will of property owners in that area. That assumption has proven false.

As a result, many of us are wondering: How can we trust a town lawyer working at the behest of planning board representatives who appear to be advocates of the solar project and RIC Energy, who have ignored the will of the people, and who have created a legal mess?

The only reasonable answer is: We can’t trust them. We need a mediator who is versed in the law and government ethics to sit as a third party in this process.  

I wonder how many red flags the Knox Planning Board will pass by as it forces this solar farm to be built near Old Stage Road and Thacher Park. Residents have said, “Please don’t do this.”

The Albany County Planning Board issued a formal disapproval. I imagine everyone who loves Thacher Park feels the same.

It seems to me that the universe is trying to tell all of us: “This project is a bad idea.”  

Eli Fanning

Knox

Editor’s note: Eli Fanning lives on Old Stage Road, about a half-mile from the proposed RIC Energy solar facility.

See related story.