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Frankfort, N.Y. —
The state Public Service Commission on Thursday approved a petition to allow low-cost village of Frankfort electric service at the 5S South Business Park, and may be the key to bringing hundreds of new jobs to the area, according to county officials.
The decision came after almost 16 months of legal wrangling that pitted the village against National Grid during the municipality’s appeal to the PSC for electric utility rights at the vacant industrial site, commonly known as the “Pumpkin Patch.”
Many local representatives and business officials, who also publicly supported the village petition, feel the low-cost fuel and proximity to the state Thruway will lure businesses to the site, which is located directly off the Herkimer County Fair exit of State Route 5S in the town of Frankfort.
The business park can now offer manufacturers and businesses low-cost power to go along with excellent transportation routes, state Senator James Seward, R-Milford, said.
“All things considered, the ‘Pumpkin Patch’ is now one of the premier sites for economic development in the Mohawk Valley,” he said.
The village charges four cents per kilowatt for its electricity, according village Department of Public Works Superintendent Ron Vivacqua. The cost is 50 percent to 75 percent less expensive then the competition, he said.
Seward and state Assemblyman Marc Butler, R-Newport, who called the site “a major part of an economic revival,” submitted letters to the PSC in support of the village’s petition.
The Herkimer County Industrial Development Agency, which owns the site, is hoping the site attracts manufacturing facilities that will support the burgeoning nanotechnology industry in Albany and Saratoga, according to John Piseck, a Republican county legislator, and chairman of the IDA board.
Several companies that have anywhere from 50 to 150 employees each could fill out the 200-acre site, Piseck said.
There is a possibility that the site could attract warehouse or distribution projects, too. The IDA website boasts the park is “ideal for either large ‘big-box warehouse and distribution purposes or small-to-medium sized, light industrial projects.’”
What’s next?
The PSC approval let county and local officials know who will provide power, with National Grid always projected to provide natural gas service.
But it is still unclear who will pay to extend the infrastructure for the only two services that are currently not available at the site.
Over $5 million in county, state and federal money has already been spent to extend roads, water and sewer services and obtain permits for the business park.
The county taxpayers alone have close to $2.7 million invested in the project, according to county Administrator James Wallace.
Last fall, county and IDA officials appealed to the Frankfort Town Council and Frankfort-Schuyler Central School Board of Education for help to pay for the gas and electric infrastructure.
Since the town and school, along with the county, stand to benefit from any payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with businesses that locate at the site, the proposal involved the town and school district agreeing to commit future tax revenues from its development.
County officials last fall asked board members to commit a portion of their PILOT revenues to pay off the cost to extend electric and gas infrastructure.
The county legislature would have to agree to pay for the project initially, according to Wallace, and at least a portion of PILOT revenues would be used annually to reimburse the county.
The town and school district would not pay until businesses began making PILOT payments. And Wallace told school officials the county would be willing to only take 50 percent of the PILOT funds for the life of the debt.
Project costs were estimated last year at $350,000, according to figures provided by county officials last fall.
Now that the village has been approved to provide service, more firm figures will be available, according to Mark Feane, executive director of the IDA.
The actual cost is likely to be more than the estimates given last year, Feane said Thursday, and the county plans to revisit the proposal with town and school officials.
Town officials last fall voiced concern with the proposal, however.
Committing future revenues could mean the town does not receive any PILOT payments over the life of an agreement, Supervisor Joseph Kinney has said. Kinney could not be reached Thursday.
Mounting cost to attract business
The village of Frankfort has spent over $150,000 on legal fees and engineering costs related to the PSC petition, according to Vivacqua. He declined to give any estimate on the revenues the village will get from providing power to the site, saying it depends on the type of development.
Another $300,000 was recently approved for a road project to help the business park attract a tenant.
The state Department of Transportation will be installing traffic signals at both ramps of state Route 5S interchange at Cemetery Street (county Route 96) in the town of Frankfort. Project funding, which is 80 percent federal and 20 percent state, will also cover the widening of small sections of the road to accommodate tractor trailers.
Traffic signals will not be installed until a business is located at the site.
The state Public Service Commission on Thursday approved a petition to allow low-cost village of Frankfort electric service at the 5S South Business Park, and may be the key to bringing hundreds of new jobs to the area, according to county officials.
The decision came after almost 16 months of legal wrangling that pitted the village against National Grid during the municipality’s appeal to the PSC for electric utility rights at the vacant industrial site, commonly known as the “Pumpkin Patch.”
Many local representatives and business officials, who also publicly supported the village petition, feel the low-cost fuel and proximity to the state Thruway will lure businesses to the site, which is located directly off the Herkimer County Fair exit of State Route 5S in the town of Frankfort.
The business park can now offer manufacturers and businesses low-cost power to go along with excellent transportation routes, state Senator James Seward, R-Milford, said.
“All things considered, the ‘Pumpkin Patch’ is now one of the premier sites for economic development in the Mohawk Valley,” he said.
The village charges four cents per kilowatt for its electricity, according village Department of Public Works Superintendent Ron Vivacqua. The cost is 50 percent to 75 percent less expensive then the competition, he said.
Seward and state Assemblyman Marc Butler, R-Newport, who called the site “a major part of an economic revival,” submitted letters to the PSC in support of the village’s petition.
The Herkimer County Industrial Development Agency, which owns the site, is hoping the site attracts manufacturing facilities that will support the burgeoning nanotechnology industry in Albany and Saratoga, according to John Piseck, a Republican county legislator, and chairman of the IDA board.
Several companies that have anywhere from 50 to 150 employees each could fill out the 200-acre site, Piseck said.
There is a possibility that the site could attract warehouse or distribution projects, too. The IDA website boasts the park is “ideal for either large ‘big-box warehouse and distribution purposes or small-to-medium sized, light industrial projects.’”
What’s next?
The PSC approval let county and local officials know who will provide power, with National Grid always projected to provide natural gas service.
But it is still unclear who will pay to extend the infrastructure for the only two services that are currently not available at the site.
Over $5 million in county, state and federal money has already been spent to extend roads, water and sewer services and obtain permits for the business park.
The county taxpayers alone have close to $2.7 million invested in the project, according to county Administrator James Wallace.
Last fall, county and IDA officials appealed to the Frankfort Town Council and Frankfort-Schuyler Central School Board of Education for help to pay for the gas and electric infrastructure.
Since the town and school, along with the county, stand to benefit from any payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with businesses that locate at the site, the proposal involved the town and school district agreeing to commit future tax revenues from its development.
County officials last fall asked board members to commit a portion of their PILOT revenues to pay off the cost to extend electric and gas infrastructure.
The county legislature would have to agree to pay for the project initially, according to Wallace, and at least a portion of PILOT revenues would be used annually to reimburse the county.
The town and school district would not pay until businesses began making PILOT payments. And Wallace told school officials the county would be willing to only take 50 percent of the PILOT funds for the life of the debt.
Project costs were estimated last year at $350,000, according to figures provided by county officials last fall.
Now that the village has been approved to provide service, more firm figures will be available, according to Mark Feane, executive director of the IDA.
The actual cost is likely to be more than the estimates given last year, Feane said Thursday, and the county plans to revisit the proposal with town and school officials.
Town officials last fall voiced concern with the proposal, however.
Committing future revenues could mean the town does not receive any PILOT payments over the life of an agreement, Supervisor Joseph Kinney has said. Kinney could not be reached Thursday.
Mounting cost to attract business
The village of Frankfort has spent over $150,000 on legal fees and engineering costs related to the PSC petition, according to Vivacqua. He declined to give any estimate on the revenues the village will get from providing power to the site, saying it depends on the type of development.
Another $300,000 was recently approved for a road project to help the business park attract a tenant.
The state Department of Transportation will be installing traffic signals at both ramps of state Route 5S interchange at Cemetery Street (county Route 96) in the town of Frankfort. Project funding, which is 80 percent federal and 20 percent state, will also cover the widening of small sections of the road to accommodate tractor trailers.
Traffic signals will not be installed until a business is located at the site.
