It has been two years since Mars Hill started receiving 20 years of $500,000 in annual payments from a tax increment financing deal connected to First Wind of Massachusetts’ 28-turbine wind farm, Town Manager Raymond Mersereau said Monday.
The deal has helped keep the town’s mill rate at 20 mills since 2007, when the farm went operational. Without it, the tax rate would be 26 mills, or $26 per $1,000 of assessed property, he said.
“It caused roughly a 20 percent decrease in taxes,” Mersereau said. “It was like we had 350 new houses in town. At the time we did it [2003] they were projecting putting 50 megawatts [worth of windmills] but they only put in 42, and the tax remained as if it were 50. That’s almost $12,000 a megawatt in tax benefits.
“I just talked today with a county commissioner from New Hampshire who had just done a tax agreement there, and he said they were only getting $5,000 a megawatt,” Mersereau added. “He said he didn’t want to tell anybody in New Hampshire about our deal.”
Lincoln officials await the planning board’s decision on the Lincoln portion of First Wind’s proposed 40-turbine wind project on ridgelines in Lincoln, Lee, Winn and Burlington. That deliberation began Monday.
If the Rollins Mountain project is approved by the towns, Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, town officials anticipate at least $400,000 in revenue annually from their TIF negotiations, said Ruth Birtz, the town’s economic development director.
Lincoln also is considering added values afforded by the state TIF program, Birtz said. Previous TIFs have paid for portions of her own and town events coordinator Shelly Crosby’s salaries and new streetlights.
First Wind’s Stetson Mountain wind farm, which is almost operational, will generate about $3.8 million in tax revenue for Washington County over the next 20 years, said Matt Kearns, First Wind’s project manager.
It pays for an economic development director, a $1 million commercial revolving loan fund, $600,000 in economic planning funds and nature-based tourism initiatives of about $510,000, Kearns said.
“There are a few negatives with wind farms but a whole lot of positives,” Mersereau said. “They created more noise than some residents expected but that’s if you are really close to them, within 2,500 feet.”
The wind project’s electricity also goes into the Maine Public Service grid, where it is sold regionally. The project helps keep the grid’s maintenance costs low, Mersereau said.
“You don’t see many projects coming into the town that offer that kind of revenue with no new costs to the town,” he said. “TIF negotiations are all about the conditions at the time that you do them. We were really happy with the $500,000 then, and we still are.”
On 11/18/08 at 10:12 AM,
Mountaindweller wrote:
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As a resident of Mars Hill I can tell you that Ray Mersereau would feel differently if he lived anywhere near the turbines. 20 or more families living near the turbines would gladly rather see a tax increase instead of the diminished quality of life they have experienced. Their property values have been devalued between 20 and 50 percent of their value and they can't enjoy their homes due to the pounding noise of the turbines and the light flicker due to the massive turbine blades passing in front of the sun and casting flickering shadows into peoples homes. Ray is wrong when he says only people living within a 2500 foot range will experience noise. I can understand why he would think this since he refuses to visit our area of town. Ray also thinks he struck a great deal for the town. In 20 years what will 500 thousand be worth? First wind should of payed more each 5 year period to at least keep up with inflation. They got a great deal and the residents of Mars Hill were taken advantage of. Ray sleeps well at night. I wish I could.
On 11/18/08 at 10:13 AM,
dexter wrote:
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Where is all this power used. Is it Maine or Canada.
On 11/18/08 at 2:21 PM,
ParkAvenueJoe wrote:
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I'd never buy a house near a wind farm.
These things reduce property value--it will cost you plenty of money when you sell your house.
On 11/18/08 at 2:43 PM,
kboot73 wrote:
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i was told that all the power goes to grid in canada and some parts of maine receive their electricity from that grid.
On 11/18/08 at 6:58 PM,
wrote:
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Didn't Ray Mersereau(sp?) sell his house to First Wind? Then Evergreen...Rental property to First Wind employees? Accepted First Wind's offer to build wind farm in Mars Hill without even reading the proposal. Twenty years ago he would be in jail. Today it is business as usual. Ask the ecitizens of Lincoln if they are being heard.
On 11/18/08 at 7:16 PM,
wrote:
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The power does go into the Canadian grid. Evergreen/First Wind was asked where the power was going after the Mars Hill wind farm was up and running. They declined to answer ...company secret or something like that. The town of Mars Hill thought the power was theirs. I was up there prior to the building and was told that at a real estate office ...later by a Mars Hill resident.
On 11/19/08 at 11:16 AM,
rmahan wrote:
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I am one of those people who lives over a mile away from this mess, and hear these gigantic machines on a daily bases. I would like people to understand that Mars Hill got screwed on this project. Why can former Govener Angus King promise to give free electricty to Byron and Roxbury, we got nothing but a couple hundred dollars of our taxes.
Also the electricty goes to Canada it has to because we are not tied into the New England power grid. And first wind just reported there operation numbers today and they are running at 31.87% of there capacity, even thouht they projected generating enough electricity for 48,000 homes the facts state they are genterating just 15,000 homes somewhere in Canada.
. First wind is under investagation in up state New York for bribery and fraud makes you wonder...
On 11/19/08 at 7:16 PM,
paulfels wrote:
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To state that in essense the windmills saved us from a twenty percent tax increase is at best misleading. In this economic climate I doubt if such a tax increase would have been acceptable to the towns residents. It is my understanding that the power generated flows into the New England Electrical Grid and is used throughout the notheast. In reviewing the impact of windpower historically electricity charges increase not decrease. It may be considered as clean power but there is some known and some unknown impact on the environment. It is also silly to suggest that because it is electricity generated by windpower that this helps reduce the costs of maintaining the electric system.
Residence should ask themselves did my property taxes actually decrease (not mumbo jumbo shell games with numbers)? Did my power bill decrease? How many local long term good paying jobs did the project produce? How much of the environment was damaged? How do the windmills effect wildlife? Did the project improve the living standards of the community as a whole? Did the town experience substained increased business? Did the project only positively impact a select few at the expense of the majority?
If you think that overall the Town Manager manipulated the situation to his economic benefit you should contact your representative and make your views heard. If enough people are disenchanted with the Town Managers actions he should be removed. The Town Manager works for us, he is suppose to be looking out for the best interests of all of the town's people not a select few.
On 11/19/08 at 7:30 PM,
Alexander_Hunt wrote:
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Windmills are a great thing for the most people. In a democratic world the good of the majority over rules to good of the minority. I realize that doesn't alway work perfectly but that is the way it works. Windmills in Maine are good for the majority. End of subject.
On 11/20/08 at 11:41 AM,
Mountaindweller wrote:
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Wow, Alexander Hunt has a pretty scary philosophy. I thought this was the land of the free where each citizen had rights and freedom. Sacrificing the rights of the few for the majority has strong implications for our society. This means that through eminent domain anybody could lose their property, home, etc. at any time if it will benefit society.Scary. How long will it be until the fragile and weak will be eliminated to benefit society. Some would say this has already been happening.
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