By Mary Perham
Bath Courier
Posted Mar 27, 2011 @ 12:15 PM


Prattsburgh, NY — The Prattsburgh Town Board passed a road-use agreement with wind developer Ecogen Monday night, despite the protests of the town highway superintendent and an angry crowd.
The road use agreement, first proposed in September 2009, was the key issue in drawn-out legal disputes between Prattsburgh and Ecogen, which intends to put up 16 electricity-generating turbines in the town.
Ecogen has filed two lawsuits centered on the delay in signing the original agreement, saying the delay was in bad faith, and designed to prevent any development.
However, Highway Superintendent Chris Jensen said the agreement allows Ecogen to begin using several town roads without deciding first how to pay for damage heavy equipment may cause.
Jensen said payments set in the September 2009 agreement will fall far short of the real costs of repairing the roads. In one case, fixing a newly upgraded road could cost $100,000 more than the original estimate, Jensen said.
Town Attorney Ed Brockman told the board Ecogen is still legally responsible for road repair, adding if the town sets the costs too high, it could lead to another lawsuit.
Board members favoring the agreement said they were responding to the recent state Supreme Court decision, which ordered the two sides to finalize road use terms.
“If we try to change it now, who’s to say Ecogen won’t say that’s bad faith, too?” Anneke Radin-Snaith said.
The board voted 3-2 for the agreement.
Councilwoman Stacey Bottoni and dozens of angry residents sided Jensen, saying the needed to listen to the advice of a road expert.
The board’s action clears the way for Ecogen to begin work, with a court-imposed deadline of 168 days for the developer to solidify its rights to the project through substantial changes or improvements.
Radin-Snaith and councilmen Steve Kula and Chuck Shick voted for the agreement. Bottoni and Town Supervisor Al Wordingham voted against the agreement.

A judge has ruled that an energy-development company may proceed with a wind farm in Prattsburgh, Steuben County, over the objections of the town board, though the company must complete a substantial amount of work in a short period of time or the deal's off.

For nearly a decade, Ecogen Wind LLC has been seeking approval to erect about three dozen wind turbines in Prattsburgh and neighboring Italy, Yates County.
Shortly after several candidates who opposed the project were elected to the Prattsburgh board in November 2009, but before they took office, the Erie County company filed suit against the town. Lame-duck town board members who were not hostile to the project then agreed to settle the lawsuit and allow the project to go forward.
When the new board members were seated in January 2010, they attempted to rescind the lawsuit settlement, leading to a protracted legal fight.


State Supreme Court Judge John Ark, who presided over a five-day trial in January and February, said in a ruling released Thursday that the current town board could not void the settlement with Ecogen. The company's lawyers had argued that the 2009 legal settlement had given them "vested" rights to undertake the project that could not legally be taken away.
Ark directed the town and company to negotiate an agreement for use of town roads, an item left open when the parties began their legal warfare. Once done, Ark said, the company then must complete a "substantial" amount of work on the project to fully "vest" their rights. He gave them 24 weeks to do that.
Edward Hourihan, a Pittsford lawyer who represented the town, said Thursday morning that he had not yet discussed the decision with his clients and did not know if they would appeal it.
He asserted, though, that Ecogen "is not in a position to vest any rights. They're far from being able to do that." He said they lack financing, turbines, necessary permits and approval for work in the town of Italy, and could not comply with Ark's 24-week time limit.
A Rochester lawyer who represents the company, Robert Burgdorf, said Ecogen "is pleased the court recognized its right to proceed with this important project." Burgdorf said the company "looks forward to developing this uniquely productive wind resource."

4 selected for Steuben Hall of Fame.
By Mary Perham
The Evening Tribune
Posted Mar 03, 2011 @ 05:04 PM


Bath, N.Y. — An All-American football player is among four notables selected for induction into the Steuben County Hall of Fame in May.

Behm, 91, of Corning, may be known throughout the world as an executive for Corning Inc., and general management consultant for Fortune 500 firms. But for many in the area, Behm is a testament to courage: When he suffered life-threatening burns at the age of five, his parents were told he would never walk.

Instead, Behm went on to play linebacker and offensive and defensive tackle for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He appeared in the 1941 Rose Bowl, which the 7th-ranked Cornhuskers lost to No. 2 Stanford 21-13. He was inducted into the collegiate Hall of Fame in 1988.

Other inductees to the Hall of Fame include: Maj. Thomas Scott Baldwin. Baldwin was born in 1855 and built the first American airship, or dirigible, powered by a Curtiss engine. Baldwin moved his operations to Hammondsport, where he manufactured the first aircraft for the U.S. military.

Albertus Larrowe, II. Larrowe was born in 1826, and owned and operated the Larrowe Milling Corp., the largest buckwheat mill in the world. His home was used by the village and town of Cohocton as the municpal hall until 2009.

Reuben Robie. Robie was born in 1799 and served as Steuben County Treasurer from 1844-47. Robie was elected to Congress from 1850-53 and was director of the Buffalo, Corning and New York railroad Company. He was one of the founders of the county Agricultural Society.

The Hall of Fame banquet is set for May 7.