LYONS FALLS — The town of Lyonsdale has reached an out-of-court settlement with Fortis U.S. Energy Corp. that will reduce the assessed value of its hydroelectric facility by 11.4 percent.
However, the new value will still be $500,000 higher than the plant's full assessed value last year.
"I'm pleased with the settlement," Lyonsdale Supervisor Roscoe K. "Rocky" Fawcett Jr. said.
Under the deal, the town has agreed to drop the assessment on Fortis's 164.7-acre property off Lyonsdale Road from $14.68 million to $13 million and keep that value intact in 2009 and 2010.
The company, which also filed an assessment challenge last year, was asking for an assessment reduction to $10 million.
The deal stipulates that the company will not receive refunds on 2007 school taxes or 2008 county and town taxes. Fortis earlier this year paid $190,490.49 in town and county taxes on the parcel, according to information provided by the Lewis County treasurer's office. School tax information was not available at the county office.
The 12.3-megawatt hydroelectric dam last year was assessed at $10 million. However, since the town's equalization rate was 80 percent, the full assessed value of the property was $12.5 million.
Lyonsdale earlier this year completed a townwide reassessment, in which assessments for all parcels were set at their market values and the equalization rate went to 100 percent. Based on an advisory opinion from the state Office of Real Property Services, the Fortis property's value was set at $14,683,600.
The settlement is the culmination of several months of negotiations between Fortis and town officials, said Mr. Fawcett, who lives next to the facility. Representatives from the South Lewis Central School District and Lewis County were also involved in discussions.
Mr. Fawcett said he also is pleased that Fortis has agreed to open its hydroelectric facility, which reaches to the depths of the Moose River, as part of the Lewis County Chamber of Commerce's annual fall foliage tour in October.
"They have the tallest building around here," he said. "It just goes down instead of up."
The town of Lyonsdale still has another major assessment challenge to resolve.
Lyonsdale Biomass is challenging the assessment on its 19-megawatt wood-chip-burning cogeneration plant on Marmon Road following a leap in assessed value from $4.04 million to $26 million. The company is requesting an assessment reduction to $2 million on its 46.2 acre property.
The town's entire full assessed value last year was $75.38 million.
Mr. Fawcett acknowledged that the large assessment increase will shift a significant portion of the town's tax burden to Lyonsdale Biomass. The supervisor said he has had informal discussions with Mark G. Gebo, the town's attorney, about ways to set aside funding for court costs or potential refunds in the event of an out-of-court settlement.
