Town Board, residents reaffirm opposition to Coalition agreement with NYPA

Newlin stresses power is the issue

by Larry Austin
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, November 27, 2004

The Town of Lewiston Town Board reiterated its opposition to the current deal between members of the Niagara Power Coalition in its re-licensing agreement with the New York Power Authority.

In contrast to the Lewiston Porter Board of Education, which voted along with five of the other seven coalition members in support of the agreement with the Power Authority, the board listened to residents at a public information meeting Monday at Town Hall and expressed their displeasure with the way the power allocation of the $1 billion agreement is distributed.

“Power is money,” but in that regard the town is finishing a distant third in comparison to the six other members of the Niagara Power Coalition, Town Supervisor Fred Newlin said. "All Lewiston is asking for is a fair share of that power."

NYPA is seeking a 50-year re-licensing agreement with the federal government and has negotiated a $1 billion agreement with the coalition, which represents the City of Niagara Falls, Niagara County, the Town of Niagara, the Town of Lewiston, and the school districts of Lewiston Porter, Niagara Wheatfield, and Niagara Falls.

The town will receive 17 percent of money in the agreement, but a block of 25 Megawatts, worth an estimated $589,000,000, is distributed by municipal usage. Niagara Falls will receive 9MW, the county will receive 7MW, and Lewiston 3MW.

Power Distribution ‘Grossly Unfair’

Councilman D. James Langlois said, "The injustice of the last 50-year agreement must not happen with the next 50-year agreement." The overall payment to the coalition is reasonable and fair, but the distribution of power to the coalition, worth $500 million over 50 years, grossly unfair,” Langlois said. “Lewiston deserves at least as much as the county and city,” he said.

"We should receive the majority piece of the pie and there is no other way to look at it," added Councilman Dan Kilmer.

Newlin said the town provides services in fire and police protection to the Power Authority, but receives little compensation. Neither is the town being treated fairly in receiving only 6.8 acres of land, while the City of Niagara Falls receives 75 acres, he said.

Residents Back Town

During the public comment portion of the meeting, Arthur Garabedian of Elm Drive, said the negotiated package sounds excellent in current dollars, but is "pennies down the road from now" over 50 years.

"They're giving you peanuts," he said, noting that a friend in Las Vegas in the same line of work receives power from Hoover Dam at one-fourth the cost that he pays locally.

Richard Hastings, a Youngstown developer, brought a newspaper from the 1950s trumpeting the benefits of the power project. Hastings said he had never seen so many "false promises" as in that newspaper, and he advised the board to never give up on getting a better deal.

Lewiston resident John Malinchock said eight residents combined in his neighborhood of James Drive contribute more than the Power Authority does for fire and police protection.

“Basically, it’s not an equitable distribution,” said Malinchock. “It’s not. Let’s put it this way. When is the City of Niagara Falls going to give the Town of Lewiston 50 percent of their casino money?”

Service Costs Raised

Robert Gallucci, former town engineer for the Town of Lewiston, said looking back 50 years, it was nearly impossible to predict the energy crisis and the instability of electrical costs. Fifty years ago, he added, hydropower was barely competitive with coal-generated power. The proposal needs an "index" of fees, similar to other host community agreements for the town, which will adjust for town costs in the future.

"Your costs for providing services could be sky high. They could be anything," he said.

Village of Lewiston Mayor Richard Soluri and village trustees Ken Kenney and William Geiben attended the meeting.

"I’ve been upset from the beginning based on this definition off ‘host,’ Soluri told the board. “We are the most host community.”

Lewiston should sit at the top of the list in light of having so much viable property taken through eminent domain when the power project was built, he said.

"Let's fight for what we really deserve." Soluri said. The village is willing to help, he added, "But don't give up the fight. We're with you 100 percent."

Robert Daly of the Power Authority, a former State Assemblyman who represented Lewiston, attended the meeting to listen. He had no comment following the meeting.

Zito Responds

Executive Director of the Niagara Power Coalition Mark Zito, a facilitator in the negotiations with the Power Authority and between the seven municipalities in the coalition, was on hand to answer questions.

All seven coalition members feel as though they are the host community, he said.

"We had to find a place where we could find common ground and try to strike a deal," Zito said of the process. He said coalition members decided the power breakdown would be based on municipal usage, and a professional study is ongoing to see who uses how much power. The coalition made sure Lewiston received the same monetarily as the City of Niagara Falls, even though the city has 55,000 residents and Lewiston has 18,000.

"Everyone of us had something to lose and something to gain," Zito said. He noted that in 1957, the value of the land taken was greater in Niagara Falls than in Lewiston.

“The problem that I had coming up is that I wish Fred would have been honest, not that he's a dishonest person, but I wish he would have told them that he made a deal for the money over the megawatts,” Zito said after the meeting. “And he really needed to tell them that and then find a way to come back to the board members and see if there was a way to renegotiate.

“They tied with the most money in every money category and went with usage like everybody else did,” Zito said. “The Town of Niagara got one megawatt. You don’t hear them screaming.”

Newlin Differs

“The one difference of opinion I had with Mr. Zito is in his recollection that I at any time said that the residents of the Town of Lewiston were not interested in power,” Newlin said after the meeting. “We have always said we've been interested in power. Every board member has said that during their campaign. I said as much in the campaign.

“One thing Mr. Zito and I will agree upon is that that discussion took place sometime in the early summer before power was really on the table. We were not in full session.”

Other News

Also at the meeting:

• The board voted 5-0 Friday in adopting a 2005 budget that reduces the town tax 13 percent in 2005. (See related story in this issue.)

• Deputy Supervisor Evan Elgin reported an impasse on Adelphia cable contract. Negotiations between the town and cable company on a contract are not going well, and the two sides are "diametrically opposed" on issues, Elgin said.

• The board approved water rate relief for farmers irrigating their land during the growing season. Agricultural users will see a drop in their rate from $3 per 1,000 gallons to $1.50. The town’s cost for water is .71. Kilmer said Lewiston previously had the highest water rates in county for farmers.