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Greenport Village Board may vote on Hawkeye Electric expansion

The Greenport Village Board may vote Thursday to extend an option to Hawkeye Electric to lease an additional 1.7 acres in Moores Woods so it can potentially add a power turbine to its energy unit there, according to Mayor George Hubbard Jr. 

Trustee Mary Bess Phillips said Monday that the village will receive roughly $500 per year from Hawkeye in rent and property taxes in addition to the $516,000 current annual rent. Part of that amount goes directly to the Greenport school district, she said.

Through the option agreement, she said, Hawkeye would be permitted to rent the additional acreage while it researches potential options to expand or otherwise use the space.

The area in question is not accessible to the public, Ms. Phillips said, because it houses a village wastewater treatment plant.

Randy Wade of Sixth Street urged the board at last Thursday’s work session to “rethink” the agreement, arguing that they shouldn’t sign a contract strictly based on revenue received.

“We value Moores Woods,” she said. “These are things that the community has to be a part of determining. … It’s time to open it up to the community and have a real discussion about how they want to see that property.”

Village administrator Paul Pallas said the purpose of the agreement is to expedite the permit process by giving Hawkeye the option to use the land.

At a previous meeting, Ms. Wade suggested the board hold a formal public hearing about the agreement before voting on it.

In March 2014, Global Common withdrew an application to construct a peaker plant on Moore’s Lane next to the existing Hawkeye Electric building. The group claimed it wasn’t able to find a second site on the South Fork, which was necessary to produce enough power to meet PSEG requirements, according to previous reports.

Former village trustee David Corwin said he was on the board in 2007 when the Global Common project was initially pitched. He said he did not anticipate the woods would be transformed into a power plant.