GILL — Just a few months after a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement between FirstLight Hydro Generating Co. and Montague took effect, Gill officials are following suit, with the Gill Finance Committee and Selectboard recommending a 10-year PILOT agreement to avoid costly litigation with the energy company.
In a joint filing, Gill and Montague were part of litigation in the state Appellate Tax Board contesting the valuations of FirstLight’s property in fiscal years 2022, 2023 and 2024. Montague opted to settle the case and enter its own PILOT agreement earlier this year.
The terms of a potential PILOT agreement in Gill were shared during a joint meeting of Gill’s Selectboard, Finance Committee and Board of Assessors last week. Though Gill will need to return $68,790 to FirstLight for overpayments made in FY22, FY23 and FY24, FirstLight has agreed to pay $172,998 to the town in FY26. That sum will increase by 0.75% annually for the 10 years of the agreement.
By the end of the joint meeting, the Finance Committee voted to recommend the PILOT be placed on the Oct. 6 Special Town Meeting warrant, with Claire Chang voting “no.” The Selectboard approved the addition to the warrant, with John Ward voting “no.”
“Does that tie our hands?” Ward asked, referencing Montague’s settlement, in which Gill was a joint filer. “Because somebody has already said, ‘If this happens, this is what we’re going to do,’ and so now we just have to sit down and do it.”
Selectboard member Greg Snedeker noted that while the conversation between the boards included some frustration on how the joint settlement impacts Gill, he said they recognize the difficult position the Board of Assessors is in when it comes to finding a solution that mitigates financial risk to the town, including the potential for more costly litigation, while looking out for the town’s best interest.
“We were trying to approach it from the standpoint of what makes the best sense
for the town,” Board of Assessors Chair Tim Storrow explained.
PILOT with Kearsarge Energy
As Montague starts its 10-year PILOT with FirstLight, the town is also considering a 16-year agreement with Kearsarge Energy, which owns three solar fields in town.
Adam Tocci, Montague’s new director of assessing, explained to the Selectboard last week that two of the solar fields, a 1.2-megawatt facility at 248 Millers Falls Road and a 1.4-megawatt facility at 131 Turnpike Road, are the subject of the proposed agreement.
The PILOT agreement would eliminate appeals the company has open for fiscal years 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 for the Millers Falls Road location. Kearsarge Energy, which disagrees with the town’s valuations of its property, claims it should pay between 25% and 35% of what it is being taxed. Agreed-upon payments for both the Millers Falls Road and Turnpike Road properties outlined in the PILOT would be in effect through 2040.
Notably, a PILOT already exists for the Turnpike Road location, with an established $10,800 payment for FY25. The total fee to both the town of Montague and Turners Falls Fire District is $39,876, giving Kearsarge Energy a $50,676 bill for both locations in FY25.
Under the PILOT, Kearsarge Energy’s payment to Montague would be $38,043, and the company would owe about $8,617 to the Turners Falls Fire District, with a 1% increase built in annually. Without the agreement, the tax owed to Montague would be $42,516 and $8,159 would be owed to the Fire District, with payments subject to market increases.
“Without the PILOT, the challenges will be coming in every year,” Tocci said. “We’re going to have to basically challenge them in the Appellate Tax Board every year.”
“I think it seems reasonable, given the cost of trying to litigate with them, and the risk,” Selectboard Vice Chair Kuklewicz said.
Town Administrator Walter Ramsey said a Town Meeting vote would be required to give the assessors the authority to enter the agreement. The Turners Falls Fire District would also have to approve the PILOT in one of its meetings following a Town Meeting vote.
In advance of the Oct. 22 Special Town Meeting, Tocci said he will be available to take questions about the PILOT from Town Meeting members.
