RIPLEY — At their May meeting, members of Ripley Town Council learned from Attorney Ben Wisniewski that the revised Permit Application of ConnectGen has been deemed complete by the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES).

This allows the proposed South Ripley Solar Project closer to becoming a reality, Wisniewski said. ORES now has 60 days to put together a draft permit, which will then be submitted to Ripley and Chautauqua County for review.

Wisniewski noted that the draft permit could contain “defined conditions,” which are general conditions that apply to any project of this sort, or ORES could include specified conditions “if they think there are any unique local problems that need to be addressed.”

In a related matter, Wisniewski also updated board members on the Clean Choice Solar Energy Project. LaBella’s analysis determined that the project is on track to finalize the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR). The Town may be able to approve the SEQR at their June meeting, he said.

In other business, board members approved three resolutions. The first was to approve Ingalls Planning & Design to bring the comprehensive plan project to completion. Town Supervisor Doug Bowen received authorization to sign any necessary agreements.

Bowen also introduced a resolution to approve a planning study proposal submitted by Clark, Patterson, Lee. The planning study is funded by an Engineering Planning Grant of $30,000 from the state Environmental Facilities Corporation. The town is contributing matching funds of $6,000 toward the study.

Town council members also approved a resolution introduced by Bowen to seek a $25,000 grant from the state Department of Agriculture and Markets. The grant, which will include matching funds of $8,333 from the town, is designed to create a farmland protection plan, Bowen said. He added that the town’s share of the cost may be reduced with in kind services.

Board members also set a public hearing for the purpose of reviewing revisions to the Battery Energy Storage System. The hearing will be on June 9 at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall.

The BESS Law has been under discussion for several months. Bowen said the board “decided to scale back.” The law will allow for tier 1 battery storage only, he said. These are battery systems that can be placed in an individual home.

The law will not allow for tier 2 and 3 storage systems, Bowen said. These are systems which would be placed in a business or commercial setting.

On a lighter note, Bowen proposed sending a letter to the third grade class at Ripley Central School, thanking them for their work cleaning up the area around the playground as part of their Earth Day celebration.

In another matter, Highway Supervisor Jim Spacht told board members that the culvert by the substation will have to be replaced because it is collapsing. The project will cost about $30,000, he said.

Spacht noted, however, that about 100 feet of the culvert runs through the yard of a property owner and he questioned whether or not the Town is responsible for that portion of the culvert. Bowen said he would refer the matter to the town attorney.

The board also approved the hiring of Cody Berg for the position of water/sewer laborer. Bowen said that Berg has experience in plumbing, digging, using heavy equipment and in computer skills.

“I believe he will be a good fit,” he said.

A memorandum of agreement was also approved by the board with the state Office of Taxation and Finance for the purpose of assisting the town in completing an assessment update.

“There is lack of assessment uniformity,” Bowen said.