OAKFIELD, Maine — The town of Oakfield will soon have a new public safety/fire station.
Residents approved spending $1.3 million for a new fire station Nov. 2 during a special town meeting. Nearly 100 people turned out for the meeting, with the vote 70 in favor and 24 opposed.
The entirety of the project will be funded from the town’s Tax Increment Finance account that was created following the construction of a wind farm in the community. No local tax dollars will be used for the project.
According to Oakfield Town Manager Dale Morris, the town is now in the second year of a 20-year agreement with First Wind to allow wind turbines to be erected in Oakfield. In November 2014, First Wind was purchased by SunEdison, which in turn was bought out by Novatus Energy, LLC in December 2015. In both cases, the local agreement was carried forward for the town.
“We received our first tax payment from the wind farm last year and most of that went to the reconstruction of the Thompson Settlement Road,” Morris said. “We anticipate this year’s payment will go to the fire station.”
Morris said the town received the largest share of revenue in the first two years of the contract — 40 percent of the tax revenue, which was roughly $3.3 million. In years three through 20, the town will see 21 percent of the tax revenue.
“We negotiated a larger portion up front to take care of these larger capital items,” Morris said.
Morris said the existing fire station was built in 1959 and had “served its use.” It was built with three bays, and a fourth was added some time in the 1980s.
The new fire station features five bays, a training room, storage rooms, showers and an office, covering 7,152 square feet. The station will be built at the intersection of River and Ridge roads, where an old school house once stood.
He expects the project to go out to bid later this year, with construction to begin in the spring of 2018.
Construction on that wind farm began in December 2013 and was completed in 2015. Forty turbines were located in Oakfield, with an additional eight placed in unorganized territory.
Electricity generated by the Oakfield wind turbines is collected at 34.5kV and amplified to 115kV at the Oakfield collector substation, from where it is transmitted via a 59-mile long transmission line that passes through the towns of Oakfield, Linneus, Haynesville, Glenwood Plantation, Reed Plantation, Macwahoc, Mattawamkeag, and Woodville, according to www.power-technology.com. It then connects to the Keene Road substation, which is owned by Emera Maine in Chester. The power is then fed to the existing Bangor Hydro Electric grid.
The fiscal impact of the wind farms has been astronomical for the town. The project will bring $14.7 million in tax revenues over 20 years, and an additional $12 million in community benefit payments during that time. That money goes to a town fund, and can be used for town priorities such as a public safety building, fire engines and road improvements. Each year, at town meeting, residents will be asked how they wish to spend that year’s funds.
From the tax payments, Morris said the town has been able to invest $450,000 in public works equipment; spent $1.6 million for the reconstruction of the Thompson Settlement Road; given out well over $2 million in tax relief to its residents; and awarded about $20,000 in town scholarships.
Any full-time resident who receives a Homestead Exemption on their tax bills receives a check in the amount of about $2,170 a year for 20 years. Seasonal residents, which total about 100 people do not receive the tax rebate. There are 235 full-time households in Oakfield.
“Plus, (most) people are paying less in taxes than they were 10 years ago,” Morris said.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was corrected to name the proper owner of the Oakfield Wind Farms as Novatus Energy LLC.
