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Town’s September draft set energy-moratorium hearings and left cemetery fees for another vote

2026-10-07 · Alex Riverside · Original source document ↗

Public-record coverage

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▶ Key Actions & Decisions

● Albion’s town board moved toward proposed pauses on wind, commercial solar and battery-storage projects in September, according to draft minutes posted by the Town of Albion in Orleans County. The draft records votes to schedule three public hearings for October 5; it does not establish that any moratorium became law.

● The hearings concerned Chapters 104, 105 and 106 of the town code: Wind Energy Facilities, Solar Power Farms/Commercial Power Projects and Battery Energy Storage Systems. The four members listed present voted in favor of each hearing. In August, the board had asked members to review the existing energy codes; the September draft describes moving ahead through the local-law process. It does not supply the proposed laws, their duration or any final adoption vote.

● October 5 has now passed. The September record also says the board moved its regular October meeting from October 12 to October 5 because of the holiday. This is a historical account of what the draft scheduled, rather than a current invitation to attend or confirmation that the hearings took place.

Albion’s town board moved toward proposed pauses on wind, commercial solar and battery-storage projects in September, according to draft minutes posted by the Town of Albion in Orleans County. The draft records votes to schedule three public hearings for October 5; it does not establish that any moratorium became law. The hearings concerned Chapters 104, 105 and 106 of the town code: Wind Energy Facilities, Solar Power Farms/Commercial Power Projects and Battery Energy Storage Systems. The four members listed present voted in favor of each hearing. In August, the board had asked members to review the existing energy codes; the September draft describes moving ahead through the local-law process. It does not supply the proposed laws, their duration or any final adoption vote. October 5 has now passed. The September record also says the board moved its regular October meeting from October 12 to October 5 because of the holiday. This is a historical account of what the draft scheduled, rather than a current invitation to attend or confirmation that the hearings took place. Union Cemetery fees remained under development. In August, the board deferred burial-preparation charges while seeking comparison rates from other towns. The September draft says Highway Superintendent Michael Neidert presented proposed fees and regulations and that attorney James Bell would prepare a resolution for October. Code officer Dan Strong suggested a $100 charge for transferring a plot deed. That amount was proposed for inclusion in the resolution; the draft does not record its adoption. The county-road snow, ice and mowing contract was also unresolved. Neidert’s August report described a request for a 30 percent increase and no agreement. The September draft says the existing five-year contract would expire at year’s end and that the county had presented a contract containing disputed provisions. It records a need for clarification and amendments, with more discussion planned for October. A negotiating request should not be read as an approved spending increase. For road users, the August minutes record a 4–1 vote to advance a lower-speed-limit request for Keitel Road between Route 31 and the Albion–Gaines town line to county review. They give neither a proposed speed nor evidence that a new limit took effect. The September draft reports a November 2 target for the Phipps Road project and says an easement still needed to be returned before the Allen Road project could be completed. A target date is not a completion finding. The town also sought more information about county FLOCK license-plate cameras. In August it authorized Councilmember Darlene Benton to write Sheriff Chris Bourke with questions. The September draft reports that board members attended an Association of Towns presentation by the sheriff’s office; Benton expressed concern that the sheriff did not have to notify the town of camera placements. The draft does not supply a camera map, retention policy or independent account of how the system was used. Other September matters included approval for the town court to apply for a JCAP grant and requests to retain proposed highway-garage work in the budget: approximately $30,000 for four overhead doors and $8,000 toward heating upgrades. Those garage figures were discussed as budget requests, not recorded contract awards. The code officer was also asked to bring an updated fee schedule for action in October. There is a date discrepancy in the September source. The official listing and filename identify September 14, while the first page reads September 15, 2026, and explicitly labels the minutes Draft. This article refers to the September draft without choosing between those dates. It records approval of the August 10 minutes, but its own final approval has not been established. Later October decisions require their own originals. [August 10 minutes](https://townofalbionnyorco.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2026-8-10-FINAL.pdf) · [September draft, listed September 14 and headed September 15](https://townofalbionnyorco.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2026-9-14-DRAFT.pdf)

Source-based reporting published 2026-10-07. Source events and document statuses are listed separately above.

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2026-10-07 Town voted for data-center moratorium in July; Union Cemetery plot sales were paused

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▶ Key Actions & Decisions

● The Town of Albion board voted in July to adopt Local Law 5 of 2026 for a moratorium on commercial data centers, after a June decision to schedule a hearing on a proposed 12-month pause. The July 13 minutes record four affirmative votes and say no data-center applications had been received at the time of the hearing.

● The discussion began in May, when town officials raised concerns about data centers’ water and electricity demands, heat and noise after an Association of Towns meeting. In June, attorney James Bell presented a proposed 12-month moratorium and the board scheduled the July hearing. The July minutes then record adoption. That establishes a board vote, rather than independently establishing the law’s filing, effective date, exemptions or full text; those details require the enacted original.

● The town also halted Union Cemetery plot sales while it sorted out its records and fees. On June 8, the board approved a 60-day moratorium on plot sales, subject to review at the July meeting. The minutes described a $40 plot price and burial-preparation charges of $325 for a full burial and $175 for cremation, while officials were still determining how many plots remained available.

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