SMYRNA – The Chenango County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) is inching closer to a finalized tax abatement deal that would result in a three-megawatt solar project on County Road 14 in the Town of Smyrna.

The IDA held a public hearing in June to invite community feedback on a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) deal for NY Smyrna I, LLC, the private entity behind the solar project. Terms of the agreement would give NY Smyrna I a tax break in exchange for a payment per kilowatt hour produced by the solar facility.

According to the IDA, a PILOT deal would entice NY Smyrna I to pursue the project while offering Smyrna residents some property tax relief via payments from the company.

Nevertheless, some residents voiced concerns during the IDA’s public hearing, most of them suggesting that the agency’s proposed 20-year PILOT seems too long.

“There were a lot of questions from the people who turned out. Most of them revolved around the timing of the PILOT,” said Chenango County IDA Chair Brian Burton. “The feeling I got from a vast majority is that the people there did not want the PILOT to go past 15 years. They were concerned at 20 and anything longer.”