LINCOLNVILLE — When there is money to be saved on the cost of governance - in this case, the electricity required to heat buildings and run the machines needed to get the people's work done - and an eager group of citizens gets to work trying to make those savings happen before the next hard frost, the devil is in the details.

And it's those details that the Lincolnville Board of Selectmen pushed back on Monday night, when the ad hoc Energy Committee presented its recommendation for the proposed solar energy project, including a request for a special town meeting vote on Sept. 26 to enter into a contract with ReVison Energy.

Committee chairwoman Cindy Dunham ran through all of the things that the committee had accomplished since it first convened in February, and began to talk about a solar energy project to provide power to the town's buildings.

In addition to Dunham, the Energy Committee is comprised of Gary Gulezian, John Williams, Greta Gulezian, Jim Dunham, Bob Olson, Kathy Williams and Rich Smith.

At the beginning of August, the committee asked town administrator David Kinney to create an RFP to solicit proposals for the project.

The RFP was for a solar energy-generating facility to be sited on about a one-quarter-acre piece of the 16 acres of town land adjacent to the fire station on Route 52, near Drakes Corner. Buildings around Lincolnville Center that would be powered by the facility, according to the RFP, include the fire station, the town office, the sand/salt storage building and the Breezemere Park bandstand. Also included would be town buildings along Route 1 at the beach, including the fire station there, as well as lighting at the beach, the harbor and the town pier.

According to the RFP, the town would lease the land - located on the south side of the center fire station away from the wetland - for the solar array to the solar provider. The agreement would be for the town to purchase energy at discounted rates from the solar provider for 20 to 30 years. The town also wanted the option to purchase the facility, among other things.

The land lease and Power Purchase Agreement would require voter approval at a town meeting, according to the RFP, and Kinney and the committee had hoped to get the project ready for voters this month.

Dunham said that on Aug. 31, the review committee met to look over the three proposals that were submitted, and a week later, the group unanimously chose ReVision Energy for its "short list."

"ReVision provided the most flexible financing packages, with a buyout option in year seven. We know from experience with other local projects, including the library, that ReVision is a mission-driven company that has extremely positive customer service and support and is committed to a health and sustainable future for Maine," said Dunham.

She also said that ReVision provided the most experience with similar projects, including 10 municipalities.

"The RFP requested a minimum of five," said Dunham.

She said that references talked about their depth and integrity, and that while ReVision is still viewed as a local Maine company, it is a large firm with enough people involved in it to feel confident they will be here for 20-30 years, which is the potential lifespan of the agreement.

Committee member Gary Gulezian said that ReVision's proposal had some options to consider, including how much the town would pay for each kilowatt hour of electricity in the PPA, and then how much the town could buy the equipment for in the sixth year.

Paying a lower KWH rate would cause a higher buyout cost, said Gulezian. For example, if the town paid 11 cents/KWH, the equipment buyout would be $63,000. If the town paid 13 cents/KWH, the equipment buyout would be $57,000. And if the town paid 15 cents/KWH the equipment buyout would be $54,000.

"The option we are recommending is 13 cents/KWH, which would be about half a cent less than what the town is currently paying for electricity," said Gulezian.

ReVision is willing to pass on savings to the town because, as the owner and operator of the equipment, it gets to take advantage of federal tax credits and depreciation at the highest rate the first year, "significantly lowering the cost" if the town decided to buy it in the sixth year.

"Now, if were were to buy the array outright right now from ReVision, without an agreement, it would cost $126,000," said Gulezian.

Gulezian said that based on projections, by going with 13 cents/KWH, the town would be paying less each year for electricity than going with the utility company. The assumption, based on projections, he said, is that utility companies increase rates at 2.5 percent, and ReVision's rate of escalation in price is 2 percent.

"The price paid to ReVision will always be less, based on the projection, and that will continue for the life of the agreement, which would be 20 years with the possible extension of five years twice, taking it to 30 years, said Gulezian.

One piece of the equation that nobody could really be certain of is the future of Maine's Net Energy Billing Policy, which allows a solar producer to bank unused electricity and tap into it at time of the year when they won't or can't produce sufficient electricity. The Policy continues to be kicked around by the state Public Utility Commission, as it continues to look at how much solar the state, and legislators, will support.

But Gulezian said that ReVision has come up with a warranty to hedge that issue, where if Net Energy Billing were to go away, ReVision will look at what the benefits to the town would have been and apply those lost benefits as a credit.

"So essentially, their warranty works to make us whole on what we would have gained with the Net Energy Billing Policy," said Gulezian.

Gulezian said that from year 1-30, the town's current electricity spending is about $400,000. By adopting the 13 cents/KWH plan, he said the town will spend a little over $250,000 at the end of 30 years. There could be even more savings if the town opts to buyout the equipment after six years.

Dunham told the selectmen that the committee had continued working toward the "ambitious time line" that Kinney had set out for them, and that their goal was to provide the best energy options for the town.

"We believe that by moving in this direction, we are moving toward a more renewable and cleaner energy source for the town. We would like to ask for a special town meeting on Sept. 26, with the purpose to seek approval to purchase electrical power through solar generation under a PPA, and approval of a license or lease agreement to locate the solar array on town property adjacent to the fire station," said Dunham.

During public comment, High Street resident and retired attorney Ric McKittrick urged the board of selectmen to have the potential agreement carefully reviewed. But he also said he did not believe that holding a special town meeting for citizen approval of the plan in general would require, or should be held up by, execution of an agreement.

McKittrick said that a law firm with expertise in these kinds of agreements, if not the town attorney's firm, ought to be able to review a contract in short order, say 48 hours or so.

"I think a time line should not be a real obstacle if the Board of Selectmen is philosophically ready to move forward," said McKittrick.

As the discussion came to the board, it became readily apparent that not even the Energy Committee liaison, Dunn, had had ample time to review all of the data, or felt that all of the Ts had been crossed and the Is had been doted.

From the outset, it was noted that the town did not have a final agreement, only a boilerplate draft agreement. Second, it was not clear whether the town needed to provide a lease or a right of way or exactly what to allow ReVision to set up on town property.

"I am just playing the devil's advocate. Just from a basic time line, working backward, breaking ground to doing the installation, there wouldn't need to be any dollar outlay from the town? I don't see the Power Purchase Agreement, or a right of way language," said Dunn.

Gulezian then asked to clarify the time line back, from a Nov. 1 groundbreaking.

John Luft of ReVision said it would be good to have the final agreement signed by early to mid-October.

"It's cutting it close, but we can do it. It's a busy time as everyone is trying to make that tax credit. I would love to say Oct. 1, but we are willing to work with you," said Luft.

Selectwoman Cathy Hardy said she agreed with McKittrick that the agreements needed outside review, and said that it would cost money outside of the town budget for legal fees.

Plus said Dunn, it's not known what that cost would be.

"Right, so when we are talking about 'no up front cost right now,' there would be some up front cost to the budget," said Hardy.

Hardy went on to say that since the board had not seen the boilerplate PPA agreement, let alone a final one, that a special town meeting in two weeks to meet the deadlines for breaking ground before the hard frost was "a very, very hurry-up schedule."

"And this is obviously a huge consideration for the town going forward," said Hardy. "I think for all of us, there is significant interest in this project as before. However, the 200-pound gorilla who is NOT in the room, who really would have been the person to spearhead and oversee this project, [David Kinney] is not available to us right now. And because of that, Jodi has taken on not only her regular duties, but David's duties. And in terms of what other priorities, such as all the other work that has to be done on the 2017 municipal budget that's coming up in a couple of months to get to the budget committee, I have some serious misgivings about this deadline."

Hardy said that when the project went out for bid on Aug. 9, that was four days before Kinney's medical incident.

"And we were all so excited in the room talking with you about it, and you know David's interest in this area and the fact that he is an engineer and has background in this. And you know we as a select board rely on him so much in areas like this," said Hardy. "This is nothing negative against what the committee has done so far, and you have done an incredible job pulling this together. But none of us knew that on Aug. 9, what we would be faced with a month later that we are looking at now. I want to make sure everybody understands that things have changed a little in the last month, that they have changed a lot."

Dunn said that while she was a big proponent of solar, with solar panels at her residence, the time line and lack of information about costs and other details had her feeling the need to put the brakes on things.

"From the municipal management standpoint, for those solar panels being installed on town property, I think we need to have a legal instrument in the form of a Right of Way, and we don't have a document that fleshes that out or provides for how long, etc. We don't actually have the proposal to Lincolnville, we have a format of what it would look like. We have work that needs to be done on the warranty for the net metering. We don't have a firm financial plan for how the town is going to actually afford this project. We have lots of options, but when we go before the voters, we can’t put vague language with so many things to consider. It's not legal to give multiple choice questions," said Dunn. "And right now we have many possible options and it's like one of those adventure books, 'If this, then this...' And we don't want to end up in the cave with the dragon. I want this to keep moving forward, but I feel there is a lot of work still to do."

Greta Gulezian, an Energy Committee member said she really wanted the Board of Selectmen to "just ask" the town whether to go forward with solar electric generation.

But for Hardy, another unanswered question was who was going to be project manager with Kinney out on medical leave.

With Kinney out, Town Finance Director Jodi Hanson agreed on Aug. 29 to an appointment as interim town administrator. And wearing both hats, she has been managing preparation for all town committee and board meetings, attending many of those meetings to offer reports, answer questions and receive assignments, helping staff get ready for the November elections and also keeping an eye on the upcoming town budget cycle.

"Jodi is doing two full-time jobs - director of finance and now the full-time town administrator. And she is already asking for directives of budget proposals and the Select Board will rapidly be moving into the multiple-month process of looking at what will be coming before us for this year's budget consideration," said Dunn.

And not knowing exactly what amount of money should or could be needed for the solar energy project only makes their work harder, said Hardy.

"As the Energy Committee, myself included [as liaison], we need to figure out what the financial proposal is; finished to our satisfaction a thorough review of municipalities that have or are working with ReVision so we can have a complete understanding of all the good things and the challenges they may have occurred; and what goes into having a legal review of this document. As wonderful as I think your company is at drafting really great documents, we would be foolish to not have some sort of legal review of that document. So I feel like there is a lot more homework to be done," said Dunn.

Energy Committee member Jim Dunham told the board that the library projec was built on a lot of human resources in the community, and he said that when he hears there is "no money" for a lawyer, he believes there might be someone out there who could quickly step forward and cover that cost.

"I know you are busy, but I would love to think of ourselves as resourceful," said Jim Dunham. "Before we say 'We can't do it because of all these steps,' I would like to hear, 'We will try.'"

Dunn said, "As a point of clarification, at no point did I say 'We can't do this.' I'm just saying, these are the very real things, the boxes that have to get checked off, and frankly, these are the conversations you would be having with David, but David isn't here so we as a board, we can't burden Jodi and the ladies at the town office because they are down a man and a half and trying to get ready for the November elections. There is just really fundamental, run-of-the-mill stuff that is taking all of their time and then some. People are giving up vacation time just to get us by. We are all going to have to get real creative to get all these boxes checked off and we would be foolhardy from a responsibility standpoint to put the horse before cart."

Rosey Gerry, a former selectman, told the group that it's very important to make sure they have all their ducks in row before they bring something before the voters.

He said that although the selectmen might be 100 percent in favor of it, and the Energy Committee thinks it's a wonderful idea, the town of Lincolnville is divided. No matter what it is, Gerry said, if you bring something before them, some will vote against it, say they don't want it.

"We had a free fire station given to us, and we had people come and vote against it, just to give you an idea," said Gerry. "So in defense of the board wanting to do it absolutely right, so that there isn't an ounce of doubt, I understand that. There are people out there who will not understand it. If the board does everything 100 percent legal, and they present a clear thing, you have it made."

Dunn agreed, and said it's important to put together a "tight package" that "nobody can knock down."

She asked Energy Committee member John Williams, also a member of the Budget Committee, if he would run the solar project past the budget committee to see how they feel.

He told her he already knew there were people who would support it, and help find the money, "no problem."

At the end of the meeting, it was decided by the Board of Selectmen to ask the chair, Dunn, to work with the Energy Committee to review and/or have a vetted contract for the board to review at its next meeting on Monday, Sept. 26.

Luft said that his company would work to get one in Dunn's hands by the end of the week, if not sooner. He said that the agreement would include the PPA and a land lease agreement as well.

Dunn was also authorized to work with the town administrator on funds for legal review of the documents ahead of that meeting.

"We are just going to have to be creative with the powerhouse that David was. I am frustrated that we just can't let you run with it, but I also think we can figure this out," said Dunn to Energy Committee members as they filed out.

Reach Editorial Director Holly S. Edwards at hollyedwards@penbaypilot.com and 207-706-6655.