LIVERMORE FALLS — Selectmen on Tuesday evening voted to spend $30,000 to complete a multitown revaluation delineating which part of the hydroelectric facility owned by Eagle Creek Renewable Energy is in Livermore Falls, and which part is in Livermore.
Sansoucy Associates of Lancaster, NH, was contracted for the work with Eagle Creek, which is based in Maryland.
Eagle Creek owns four hydroelectric facilities on the Androscoggin River, including Riley power station and Jay power station in Jay; Otis power station in Livermore; and the Livermore facility in Livermore and Livermore Falls. According to information provided, the total assessed value of the four in 2024 was over $35.1 million, with about $8.5 million in Livermore Falls.
The study will determine what portion of each hydroelectric facility lies in which town, and how to apportion each town’s value as a percentage of the whole, Jay Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere wrote in a recent email.
Livermore Falls will pay $10,000 for the appraisal and $20,000 for the delineation study.
“This will definitely benefit the town,” Select Board Chair William Kenniston said.
Jay and Livermore have also agreed to sign contracts for the study, Town Manager Carrie Castonguay said.
This will be the third time the three towns have worked together regarding the facilities.
On Thursday, Mark Chretien, chair of the Livermore Board of Selectmen, noted the town will pay for the revaluation now and the study once it is completed. That board approved the contracts Jan. 28.
Results of the revaluation will be available May 15 and the study June 1, according to the contracts.
On Thursday, LaFreniere confirmed the Jay Select Board approved the contracts Jan. 27, contingent on Livermore and Livermore Falls approving them.
LaFreniere also provided more detailed information on the study from Paul Binette, assessing agent for the three towns. The study uses detailed estimates to determine what it would cost now to build the facilities, she said. “Each piece, in each town, is then depreciated based on its actual property condition. Once the final numbers are attained, the facilities are divided up and the final percentage is calculated and assigned to each town. The ratios stay the same for 10-20 years and get adjusted as new equipment is added,” LaFreniere wrote in an email.
Binette indicated the separation assessment includes an in-depth study of the component valuations (turbines, electrical, concrete, etc.) of the hydroelectric facility and also delineates the municipality in which the equipment or structures lie. As three of the four dams and hydroelectric facilities straddle town or county lines, it is necessary to find each municipality’s contributory value, he wrote.
“In any appeal of a hydro assessment, it is good to have an appraisal to support the assessment, however it is a necessity to have a separation study to support the appraisal,” LaFreniere wrote.
