Hadley Finance Committee Reviews Solar, Fiber, and DPW Costs at Working Session

HADLEY -- January 15, 2025, Hadley Finance Committee spends January session on solar economics, fiber broadband, and DPW facility costs. The committee, meeting informally on January 15, heard that a proposed landfill solar array carrying a preliminary cost of $5 million to $6 million would take roughly 27 years to break even at projected savings and revenues of $180,000 annually, before subsidies that could cut the cost roughly in half, while also facing panel recycling liabilities that member Peter Matusko estimated at close to three-quarters of a million dollars over a 25-year lifespan. Hadley Media Director Alex reported a projected 3 percent annual decline in Charter Spectrum cable franchise revenue and proposed a new student-athlete highlight-reel service priced at $38.50 per reel, with one member estimating a potential $22,000 annual return. On broadband, Alex described federal BEAD challenge funding and a state matching program that could reduce Hadley's cost to connect 32 unserved households to as little as $15,000 of an estimated $121,000 buildout, with South Hadley Electric Light Division's Fiber Spring identified as a leading service partner. The committee noted the DPW facility schematic, contracted for approximately $200,000, is progressing toward a Spring Town Meeting vote, with the elimination of a second floor saving close to $1 million in elevator costs alone.