Hecate refiles application for 42-megawatt solar project
Map showing the proposed solar array locations of the Shepherd’s Run solar project.
Map courtesy of Hecate Energy LLC
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Diana Woolis, right, delivers criticism of Pine Plains Town Supervisor Brian Walsh during a regular meeting of the Town Board on Thursday, March 19. Woolis said she was saddened by recorded statements Walsh made where he suggested library budget funds could pay for surveillance cameras in the town.
Photo by Nathan Miller
Board members proposed and approved a resolution formally limiting license plate reading cameras and other "public safety" cameras without prior Town Board approval in response to the controversy. Town attorney Warren Replansky prepared the resolution prior to the meeting at the request of board members.
Critics said during public comment that Walsh's actions and statements in light of the recent revelations have eroded trust in his leadership. Walsh has faced scrutiny since Feb. 3 when Flock Safety representatives began marking locations for license-plate reading cameras at three locations across town. Those markings revealed an $80,000 contract with the Atlanta-based company signed by former Pine Plains Police Sergeant Michael Beliveau and Walsh's multiple emails and phone calls with representatives of the company.
Walsh said in statements to the New Pine Plains Herald after the markers for new cameras went up this February that he hadn't spoken to Flock Safety since June 2025. He said he was aware of a six-month trial that Beliveau had arranged with Flock Safety, and that the town was not engaged in a contract. Released records revealed Walsh had communicated with Flock Safety as recently as November 2025, and that the trial agreement that Beliveau signed would automatically roll into an $80,000, two-year contract with the surveillance company.
Public comment drew numerous calls for Walsh's resignation, alleging he lied about his involvement and awareness of the proposed trial and contract. Conservation Advisory Council Chair Gail Mellow issued a sharp rebuke of Walsh's actions.
She said Walsh repeatedly lied about his role in procuring the cameras and accused him of deflecting blame to Beliveau.
"Walsh lied to our community," Mellow said. "And I think, in doing so, smeared dirt on the honor of serving the town."
Residents fill\u00a0Town Hall on Route 199 in Pine Plains for the meeting on Thursday, March 19. Photo by Nathan Miller
"We have lost so much ground in four years," Nuccio said. She recalled working as a secretary for Walsh's predecessor, Darrah Cloud, saying the town government accomplished more under Cloud's leadership. "We were doing things in a progressive way."
Some called for sympathy for Walsh, describing his actions as a mistake that the community should move on from. Supporters included law enforcement personnel describing the benefits of license plate reading cameras in solving crimes and avoiding dangerous situations.
Town Board members gave their own statements prior to residents' public comments that centered around accountability and moving forward. Councilwoman Jeanine Sisco offered the first statement on the controversy of the night.
Sisco said the board found it difficult to get answers from Walsh and Flock Safety during the recent controversy, but it was clear that proper procedures were not followed. She said board members received emails and recorded telephone conversations between Walsh and Flock Safety on March 9 — over a month after the stakes brought the agreement to light.
"Information was withheld," she said. "There were serious missteps."
The councilwoman then clarified that the Town Board is prohibited from disciplining or dismissing an elected official under New York law. She said board members plan to move forward and work with Walsh to follow proper protocol.
"I hope you can appreciate how much time and energy has been spent trying to understand what has occurred," Sisco said. "Now it's time to move forward."
Councilman Kevin Walsh took a harder stance, calling out a lack of written confirmation from Flock Safety that all agreements had been cancelled and what he described as obfuscation from the Supervisor.
He said Brian Walsh misled the board and documents have come to light showing the Supervisor communicated with Flock Safety representatives on multiple occasions between November 2024 and July 2025 and again this February after the cameras came to light.
Kevin Walsh nonetheless acknowledged the board has no power to remove Brian Walsh from office.
"Some are calling for us to do things we are not in power to do," Kevin Walsh said. "We will continue to do our best to bring the situation which has caused much consternation to a conclusion."
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Architect Michael Sloan of Millbrook-based firm Sloan architects describes plans for the proposed Thorne Building renovation to the public for the first time at a public hearing of the Millbrook village Planning Board on Monday, March 16, at the Millbrook Firehouse on Front Street.
Photo by Nathan Miller
Public comment was generally supportive, though several residents sought more details about the lighting plan and disability accessibility. The public hearing was continued to the board’s April 20 meeting.
Sloan said the renovations would breathe new life into the century-old building, which has sat vacant in downtown Millbrook for years. The plans call for nearly every space across the building’s four floors to be put to use.
“This project is taking the Thorne Building on Franklin Avenue and giving it purpose and life again,” Sloan said. “The project entails basically making the Thorne Building an actual community center for the community that’s going to be open for the public.”
Michael Sloan displays proposed expansions to the Thorne Building's parking lot to accommodate crowds for performances during a public hearing of hte Millbrook village Planning Board on Monday, March 16, at the Millbrook Firehouse on Front Street.Photo by Nathan Miller
The renovations are being funded by the Millbrook Community Partnership, a nonprofit headed up by Millbrook resident Oakleigh Thorne — a descendant of the building's namesake — to support the creation of Bennett Park on the former Bennett College campus and the restoration of the historic Thorne Building. Thorne said Monday the building is still several years from opening, but the organization has already outlined potential uses for the interior space.
At the center of the project is the auditorium, which Sloan said will be expanded to better accommodate professional performances.
"It's what we call a high school stage," Sloan said. "It's really for graduation and very shallow."
Sloan said the building would be expanded by about 20 feet, 9 inches at the rear to provide more stage depth and allow for the installation of an accessibility ramp behind the stage. He said the auditorium would be transformed into a performance hall capable of hosting films, live music, plays, dance productions, community meetings and other events. The first floor would also include co-working space available for community members to rent.
"It's for everybody," Sloan said.
In the basement, Sloan said, plans call for a culinary arts space similar to a catering kitchen. While it would allow for food preparation and serving, he said, it would not function as a full production kitchen. The basement would also include a digital arts lab that Sloan compared to a makerspace.
He said the area would house 3D printers, computers, sewing machines, music-recording equipment, practice rooms and other tools for digital creation.
More than 30 people attended the Monday-night meeting to hear plans for the new-and-improved Thorne Building on Franklin Avenue in Millbrook at a public hearing of the Millbrook village Planning Board on Monday, March 16.Photo by Nathan Miller
The arts-focused uses would continue on the upper floors, Sloan said. The second and third floors would be dedicated to gallery and studio space for visual artists. The second floor would also include a dance floor, allowing the space to host both community and private events.
Comments from the public were largely favorable, though some neighbors raised questions about lighting and accessibility.
Millbrook resident Heather Lavarnway, drawing on her experience as a professional municipal planner, praised the proposal while pressing Sloan for more information on lighting details. She asked for clarification about lighting temperatures and suggested alternative fixtures for some lights that could create unwanted glare.
"This project is clearly very well thought out," Lavarnway said. "It's sensitive to both the building and the neighborhood."
Other commenters asked for more details about the building’s accessibility features, prompting Sloan to explain that the structure would be brought up to current accessibility standards, including New York’s updated requirements that took effect Jan. 1.
"This is going to be state-of-the-art for accessibility, this building," Sloan said. He said he has experience designing buildings with high accessibility standards due to a high volume of work with universities. "I do this every single day."
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