The contracts for revaluation and an assessment study for the Livermore hydroelectric facility owned by Eagle Creek Renewable Energy, seen on Tuesday, Feb. 4, were approved later that evening by the Livermore Falls selectmen. Jay and Livermore boards have also approved the contracts to determine the current worth of four Eagle Creek facilities and the portions allocated to each town. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

LIVERMORE FALLS — Selectmen on Tuesday evening, Feb. 4, voted to spend $30,000 to complete a revaluation appraisal for 2025 and delineate which portion of the assessment for a hydroelectric facility owned by Eagle Creek Renewable Energy, headquartered in Maryland, is in Livermore Falls.

Sansoucy, P.E., LLC d/b/a Sansoucy Associates of Lancaster, NH, was contracted for the work.
Eagle Creek owns four properties locally that are named Riley, Jay, Otis, and Livermore. Riley is located in Jay, Dixfield and Canton; Jay is entirely in Jay; Otis is in Jay and Livermore while Livermore is in Livermore and Livermore Falls.

According to information provided, the Livermore facility is on 15,46 acres with 13,5 acres in Livermore Falls and the remaining 1.96 acres in Livermore. The  total assessed value of the four facilities in 2024 was over $35.1 million with about $8.5 million for the part in Livermore Falls, it noted.

Livermore Falls will pay $10,000 for the appraisal and $20,000 for the delineation, which is known as a separation study or assessment.

“This will definitely benefit the town,” Chair William Kenniston said.

Jay and Livermore have also agreed to sign the contracts, Town Manager Carrie Castonguay said.

This will be the third time the three towns have worked together regarding the facilities. Similar revaluations were done in 2021, according to a Sun Journal report.

On Thursday Mark Chretien, chair of the Livermore board, noted Livermore will pay for the revaluation now, the study once it is completed. That board approved the contracts on Jan. 28.

Results of the revaluation will be available May 15 and the study June 1, according to the contracts.

On Thursday Jay Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere confirmed the Jay Select Board approved the contracts on Jan. 27, contingent on Livermore and Livermore Falls approving them. The study determines what portion of each hydroelectric facility lies in which town and what that value is as a percentage of the whole, she wrote in a recent email.

In her email, LaFreniere also provided more detailed information on the study from Paul Binette, assessing agent for the three towns. “It’s a study that is prepared using detailed construction cost estimates to determine the cost new of all the facilities. 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,” he noted.

LaFreniere later clarified that the construction cost estimates are what it would cost for those facilities at today’s prices.

Binette indicated the separation assessment includes an in-depth study of the component valuations [turbines, electrical, concrete, etc] reflective of each hydro facility and also delineates the municipality in which the equipment or structures lie. As three of the four straddle town or county lines, it is necessary to find each municipality’s contributory value, he noted.

“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’s email stated.