Hartsville, New York

The Hamlet of Mycenae in Onondaga County was also historically sometimes known as "Hartsville".
Hartsville, New York
Town
Hartsville, New York

Location within the state of New York

Coordinates: 42°14′50″N 77°41′34″W / 42.24722°N 77.69278°W
Country United States
State New York
County Steuben
Area
 • Total 36.2 sq mi (93.7 km2)
 • Land 36.2 sq mi (93.7 km2)
 • Water 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation 2,116 ft (645 m)
Population (2000)
 • Total 585
 • Density 16.2/sq mi (6.2/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
FIPS code 36-32567
GNIS feature ID 0979055

Hartsville is a town in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 585 at the 2000 census. The town is named after a prominent early settler, Reuben Hart.

The Town of Hartsville is on the county's western border and is south of Hornell, New York.

History

The first permanent settler arrived around 1810. The early lumber industry gradually converted to raising dairy cows as land was cleared. The town was formed from the Town of Hornellsville in 1844.

Windmills and controversy

In the fall of 2005, it was publicly revealed that Irish windmill company Airtricity was planning to build several windmills in Hartsville, and had signed contracts with several landowners for the use of land on which to put these windmills. This has proved controversial. Opponents alleged that the Town government was excessively partial to Airtricity and the participating landowners, that it failed to take into consideration any of the possible negative impacts of turbine development, and did not make enough effort to negotiate a favourable deal with Airtricity on its own part (towns can require various things of a wind developer, specifically among them a Payment in Lieu of Taxes, or PILOT). In the spring of 2006 some residents brought in B. Thomas Golisano, founder of Paychex, who expressed willingness to provide money to begin a competing wind farm which would give substantially more benefits; specifically, the PILOT and payments to the landowners would be the same as or better than what was being offered by Airtricity, and residents of the town would receive part of the profits derived from the wind farm. This was bitterly fought by the landowners under contract and by certain members of the Town Board. It no longer is being actively promoted.

Two other developments occurred during the same time frame. It was discovered that the Town Supervisor had a contract with Airtricty to allow a power line to pass over her property to the power grid connections, a matter for which she received much criticism. Also, it was announced that the town board was considering using any PILOT funds it received if the project went through to enter the New York State Retirement program. The primary beneficiaries of the entry would have been the Supervisor's father and brother, respectively the head of and an employee of the town highway department. Her father, furthermore, has a contract with Airticity to build turbines on his property. This proposal was withdrawn in the face of opposition.

The Supervisor and one board member resigned, in September and November 2006, respectively, apparently due to criticism of their handling of the issue. A divided board was unable to appoint replacements, but in the 2007 elections, two seats, including that of Supervisor (out of four seats up for elections) went to candidates who had supported the Golisano plan when it was promoted. The incumbent pro-Airtricity deputy Supervisor was defeated by a large margin, and of the other two board members, both of whom were on the other side in the debate, only one was up for election, and received the largest number of votes for a non-supervisor seat. No further candidates were fielded by this faction, and the other two seats were filled by two of the four candidates fielded by the pro-Airticity faction.

In late 2007, Airtricity sold its American operations to E.ON, a German utility company. The town board which took office in 2008 considered a local law concerning windmills, which was enacted in 2009. It permitted windmills to be constructed provided they met certain criteria mainly concerning noise levels and distances from dwellings, while permitting windmill operators and the inhabitants of such dwellings to make exceptions in such cases, if both agreed. E.On ultimately chose not to pursue the project.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 36.2 square miles (94 km2), of which, 36.2 square miles (94 km2) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) of it (0.06%) is water.

The western town line is the border of Allegany County, New York.

Neighboring towns and areas

To the west is the Town of Alfred in Allegany County. To the north is the Town of Hornellsville and to the south is the Town of Greenwood. The eastern town line is shared with the Town of Canisteo.

Demographics

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 585 people, 233 households, and 170 families residing in the town. The population density was 16.2 people per square mile (6.2/km²). There were 377 housing units at an average density of 10.4 per square mile (4.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 99.49% White, 0.17% Native American, 0.17% from other races, and 0.17% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.17% of the population.

There were 233 households out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.7% were married couples living together, 4.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were non-families. 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the town the population was spread out with 24.3% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 29.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 115.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 116.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $40,568, and the median income for a family was $42,656. Males had a median income of $29,375 versus $18,654 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,667. About 8.3% of families and 12.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.9% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Hartsville

References

  1. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

http://www.garyabraham.com/files/wind/Hartsville/E_On_in_Hartsville.html

External links

Coordinates: 42°14′49″N 77°41′38″W / 42.24694°N 77.69389°W