Planning Board members are deeply divided on how much money should be held in escrow for the decommissioning of a proposed solar farm.

On Tuesday, board members closed a public hearing for the 6.5-acre, 1-megawatt solar farm that would only be accessed through Perry’s Lane in Rochester.

Chair Robert Lane wants to see $75,000 held in the account. Under the town’s new solar bylaw, the decommissioning of a project is the responsibility of the owner. Should a project fail, those funds would be used by the town to dismantle a solar farm.

That figure is higher than estimates from the board’s consultant, Coneco Engineers & Scientists, and a study provided by developers.

Clean Energy Collective, a Colorado-based company, has proposed the solar farm on land owned by Rochester resident Dennis Cleminshaw.

Jonathan Novak, an engineer with Coneco, said after review it would cost an estimated $50,000 to decommission the solar farm. The number includes the value of selling scrap metal from the site.

Greg Carey, of Clean Energy Collective, said his company estimated that it would cost $39,000 to dismantle the project.

Ignoring the findings of Coneco, Lane said he believed $75,000 was low and would have preferred having $100,000 in the account.

“The idea of having under $75,000 strikes me as not acting fiscally responsible for the town,” Lane said. “I’m not prepared to do that.”

Carey said he was willing to accept a compromise of $60,000 to move the project forward.

“We would be willing to settle for $60,000 for a decommissioning estimate,” Carey said. “As difficult as it is to agree to that amount we would be willing to do that.”

Attorney Richard Serkey, who is representing the developer, became frustrated with the board near the end of the meeting.

“We feel you should listen to your own consultant,” Serkey said. “I don’t want to be combative, but I want to make that clear.”

Board members Jennifer Francis and Norm Hills agreed that the escrow account should be lower and comparable to the Coneco’s findings.

After closing the hearing, board members considered holding a vote on the site plan, but determined that more research was needed.

Also, member Micheal Popitz, the liaison between the board and developer, was absent from the meeting.

“This should be a full board decision,” said member Steve Gonsalves.