Tag Archives: contract

Missing: CCA Submission of Preliminary Specifications

Has CCA supplied a key document required by the contract? If not, is the contract still valid?

According to “SCHEDULE 1.6.2 DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE” CCA was supposed to provide to VLCIA

Submission of Preliminary Specifications (Section 1.6.1)
No later than 6 months after receipt of the Survey
CCA did provide a Title Objection Letter 19 November 2010, and that was due “within 30 days of receipt of the Survey”. So these Preliminary Specifications were due about six months ago. Let’s see them!

If those specifications have not been received by VLCIA, maybe the contract with CCA is no longer valid.

Or maybe VLCIA already received the NTP and is moving on with implementing the project. Seems to me the community should be informed, one way or the other.

-jsq

How the Industrial Authority can stop the CCA private prison: no third extension by 13 March 2012

Apparently the Industrial Authority can end the contract for CCA’s private prison six weeks from now, by simply not doing anything until then.

CCA has already paid for two extensions on their Option Agreement for land purchase. The Second Extension Term was paid for in March 2010 and forwarded to the land owner. Here’s video of Col. Ricketts announcing it to the VLCIA board 15 March 2011. That second extension expires 13 March 2012, six weeks from today.

A Third Extension Term is possible, but has to be negotiated. Here’s what Purchase and Development Agreement of 17 August 201 says:

1.4.2.3. Third Extension Term. The Authority shall use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain an option for a third extension term of twelve (12) months (the “Third Extension Term“). In the event the Authority is able to obtain such extension option on terms and conditions such that any required earnest money to be paid by the Company in connection with the exercise of such extension option does not exceed $75,000, and there is no increase of the price of the Site or any other payments not already required by the Option Agreement, then the Authority shall enter into a written agreement (the “Third Extension Term“) with the Seller reflecting the terms and conditions of such extension option….
What happens if the Authority does not provide such an extension option? Continue reading →

CCA and the problem with Industrial Authority confidentiality agreements

In the confidentiality agreeement CCA and VLCIA signed way back on 17 August 2009, I see nothing that says the Industrial Authority can’t talk about CCA in general terms. And I see a lot of things that a governmental entity by state law can’t hide if the public requests them. And that VLCIA has now revealed. Which means the Industrial Authority has violated that agreement because state law required it to. So what does that say about the validity of other contracts VLCIA has signed with CCA? And what does it say about the practice of this governmental entity signing confidentiality agreements?

That agreement includes this legal boilerplate:

it will use any confidential, proprietary, or trade secret information to which it has access solely for the purpose set forth herein and that it will indefinitely protect the confidentiality of such information and will not directly or indirectly disclose, reproduce, distribute, transmit or transfer by any means in any form any confidential documents, information and/or trade secrets that AUTHORITY may have or acquire during the Evaluation Period.
There’s nothing in there that says VLCIA can’t even say in their board meetings that Project Excel is a private prison for CCA. And outside board meetings, some board members have no reluctance to acknowledge that.

Confidentiality agreements like that are normal between two business entities. They seem a little odd between a business entity and a governmental agency. For example, that Agreement continues:

For purposes of this Agreement, “confidential, proprietary, or trade secret information” includes, but is not limited to, marketing materials, conceptual site drawings and images, form contract agreements, the identities of business contacts and the relationships developed with such contacts during the Evaluation Period, proposed terms of purchase and sale, if any….
Yet many of those things are by their nature public records that VLCIA is required to hand over in response to an open records request, such as the one Matt Flumerfelt made which produced documents such as these: Continue reading →

The lawyers are in charge at VLCIA —Roy Copeland

Thanks, Roy, for clarifying that:
“It’s forthcoming. I can’t tell you anything because quite frankly, lawyers have their own schedules. I literally do not know specific details because I’m not privy to that information as of this moment.”
Well, it’s good to know somebody’s in charge at the Authority.

My mistake in thinking they just elected you Chairman.

Much more in David Rodock’s story in the VDT today, Decision still looms for future of once proposed biomass plant site.

-jsq

Many ways Valdosta can stop biomass

VDT says Only city can stop biomass. Well, maybe not only, but they could, by some of the things VDT suggested.

There are other things Valdosta could do, such as what the VSU Faculty Senate did: pass a resolution opposing biomass. Remember, the mayor of Gretna, Florida did that. If little old Gretna can do it, TitleTown USA can do it!

The Valdosta City Council could also hold an ethics investigation of their own appointees to the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority, on the topic of why those appointees are in favor of a project with demonstrated health hazards to the community.

Short of that, Valdosta could demand transparency from VLCIA: Continue reading →

Lowndes County could stop biomass plant

VDT is not quite right when it says Only city can stop biomass. The Lowndes County Commission could do it.

According to Ashley Paulk, a few months ago VLCIA approached the Lowndes County government, asking them to ask VLCIA not to extend Sterling Planet’s contract for the biomass plant. Chairman Paulk refused to accept that hot potato and instead laudably told the community what was going on. Yet there was a bit of a good idea in what VLCIA was asking. Lowndes County could pass an ordinance such as VDT is suggesting banning the incineration of human feces.

Remember, Lowndes County rezoned the land for the plant. It’s time to review that rezoning to see if in light of new information it should be rescinded. According to the VDT, Wiregrass Power LLC supplied a fake timeline, so it wuld not be interesting to know what else they said wasn’t true?

For that matter, wasn’t the rezoning to build a certain biomass plant according to a certain plan which has no expired? Maybe the rezoning is already null and void and the Commission just needs to declare it so.

Short of that, the Lowndes County Commission could demand transparency from VLCIA:

Continue reading →

Sign up for renewable energy from Georgia Power —Jaime Hockin @ Solar Summit

Panelist Jaime Hockin of Georgia Power pointed out that gapower customers can sign up for green energy right now. Here’s where: Residential Green Energy Signup.
  1. Standard Green Energy Option: $3.50 (plus tax) a month per 100 kWh block.
    This option delivers Green-e Energy certified renewable energy that is generated entirely by biomass.
  2. Premium Green Energy with Solar Option: $5.00 (plus tax) a month per 100 kWh block.
    This option delivers Green-e Energy certified renewable energy that contains a mix of at least 50% solar and 50% biomass energy.
You get a separate line item on your bill for whichever one you buy.

Some people claim that there’s no way to do this because it’s just electrons once it gets on the wire. Sure, and money is just dollars once you spend it. But contracts can determine where those dollars go, and in exchange for what:

Due to the way electricity is transmitted and distributed, energy purchased or produced from renewable energy resources may not be specifically delivered to you. However, the renewable energy you purchase will be added to the power grid and will displace incremental power that would have otherwise been produced from traditional generating resources.
So as Jaime Hockin advised, if you want to show you want renewable energy, and you are a Georgia Power customer, sign up and Georgia Power will hear you!

-jsq