Conneaut council blasts wind farm offer; Too many holes in contract cause concern
City Council in Conneaut is becoming increasingly skeptical of a proposed agreement that could help transform a large chunk of publicly owned land into a wind turbine farm.
Council had plenty of questions Tuesday night regarding an ordinance that would sell 159 acres of the East Conneaut Industrial Park to SGR Site Associates of Willoughby. The lengthy contract, introduced for action last month, apparently is headed for a major overhaul before council gives it serious consideration.
SGR is seeking a two-year option on the land, time it would use to conduct a battery of tests that would gauge whether the site is a good fit for wind turbines. SGR would pay around $50,000 for the option. Purchase price would be $2,400 an acre.
Members, led by Ward 3 Councilman Greg Mooney, said the contract is riddled with too many holes to warrant consideration.
“I don’t see any way we can do business (with SGR) under these stipulations,” Mooney said.
Mooney’s concerns include a lack of guarantees regarding tax revenues the wind farm would generate for the city, school district and Joint Vocational School. At a recent public information meeting, officials were told the project could create upward of $1 million in revenues annually. Mooney said it’s not unreasonable to expect that even a small percentage of that estimate be built into the contract.
Other members raised other questions, ranging from the difference between option and purchase agreements to the number of pages contained in the final versions. For a few minutes Tuesday, paper was shuffled around the dais as council tried to pin down the size of the proposal.
Some members were concerned about one of SGR’s partners, who reportedly faces a foreclosure action on an unrelated piece of property outside the city. Ward 1 Councilman Dave Campbell broached the issue of the partner’s foreclosure at a meeting last month.
The proposed contract would use the Conneaut Port Authority to broker the transaction. Because of favorable tax incentives, the port panel has served as the city’s agent in other land deals involving the East Conneaut Industrial Park.
Council said a list of contract questions should be prepared and submitted to SGR for consideration.
SGR says it needs the city land to complete a 2,500-acre tract on Conneaut’s east side. City and county officials have been negotiating with SGR for months.
A second proposal, submitted by Property Investment Enterprises of Geneva, wants to buy the entire industrial park for $4,000 an acre, plus give the city a percentage of profits earned from turbine leases.
In related news, Ward 2 Councilman Charles Lewis said he has revamped his position on the Conneaut wind farm after conferring with an industry expert. Last week, Lewis, after touring a Bowling Green wind farm, said the city should consider creating its own power company with the turbines. The expert told Lewis that approach would take a lot of work and may not be worth the effort, Lewis said. As a result, Lewis said he now endorses leasing industrial park land to a developer.
By Mark Todd
Staff Writer
3 September 2008
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Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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