Wednesday, August 29, 2007

UPC Host “Special Treatment” Agreement

Have you read the details in the 48 page document? The UPC leaseholders need to pay more attention to legal contracts. If they did the provision for eminent domain, in their agreements, should have alerted them to the eventual loss of their own land. Scrap value to pay decommissioning cost is all you can expect. Why does the Host Agreement refer to 21 turbines being constructed throughout the document? Who is losing their payment?

On page 7 of the Host Community Agreement, section 2 Initial Payment 2.1 On or before January 2, 2008 the Company shall pay the Town the difference between Five Hundred Seven Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($507,500.00) and the building permit fee ("Building Permit Fee") for the building permit ("Building Permit") for the Project paid to the Town for the Project in accordance with the Town's building permit fee schedule, as may be modified pursuant to applicable law ("Initial Payment").

The above host payment would only be paid if the project is completed by the end of 2007. The building permit fee on a $184,000,000 + industrial project should be $368,000 +. When the cost for the actual permits (not issued yet) are known and paid, you will have additional proof of the favoritism that UPC receives by the current administration. Once construction begins without permits, the fees are DOUBLED (per fee schedule). Normal building cost fees should be paid by developers before construction and not become a credit to be paid in the future. Cohocton officials need to significantly reduce their public claims, of the actual amount for host payment.

On page 39, section 20 Transfer of Project: 20.3 In the event of any sale, lease, transfer or assignment (collectively, "Assignment") of all of the Company's rights interest and obligations under this Agreement to a Transferee, the Company shall be released of all of its obligations hereunder from and after the effective date of any such Assignment.

Read any mortgage agreement, the primary obligation is not forgiven until the note is paid in full. How many new or different shell LLC’s will be used by UPC to transfer ownership to other foreign companies? The host agreement is all about ways of getting out of paying the promised monies!

SCIDA admits that the PILOT is not approved. UPC has to sell/leaseback or lease/leaseback the project to SCIDA to avoid paying industrial tax rates. Who would pay the host agreement then?

On page 41, section 29.1. Company Rights of Termination: 29.1.1at the Company's option, the Company may terminate this Agreement at any time, by written notice to the Town (the date of such notice being the "Termination Date"), delivered on or before September 1, 2008

So much for protecting the Town! Wake up Cohocton vote out the incumbents.

(Visit Reform Cohocton for more information)

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