Opinion: No apologies for raising legitimate concerns about Solar Power Purchase Agreement
At the Sept. 9 State College Borough Council meeting, my friend and colleague Mayor Ezra Nanes essentially asked me to apologize for my questions and comments surrounding the Solar Power Purchase Agreement.
As an elected official tasked with the stewardship of millions of dollars of taxpayer money, it is my duty to question potential mismanagement of those funds. I raised legitimate concerns about the SPPA’s legal fees, and here’s why.
The SPPA’s working group selected, without a formal vote and without prior notification to the individual members of each entity, a law firm to draft contracts for the initiative. The working group and the entities approved a not-to-exceed budget of $165,000.
However, Centre County Controller Jason Moser, as part of his investigation into the SPPA legal fees affair, found only one signed agreement between the working group and the law firm. That agreement authorized $35,000 in legal fees.
No clarity has been provided on this variance, which raises significant oversight concerns. How does $35,000 balloon into more than $310,000? What were the parameters in the original agreement? And where was the breakdown in oversight?
At the meeting, CPRA’s Sustainability Planner Pam Adams reported that the law firm’s hourly billing rate was between $780-$1000 per hour.
Adams reported that the law firm came as a recommendation from GreenSky (the energy consultant), but the working group held no RFP process to evaluate other specialized law firms. Why?
When the legal team was approaching and then exceeded the budget, no one on the working group thought to report that back to the entities. In response to my question about the communication breakdown, Adams stated: “Maybe we should have.”
The legal fees have totaled over $310,000, but the law firm is allegedly prepared to forego collection of $70,000 of that sum.
It has been more than a month since the meeting and no one has produced a written offer to that effect, despite several requests. Adams noted that the solicitor, “does little in writing,” but the lack of a written agreement here is concerning.
The bill represents over 350 working hours. I’ve requested timesheets to detail the firm’s work, but nothing has been provided. Without public accountability and review, how can we verify the substance of the work?
Centre County Administrator John Franek, on two or more occasions, included the county’s portion of the excess legal fees in check runs without prior notification to the commissioners. He only admitted his “mistake” after Moser’s public disclosure. Another concerning development.
Despite several unresolved questions, Mayor Nanes stated: “I think the communication question around finances has been addressed.”
The Mayor, who — per our Charter — has no official role in the financial affairs of the Borough, seems to want to move past this and diminish the value of any further questions.
Four years ago, I managed Nanes’ mayoral campaign. But today, I am disappointed by this behavior.
The argument that “the ends justify the means” has been advanced recently, but it is flawed.
The SPPA aims to reduce 16,000 metric tons of CO2 annually, but the net impact might be lower due to construction and manufacturing. Either way, this represents less than 2% of just the Centre Region’s yearly CO2 emissions.
Alternatively, other solar electric options exist that offer comparable rates to the SPPA. Currently, Brighten Energy offers a 24-month fixed rate of 10.89 cents per kWH, while IGS offers 12.99 cents for 36 months.
Both providers achieve the global CO2 reduction that the SPPA aims to create, but they do not require management/development fees, while the SPPA does.
Both options also do not require the taking of over 100 acres of Centre County farmland that could either be preserved or used to tackle our housing crisis.
The SPPA has been marred with miscommunication, lack of oversight and budget overruns. By supporting the SPPA, my colleagues endorse a precedent that allows contractors to exceed budgets without consequence.
I wholeheartedly support renewable energy. However, the SPPA’s flawed execution undermines its goals. Bad governmental practices can never be justified by the ends. Our neighbors, our taxpayers, our voters deserve better.