More thoughts on a discussion that was had.
If you want more, go find it. The fact remains though; Mr. G is doing his job. He has the paper he needs. He got the contract he needed more than anything else… Did the City?”
You see, Tim Gregori really has little to do with any feelings I have about the coal plant. He is building a coal plant. The City can be his partner, sure, why not? He looks good to his team either way. He got the water service contract, so he knows he gets the water, in fact, we are required to get him the water he needs, regardless of any ownership interest on the part of the City. He does not need us for the land, its private land, and County zoning, he does not need us for the permits, and come on, he only has to come up with 15% or less of the money if we back out.
“Good point Fire-fly. You don’t hate the other teams quarterback because your defense sucks!!” (well, sometimes I do)
“There appears to be little definitive background on the man.” I disagree. He is a business man, has been involved in several Montana communities over the last 10 years, has mostly been employed by electrical companies and co-ops, I am confident his schooling and such make him qualified to do the job. He does not have to build the plant with his own hands, he has to organize and implement its creation. He is doing that.
“Was this whole debacle made in good faith based upon information between friends and associations?” Where is the proof to the contrary…
“Did anyone jump ship?” No one from SME.
SME has done this deal perfectly. They got what they wanted, have no binding contract for anything they don’t need, they don’t have to share their power if they don’t want to, but they still get to sell it to us, and apparently, their lawyers wrote our contracts, and we may have paid them for it. How could it be any sweeter?
“Crossing every t and dotting every i does not honest representation make. Verbal deals often differ in writing, hence the need for astute legal reviewers and attorneys.” So where is our legal representation. Go look through the commission reports, and check out who the lawyers are that have worked on all the piles of contracts and other legal documents.
“Is it possible that sophistry of information presented to and perceived by the commissioners might be an issue?” But what about the trips to Kentucky, and the presentations by engineers and consultants? The financial accounting, I mean the Fiscal Services Director for the City has her thumb in every plum in this pie. At what point do they say, there is an issue here, how do we resolve it? It better be before they feel horrifically embarrassed by being lead down a primrose path by a trusted friend.
“Perhaps some compassion for those possibly duped by slick packaging is warranted.” See above. It is past the point where they can claim to have been “duped by slick packaging” This is a potentially 70 to 120 million dollar business deal, which could affect our city for 35+ years. There is no room for embarrassment. There is no such thing as a “trusted friend”.
It isn’t like no one has brought specific concerns to the attention of the Commission, the City is obviously aware of several records requests, and may even be influenced by those requests, to actually do the damn job. Well, staff might.
No excuses. I will refer you to a quote from our Mayor “we ARE the ones making the decisions, popular or not.” (Of course, the Mayor is always welcome to comment here any time, and give us a new quote.)
The Mayor, the City Commission, they made the decision to run for office, they cast the votes, they spend the money, they take responsibility. They have had plenty of time to voice any concerns, get more information, change their minds.
“A pilot flying off his charted course by one or two degrees will miss his final destination by miles. Who provided the coordinates from the beginning? The pilot or the person who may have masked the destination?” I will refer this to Mr. Lawton, Mrs. Balzarini, and assorted others. “It’s always been a moving target” What coordinates are they a couple degrees off of? It appears that SME has pretty much always known that the City was a small time player in this. I find it very difficult to believe that after all this time, the ownership interest, or lack thereof, is a surprise to anyone. Well, anyone but the public. Is it really credible for them to claim that no one from the City was aware of the percentages stated in the original 2004 application to RUS?
“I took GeeGuy up on his homework assignment and reviewed the Commission minutes from 2005 through what was available for 2007. Unless I inadvertently missed or misread something, every item concerning the coal plant or Electric City Power originated with city staff only. With the exception of Commissioner Hinz, the other Commissioners and the Mayor never asked any questions about the issue or asked for clarification, etc.”
“Whatever happened to accountability?”
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