Elk Konnected Hand out at County Commissioners meeting on 4/25

[flintauqua]

One last time,

The money received from the Enid project by the different taxing entities involved IS TAX MONEY, just like property taxes on a farm, a house, a business, etc.  IT IS TAX MONEY, by state law, not an amount that is negotiated!  Why can't you grasp that!

[Ross]

One last time,

The money received from the Enid project by the different taxing entities involved IS TAX MONEY, just like property taxes on a farm, a house, a business, etc.  IT IS TAX MONEY, by state law, not an amount that is negotiated!  Why can't you grasp that!

Well, why didn't you say that in the first place.
But i don't recall that being said in the newspaper article ?

But it still just points out that if a little research had been done and better negotiations performed Elk County possibly could have performed much better.

Perhaps could have negotiatted the same amount of $3 million or maybe even better.

Anything is possible, right? The numbers still stand.

[flintauqua]

Look at the date the PILOT agreement for the Caney River project was signed by the Elk County Commissioners - December 31, 2008.

http://www.tva.com/environment/reports/caney/appendix_b.pdf

Now when was the Chisholm View (Garfield County, OK) project announced - September 19, 2011.

http://enidnews.com/localnews/x480208142/A-plan-to-sell-the-wind-Company-to-invest-400M-in-area-wind-farms

Nearly three years later!  And the project will not be in operation until late 2012, with full build-out most likely in 2013.

How in the world were the Elk County Commissioners supposed to negotiate a PILOT agreement based upon what a different, and unannounced, project in a different state might or might not generate in the way of ad valorem taxes starting in late 2012 or early 2013?  

And I do not find any article that specifies Chisholm View will generate $3,000,000 in tax revenue.  What I do find is different variations of this:

"Company officials said the wind farm would contribute up to $5 million annually to the local economy via property taxes and rent payments to landowners who will host the turbine easements over the 20-year contract."

The actual amount of property tax payments will not be known until the project is appraised and it's valuation added to the tax base, the mil levies determined, and the tax due computed.  

So, go ahead and keep comparing things that occurred three years apart, in different states, under different state laws.  To me that is disengenuous at best.

One last thing, I also found multiple articles from earlier this month about how the Chisholm View project is being financed.  Note that the nameplate capacity of the project is now being stated as 235 MW.  Here are two of them, one much longer than the other, just like their respective URL's:

http://www.enelgreenpower.com/en-GB/media_investor/press_releases/release.aspx?IdDoc=1652608&WT.rss_f=egp_comunicati_en&WT.rss_a=ENEL%20GREEN%20POWER%20NORTH%20AMERICA,%20INC.%20AND%20EFS%20CHISHOLM,%20LLC%20SIGNED%20A%20CAPITAL%20CONTRIBUTION%20AGREEMENT%20WITH%20A%20SYNDICATE%20LED%20BY%20J.P.%20MORGAN%20&WT.rss_ev=a

http://www.nawindpower.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.9966

[Patriot]

Doesn't what you just posted prove my statement about being threatened into shutting up?

Nope, this does....

...Ross and Patriot - This is not Salem, Mass 1692.  This is the United States of America, 2011 - prove something or shut the hell up already!

[flintauqua]

I believe that is an example of me voicing my opinion.

What you did earlier this evening was make a not so veiled threat of legal action for liebel or slander.

Very big difference.

[Patriot]

My opinion regarding the nature of your actions was clearly reflected in the words 'I opine', and statements I made about slander and libel being crimes as well as what goes toward defining those crimes are quite factual.  As to threats of action.  I wouldn't threaten, I would act.  To this point in time I've merely opined and stated fact for clarification.  How you may read it all is your business. 

[flintauqua]

Whatever!

[Patriot]

Now, about those KS Health Foundation grants obtained NOT by Elk Konnected but by the county (paid to the county) and the grant apps that were written by a county employee who is also on the EK steering committee alongside an elected official (also an EK steering committee member) who encourages & approves the expenditures of those monies by EK for summer day camps that EK promotes using its own name....

[flintauqua]

Now, about those KS Health Foundation grants obtained NOT by Elk Konnected but by the county (paid to the county) and the grant apps that were written by a county employee who is also on the EK steering committee alongside an elected official (also an EK steering committee member) who encourages & approves the expenditures of those monies by EK for summer day camps that EK promotes using its own name....

You're getting very predictable, Kevin.

First threaten legal action to get people that don't agree with you to go away.

Then when that doesn't work, change the subject!

Still practicing those Alinsky tactics that you supposedly dispise so much.

[Patriot]

You're getting very predictable, Kevin.

First threaten legal action to get people that don't agree with you to go away.

Then when that doesn't work, change the subject!

Still practicing those Alinsky tactics that you supposedly dispise so much.

Actually, young fella, I simply returned the focus to the original intent of this thread... questioning the relationship between county government and a private company where government leadership happens to have a personal relationship with the private company as well.  Quite a conservative perspective, No?

Again I reiterate there was no threat, and even if there had been it obviously didn't work.  .Further, I'm not really concerned about your 'going away' at all.  Having you here is actually helpful.  Your deflective interjections actually provide a open opportunity to refocus on the issues.

Alinsky methods?  Sorry, wrong again.  No, Alinsky himself wrote, "5.  Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.", and "13.  Ridicule is man's most potent weapon." (Rules for Radicals, Saul Alinsky - 1971).

Like this......

Ross, I don't care how BIG or how small you type, you're still just a Narcissistic Gadfly

Now that's Alinsky.