Noble
liens hit 43 more properties
March 26, 2009 by Darcy Fargo in Malone Telegram
Just a week after it was first reported that mechanics
liens had been filed on three area property owners on land
used by Noble Environmental Power LLC, 43 more such
documents were filed in the Franklin County Courthouse
including two on the Village of Chateaugay.
On March
11, three liens filed by electrical contractor Stuart C.
Irby Company of Jackson, Miss., indicated that Noble has
not paid $784,692.88 for "electrical materials and
equipment and related services in connection with the
construction and installation of a wind turbine project
known as ‘Noble Chateaugay Windpark, LLC' in the State of
New York."
Late
Tuesday and early Wednesday, the 43 new liens totaling just
shy of $3 million were filed in the Franklin County Clerk's
office.
While
the lien documents are filed as a liability on Noble
Chateaugay Windpark LLC and Noble Constructors LLC, they
also include the property owners. The liens filed March 11
were on properties owned by Michael Garrow of Chateaugay;
another is owned by Alonso Domingo of West Orange, N.J.;
and the other is owned by Marjorie Cornell of Pawling, and
Gary Cornell of York, Pa.
Garrow,
the Cornells and Domingo are also named in the new liens,
filed by Aristeo Construction Company of Livonia, Mich.,
for "excavation and backfill of soil, installation of steel
and concrete foundation systems for placement of turbines,
and erection and installation of turbine components." Also
named in liens some property owners having liens filed on
multiple easement properties are the Village of Chateaugay,
Harrigan Brothers Dairy Farm, Timothy and Ellen Chase, John
and Pamela Carroll, Kenneth and Bernice Dumont, Daniel
Boadway, Clement and Jodene Lavoie, Edward Prechtl, Trainer
Real Estate, William and Mary Jones, Peter and Linda Neveu,
Kurt Peets, Thomas and Brenda Rabideau, John and Francois
Cutting, Eugene and Kathy Lavoie, John Beckett, Shari
Spaulding, Harry Otis, Ronald and Sandra Weaver, Bruce and
Debra Bennett, St. Lawrence Valley Dairy Inc., Douglas and
Sharon Malette, and Lloyd and Luciella Gillette. The
individual liens range from $12,813 to $128,439.
Aristeo,
in the documents it filed, said it performed a total of
$26.63 million in work for Noble.
Having a
lien on a property in addition to potentially damaging
credit scores renders the owner unable to obtain a clear
title to the property. It can also impact the owners'
ability to obtain loans and lines of credit.
Every
individual reached for comment Wednesday night said they
had not been made aware of the liens.
"This is
the first I've heard of it," said Sharon Malette. "We don't
know anything about it. We have no comment."
Chateaugay
Village Trustee Pat Dragon said the Village had not been
notified of the liens placed on properties it owns on
Sancomb Road. The liens on the village-owned property total
$85,626.16.
"I don't
know that there's a lot that we can do," Dragon said. "We
need to get some answers. A lien is a lien, and we can't
just make it go away. I can't see us paying the lien it's
definitely more than we¹re making off the
windmills."
When
asked if the village had any projects that it hoped to fund
with borrowed funds, Dragon said the village had been
considering loans for a sewer system upgrade.
"This
could affect the sewer project," she said. "It's definitely
not something we can blow off."
Shari
Spaulding said she and her husband were also not aware that
the liens had been filed.
"I saw
the article last week, but I wasn't aware that there was (a
lien) put on our property," she said. "I'm not sure where
this loophole was or how they could have put liens on my
property. Things don¹t add up.
"It's
something we saw coming. We saw the other liens. It could
be that (the contractors) are just trying to get people to
push Noble. I guess I can't blame the contractors for their
wanting money."
Spaulding
said she and her husband "haven't heard anything from
Noble" regarding the liens or regarding any financial
difficulties.
Noble
Environmental Power entered into easement agreements with
more than 50 area landowners in Franklin County for use of
land for wind turbine development. The agreements specific
to the liens were entered into by property owners and Noble
Chateaugay Windpark LLC one of many Limited Liability
Corporations (LLCs) operated under Noble¹s umbrella.
Documents
on file in the county clerk's office show at least 12
different LLCs under Noble's umbrella: Noble Bellmont
Windpark LLC, Noble Burke Windpark LLC, Noble Chateaugay
Windpark LLC, Noble Chateaugay II Windpark LLC, Noble
Chateaugay LLC, Noble Chateaugay Windpark II LLC, Noble
Cherry Hill Windpark LLC, Noble Clinton Windpark I LLC,
Noble Development LLC, Noble Environmental Power LLC, Noble
Constructors LLC, and Noble Environmental Power 2008 LLC.
The LLCs are based in Delaware.
Web
link:
http://www.mtelegram.com/
Similar documents filed in Clinton, Wyoming counties
March 26, 2009 by Darcy Fargo in Malone Telegram
While liens were being filed against Noble Environmental
Power and its subsidiaries in Franklin County, similar
documents are being filed on landowners in Clinton and
Wyoming counties including one filed in Clinton County by a
local business owner.
According
to documents at the Clinton County Clerk's office, a total
of $6.4 million in liens have been filed on various
subsidiaries of Noble Environmental Power LLC.
While
The Telegram was able to obtain a handful of the lien
documents, officials at the Clinton County Clerk's office
said she could not say how many liens were filed there,
noting "there are too many to count quickly."
One of
the liens, filed against Noble Clinton Windpark and Noble
Ellenburg Windpark, claims the company owes $3,839.48 to
Adirondack Energy, a Malone fuel company. That lien is not
filed in connection with a property owner who has an
easement agreement with the company. Instead, it's filed on
Noble's Clinton Ellenburg Substation.
Also in
Clinton County, two electrical contractor labor unions --
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (I.B.E.W.)
Local Union 1249 and I.B.E.W. Local Union 910 -- have filed
mechanics liens for work on the substation performed by
Kay-R Electrical, now out of business.
One lien
in Clinton County, filed by SPE Utility Contractors LLC on
Noble Altona Wind Park LLC, says Noble has not yet paid
$2.12 million for a "Fiber Optic Under Ground Collector
System Package."
Other
liens have been filed by Stuart C. Irby Co., an electrical
contractor based in Jackson, Miss., and Versatile Office
& Storage Inc. of Gansevoort.
In Wyoming County, 19 liens have also been filed on Noble's
Wethersfield Wind Park.
Nine
liens filed by Stuart C. Irby Co. in relation to the park
total $393,621.96. The liens do not name individuals with
easement pacts with the wind energy company, but instead
name Noble Wethersfield Windpark LLC, Noble Environmental
Power and Noble Constructors LLC.
Four
separate liens were filed in Wyoming County by Robert
Maxwell, an individual who said he performed the
"acquisition of land rights and environmental permits, and
the facilitation of compliance with local, municipal
requirements" on Noble's behalf. The liens total $66,176.
Three of the liens name local property owners, including a
farm.
A third
lienor, AECOM USA Inc., filed six liens totaling
$206,698.08. One of the liens names an individual property
owner.
Noble
Environmental Power Communications Associate Maggie
Wisniewski did not return a call for comment Wednesday
night.
When
reached last week regarding three earlier liens filed in
Franklin County, Wisniewski would not respond to
questions.
"We
can't comment on these matters, so I guess I have to say
Ono comment," Wisniewski said.
Franklin
County District Attorney Derek Champagne, who sits on a
Wind Ethics Task Force created by state Attorney General
Andrew Cuomo, said his office has been contacted about the
liens.
Champagne
said he is not at liberty to speak on the task force's
behalf, but he said the group is in the process of
scheduling its next meeting.
"It is
something that has been brought to my attention," he said.
"Several people filed complaints with my office about
what's occurred. As a member of that committee, I am
obligated to forward any complaints on to the committee as
a whole."
Noble
Environmental Power LLC currently has six operational wind
parks in New York ¬ Noble Altona, Noble Chateaugay, Noble
Clinton, Noble Ellenburg, Noble Bliss and Noble
Wethersfield windparks.
The
company is developing its Noble Bellmont, Noble Allegany
and Noble Ball Hill windparks in New York, though Noble
officials say the Bellmont project is on hold until the
economy turns around.
Noble
also has an operational park Noble Great Plains Windpark,
in Hansford County, Texas.
The
company is also developing windparks in Clay County, Minn.,
Coos County, N.H., and Rutland County, Vt.
Web
link:
http://www.mtelegram.com/