We get the solar farm with 5 years left of a 20 year warranty? Seems like a real gamble to me.

Sounds like a great plan! I am sure that the govt officials will be personally investing in this. Perhaps they could put up a bond of their own money and if the returnsto the town fall short they would be happy to make up the difference..think Solyndra, current Port Authority shortfall etc.

"""The township is at virtually no risk of the taxpayers ever having to pay the debt service on the bonds," White said.""

And I have some ocean front property in the nevada desert for sale.

The only concern I have regarding solar panels is the proper disposal of the materials when they are damaged. Does anyone know if there is a proper disposal procedure?

A clean Solar energy farm sure sounds like a great use for what has been an environmental disaster for many years. Don't forget the town received something like $3.5 million settlement from the former owners insurance companies also. This project is an example of the town officials banding together doing what was right for the town and surrounding residents from the time it was purchased.

I wonder how well the panels can hold up in a hail storm. Don't laugh, it happens. During one short lived storm last summer some the size of Walnuts came down in my yard. I wish I had a video of them hitting the river, splashing like crazy all the way across to Wall Township. It looked like good sized fish were jumping all the way across and up and down from Lightning Jacks to the 70 Bridge. It came and went in less then a minute.

Why do I get an uneasy feeling when I read: The township is at virtually no risk of the taxpayers ever having to pay the debt service on the bonds?

I guess you're right, John.
I think the event I mentioned happened when the other side of town had all those trees torn up, and some people reportly saw a funnel cloud. We missed the worst of it over here where I am.

While I'm actually a big believer in this project, Id like to see who owns the other 10% of Standard Alternative.

"Standard Alternative, a company created a year ago and based in Hoboken, is owned 90 percent by another company, Iron State Development. "

Seems that the owners of the remaining 10% will be getting a nice cut of the pie.

A company like Iron State is big enough to do the project themselves. If they needed help they would have create a partnership more in the 60%-40% range.

They would only slice off 10% as some type of kickback.

Who is getting that money for nothing??

Eventually the majority of Brick voters will come to the conclusion that authorizing bond issues is mostly a bad idea. Basing a bond issue on the testimony of the companies who will profit from the project is not good management. Advocating for the closure of the nuclear plant which is a low-cost energy producer and replacing it with solar power, which is the most expensive type is fiscally irresponsible, but then again, most of the energy decisions being made these days have nothing to do with economics, and everything to do with partisan politics.

Sign here. Our studies show virtually no risk. You can't lose. The stuff we install will last forever. You'll make lots of cash at no cost. Right.

these people cant even predict correctly what is going to happen next year , let alone what will happen in 15 years !!!

dont be fooled by the sychophants and charlatans

What will the mainyance costs be after the fact, like clening and long cost repairs. Who pays for that. Has anyone figured these costs into the big picture?

what happens if Standard Alternative goes out of business in the near future ?

The Acropolis administration in Brick has plans to award a $34 million solar panel contract to a sole bidder, Standard Alternative, that uses his apartment as the company address. The entire process is riddled with inadequate finances, misleading and vague information.
There is no company office and no other employees. This company only started doing business in 2011 and has never taken on a project this size. Standard Alternative is not financially strong enough to take on a project this size so a company, Iron States Development, is a guarantor on the project.
Iron States is supposed to be a shareholder of Standard Alternative. The financials of Standard Alternative and the guarantor, Iron States, are not available for public review. The financial advisors, Acacia Financial and the Bond Counsel have contributed the maximum allowed by law to Mayor Acropolis’s campaign. This contribution doesn’t provide a feeling of independence to their findings that the project is financially viable.

The bottom line for me is that Brick shouldn’t be taking on debt and thereby risk for a private enterprise. That’s what the company is in business for. If Iron States is willing to be the guarantor, let them take on the debt and risk. Obviously Standard Alternative can’t take on the debt because no financial institution will provide it to Standard Alternative. It’s bad enough Brick is in the real estate business but do they have to be in the banking business also?
Then there’s the $2.5 million payment to the Town by Standard Alternative that should be applied directly to the net debt of $23.5 million reducing it to $21 million. Why do we want the town to blow through the $2.5 million? Next year is an election year and the mayor wants that in his budget to say he reduced taxes. Meanwhile our debt increases!
The savings generated from this solar panel project are hypothetical from a company that never took on a project this size, if at all. If it doesn’t work out, Brick is stuck with the debt and bills.
So, if I understand correctly, the Acropolis administration projects have been Traders Cove, Ocean Ice Palace and Foodtown and they have all been financial disasters. Brick is or would have been paying through the nose for all of them. Why does anyone think this will be any better?

I'm totally confused. So this solar field is going to be used to generate electricity to power what? Are lines going to run from it to certain buildings in town? Or is it going to be used to generate electric where the town sells it to the electric company and in turn gives us credit towards what the township buildings use? I need more info.

Joe Lamb I have been to many meetings where you have spoken and the last council meeting was just another in a long line of un-true accusations and half-truths, I don’t know what drives you to act in such a foolish manner don’t you have any pride or self-respect? Get your fact right and stop wasting oxygen!

This may be a very good deal for the township. The problem is, this Mayor and administration has been so self serving and greedy, and has been so untrustworthy, anything they do is looked upon as as scam.

Knarfie..I agree the Mayor and his merry men have done so many questionable projects that have been back door and hey look what were doing..My opinion the Mayor has to be replaced..And how ever goes to take over as our Mayor better be able to get Brick back to a respectable town .Lower our taxes like they ran there campaign and get out of the real estate business..Support the police to clean up the crime which is getting worse in our town..God WE NEED HELP...Who's going to step up ??

Hope, You are right on the money. Everything this administration has done was to enhance the positions of friends, cronies and relatives at the taxpayers expense. They have no credibility any longer. It's a sad state of affairs when a former Mayor who is a convicted felon is more popular than a sitting Mayor.

Can you imagine that there was a sole bidder in this economic environment?
Of course it was tailored to Standard Alternative. Stop trying to make it sound like this was on the up and up.
Since Faivus is running the business out of his apartment, I guess his shoe box is accounts payable and accounts receivable.
This is disgusting!

Maybe the new group against this project will call it - SAPS Stop Acropolis Project for Solar. Afterall, that's what he must think of us.
A sole bidder??? Are you kidding??? His apartment is his office???
Why do we have to consider anything else?

After doing some homework on the solar industry it appears that this may not be the best time to be jumping in and gambling with millions of dollars of tax payer’s money. This year it is projected that the solar industry in NJ may be 35 to 45 percent oversupplied significantly decreasing the rate of return. The price of a SREC has fell well below half of what it was worth just one year ago. Let’s hear about the other previous solar projects in town and how they are doing before committing to this enormous project.

Lets see, in the past 2 days I have seen articles about solar companies. One being NJ Resourses the parent company of NJNG, a very stable company and the other Trinity Solar which just relocated to Wall and is the fastest growing company in NJ.
The leaders in Brick are deciding to go with a new company with noemployees or track record.
Wonder if our newly elected officails read these articles before they vote ??????????

Lt. Gov. Guadagno was at a event today marking the opening of a 140,000 square foot facility in Wall for Trinity Solar with its 415 employees .
Lt. Gov. Guadagno said that Trinity Solar was the largest solar employer in the state, the largest solar integrator on the East Coast and installs more solar panels than its 10 closest competitors combined.
How did Brick not have this company as a bidder on the French's Landfill Solar Project?
Maybe the bid specs were tailored too much towards Standard Alternative?
This is nonsense that Brick only received one bid.

Who cares about the bid, how about we see some numbers on how the other projects in town are doing, like the solar panels on Brick Memorial High School and the Municipal complex. Are these solar panel installations producing what was promised??. We will certainly never see a return on the wind turbine installed at the Drum Point sports complex for $175,000.00.

If the company goes belly up we get the panels and the profit. Check your facts and when you know for sure that this project is anything but in the best interest of Brick tax payers, then make your case by stating fact not opinion or spin.....

If Stanbdard Alternative goes belly up, it will because the revenue generated won't cover the expenses. At that point when Brick takes the solar field over, Brick will be incurring losses as well.

That is the first reasonable and honest statement that you have ever made in public. Now lets have an honest and open discussion on why you feel this way other than you hate the Mayor and will do anything possible to trash him. Why do you approach everything this admin does as an opponent and in a dishonest way? There are laws and requirements to put together a municipal project and to issue bonds. Why do you act like the town is doing this blindly and without any expert input?? Don't you think that the Energy Consultant and Township Financial Advisor have been consulted to advise the Township and calculated the size and scope of the project and determined how much energy can be generated at a site of this size and calculated the cost and the financing and bond payments to make work? Of course you do you are just trying to create negative spin and dissent.

Lets be honest
I don't know where you are going, with Ed Mueller, but you obviously didn't know him too well. Without besmirching someone who has passed on, I will make nofurtyher comment.

Never thought he was dishonest or didn't care for this town. And you are right. Scarpelli and Acropolis were only in it for their personal gain.

Why did they clear all the mature oaks around the site? They could have put enough panels internal to the site. It looks horrendous and will lower home values around there. It is pure greed. the mayors office should be the job trailer on that site.

Eric

It was required in order for the Twp to install the EPA required "cap" on the landfill. The cap is rubber compound and will be rolled over the landfill and then covered with aggregate, sand, and then a top layer so water cannot penetrate into the ground over the material in the landfill.

It's amazing that the Acropolis administration states that the federal government demanded Brick cap the landfill but Brick didn't receive a penny from the federal government even though the federal government provides funds for other superfund clean up sites. Why is it that Brick under this administration seems to be in that negative category?
One of 14 towns out of 566 to have a referendum question. The highest municipal tax rate increase in the state. The BTMUA was the only one of 31 public water systems tested by the EPA to have a likely carcinogen that is at a level to require testing. Because the BTMUA didn't bring this to the EPAs attention and the EPA found it, the EPA is requiring that the testing be performed by an outside independent lab.

John I did plenty of research on my own, I did not rely on anyone. Standard alternative is a shell company set up by a lawyer (interesting). The "office" of this shell company is located in an apartment in a high rise building in Hoboken.

Steve lead us to believe this company had billions in assests, when the truth is it did not, and this company have NEVER done a project like this before.

If this company was legit, they would have posted a surity bond to cover expenses incase they took off and let us holding the bag. Instead they give a letter of credit, which btw I have been unable to see when I asked, and the town is issuing bonds to cover the project, minus a measly 2.5 million "deposit" this shell gave us. I also find it interesting that they dismissed Pineland Development, and supposedly put it back out for bid, and this "paper company" was the only one to bid.

To quote Steve "something doesnt smell right.

I am very versed in how the bidding process works. And your spin is interesting. We used to do work for Hovanian (sp) and he NEVER set up a new corporation for a new project, he over saw every project himself. (had to laugh when he pulled in in his vet, with a girl 25 years his junior at his side)

He would advertise for bids for framers, masons, plumbers, etc. He would then award the bid and you got paid by him, not some dummy corporation in someones bathroom of a high rise.

Please save me your spin. I KNOW 1st hand how the process works.

BW

I don't think you are familiar with the process for a redevelopment site, which the Landfill project is, it does not follow regular bidding laws under the Local Public Contracts Law. Hovnanian wouldn't follow this practice either because it is not a public entity. It is a private for profit entity.