As the letters below show, the quasi-public Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation is clawing back the money it loaned to Oneida Seven Generations Corporation.
This Defaut Notice letter regarding WEDC Contract #SEP FY10-20265 is dated “January 6, 2013,” but based on its reference to GTC’s December 15, 2013 vote to dissolve OSGC it’s clear that it was actually sent in January 2014:
Atty. Renfro’s letter states:
Re: Contract # FY10-20265
Dear Mr. Cornelius:
On December 17, 2013 Oneida Seven Generations Corporation and Oneida Energy Inc. (Seven Generations) notified the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) of the Oneida Tribe vote to dissolve Seven Generations.
Dissolution of Seven Generation constitutes a business failure and Event of Default under Section 6 of the Loan Agreement refernced as SEP FY10-20265 (Agreement). Additionally, Seven Generation’s failure to meet the Deliverables in Exhibit A Section 3 of the Agreement results in an interest escalation to four (4) percent retroactive to date of disbursement under Exhibit A Section 4.
If Seven Generations fails to cure the default to the reasonable satisfaction of WEDC by Thursday January 16, 2014, WEDC will, without written notice, declare you in default and demand payment from you of the entire balance of the contract $2,063,730.92. The Payoff Amount shall be increased by a per diem amount of $219.18 for each day after January 9, 2014.
We ask you to pay $2,063,739.92 to WEDC immediately.
Failure to make the required payment could result in legal action against you and any guarantor of the balance you owe WEDC. In such an event, you will be responsible for any costs, including attorneys’ fees, for enforcing the contract
…This notice is the final opportunity that WEDC intends to give you to honor your payment commitments.
[Is Kevin Cornelius still an executive or employee of Oneida Energy Inc. or any of the other OSGC subsidiaries? WDFI.org still lists him as the Registered Agent for Oneida Energy Inc. and other companies.]
The following letter from WEDC’s Vice-President of Credit & Risk, Jake Kuester is regarding OSGC’s request for more time to pay back WEDC’s loans:
Re: Contract # FY10-20265
Dear. Ms. Demmith:
This letter is a follow up to our conversation on January 23, 2014 in response to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s (WEDC) January 6, 2014 Default Notice. In conjunction with the Wisconsin State Energy Office at the Department of Administration (DOA) WEDC has evaluated the new managment at Oneida Seven Generations Corporation and Oneida Energy Inc.’s (Seven Generations) request for additional time to pursue legal appeals and to secure financing to pursue the project or pay off the full balance of the amount owed under the Loan Agreement referenced as SEP FY10-20265 (Agreement).
We will agree to delay commencing legal action and enforcing the interest escalation penalty if the following conditions are met:
- In accordance with the Agreement, Seven Generations will continue to make interest only payments until May 2014, at which time, Seven Generations will make monthly payments of $34,998.00; and
- Seven Generations must repay the full balance of the Agreement no later than August 31, 2014 or demonstrate to DOA and WEDC’s satisfaction that the job deliverable goals in the Agreement will be met.
If Seven Generations fails to meet the above term, WEDC and DOA will refer and enforce all interest escalations provisions of the agreement
Any talk about OSGC needing “time to pursue legal appeals” is just plain silly, and General Tribal Council is certainly not going to allow OSGC, Oneida Energy Inc., or any new corporation that the Business Committee or Gene Keluche / Sagestone Mgmt. might try to create out of thin air to “pursue the project” anywhere because GTC wants to end the game, not just change the name.
As for securing financing to pay off the loan to WEDC, that sounds like borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, which raises the question: Why didn’t OSGC simply pursue that alternative financing in the first place and avoid the penalties arising from failure to meet its objectives?
The ‘Deliverables’ in Exhibit A, Section 3 of WEDC Contract #FY10-20265 are as follows:
The Borrower will be required to:
a) Create up to Twenty-two (22) New Full-Time positions with an average wage of $25.00 per hour in Green Bay Wisconsin by December 31, 2014 and, thereafter, maintain each of these New Full-Time positions until December 31, 2016.
b) For the term of this loan, the majority of jobs created as a result of the Project shall be located in Wisconsin and to the extent practicable, employ Wisconsin residents.
Even if the Oneida Tribe were to somehow create 22 new full-time positions paying $25.00 per hour in Green Bay which lasted through the end of 2016 the $2 million dollars must still be paid back to WEDC eventually.
It should be noted that these two letters are only regarding the $2 million loan referenced in WEDC Contract #SEP FY10-20265 which was signed on November 16, 2011.
OSGC also received a second $2 million conditional grant from the Wisconsin Department of Commerce as referenced in WEDC Contract #LEG FY10-19812 which was signed on November 9, 2009 and is specific about the funds having to be used for a power-generating waste incinerator, stating in its ‘Deliverables’ section (page 5):
(ii) The Recipient shall provide documentation that the grant funds were expended as outlined in Exhibit B.
(iii) The Recipient shall submit a detailed audit of how the funds were expended by the Recipient documenting how the grant funds were used to establish a state-of-the-art energy recovery facility in Brown County within 6 months of spending that amount of the grant.
(iv) The Recipient shall provide a detailed report describing the results achieved for the project related to the energy recovery facility established in Brown County. The report shall include information regarding the volume of waste processed (MSW) as well as the amount of energy generated and converted into electricity. The report shall also include an estimate of the amount of methane reduction, the number of full-time positions created and the potential for assembly or manufacturing operations as a result of the project.
Since OSGC will not be able to deliver any information about “the results achieved for the project related to the energy recovery facility established in Brown County” it seems the Tribe may face other potential penalties on the $2 million conditional grant referenced in Contract #LEG FY10-19812 such as those outlined in the WEDC letters above.
OSGC & the BC have nobody else but themselves to blame for being on the hook, despite Ed Delgado’s ridiculous blaming of GTC.
See also:
This is what happens when corporations and governments do a song & dance routine to try to disguise a monstrous idea like waste gasification as a ‘profitable,’ ‘safe’ and ‘green’ energy venture:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1FLZPFI3jc
