KASKA — In response to a recent series of articles in The Republican-Herald regarding a proposed landfill project nicknamed BRADS, Blythe Township citizens on Wednesday questioned the township supervisors about the project.
“Is the township liable for all the expenses for the landfill and it’s already up to two-and-a-half million dollars?” Patricia Eichman, Kaska, asked at the April meeting of the supervisors held at the municipal building at 408 New Philadelphia Road, Kaska.
“No,” Supervisor Adam J. Nothstein said.
They’re referring to the effort being made by Blythe Township and a private entity called FKV LLC to develop the Blythe Recycling And Demolition Site in Silver Creek along Burma Road. Since 2003, the township has had two contracts with FKV. The second was approved in October 2007.
If the township is ultimately allowed to install the landfill, the township will have to pay FKV for its services to date. That can be done in two ways, according to the October 2007 pact:
“A sum equal to or greater of seventy-five cents per cubic yard of permitted capacity for the first pad or phase of the facility or the actual cost shall be due and payable at settlement hereunder, as adjusted in accordance with the agreement, to be funded from the proceeds of financing and repaid as a portion of the debt service component of operating expenses.”
If the township can get through the appeals filed by the Borough of Saint Clair, the township will have to secure a bond to pay for the development of the construction and demolition waste recycling and disposal facility it wants in Silver Creek.
That will cost more than $20 million, Steven Field, one of the partners in FKV, said March 10.
“And that includes paying us back,” Field said, referring to the private money FKV spent so far on engineering, legal and expert witness fees. So far, FKV spent “in excess of $2.5 million,” Field said March 10.
“That’s coming out of the bond,” Nothstein said to Eichman Wednesday night.
“What bond?” Eichman asked.
“The loan we’re taking,” Supervisor James E. Zembas said.
“It’s a non-recourse bond,” Nothstein said.
“Nothing comes back to the taxpayers. Whatever money we owe will come out of our profits to pay the bond,” Zembas said.
“How much are the bond payments?” Lane McMullin, Kaska, asked.
“We didn’t settle on a final number yet to come up with,” Nothstein said.
“What kind of number do you think you’re looking at?” McMullin asked.
“We’re not sure,” Nothstein said.
“It would all depend on how many years we take it out for, Lane, and all that. You know what I mean? And the interest rates, depending on the years you take it out for,” Zembas said.
Nothstein and Zembas were not sure how much the township would make per year from the landfill and how much annual bond payments would be.
Blythe Township Supervisors Chairman Albert J. Lubinsky Sr. was absent from Wednesday’s meeting.
“We don’t have an estimate right now,” Zembas said.
In an article published March 20 in The Republican-Herald, Field said: “The collateral will be land and the facility itself with all the improvements and all the contracts and the revenue streams.”
“The project and the property are the collateral,” Nothstein explained at Wednesday night’s meeting.
“We have to go through DCED. The only way they would tell us we’re allowed to take a bond is if it doesn’t come back on the taxpayers,” Zembas said.
“It’s non-recourse,” Nothstein said.
“But then you can end up losing the whole landfill, losing ownership of it,” Eichman said.
“Yes, we’d have to sell it,” Zembas said.
“We’d have to sell it to whoever and they would take it over,” Nothstein said.
The supervisors said the debt question will not have to go on the ballot.
“It’s not required,” Nothstein said.
“It’s not putting the people at risk. It’s not putting the township at risk. It’s a non-recourse,” Zembas said.
“It means the bond company can’t come back on us,” Nothstein said.
Nothstein said he did not know what kind of payment schedule the township will be facing.
“I don’t have all the details of the bond yet. It’s in the process of being made. They might give you a six-month grace period to make payments. They might give you a year. I don’t know how they’ll do it. It’s up to the bonding company,” Nothstein said.
“Are the people of Blythe Township getting anything for letting this landfill in?” Mike Herring, Kaska, asked.
“We’re getting a dollar a ton, plus we get half of every ton of the profits,” Zembas said.
“In that dollar a ton, we have a host agreement. You will no longer pay for garbage pickup. That will be paid by the township,” Nothstein said.
“That will be?” Herring asked.
“Correct,” Nothstein said.
“When the landfill is in place, the township will have enough funding to give its residents free sanitation. Just to clarify, that doesn’t mean the residential trash is going into the landfill. Again, BRADS is only going to be a construction demolition site,” Ventresca said Thursday.
“And out of that dollar a ton, so much goes to the fire company in Kaska and Cumbola, so much goes to roads, so much goes to parks and recreation. It’s all earmarked where it’s going to go,” Nothstein said.
When the landfill is operational, FKV will make 50 percent of net operating revenue and the township will make 50 percent, plus $1 a ton, according to that contract.
“Can you guys define for us what net operating revenue is,” Herring asked.
“Basically after all the bills are paid for the month out of the landfill money that’s generated, whatever’s left is what gets split,” Nothstein said.
“When you say ‘bills’ do you mean labor?” Herring asked.
“Labor, equipment costs, anything like that, whatever it costs to operate the facility,” Nothstein said.
“Insurance and everything,” Zembas said.
“Is it going to be operating 24 hours a day?” Herring asked.
“No,” Nothstein said.
“Will somebody be there 24 hours a day?” Herring asked.
“No. But there will be security up there at the facility, at least, overnight,” Nothstein said.
“Who is your lawyer in this transaction? Who is representing us that is making this deal?” Eichman asked.
“We have several,” Zembas said.
“There are a bunch,” Teresa D. Conville, the township secretary, said.
“Their names?” Eichman asked.
“Datte’s in there,” Nothstein said, referring to Paul J. Datte, an attorney from Pottsville who represents FKV.
“Gino,” Zembas said, referring to Gino O. DiNicola, Pottsville, the township solicitor.
The environmental law firm of Land Air Water Legal Solutions LLC, Berwyn, is also working for the township, David A. Ventresca, one of the partners in the development firm FKV LLC, said when called for comment Wednesday night.
“It’s Andrew...I can’t think of his last name,” Zembas said.
He was referring to Andrew D. Klein of Brewyn. “He’s with Land Air Water,” Ventresca said.
“You know that you’re taking on that liability from now into forever for that project. And you’re bed with the devil with that project. It’s terrible,” Eichman told the supervisors
“DEP makes us put so much a ton away for future use for the landfill,” Zembas said.
“I know how that works,” Eichman said.
“Well, that’s the law. We went by the law,” Zembas said.
“When landfills get in, like every day, they’re filing for minor amendments to accept new sources of waste,” Eichman said.
“This is only going to be strictly construction and demolition waste,” Nothstein said.
“We’ll see about that. I hope that you’re right. Do you know what demolition waste is exactly?” Eichman said.
“It’s material from knocking a building down. The main thing is it’s not garbage,” Nothstein said.
“And material from burned out buildings. It’s all kinds of stuff,” Eichman said.
“Fire buildings, anything like that,” Nothstein said.
“So don’t say it’s not going to be garbage,” Eichman said.
“There’s no household garbage,” Nothstein said.
In other matters at the township’s meeting Wednesday, the supervisors decided to buy a new coal stoker to heat their municipal building.
“If you notice, it’s a little cold in here. We need a new stoker,” Zembas said.
There were two bids: $13,827.82 from Robert Shewokis Fuels, New Philadelphia, and $7,712 from Keystoker, Schuylkill Haven, according to Nothstein.
They accepted the lowest of the two.
The township’s heater broke “a couple weeks ago,” Nothstein said.
“It would have been on March 24. We had it about 30 years,” Zembas said.