There were tears, anger, accusations, offers of forgiveness and just straight up fireworks at the Burrillville Town Council meeting Wednesday night. Town residents came out in force to the first meeting held since the Senate Judiciary Committee very publicly killed the Keable/Fogarty bill that would have allowed voters in Burrillville the opportunity to approve or reject any proposed tax treaties with energy plants in the town.

This bill was important because Invenergy has plans to build a $700 million fracked gas and diesel oil burning power plant in the town, and the residents of Burrillville don’t completely trust the town council to negotiate in their best interests. As the residents of Burrillville descended en masse to the State House to testify in favor of the bill, the town council issued first a a press release then an official resolution opposing the legislation.

Various timelines have been floated as to how this press release/resolution came to pass. On June 9th I sent a request to Burrillville Town Clerk Louise Phaneuf asking for a copy of the video of the June 7 town council meeting. I was informed that there was no video, since the camera was malfunctioning. I followed up by asking for a copy of the minutes. Phaneuf wrote back, “Thanks for your request for minutes. I will forward a draft as soon as I have it ready. However, there was no discussion of the press release at that meeting.”

That’s not what Town Councillor Kimberly Brissette Brown said when she emotionally recounted the story of the press release at Wednesday’s town council meeting. She said that it was at the June 7 town meeting that it was decided to issue the press release. It wasn’t decided by a vote, she said, nor was it an agenda item. The next night, at a regular town council meeting, the council went into executive session and turned the press release into a resolution.

Meanwhile on June 8, the residents of Burrillville were at the Senate Judiciary Meetting, having the press release sprung on them by Senators Frank Lombardi and Steven Archambeault. They proceeded to use the press release/resolution to humiliate the Burrillville residents, providing ad hoc civics lessons on representational government and generally putting the people of Burrillville on the defensive. “It was humiliating,” said Burrillville resident Kathy Sherman.

The way this resolution was produced, potentially without proper public notification, potentially without being properly put on the agenda, and potentially not being voted on properly either in open or executive session, may well be illegal and violations of the Open Meetings Act. As Barry Craig, Burrillville resident and retired lawyer, pointed out, the Open Meetings Act has provisions that allow members of the public to hold the individual members of the town council financially liable for attorney fees if they sue and win, which might become an expensive proposition for them. (See video 01 below)

Craig ended up in a shouting match with Town Councillor Donald Fox, who objected to being characterized as “lazy” for helping to make an end run around the people in addressing the Senate Judiciary Committee and possibly violating the Open Meetings Act. “You violated the law!” shouted Craig, “Does that mean anything to you?” (See video 26 below)

Fox retorted that Craig was “out of order”.

Kimberly Brissette Brown’s address to the people of Burrillville needs further consideration as well. (See video 03 below) She begins by saying that since Invenergy won some forward capacity obligations in the recent the ISO-NE, the company is on the hook for potentially millions of dollars if the plant is not built. One big question: Why should anyone in Burrillville care about bad decisions made by a Chicago based energy company? How is it possible that Burrillville should be liable for Invenergy’s bad business decisions?

It was an unusual night, because individuals on the town council became unusually chatty. Nancy Binns spoke, (See video 15 below) saying that no on on the town council “is wildly enthusiastic about this power plant.” Does this mean that at least one member is moderately enthusiastic?

Steven Rawson spoke (See video 25 below), but only after telling the audience that if they dared interrupt him, he would stop speaking. He then defensively spoke about his years of service for the town, but addressed no pertinent issues.

In fact, every member of the town council said at least a few words, even Michelle Bouchard, who used to be referred to as “the one who never speaks” by some residents when we talked about town council meetings.

Gone was the united front the town council used to show in the past. Gone was the idea that the town’s attorney, Oleg Nikolyszyn, could speak for the council.

It was Debbie Krieg (See video 07 below) who took Oleg to task for a video in which he claimed Cale Keable brought Invenergy to the town. Even if that’s true, said Krieg, Cale Keable has more than made up for it by changing his mind and listening to his constituents and fighting hard to prevent the power plant from coming to town.

Krieg also revealed that that through her APRA request she had learned that high priced consultant Dyana Koelsch, hired to facilitate communications between the town council and residents, was pulling in $200 an hour for her work. Some in the audience audibly gasped. “These are tax payer dollars,” said Krieg. “How long is this going to last?”

“I believe she has a six month contract,” said Council President John Pacheco.

Also discussed was Monday night’s planning board meeting. Residents were extremely unhappy with the performance of the ‘experts’ hired by the town. They were unhappy with the way that meeting was conducted. They were especially unhappy with the idea that opening a well contaminated with MTBE may possibly poison the Harrisville water supply, or that Invenergy might have to draw water from Wallum Lake to cool its generators.

Perhaps the most startling new piece of information to come out of Wednesday’s town council meeting is the fact that Governor Gina Raimondo‘s planned July 18 trip to Burrillville to face residents might not be set in stone. Council President Pacheco said that when he reached out to the governor’s office, he could not confirm the date because her people said her schedule was “in flux” and he was told that the governor’s people were handling all arrangements.  (See video 36 below)

The town council ended the meeting by voting to go into executive session, where they could discuss the Invenergy power plant away from the townspeople, which isn’t quite irony, but close enough.

Below is the full video of the meeting as pertains to the power plant.

In the release the Town Council takes a strong stand against the Keable/Fogarty legislation that recently passed House but has seemingly stalled in the Senate that would allow Burrillville voters the opportunity to approve or reject any tax treaties negotiated by their Town Council with power plant operators. Many Burrillville residents felt betrayed by the press release, arguing that the Town Council has demonstrated that it is working against the people and in concert with Invenergy.

The decision to issue the press release was made without any apparent public announcement, hearing or vote. Town Manager Michael Wood explained that in light of the legislation introduced by Rep Cale Keable and Senator Paul Fogarty, “we felt it was necessary to get a statement out… We send these press releases where we think they need to go.” (Note: atomicsteve@gmail.com is a great place to send press releases)

The issuance of the press release was likely decided at Tuesday night’s “special meeting” of the Town Council.  In trying to access the video of this meeting, I discovered that there was no video. “As the camera was not working, there is no video for the June 7, 2016 Town Council meeting,” according to an email from the town clerk.

Too bad. It would have been interesting to hear what discussions, if any, pertained to the issuance of the press release.

The Town Council must have been expecting fireworks at their regular Town Council meeting last night. Upon arrival I noted the presence of at least four police cars and several officers outside. There was a heavier than usual police presence inside the Town Building at 105 Harrisville Main St. as well. Present was the entire Town Council, except for Kimberly Brissette Brown, who was absent. Also present were Town Manager Michael Wood, legal counsel Oleg Nikolyszyn, Town Clerk Louise Phaneuf and Koelsch.

The large, angry crowd never materialized.

In a phone interview, Koelsch told me that her PR firm was hired by the Town Council “to help them disseminate information in the best way we can to folks in town… The Town Council needs to speak with people in town and they need to let people know what they’re doing.” Clearly the Town Council thought her expertise would be useful in dealing with the angry crowds coming to the Town Council meeting.

About 20 people showed up. Only two residents from Burrillville talked to the Town Council: Donna Woods and Jaime Tessier. Instead of attending the Town Council meeting, most Burrillville residents concentrated their energies on the Senate Judiciary hearings in the State House in Providence.

The two Burrillvillians who addressed the Town Council did not mince words.

Donna Woods called the Town Council actions in sending the press release “shameful” and “corrupt.”

“You will be remembered for generations in this town for what you have done to us,” she said.

Jaime Tessier said to the Town Council, “That letter showed a complete lack of respect for the people you are supposed to represent.”

A gloomy Council President, John Pacheco III, ran the meeting almost by rote. He did not seem happy to be there. As the Council moved on from public commentary and into the regular meeting, they did so as 20 or so Burrillville residents simply sat there and watched, silently.

After the regular business was conducted, the Council went into “executive session” to hold a meeting about the Invenergy power plant. The public was not allowed to attend. In addition the the Town Council members the closed session was attended by Wood, Nikolyszyn, Phaneuf and Koelsch. The minutes and vote in the executive session have been sealed, but after coming out of closed session the Council announced that they had passed an official resolution that echoed the main points of the press release issued the day before.

The Burrillville Town Council opposes legislation moving through the State House that would give local residents greater say on the tax agreement between the town and the proposed fracked gas power plant.

“The ill-conceived legislation before the General Assembly that purports to give residents a voice in the matter – in fact does the opposite,” said a letter released to RIPR’s Ian Donnis last night. “It weakens the Town Council’s ability to protect its residents and obtain financial compensation for hosting the proposed power plant.

The documents were released to Donnis by Dyana Koelsch, retained by the Town Council to handle public relations on their behalf. Koelsch, a former journalist-turned-public relations consultant, told me in a phone conversation last week she was retained by the Town Council to facilitate better communication between the Town Council and local residents.

The release of these documents seems to have come some time after the House passed Representative Cale Keable‘s bill, H8420 Sub A, which, if it becomes law, will allow the voters of Burrillville the opportunity to approve or reject any proposed tax treaty the Town Council makes with an power plant by popular vote. In recent days opposition to this bill has been ramping up, with Invenergy purchasing a full page ad in the Providence Journal on Saturday, an op-ed co-signed by Laurie White of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce and Michael Sabitoni of the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council on Sunday, and a bellicose tirade on the Journal’s editorial page yesterday.

Despite the opposition of business leaders and unions the Keable bill passed the floor 64 to 7 as Burrillville residents applauded. You can watch the vote below and see the reaction of Burrillville residents below. The difference between the votes reported above and the votes pictured is due to some legislators entering their votes late.

The release of the Burrillville Town Council letter opposing the Keable bill provoked a flurry of responses on social media. At about 10:30pm Burrillville City Councillor David Place confirmed that the letter was indeed accurate when he commented on Burrillville resident and power plant opponent Jeremy Bailey’s Facebook page.

The reaction from Burrillville residents has been negative and angry:

• “I have NEVER seen such political BS in my life!!!“
• “Has to be a back room deal going on ! Obviously representing Invenergy’s interest over the citizens!!!!“
• “This is very disappointing and kicks us in the gut ! These council people are traitors and sneaky too, it’s not fair to the towns people!“

It’s unclear when the Town Council decided to write the letter, or if that decision was made at a public meeting.

The timing of the release is strange, since tomorrow evening there is a Town Council meeting scheduled, with public comment. Past Burrillville Town Council meetings have been contentious. Tomorrow night’s promises to be explosive. Why the Town Council would choose to invite the approbation of their constituents is a mystery. There is talk of a recall election for the four Town Councillors not up for re-election this fall.

The most startling thing about the documents released is that they contain details of the town’s negotiated tax deal with Invenergy, details that the Town Council has previously stated must remain secret while being negotiated. Though the tax deal is not yet done, the Town Council says there is “an agreement in principle on the following:”

• $2.9 million upfront payment – $1.2 million in guaranteed payments even if the EFSB denies the application
• $92 million – $180 million guaranteed payments over the next 20 years
• Protection for property owners near the proposed power plant site through a property value agreement
• Fully binds future owners if the plant is sold or otherwise transferred
• Protection for Town residents into the future by locking in place a decommissioning plan

The Town Council claims that the legislation weakens the Council’s ability to protect its residents and obtain financial compensation for hosting the proposed power plant, strips the Town Council’s negotiating leverage that can force Invenergy to compensate the town, and jeopardizes efforts to put financial safeguards in place for residents near the power plant and compromises an agreement for the decommissioning of the plant.

I reached out to Jerry Elmer, a Senior Attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation, overnight and he was kind enough to send me some notes on the various documents, which I will quote in full beneath the page he references.

Elmer said, in summary, “The bottom line is this:  The members of the Town Council of Burrillville know, with absolute certainty, that the sweetheart deal they are negotiating with Invenergy would be overwhelmingly rejected by the voters of Burrillville if the voters of Burrillville got the right to vote on it.  The members of the Town Council are correct in their assessment.  That is why they are urging that the Keable-Fogarty Bill be rejected.”

From Jerry Elmer: “Document 2, page 1, bullets at the bottom:  Town Council claims it has remained “neutral” on whether the plant should be built in order not to taint its comments to the EFSB.  Two things must be said about this.  First (and maybe more important), these documents show that the Town Council has not remained neutral, and that the Town Council very much wants to enter into a Tax Treaty with Invenergy.  The Town Council is urging defeat of the Keable-Fogarty bill which would give the people of Burrillville the right to vote on such a (possible, future) tax treaty.  That is not “remaining neutral.”  Second, the Town Council has (very seriously) misunderstood what kind of “neutrality” is required of it by Rhode Island law.  The Town Council has consistently refused to discuss the proposed Invenergy plant, even at public meetings, called pursuant to the state’s Open Meetings Act, even with a stenographer present.  The Town Council pretends that this is being “neutral,” but this is merely ignoring constituents.  And, crucially, this refusal to discuss the Invenergy proposal in open meetings is not required by any Rhode Island statute, law, rule, or regulation, including the state’s Open Records Act.”

From Jerry Elmer: “Document 2, page 1, bullets at the bottom:  Town Council says that the purpose of the tax treaty is “to properly compensate Burrillville” if the Invenergy plant is built.  However, what constitutes a “proper” level of compensation is a judgment call, about which reasonable people may disagree.  The main effect of the Keable-Fogarty Bill would be to return that judgment call to the people of Burrillville.”

From Jerry Elmer: “Document 2, page 3, bullet half way down page [above], Town Council says:  Having a tax treaty is a “guarantee of full taxability” of Invenergy.  This is factually incorrect, and it is inconceivable to me that the Town Council is not fully aware of that fact.  There is today, in the Town of Burrillville, a background, already-existing tax law that would cover this power plant (just as every municipality in Rhode Island, and indeed the United States, has an existing, background law on how to tax the real estate of individuals and businesses).  The only reason that Invenergy wants a tax treaty with the Town of Burrillville is in order to get a different, lower tax rate.  This makes sense:  Invenergy will not negotiate with the Town for a higher tax rate; no business would do that, because it makes zero business sense.  The reason that Invenergy would not negotiate for a higher tax rate is that Invenergy, without any negotiations at all, could get the currently existing tax rate.  The only purpose of a tax treaty is to give the applicant (here, Invenergy) a lower tax rate than the existing one.  This is true of this tax treaty, just as it has been true of every tax treaty since tax treaties were invented.  In other words, when the Town Council says that a tax treaty is meant to be a “guarantee of full taxability” that statement is just factually incorrect.”

From Jerry Elmer: “Document 2, page 2, Town Council says that having a tax treaty in place “eliminates costly appraisals” and “eliminates volatility in future appraisals.”  On these two points, the Town Council is speaking the literal truth, but in a deeply misleading way.  These statements of the Town Council are factually accurate, but what is left unsaid is that, if the Keable-Fogarty Bill is defeated, that defeat will eliminate the right and ability of the people of Burrillville to vote on a Tax Treaty that may be reached between the Town Council and Invenergy.  Let me use an analogy:  I am threatening to murder you in cold blood.  Before I do it, I tell you to think about the many “advantages” of being dead:  you’ll save money on food, you’ll save money on rent, and you’ll never again go to a movie that you end up not liking.  What I am saying is literally true, but what I am saying is misleading (in the extreme).  So, too, with the Town Council statement.  A tax treaty would eliminate costly appraisals — and would eliminate the right of the people of Burrillville to vote on a sweetheart deal reached between the Town Council and the people of Burrillville.”

Tomorrow the Senate takes up their version of the bill, S3037 in Senate Judiciary at 2:30pm in room 313 in the State House. The Burrillville Town Council meets tomorrow evening at 7:00pm in the Town Council Chambers, Town Building, 105 Harrisville Main St., Harrisville.

We also discussed tolling truckers to fix roads and bridges, the potential for a mass officer retirement at the Providence Police Department (about which I said, “Good riddance, old cops. Get out of there and let’s bring in some new blood!”), Twin River and, the topic Rhode Island may never tire of talking about, 38 Studios.

We also tackled a new idea for the Ocean State: Providence IWW member Andrew Stewart’s great RI Future scoop on local sex workers who are organizing a labor union. Watch to see what Dyana Koelsch, Bill Rappleye, Kate Nagle and Rob Horowitz think of the idea.

“There is a law on the books,” Ranglin said. “Put it in the contracts, or it’s meaningless.”

Ranglin and the RIBBA say the I-195 Commission is neglecting to enforce a 1986 law as it moves forward with selling state land to private contractors for redevelopment. “RIBBA is putting together a team of professionals, business experts and local contractors committed to full enforcement of the MBE 10% set aside within this project to be developed by PPC Land Ventures,” according to a press release from the RIBBA.

A state law dictates that minority-owned businesses are to be awarded 10 percent of the value of public construction projects and procurements, Ranglin said.

RI law 37-14.1, passed in 1986, reads, “Minority business enterprises shall be included in all procurements and construction projects under this chapter and shall be awarded a minimum of ten percent (10%) of the dollar value of the entire procurement or project. The director of the department of administration is further authorized to establish by rules and regulation formulas for giving minority business enterprises a preference in contract and subcontract awards.”

The law has been systematically ignored over the years, said Ranglin.

Dyana Koelsch, a paid spokeswoman for the I-195 project, could not be reached for comment (updated below). But on Twitter yesterday she said Ranglin made a “good point” about the 10 percent minority business enterprise law. Here’s the exchange between Koelsch and Ranglin:

@LisaRanglin @JournalKate @projo Looks like you got some bad info Lisa. No PLA in P&S. In fact P&S specifically encourages MBE/WBE

— DyanaKoelsch (@DyanaK) December 10, 2014

@DyanaK @JournalKate @projo Key word "encourages", where is the enforcement? RI law on the books since 1986 for 10%, it never worked.

— Lisa Ranglin (@LisaRanglin) December 10, 2014

@LisaRanglin Good point. Only taking issue with the "blocking" language and the PLA assertion in your release

— DyanaKoelsch (@DyanaK) December 10, 2014

Ranglin said the RIBBA decided at a strategy meeting on Saturday to force the state and the I-195 Commission to enforce the law. “The strategy meeting on Saturday is the start of a new day,” Ranglin said in a press release. “For black and minority contractors, the existing legislatively approved 10% set aside for minority and women contractors has proven to be almost meaningless in practice.”

Ranglin, in an interview with RI Future, said the RIBBA is working with NAACP legal experts om how to force the state to comply with the law.

“We’re going to be out there in full force to make sure our community is thriving,” she told RI Future. “People in under-served communities, are stories are never told because we’re not powerful.”

But, she added, “We’re on the right side of the law here. It’s right there in black and white.”

Attorney General Peter Kilmartin’s office was contacted for an opinion on whether the I-195 Commission needs to comply with this law. The Secretary of State office’s and the city of Providence have also been asked for data on historical compliance. This post will be updated if and when they respond.

UPDATE: Dyana Koelsch sent this statement on behalf of the I-195 Commission:

The 195 Redevelopment Commission explicitly encourages the participation of MBE/WBE firms in the development of The LINK. This is reflected in the Purchase and Sale Agreement with Lincoln/ Phoenix Properties and its affiliate firm, “Friendship & Clifford” which is the developer of Parcel 28.

The Commission welcomes an open and productive dialogue with the Rhode Island Black Business Association regarding its concerns. By way of a correction and clarification, the RIBBA incorrectly stated the P&S includes a Project Labor Agreement. It does not.  The P&S, which is public record, does include specific language on the  utilization of MBE/WBE resources, firms and employees. The text of Paragraph 13 from the P&S is included below: