Ford City Hires Attorney to Negotiate with PennEnergy

 

by Jonathan Weaver

If surface use rights are extended to PennEnergy, Ford City Borough Council now has an attorney to represent them.

At last night’s public meeting, Borough Council unanimously signed an agreement to retain Parker Law Offices, Inc., of New Bethlehem.

Councilwoman Beth Bowser – who motioned for the agreement – said a lease with PennEnergy has not already been signed.

“We have not signed a lease, nor are we entertaining it until we get feedback from (Attorney Nathaniel Parker),” Bowser said.

Bowser said Parker would be retained at a rate of $225 per hour, and $50 for professional assistance.

“(Parker) has experience with these gas well businesses,” Bowser said. “He was referred to us through the County because of his experience in our county. (Borough) Solicitor (Anthony) Vigilante thought it was out of his realm since it’s such a big industry.

“He would be able to lead us as a council in the right direction to make sure we move forward in the best interest of Ford City Borough.”

According to the law office’s website, Parker has worked on oil and gas and coal matters since 2003.

At last month’s regular meeting, PennEnergy Resources Land Manager Zach Dixon and Construction Compliance Manager Joe Schwab discussed preliminary conversations to lease up to five acres in the Ford City brownfields.

“Generally, this facility will withdraw clean water from the Allegheny River, hold it in a tank facility and will then be used at PennEnergy’s operations in-and-around the region,” Dixon said last month. “With about 48-50,000 acres under lease around Ford City, we have a significant demand for water – these facilities are important for our operation and keeping the oil and natural gas operations continuous in nature.

“We have facilities that are operating basically 24/7 on creeks around Freedom Borough, Butler County, for a very, very similar type of withdrawal from the Ohio River.”

Under the original agreement, Ford City Borough would receive an upfront bonus of $10,000, plus a $2,400 annual payment depending on the number of acres utilized.

Dixon said the proposal would not impact the Ford City Trail, but Schwab was thinking of utilizing Fifth Avenue and Hill Street to access Route 422 – something Borough Council President Carol Fenyes and former Councilwoman Vicki Schaub disagreed with.

Council Vice-President Tyson Klukan explained why he agreed with the recommendation to hire Parker.

“Oil and gas can get tricky – especially with the concerns citizens brought up when PennEnergy did come to discuss and numbers were discussed,” Klukan said. “I think we can get a better deal out there, and I’m sure Mr. Parker can really digest that contract.”

If approved, PennEnergy said last month they hope for the site to be operational by next year.

Last night’s meeting was recessed until 5PM Wednesday.

No Comments

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.