A bit of good news for Wellsville.. let us rephrase that, emphasizing what we consider great news for the Village, is the recent deal Village officials made with Chesapeake Energy. At a Special Council Meeting this past Friday the Wellsville Village Council voted unanimously to authorize Fiscal Officer Dale Davis to sign any and all documents necessary for the lease transaction with Chesapeake for oil and/or gas drilling as negotiated by ALOV (Associated Land Owners of the Ohio Valley). At a meeting last Saturday in Minerva that was arranged by ALOV officials those documents were signed by Mr. Davis.
We suspected something was soon to be resolved a couple of weeks ago when we spotted a small article in the Youngstown Vindicator. It pertained to ALOV finalizing a deal with drillers. After making inquiries locally to no avail we were left still wondering about Wellsville. All we could find out at the time was that no deal had been reached.
Back in April of this year there was a Council Property Committee meeting held with a representative from a company called Evenflow Eastern explaining some details about drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale. The Property Committee is chaired by Councilwoman Susan Haugh and has Rosie Goss & Randy Allmon on it.
At another Property Committee meeting on July 12 Haugh brought in ALOV to explain what they do. ALOV is a nonprofit association that formed to represent landowners in negotiating the best contract possible with drilling companies. On July 28 another Special Council Meeting was held for the purpose of authorizing the Village to join ALOV. After that meeting everything got quiet about any drilling leases for Wellsville. At that time they were talking about leases going for around $2,200 an acre.
At the Meet the Candidates Night two weeks ago candidate for Mayor, Sue Haugh dropped another hint when she sent a note apologizing for not being present, saying she was at an out of town meeting in regards of for a brighter future for Wellsville. Arriving later she told all those assembled that she couldn't disclose her reason for missing the event but that she felt she was doing her job as a Councilwoman representing Wellsville “in your best interest”. She later advised us there would be an announcement on November 5.
Not finding anything in the papers on November 6 we contacted Mayor Joe Surace and bluntly asked if Wellsville had struck a deal with Chesapeake. He confirmed that they had but didn't have all the details and referred me to Councilwoman Haugh. Surace said she was at the Saturday meeting along with Fiscal Officer Davis.
Haugh finally filled us in on the basic details. Fiscal Officer Dale Davis signed an agreement with Chesapeake as negotiated by ALOV on Saturday for over 300 acres of Village owned property. Wellsville will get $5,800 an acre plus 20% royalties once drilling production begins. Chesapeake will pay the Village a lump sum amount of $1.9 million depending on title searches coming back clean with no encumbrances on any of the parcels of land. That amount will be paid to Wellsville as soon as the the title searches are completed . They have 90 days to accomplish that.
Once drilling is started there will be 20% royalties paid on any gas or oil produced. The royalties paid will be shared with all the landowners that were part of this most recent lease deal and paid monthly. If there is oil or gas found under the land of one of other property owners, say in Carroll County, that signed this latest agreement Wellsville will get a share of those royalties. Carroll County was use just as an example. We do not know the locations or the number of landowners involve in the deal struck Saturday in Minerva. The Village has the cemetery property, Hammonds Park, the old reservoir and the old garbage dump. Part of the lease stipulates there will not be any surface drilling in either the cemetery or Hammonds Park.
We do know that this is extremely good news especially when some Village officials are considering budget cuts. Property Chairwoman Haugh and her committee are to be commended. When filling us in on the details yesterday Haugh highly praised the work and professional efforts put forth by Fiscal Officer Dale Davis and Village Legal Advisor Attorney Andy Beech.
It is exciting news for the village …
ole nib
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18 comments:
I know 1.9 million sounds like a lot of money, but I hope and pray that the new administration will spend this money very wisely. Too much wasteful spending in the past.Good things can happen in the village if the new administration just uses their heads and makes wise decisions.
well then i hope people are smart and vote in a new administration if not the 1.9 may last a couple months with say ones in office
and what should that $$$ be used for there 1st poster...Enlighten us...
Many prayers have been answered.
Anonymous said...
I think it was ALOV, not Susan Haugh, who negotiated the deal.
Tuesday, 08 November, 2011
You're absolutely correct... it was ALOV who negotiated the contract. We said as much in the original post. You should have realized that if you had read it. However, it was Haugh that was instrumental in getting signed on with ALOV. We think she gave all Council members every chance in the world to join in working on this project with ALOV. She introduced ALOV to all the Village officials and we heard her ask for ideas & suggestions from her fellow Council members. That was in July. We have a feeling not many other Village officials offered to help or support her efforts on behalf of the Village. We feel Haugh should be commended for seeing this through while keeping members of Council informed to the best of her ability. Because of the competitive nature of doing business Chesapeake, like any other company, demands that ALOV plays their cards close to the vest. Once ALOV & Chesapeake reached an agreement it was quickly presented to all parties with quick action asked for. It was presented to all parties on October 26 with the signing held on November 5. We hate Executive Sessions at Council meetings, especially when no comments or action is taken afterwards. With a deal like this we can understand the necessity.
After seeing yesterday's election results it seems apparent our appreciation of determined, progressive and positive actions on behalf of Wellsville is shared by more than just us.
nib
actually, an executive session to discuss this contract wouldn"t have been legal under open meetings laws. It's not "sale of property" with competitive bidding involved, not a legal issue, personnel matter, etc.
We don't profess to be anywhere near an expert on the Sunshine Law but thought a bid of a competitive nature like this would be covered. It concerns the competitive sale of mineral rights on Village owned land. We're sure legal advice was sought before making a motion to go into Executive Session.
nib
Susie Haugh gave up her chance to speak at "Meet the Candidates Night" in order to make this happen for Wellsville. She strikes me as a self-less person for giving up her chance to win votes. She kept silent and could not disclose the reason behind her missing "Meet the Candidates Night." This convinces me that she truly means it when she says "it's not about me....but it's about us". From the first moment I meant Susie Haugh I realized she had a deep love for Wellsville and would do her best for the village. I support her and know that good things are in line for Wellsville.
When the issue was initially brought before council, most weren't that interested in what Sue had to say about about the topic.
Susie and the new council will bring this village to where it needs to be. Let's get it on!
Council probably wasn't interested in what Susie had to say because it wasn't their idea. Current council doesn't support other council members, only what's on their agenda. They seem to work against each other.I think we are going to see a big change in way things are handled. LET'S WORK TOGETHER.
$1.9 Million will build a lot of pavilions!!!
We don't believe any pavilions are on the drawing board. It would be surprising.
nib
How about getting the streets fixed and having a street sweeper again. what about a sewage plant that doesn't make the whole town smell. Just a thought? $$$$$$$$$$$$
How about investing the 1.9 mill for a couple of years and work off of the interst only and then make some major changes in a few years? Do not waste this opportunity a few thousand dollars at a time.
I know the village is in need of funds, and this sounds like an easy way to obtain them. But the EPA just came out with a report on the effects of fracking on the water in Wyoming -- and it's not good. Read and judge for yourself
http://www.propublica.org/article/epa-finds-fracking-compound-in-wyoming-aquifer/
Investing it gets my vote. Interest rates are at an all time low right now but it will earn some returns. Eventually they will pick-up.
nib
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