Freeholder opposes gag order
By Nathan Mayberg
NEWTON — Sussex County Freeholder Gail Pheobus (R-Andover) is challenging a clause in Sussex County's multi-million dollar settlement with SunLight General Capital, Power Partners Mastec and Morris County Improvement Authority over a solar panel deal gone awry, which purports to stop the settlement parties from making disparaging remarks about any of the other parties.
Attorney Daniel Perez, who is representing Pheobus, drafted a letter on her behalf addressed to Sussex County Counsel Dennis McConnell on Friday challenging the provision in the settlement. Perez said that Phoebus had a First Amendment right to criticize the deal and the other parties and that the settlement was not legally binding on her free speech rights.
"Freeholder Phoebus’s constitutionally-protected right to free speech cannot validly be abridged by a resolution passed by three of her colleagues," Perez wrote.
"Sunlight General deserves to be publicly criticized," Perez wrote.
"It squandered millions of taxpayer dollars, failed to build-out the solar projects, lost a $66 million arbitration award, defaulted payments, was found by the arbitration panel to have breached its express and implied covenants of good faith and fair dealing, made affirmative misrepresentations to Power Partners MasTec and, during the arbitration proceeding, raised numerous unjustified legal and factual arguments and issues that needlessly increased the costs of arbitration.”
McConnell couldn't be reached for comment.
SunLight General attorney Michael Stein, whose firm Pashman Stein had hundreds of thousands of dollars in its attorney fees paid for by Sussex County after an arbitration decision, issued a statement that defended the settlement and SunLight General's actions.
"This settlement in no way suggests that the SunLight General project companies admit any wrongdoing, and they strongly dispute all the allegations previously made by MasTec in the civil suit.
"To the contrary, the project companies wish to emphasize the indisputable facts that 1) the proceeds of the public bonds have always been held by a trustee for the benefit of the bondholders and 2) that the public bond funds may only be disbursed to pay properly documented project costs relating to the solar projects."
"It is important to note that SunLight General has already successfully built many solar projects in all three counties. These projects are generating clean, renewable energy and are providing it to County institutions at a price well below that of prevailing utility prices.
In addition, the terms of the settlement provide for additional planned solar sites to begin construction. The SunLight General companies are eager to continue to assist with the success of the existing and planned solar projects," Stein wrote.
Stein declined to address the disparagement clause.
Sussex County is banking on completing its solar panel projects and through the settlement expects to generate revenues from tax credits and solar energy certificates it will gain access to through the deal.
The county is already on the hook for approximately $26 million which SunLight General Capital has been unable to pay back to Sussex County for bonds the county guaranteed for the installation of solar panels throughout the county.
The solar panels have been installed on a host of municipal buildings and schools throughout the county. A number of planned solar panel installation projects have not been completed on buildings throughout the county.
Sussex County will need to bond an additional $6.75 million through the Morris County Improvement Authority in order to pay $12.3 million which was owed to Power Partners Mastec.