City of Sarasota and FPL reach a final agreement

I would like to thank Mayor Kirschner and Commissioner Atkins for having the backbone to question FPL and what they offered the City of Sarasota.  I would also like to thank Commissioner Clapp for voting with the Mayor and Commissioner Atkins on the PACE-like amendment added by Mayor Kirschner before the vote.

Sincerely,

Susan Nilon

Here is the franchise agreement signed by the City of Sarasota and FPL.  FPL Agreement_20101130142902

Sarasota locks in to 30-year deal with FPL

Reprinted from the Sarasota Herald Tribune

By J. DAVID McSWANE

Published: Tuesday, November 2, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, November 2, 2010 at 12:22 a.m.

( page 1 of 3 )

SARASOTA – The Sarasota City Commission voted to lock city residents into a 30-year contract with Florida Power and Light late Monday night, ending months of tough negotiations with the utility company for more green energy benefits.

The commission passed the agreement, and a coupled renewable energy agreement, on a 3-2 vote, with Mayor Kelly Kirschner and Vice Mayor Fredd Atkins opposed.

At the center of the heated energy talks was the city’s stake in a nearly $5 million-a-year franchise fee, which the city pulls in through FPL charges to consumers — a revenue source the city cannot afford to drop during a recession and a leverage point some say FPL representatives have taken advantage of.

Over the course of tense negotiations with city staff — and an outside energy attorney who was paid $55,000 to consult — FPL agreed to some concessions, but would not agree to a shorter contract, which the commission sought earlier this year.

In an accompanying contract FPL representatives agreed, over the next three decades, to provide:

• Educational programs to inform residents about energy efficiency;

• Energy audits on city and consumer accounts;

• Home energy makeovers for 1,500 homes;

• Fifteen electric vehicle charging stations, to be replaced over time; and

• A longer-term promise to install a large-scale rooftop solar facility and LED street light pilot program.

Raye Dowling, area manager for FPL, lauded the “partnership” as the best deal the utility company had ever offered to a municipality. But the concessions did little to impress commissioners, who expressed doubts about the long-term promises.

“For a company this size, this is chump change,” said Atkins, who along with the mayor, led an at-times-dramatic offensive against FPL representatives Monday.

Under the contract, Sarasota effectively grants a 30-year monopoly for FPL, a company whose renewable energy profile is in stark contrast to the city’s aggressive green energy and sustainability goals. The company imports a vast majority of its fuel energy from out of state, and reports only 2 percent of its energy as coming from renewable sources.

Robert “Scheff” Wright, the Tallahassee energy attorney contracted by the city to help in negotiations, advised against locking Sarasota into a 30-year contract. By his calculations, FPL’s concessions would save the city roughly three-tenths of one percentage in energy costs.

That number, Kirschner said, was enough for him to oppose the FPL deal.

“I apologize to our citizens, and it’s an unfortunate thing,” he said as the commission approved the deal.

About 20 residents spoke emphatically against the contract, citing likely advancements in energy sources over the next three decades, in which the city will have little to no ability to partake. Members from the Argus Foundation and Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, of which FPL is a member, argued in support of the contract.

Commissioner Terry Turner spoke to the financial gridlock that handicapped the city since the beginning of negotiations as he cast his vote in favor of signing on with FPL.

“It would be wonderful if Sarasota could lead the way, but Sarasota is not an island.”

A last-minute amendment to the contract, approved on a 3-2 vote, will allow the city to invest some of the future proceeds from franchise fees into renewable energy investments.

Top 10 Reasons NOT To Sign Another 30-Year Contract With FPL

By Don Hall, Transition Sarasota

In advance of the Sarasota City Commission Meeting on Monday, November 1, where there is likely to be a vote on whether or not to renew a 30-year franchise agreement with Florida Power & Light, it makes sense to bring together in one document the most salient arguments against signing this highly problematic contract:

10. Eliminate a hidden tax on the public: The 5.6% franchise fee that the city is given in exchange for its loyalty is fully paid for by a surcharge on your electric bill. If local government really needs that $5 million a year now provided by the franchise fee, they should find another way to create this revenue that will be openly approved of by the public. One option is to cut our currently oversized $24 million police budget by $5 million a year. If we did this, we would still have one of the highest per capita rates of police spending in the state.

9. Create a more equitable tax structure: Because the city’s franchise fee is paid for by what is essentially a flat tax on those who purchase energy from FPL, and because those who are the least fortunate in our community naturally spend a higher proportion of their income to meet basic needs, such as electricity, this hidden tax hits poor people hardest. Furthermore, families that are just scraping by are less likely to be able to afford energy-saving appliances, home weatherization, solar PV, or solar hot water heaters.

8. Declare our independence: Thinking that signing a new 30-year agreement with FPL is our only option is just plain wrong. In fact, we have several viable options. We can continue with FPL without a franchise agreement (as many communities do, including Manatee County), we can buy electricity from another investor-owned utility, or we can decide to create our own municipal electric utility (for more information about this third option, please visit the Florida Municipal Electric Association’s website: http://PublicPower.com).

7. Spur innovation by increasing competition: Signing a new franchise agreement with FPL is effectively giving one company a monopoly over energy production in the City of Sarasota for the next 30 years. If we really want to lower energy prices and encourage innovation, we should make it possible for other companies (as well as homeowners who decide to put solar on their roofs) to compete on a level playing field with FPL.

6. Refuse to give in to fear: FPL wants you to believe that they are the only reliable source of electric power and that we couldn’t possibly run an electric utility ourselves. However, you just have to take a look at our municipal water, sewer, trash, and recycling utilities to see that we are fully capable of doing the same with energy. We aren’t talking about building and operating power plants here in Sarasota. A municipal electric utility would instead purchase power freely on the open market.

5. Keep wealth circulating locally: In 2002, the consulting firm Civic Economics did a case study of booksellers in Austin, Texas that showed for every dollar spent at a chain store, only 13 cents was reinvested locally. But for every dollar spent at a locally-owned, independent business, the number was 45 cents, a three-fold increase! In our case, FPL operates like a chain store, continually siphoning our community’s wealth away to foreign investors and back to corporate headquarters. A municipal electric utility, on the other hand, would operate more like a local business, keeping more of our community’s wealth circulating within the local economy.

4. Lower taxes or provide more government services: It is true that if we choose to create our own municipal electric utility there will be significant upfront costs estimated at $90 – $120 million to purchase our electric infrastructure back from FPL. However, we currently give FPL $87 million dollars a year to pay for our electricity, money that could otherwise be redirected to local government. In contrast, Gainesville currently derives approximately 1/3 of its annual budget from profits from its electric utility. We could do the same here, choosing to use those profits to lower taxes, increase government services, or, as is most likely, a mixture of both.

3. Get serious about renewable energy: Despite trying to cultivate a public image that they are a “green” company, FPL’s own website, as recently as a month ago, stated that less than 1% of their electricity derives from renewable sources. They might think we will be satisfied with their “Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Agreement,” but what FPL offered in their first draft is only a token gesture, a drop in the bucket (to read this document and learn more about this and other related issues, please visit http://SarasotaPower.org). We need to demand more.

2. Help the city meet its sustainability goals: One of the City Commission’s “Top Five Priorities” is Environmental Sustainability, and its first and second “Measurable Objectives” are an “Energy/Utility Conservation Program” and “Carbon Emissions Reductions.” In 2007, our commissioners formally adopted Resolution 07R-1963 in support of the US Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement, pledging to reduce carbon emissions to 7% below 1990 levels by 2012. However, a Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report that was published just last year showed that from 2003 – 2007, citywide carbon emissions actually increased 2.55% despite the fact that population only increased 2.17% over the same period.

1. Provide resilience in an age of energy uncertainty: The International Energy Agency, in the opening paragraph of the Executive Summary of their 2008 World Energy Outlook report, unequivocally stated: “The world’s energy system is at a crossroads. Current global trends in energy supply and consumption are patently unsustainable — environmentally, economically, socially [...] It is not an exaggeration to claim that the future of human prosperity depends on how successfully we tackle the two central energy challenges facing us today: securing the supply of reliable and affordable energy; and effecting a rapid transformation to a low-carbon, efficient, and environmentally benign system of energy supply. What is needed is nothing short of an energy revolution.” 30 years is a long time and a lot will surely happen between now and 2040.

Whatever we ultimately decide to do, we would be wise to keep our energy options open at this time and ensure that we will have the flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances. Remember, this is a once-in-a-generation decision. Please show up and speak out this coming Monday at City Hall, 1565 1^st Street in Sarasota. The FPL agreement is the last item on the agenda, so plan to arrive when the meeting reconvenes at 6 p.m. All members of the public are entitled to speak for five minutes each.

In the meantime, please call or write your commissioners and let them know what you think about this most important issue. Their contact information can be found below.

*       *       *       *       *

Mayor Kelly Kirschner (District 3): Kelly.Kirschner@sarasotagov.com

Vice-Mayor Fredd Atkins (District 1): Fredd.Atkins@sarasotagov.com

Commissioner Richard Clapp (District 2): Richard.Clapp@sarasotagov.com

Commissioner Suzanne Atwell (At-Large): Suzanne.Atwell@sarasotagov.com

Commissioner Terry Turner (At-Large): Terry.Turner@sarasotagov.com

You can also reach all commissioners by calling 941-954-4115 and asking for each one by name.

 

Sierra Club asks City of Sarasota to wait to sign with FPL

This letter was sent to all City Commissioners

Sent: Saturday, September 25, 2010

Subject: Re:  Sierra Club Energy Recommendation

Dear Commissioners,

The Manatee/Sarasota Sierra Group urges you to look into your energy options BEFORE signing a 30-year binding contract with Florida Power & Light.  We encourage the Commission to create an Energy Advisory Panel to submit a City Energy Plan and to conduct a feasibility study to look into the city starting a municipal power company BEFORE negotiations are finalized with FPL.  Giving up the right to acquire our power grid for another 30 years may not be in the city’s, or its citizens’, best interest and alternatives need to be investigated before they are ruled out with a 30-year franchise contract.

The contract FPL is proposing would commit the residents of Sarasota to a 99% NON-renewable energy plan. FPL currently produces only 1% of its energy from renewable sources and has no plans to increase. The City of Sarasota initially requested that FPL’s portfolio contain 8% renewables by 2015.  We encourage the city to stand by these initial requests.

The little renewable energy FPL does produce is done in a way that significantly reduces the benefit to the user.  Putting the solar panels where the electricity is needed, like on business and home rooftops, cuts FPL out of the profit loop and is therefore not in FPL’s best interest.  As a result, these much-needed and money-saving systems are severely neglected, extremely expensive, and provide only minuscule returns when solar energy is fed back into grid.

Getting the City of Sarasota on the right track for a sustainable future will not happen without action.  We all need, and we need our City Commission, to take significant and brave steps toward a renewable and affordable future.  Ensuring residents have access to the highest quality of electricity, from sources that can be counted on for decades, should be a top priority when considering energy issues in Sarasota.  Please conduct a Municipal Power Company feasibility study and adopt a City Energy Plan BEFORE signing away the right to acquire the city’s power grid for 30 years.

Sincerely,
Gayle Reynolds,
Group Vice-chair
Manatee/Sarasota Sierra Club

FPL to Sarasota: We ‘cannot’ agree to a contract shorter than 30 years

Reposted from The Florida Independent
By COOPER LEVEY-BAKER 8/23/10 2:53 PM

The City of Sarasota meets this evening to further debate its ongoing negotiations withFlorida Power & Light over the possible renewal of the contract that guarantees the city a piece of Sarasotans’ energy bills in exchange for a monopoly on energy delivery within city limits. But one major difference of opinion could prove intractable.

FPL is insisting that the contract — called a franchise agreement — last 30 years, a time span Sarasota city commissioners are reluctant to embrace, given their expressed desire to increase the city’s usage of renewable energy. “Our world is changing very fast,” Commissioner Richard Clapp said at a May meeting. “Thirty years is going to be pretty different, particularly in the field of energy.”

At that meeting, the commission voted to propose a five-year franchise agreement, but a letter dated last Friday from FPL attorney Patrick Bryan (which you can read in full or download below) suggests the company won’t even consider that idea. “FPL cannot … agree to a franchise term of less than 30 years,” he wrote. “As has been explained previously to the City, FPL’s franchise ‘model’ is based on a 30-year term. A portfolio of short term franchises provides little or no benefit to FPL.”

Bryan’s missive comes on the heels of one-on-one meetings FPL held with city commissioners last week, during which the company made clear its insistence on a 30-year deal.

Asked what he thinks will happen at this evening’s workshop, Sarasota Mayor Kelly Kirschner says he thinks FPL will continue to be “adamant” on the issue. Kirschner points out that the city only makes up a tiny portion of FPL’s current portfolio, and suggests the company is mainly concerned that agreeing to a deal shorter than 30 years could set a “precedent” for its dealings with other municipalities.

No votes are on tonight’s agenda, though. “It will be gathering information,” Kirschner says. “If anything, there will be consensus to give direction to staff to pursue further analysis.”

We’ll have an update tomorrow morning.

This is a service to document everything pertaining to the City of Sarasota and their FPL franchise negotiations.

FPL gives the City of Sarasota something to think about

Tomorrow, August 23rd at 5pm down at City Hall, the Sarasota City Commissioners will be considering what FPL says is their “final” offer.  I implore you to come down and be a part of this event.  I truly cannot predict what will happen.

Listed here are the issues to be discussed during the special meeting on Monday. Second reading of the franchise ordinance is scheduled for September 7, 2010.

It was during a private meeting that the VP from FPL told Mayor Kelly Kirschner that if the City did not accept this offer on Monday, then come Tuesday they would stop collecting the Franchise Fee that would account for $5 Million of the City budget.

These are the documents to be considered:

Robert S. Wright August 20th Letter

Portions of Florida Transportation Code

REDLINE CITY OF SARASOTA PROPOSED FRANCHISE

CLEAN FPL’s Proposed City of Sarasota Franchise.08-17-2010

FPL says: “We do not negotiate with the public.”

Reprinted from Creative Loafing August 19th, 2010 by Susan Nilon in News, Politics

This is what Buck Martinez, FPL representative, said to me in a meeting on Tuesday morning when I asked if he or someone else from FPL would attend the Energy Town Hall Tuesday night.

On Tuesday, Sarasota Power (my group) and Transition Sarasota held an Energy Town Hall for the citizens of Sarasota to learn about the City’s options for energy. The intent of the town hall was to have a fair and open talk about what those options are and help the public understand the enormity of the decision that the City Commissioners will make on our behalf.

107 people were in attendance and, in my honest opinion, they were brilliant. People came with the understanding that they needed more information before they were willing to form an opinion, and they left thirsting for more.

At 9 p.m., the evening ended with 12 people still waiting to have their questions answered, after two solid hours of people becoming engaged in what will be the most powerful decision that the city has to make this year. If we sign another 30 year contract with FPL, it will make the issues of the “Kiss” statue, the Sarasota Bay mooring field, and the back taxes of Marina Jack pale by comparison. In 2040, I bet not a single person will be talking about any of those issues, but where we get our energy will be a conversation held at every breakfast table.

And that 30 year term is the sticking point for everyone involved. Republicans, Democrats, Independents alike, they all agree that a 30 year deal is insane.

FPL has called several times over the past month to set up a meeting with me. The first one I cancelled because I was in Tallahassee for the special session. The second one they rescheduled. So Tuesday — right before the town hall — I met with them. In all honesty, I knew that the meeting was just for show and that nothing would come out of it, so I did drag my heels about going. There was nothing that I needed to say that I haven’t already said in public and I knew that whatever they said to me would have no substance. But I didn’t want to be accused of not being available to them. Plus, I really wanted them to come to the town hall.

The meeting turned into an hour of them complaining to me about how unfairly I treat them in the press. They whined about my articles and said that I never present them in a good light. They proceeded to tell me that they were number one in every category and that I would be doing the public justice by acknowledging that when I write. My response was: “There is a large gap between how you perceive yourself and how the public perceives you. I am not required to start off every article about how wonderful you think you are. I believe that I am fair in my presentation and we all know that each time I write everyone has the opportunity to publish a dissenting opinion.”

I called Mayor Kirschner yesterday. (He, Commissioner Clapp, and Commissioner Atwell were in attendance at the town hall meeting.) I called him because I was told by Buck Martinez on Tuesday that FPL was going to give the city an offer that afternoon. I publish all of the documents regarding the franchise negotiations on the Sarasota Power website for the public to read along. Mayor Kirschner informed me that FPL did not present him with a counter offer, but they said they would have it as soon as they were finished writing it. He also informed me that FPL VP Pam Rauch was very unhappy about an interview that we both gave Rob Lorei on WMNF 88.5 yesterday. She said that she listened to it on her drive over and because of that interview; their meeting would be very short.

It was reported to me that FPL will present an offer to the City Commission this coming Monday at 5pm. She also indicated to the Mayor that if the City Commission was not willing to accept their offer, then come Tuesday morning they will stop paying the franchise fee to the city, which will take $5 million per year from the City’s coffers.

So I guess they are serious when they say they will not negotiate with the public. Last month the City polled 700 people and 50% of them said they would like the City to consider leaving FPL in pursuit of renewable energy alternatives. Last June the City held an energy forum and 90 people came out. Tuesday night 107 people came out to talk about the same topic. I believe that if we had more time, more and more people who become engaged in the energy alternatives. This is what FPL does not want to happen. They know that “Knowledge is Power” and that’s the last thing they want to happen. So they are playing hardball with our City Commissioners and they are making it very difficult, in my honest opinion, for the public to really understand what it means to sign another 30 year contract.

This Monday, August 23rd at 5:00pm, I ask you to join me at City Hall. The public will be given the opportunity to speak and continue to become engaged in a very important decision. Please don’t let this opportunity pass.

For the record, I sent FPL two formal invitations and suffered through an hour of ranting to ask them to come to the town hall meeting. They did not come to the town hall.  They “do not negotiate with the public.” If you want to verify my information, I copied all of the City Commissioners each time, so you can call and ask them yourself. Their number is (941) 954-4115. I also invite you to ask them how they feel about signing another 30 year contract. And please let them know how you feel about it.

We need to pack the halls this coming Monday at 5pm in City Hall to let FPL know that they may not negotiate with the public, but the Commissioners do.

The town hall was a great success!

107 people came out last night to have an open discussion about energy. For two hours we did nothing but answer intelligent, well thought out questions from a community that became engaged in what the City of Sarasota should do to get their energy.

The panelist were not there to present a platform, but just to answer questions. Atty. Schef Wright, Raymond Kaiser – Energy Consultant, Susan Glickman – NRDC/SACE, Bob Neff – former FPL Employee and Oil man, and Lance Orchid – Repower America gave incredible insight to the daunting task of explaining the world of energy. The only disappointment of the evening was that FPL was a no-show.

Earlier in the day I met with FPL reps to ask them in person to come to the town hall to talk about what FPL is offering and the response I got was, “we don’t negotiate with the public.” I spoke with them in person at their request, even though they declined both of my formal invites.

Another good thing of the evening was that Mayor Kelly Kirschner and Commissioner’s Clapp and Atwell were in attendance. I knew that Commissioner Atkins had a precious engagement, but I was very disappointed that Commissioner Turner was not there.

After two hours of answering questions, we still had to cut off the twelve remaining people in order to end the evening. But it was refreshing to see that along with Mayor Kirschner and Commissioner Clapp, people stayed long after it was over to still ask the panelist questions.

The bottom line of the evening was to ask for more time to explore every option. We thought we had achieved that last night. This morning was another story. FPL paid the Commissioners a one on one visit before the town hall. The message was that they are going to make the city one more offer for this Monday’s City meeting. Word is that if the City doesn’t agree to accept this offer, then come Tuesday morning FPL will stop paying the city the franchise fee.

I would like to request that all of you who are reading this come down to City Hall this Monday, August 23rd at 5pm to see what the deal is and how the Commissioner’s feel about the deal. Schef Wright said that if instructed he will file an injunction to stop FPL from their effort to withhold the collection of the franchise feel, but the question is – “Will the Commissioners have the political will to call the bluff of FPL, or will FPL give them enough to say face and go along with FPL’s program.

Boy do I feel like I am writing an episode for the “Guiding Light” or “All My Children!” Stay tuned for the next episode…

Important Notes for the Energy Town Hall

First, please take a look at the page entitled “FPL vs City Position Paper.”  It lays out in simple terms what the City is asking for and what FPL is willing to give.

Second – Mayor Kelly Kirschner will be on WMNF- 88.5 with Rob Lorie this coming Tuesday at 1:30pm to talk about the Town Hall that night.  If you can’t make it out Tuesday night, that would be a really good time to call in your questions.  The call in number is:  813-239-9663     To listen to it live from your computer, you can do it here.

Also, we are running a poll on whether the City should consider an Municipal Utility.  It’s located above under “Poll.”

Thanks!

Progress! The Town hall was a success.

Last week the Sarasota City Commission did a great job at presenting a fair and balanced discussion of one of the City’s options to not signing the FPL franchise agreement.  Over 90 people were in attendance.

We all know that there are pros and cons to every decision we make.  All we ask is that each position be presented fairly.  A special kudos goes out to Attorney Schef Wright would put this whole event together!

I wish I could say that was true for everyone who participated in the public comment section.  Those that opposed the idea of a municipal utility, while some of their arguments might have had merit, did not disclose their close association with FPL.

My attitude is that there is no place for dishonesty and leaves to question if they were not working behind the scenes with FPL, would they have been so inclined to speak out.

There will be another town hall that is scheduled for some time in August.  As soon as the date and panelists are confirmed, we will post it here.

If you were not able to attend you can view it on the link from City Hall.  You can also take a look at all of the power points that were also presented and gather as much information as you can.

Sarasota City Commission Special Meeting : June 16, 2010