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Board of County Commissioners Meeting Minutes - Final January 9, 2024 Attachments: Staff Report Amendment No. 4 to Landfill Gas Agreement Utility Services Director Sean Lieske referred to staff's memo dated December 28, 2023, as there had been a series of amendments associated with the agreement with Nopetro Eco District, LLC (NED), the most recent being Amendment No. 3 Agreement to grant 12 months to the Natural Landfill Gas (LFG) agreement commencement date from June 30, 2023, to June 30, 2024. Mr. Lieske presented Amendment No. 4, which was strictly to extend the contract based on the requirement of their project financing entity to ensure that the termination of the agreement would be beyond the project schedule for completion. Under discussion, Vice Chairman Flescher, Commissioner Loar, and Commissioner Moss expressed their discomfort with the language in the contract, specifically the use of gross receipts versus net proceeds. They stated that they did not favor moving forward with the contract. County Attorney Bill DeBraal received confirmation that the 10 -year extension to the 20 -year contract was no longer on the table. NED CEO Jorge Herrera stated during the last meeting that an extension of three and a half months beyond the outside date had been requested, citing factors that were within their control at the time. Their main concern was that if there was a delay and they could not finish by the deadline, they would not be able to close on their construction loan. Commissioner Loar stated his concern regarding the recent changes and extensions made to the Amendments. He requested from NED and Assistant County Attorney Keith Jackman a more precise definition of the gross receipts. Attorney Jackman suggested postponing the discussion until the January 23, 2024, BCC meeting, as there were concerns regarding the contract's legal sufficiency. The County's gross receipts appeared to cover NED's consumables, taxes, and operational costs, creating ambiguity. The contract should reflect this if the County intended to cover these costs. Chairman Adams expressed frustration with this ongoing project that began in 2019, which incurred numerous costs and several improvements at the county landfill. The leachate issue was addressed by installing a landfill evaporator to access the landfill gas. The plan was to convert the landfill gas into electricity, but the County decided on the pipeline instead, which led to the leachate issue. She stated the Florida City Gas commissioner had used this potential project to get a gas line extension to the beach, but getting the necessary agreements had been a Indian River County Florida Page 21