NORTHAMPTON — As it works to wrap up its operations, the Hampshire Council of Governments appears to have found a buyer for its energy businesses, Hampshire Power and Hampshire Renewables.
That’s according to board Chairman Rus Peotter, who told the Gazette that HCG has signed a finding letter of intent with a buyer. The news comes as a bill seeking to dissolve HCG passed the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government on Tuesday, bringing the nearly financially insolvent organization one step closer to going out of business. HCG is the successor organization to Hampshire County government, which the state dissolved in 1999.
Peotter declined to name the prospective buyer, saying that the agreement was signed in closed session during the board’s meeting last week. He said that the final execution of the agreement is expected to take place on Aug. 29.
“They wanted it to be later, but we said if the legislation goes through and the organization is dissolved, they’d be dealing with someone else and it would be very awkward,” Peotter said of the buyer. “They’ve agreed to expedite their due diligence process.”
Although Peotter did not name the prospective buyer, public records posted to the secretary of state’s website show the likely buyer as MassAmerican LLC, a renewable energy company that in January entered into an agreement with HCG to provide customer service and support to HCG’s renewable energy credit aggregation service.
A new corporation, Hampshire Power Corp., successfully incorporated in the state on Monday, according to filings with the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Corporations Division. The corporation’s articles of organization say that its purpose is “to continue the energy and energy-related businesses of Hampshire Power and Hampshire Renewables.”
The new Hampshire Power Corp. lists as its address the company Mass American LLC, and lists Mass American leaders Quincy Vale and David Ellis as the administration of the new corporation.
Phone calls placed to Mass American’s office Wednesday went unanswered, and the company’s voicemail inbox was full and unable to receive new messages. Efforts to reach Vale and Ellis were unsuccessful.
Peotter said that the agreement with the buyer included a provision to absorb HCG’s energy sector employees — four staffers and current HCG Executive Director Todd Ford.
Ford is currently working under a contract with HCG that he signed on June 28, and which keeps him employed with the organization through Dec. 31. His salary under the deal is $10,405 per month, though the agreement stipulates that it will terminate “upon the effective date of enacted legislation or judicial decree(s) providing for the dissolution of the Council.”
“The contract is anticipated as a bridge until the dissolution of the organization,” Ford said Wednesday.
The contract also provides Ford a severance package of one week’s wages for each year of employment, up to a maximum of 10 weeks’ wages. Peotter said that other employees of HCG will receive similar severance packages.
Peotter said that HCG’s executive director traditionally received six months severance, as well as a year of health care coverage, after termination. But Ford waived those benefits as part of his new contract, Peotter added.
“The salary is the same and it’s a generous salary, but many of the other provisions are greatly reduced from his previous contract,” Peotter said.
With five of HCG’s six employees transferring to the new business taking over its energy interests, Peotter said that would leave only one employee, executive assistant Lydia King, left when HCG dissolves.
The bill filed by state Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton — and sponsored by others in the county delegation — is slated to go into effect on Aug. 31. Peotter said that there will undoubtedly be other issues that arise before then, but that for the moment his focus is on the legislation’s successful passage.
“We’ll deal with the background issues and noise when we can,” he said. “None of them are major.”
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.