Agenda Item Name:
Title
Green Corridor PACE District and Ygrene Energy Fund Florida
End
Presenter:
Sylvia Torres, County Attorney, 352-374-5218 and Sean Mclendon, Economic Development & Food Systems Manager, 352-548-3765
Description:
Discussion of Ygrene Request to Enter Retroactive District Membership Agreement
Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Alachua County Attorney’s Office recommends not entering requested District Membership Agreement
End
Prior Board Motions:
2022, November 11 Regular Board of County Commission Meeting - Public Comments
Commissioner Chestnut moved to set a future date for Ygrene to present to the Board and those citizens who participated in the program after the contract expired.
The motion carried 5-0.
2022, September 27 Board of County Commission Meeting - County Attorney Report
County Attorney Torres asked the Board to direct the Chair to send a letter to Green Corridor pace district as recommended by the County Attorney and to authorize the county to take any legal action in the issue. Commissioner Prizzia moved to send a chair letter as recommended by the County Attorney.
The motion carried 5-0.
2021, September 28 Board of County Commission Meeting
Commissioner Prizzia moved the following:
1. Refer to staff to come back with enhanced truth in lending criteria for any lending program the County offers.
2. Independent energy audits to identify low cost and no cost energy efficiency improvements and share that information.
3. Explore other financing mechanisms.
4. Local components for vendors, for audits, constructions, and energy efficiency upgrades.
5. Banning any deceptive tactics.
The motion carried 5-0.
2018, August 14 Board of County Commission Meeting
Commissioner Byerly moved to approve and authorize the Chair to sign all attached Interlocal Agreements and Indemnification Agreements. If any agency refuses to enter into a revised Interlocal Agreement, direct staff to terminate the existing agreement per the termination clause.
The motion carried 5-0.
2015, December 8 Board of County Commission Meeting
Commissioner Byerly moved to implement the PACE Program for Residential
Properties. The motion carried 3-2 with Commissioners Chestnut and Pinkoson voting
“Nay”.
Commissioner Byerly moved the following:
1. A. Approve and authorize the Chair to sign the Third Party Administered Interlocal Agreements, Resolution and other supporting documents to enact a Property Assessed Clean Energy program in Alachua County for residential and commercial properties. B. Accept the finalized PACE Vendor Qualification Criteria, Rights and Responsibilities, and Truth in Lending Documents and direct staff to begin outreach and public education after vendors provides training and orientation of their programs.
2. Staff to provide the Board with a written summary of differences and issues that remain between the County and Florida PACE Funding Industry.
The motion carried 3-2 with Commissioners Chestnut and Pinkoson voting “Nay”.
Fiscal Consideration:
Fiscal Consideration
N/A
End
Strategic Guide:
Strategic Guide
N/A
End
Background:
Section 163.08, Fla. Stat. (Supplemental authority for improvements to real property), permits local governments to create a program where private property owners can apply to the local government for financing for certain qualified improvements to private property, often new roofs, air conditioners and sometimes solar panels. The private property owner would then pay back the financed loan over a number of years through a special assessment on his/her property tax bill. The statute anticipates that a local government may run the program (i.e., provide the financing itself), the program may be run through a partnership of local governments, or the program may be run by a for-profit or not-for-profit organization on behalf of and at the discretion of the local government.
On December 8, 2015, the Board of County Commissioners (“BoCC”) entered membership agreements with three partnerships of local governments (PACE Districts) in Florida, effectively authorized those PACE Districts (through their administrators) to provide funding services to property owners and to access properties in Florida within the County’s unincorporated and incorporated areas. The BoCC adopted Resolution 15-130 (Attach A) and executed of District Membership Agreements with three PACE Districts. PACE Districts are separate legal entities and public bodies created pursuant to interlocal agreements and authorized by Section 163.08, Florida Statutes. The term of the BoCC’s agreements with the three PACE Districts was for three years from date of execution (See Attach B, for Green Corridor PACE membership agreement 2015). See Attach C for excerpted minutes from December 8, 2015 BoCC meeting.
On August 14, 2018, the BoCC renewed its District Membership Agreements for an additional 3 years, extending the authorization for PACE Administrators to provide funding services, recoverable through assessments of property tax bills, within Alachua County. See Attach D for extension agreement of Green Corridor District Membership agreement 2018, and Attach E for excerpted minutes from August 14, 2018, BoCC meeting.
All three District Membership agreement expired at the end of their terms on August 13, 2021, having not been renewed again prior to their expiration date. At its September 28, 2021, meeting, the BoCC considered renewal agreements and declined to extend the PACE Administrator’s authorization to provide funding within Alachua County. The BoCC heard from representatives of PACE Administrators at that meeting, including a representative of the administrator of Green Corridor PACE District, Ygrene Energy Fund Florida (Ygrene). The BoCC directed staff to return to it with an authorization of the PACE funding which included: enhanced truth in lending criteria, independent energy audits which identified low and no cost improvements (to be shared with property owners), exploration of other funding mechanisms, and “banning any deceptive tactics.” Attach F for excerpted minutes from September 28, 2021, BoCC meeting.
On April 13, 2022, a representative of Ygrene (administrator for Green Corridor PACE District) contacted County staff by telephone to inform the County that Ygrene had continued to offer and provide PACE funding in Alachua County following the expiration of its authorization to provide those services in the County. The Ygrene representative folloed up with the County via email on April 21, 2022 (Attach G). Upon investigation, the County determined that Ygrene, on behalf of Green Corridor PACE District, acted during this time without the authorization of the County to: solicit and market its funding services to Alachua County property owner, enter funding agreements with property owners and file summary of those agreements in the Official Records of Alachua County, fund improvement to properties and file addendums (liens) on those properties in the Official Records of Alachua County, and, in some cases, seek to assess those properties by filing as initial assessment roll with the Alachua County Tax Collector which contained these properties. The Tax Collector declined to include 47 property assessments on the 2023 tax bills which were from agreements entered into after August 13, 2021.
Ygrene is asking that the County to retroactively authorize its ultra vires (without authority) actions in Alachua County by entering a PACE District Membership Agreement which would state that its effective date (its date of authorization) is August 14, 2021. The County Attorney’s Office has substantial concerns about whether the County has authority to enter a retroactive agreement authorizing assessment on property tax bills.