David Stickler: Clean Tech did its best

The Winston-Salem Journal published a guest column today from David Stickler, a member of Clean Tech's Board of Directors, about why the company was unable to reach an agreement with the Stanly County Commissioners.

"If there had been true interest by Stanly County in finding a path forward, I feel certain that Clean Tech and Alcoa could have mitigated all of the concerns that were raised — even those raised at the 11th hour," Stickler wrote

"But there was one fundamental problem: Every time we mitigated or structured around one concern, the county would simply present another concern that then needed to be addressed."

The entire article is reprinted below:

Clean Tech did its best

By DAVID STICKLER

Now that Clean Tech has abandoned its plans to build a $300 million manufacturing plant and create 450 new jobs in Stanly County, I see that there is already a lot of finger-pointing in the press about why we were unable to reach an agreement with the Stanly County commissioners. Having been directly involved in the process of trying to structure a transaction that met the county's concerns, let me share my perspective.

If there had been true interest by Stanly County in finding a path forward, I feel certain that Clean Tech and Alcoa could have mitigated all of the concerns that were raised — even those raised at the 11th hour.

But there was one fundamental problem: Every time we mitigated or structured around one concern, the county would simply present another concern that then needed to be addressed.

First it was environmental. Then it was jobs. Then it was the number of jobs. Then it was the length of the jobs commitment.

In a final effort to reach an agreement Thursday evening, Clean Tech teamed with Alcoa and committed to creating 750 jobs with a payroll and benefits commitment that started at $30 million a year and increased over time to more than $43 million a year. The commitment would have lasted 50 years.

But even after these commitments were put on the table and the previously identified concerns addressed, the county began raising new obstacles, some of which involved the most unlikely of business scenarios. So I asked the county directly: If we can resolve these latest concerns, will you create a path forward? Unfortunately, the response received led Clean Tech to conclude that there would always be one more challenge to overcome and that the process would never end.

At that point, Clean Tech finally had to say enough is enough. We had tried our best.

Issues surrounding the relicensing of Alcoa's dams were obviously a major sticking point for the county. It is important for everyone to know that Clean Tech never tried to infringe on Stanly County's or North Carolina's legal standing with respect to having a voice at the table regarding permits, 401 certificates or government authorizations. All Clean Tech was looking for was an assurance that the county and the state would allow the regulatory process to move forward in a timely manner so that we could begin the construction and hiring process.

As we prepare to move forward with our plans to locate the Clean Tech plant in another state, I feel terrible for the citizens of Badin and Stanly County who would have benefited from the investment that Clean Tech was trying to make. The support of the citizens for the Clean Tech project was overwhelming. I am sorry that things did not work out differently.