It's A Gas, Nancy

The City of Greensboro maintains the 1998-2014 Archived Meeting Agendas, Minutes & Videos in an online archive in what is supposed to be open and transparent governance.

According to the Agenda of the November 1, 2004 City Council Meeting #28 on the agenda that night was:

But the oldest listing on the 1998-2014 Archived Meeting Agendas, Minutes & Videos page is August 15, 2006, almost 2 years after then City Councilman Donald Vaughan lead the effort to give away, free of any cost, over $1,000,000 Dollars in Methane gas produced by the City owned White Street Landfill to Cone Denim LLC, a subsidiary of International Textile Group Inc.

It just so happens that Donald Vaughan is legal council for ITG and is said to earn $20,000 a month from the landfill deal part time legal gig.

And for those who might not know, Donald Vaughan is married to Greensboro Mayor Nancy Barakat Vaughan.

According to the Minutes of the Nov 1, 2004 City Council Meeting, Donald Vaughan was in attendance that night but did recuse himself.

But let's look at some of the other language beginning on page 23, shall we:

Now I can understand no one else wanting to build lines at the time but why would the City Council Resolution preclude any future businesses from connecting to the White Street Landfill Gas? What ever happened to looking towards the future, aren't politicians elected to do that too? Could that be a part of some sweetheart deal Donald Vaughan had already worked out with his employer, Cone Mills?

And why does the resolution have no end date, no date to review the process?

Could it be because Nancy's husband and Cone Denim wanted it that way?

Well actually the contract did end in 2007 but the free gas kept on flowing and flowing and flowing.... Wait a minute, are we talking about Cone Denim or the EverReady Bunny?

And if the reason really was to keep the City of Greensboro from having to bare the cost of disposing of the gas via flare offs as what stated in the City Council minutes then why does the Memorandum Of Agreement not require Cone Denim to use all the gas all the time?

Okay, I understand the acts of God stuff but it is not the taxpayers problem that Cone Mills can't keep their boiler running 100% of the time-- they could install a back-up boiler if they were really concerned with keeping their plant up and running.




Donald and Nancy Vaughan have paid for Million Dollar homes in Irving Park, Beach Houses, Don's monthly trips to Costa Rica, major investments in Carolina Bank (Are you still banking there?) nontaxable offshore investments and so much more via Don and Nancy's sweetheart deals with anyone and everyone who comes along with money to offer and you still want Nancy Vaughan to remain Mayor of Greensboro?

You must have a deal going yourself.

Greensboro Mayoral Candidate Sal Leone has put in Public Information Request # 5093 asking for the video of the meeting that night. I'm going to be asking for the same plus a copy of the Landfill Gas Transportation Agreement.

Will the city stall as they've been doing? And why are the videos not online?