County
County Amps Up The Voltage On Dynamis Deal
May 22, 2012 
When Ada Commishes Sharon Ullman and Rick Yzaguirre approved a last minute extension to the Dynamis “franchise agreement” at the landfill, they added “significant value” to the deal according to a GUARDIAN financial consultant. It appears the lease has jumped from 5 years to 30 years.
Additionally, the contract now allows Dynamis to bring in waste from other sources “with a higher BTU content.” That can include up to 6 tons of tires–something that has been rumored by opponents of the facility for the past few months.
Word on the street has it that Dynamis is unable to get financing for the so-called “waste to energy” project the Eagle firm has proposed to build. The firm has refused to provide any proof of financing, claiming it is privately owned. Ada Commishes paid Dynamis $2 million in public funds for design plans on a private commercial facility the county will never own, control, lease, or operate. Payment to Dynamis has been described by Dave Case, the Republican nominee who unseated Ullman in the primary, as “a loan any way you look at it.”
Until this morning Dynamis had little more than an idea to sell to potential investors and lenders. Now, they can claim they have a 30 year commitment from a government agency. Even if Dynamis never operates the proposed facility, it is possible they will be able to sell their franchise to another party, depending on how the contract is worded.
Our banker explained it as the difference between applying for a construction loan on an apartment building versus a loan on a building with 100% occupancy and 10 year leases.
We see this as a preemptive political maneuver to rush the deal through prior the pending appointment of a third commissioner to fill the seat vacated by Vern Bisterfeldt. Also, all the remaining candidates–both Dems and Repubs–have gone on record as opposing the Dynamis deal in its present form.
For what its worth, the GUARDIAN predicts Dave Case will be appointed as an Ada Commish by the end of the week. Even if he gets outvoted by Ullman and Yzaguirre, he will have the inside info hopefully he will make public that which has been under the radar of late.
See the STATESMAN version of events and click on the “RELATED CONTENT” box to get the entire contract.
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Comments & Discussion
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May 22, 2012, 3:25 pm
The daily has the agreement. http://media.idahostatesman.com/smedia/2012/05/22/13/20/4tqHW.So.36.pdf
Looks like Dynamis can assign to a new party only if the County agrees.
After reading the agreement, I learned the equipment should of been ordered in December and the construction should of started in March(exhibit E). I have been to the landfill in the last 2 months and did not see any construction (does not mean it is not happening).
EDITOR NOTE–Hard to build with no money or building permits.
May 22, 2012, 4:40 pm
I read it the same way. But why? Is it vindictive? Is Sharon staking her entire future in politics to this project? The project appears highly dubious.
EDITOR NOTE–Our take is they are trying to “getterdone” before Case is appointed.
May 22, 2012, 5:57 pm
i thought one Board could not commit future boards. I thought that is why the original lease was only five years. And what about all the screaming Ullman used to do about the previous boards having committed future boards by locking them into the 20 year lease at Hawks Stadium, and the financing for the courthouse which also committed future boards? Why are Ullman and Yzaguirre so committed to this thing to the point of upping the ante like this? What exactly did they receive in return for that $2 million? Every other politician, Democrat and Republican, has come out against this thing. Burning tires? Seriously? They get to just amend the contract and now northeast Boise gets 30 years of pollution? Where is the class action by the citizens of Ada County? I believe a recall petition would be appropriate at this point for Ullman and Yzaguirre.
May 22, 2012, 7:29 pm
I see the other energy debacle HOKU according to Rocky Barker is on the ropes again. Once again the hand Of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission is evident as they were responsible for forcing Idaho Power to renegotiate the power contract after HOKU defaulting on their power agreement. Dynamis would never have gotten this far if IPUC had not ok’d an overly generous contract which provides Dynamis with above market rates for electrical power produced. Of course PUC is impartial—they give above market rates to everybody who says they are renewable
May 22, 2012, 8:22 pm
What in the world is Sharon doing?
She is a lame duck office holder and should not be making decisions like this.
How about a public records request for just what the county purchased in the dyamis agreement. Not jut the agreement but the actual WORK PRODUCT.
Propitary is another word for “can’t be patented”. So far all I have seen is smoke and mirrors with Mr. Mahaffey. Somebody needs to pull back the curtain on this matter for some public review and sunshine.
May 22, 2012, 10:08 pm
Why are people so afraid of new technology that they salivate at the chance to kill it before it grows? Converting trash to energy is not a bad idea. Reducing the amount of trash in a landfill is not a bad idea. So what’s your beef? Nuff Said.
May 23, 2012, 6:35 am
Chicago.. thanks for the reminder on Hoku. I can’t remember what incentives they got from the state and local governments, but I am sure they did. Let’s not forget the solar farm that was to be built by the airport. It was to be up and running by this time. Also, please remember that the landfill has capacity estimated at more than 70 years–and that was before the volume of waste dropped off because of the recession. Bottom line–the plant won’t ever get built. DEQ won’t have enough detail to issue an air permit. The County won’t get our money back. And who knows what the technologies will be in the next 70 years.
May 23, 2012, 10:50 am
We don’t fear new technology we fear this because it is not new technology. The desigm amd patent were done in 1989 and operation of a small unit (1 ton) was performed between 1989 and 1991. The Barrow Alaska plant that they point to was built similar to some degree so they use that as an example. It was built in 1995 and has had a spotty operational history. Now these people believe they can make a unit that is 20 times larger than Barrow using the same design but adding the secondary combustion system and sending to a waste heat boiler to run a steam turbine for power generation. What has never been tested is the burning of tires with this process and the actual heat performance of the secondary combustion unit. If it doesn’t heat sufficiently then more pollutants will enter our atmosphere both from stack emissions as well as water waste from the overwhelmed scrubber system. Dynamis claims it is their proprietary design but that is not true. The patent belongs to Don Kerr’s former partner at Entech Corporation who now has the design for the secondary air combustion chamber. Check US Patent 6439135. You won’t find Dynamis there but you can read about the design. New technology from 1997. I beleive there is a very good reason this has not been built in all these years as it does not work. That is why all the back room approvals. It doesn’t pass the sniff test.
May 23, 2012, 12:39 pm
The Daily paper reports that Dynamis can now bring in 12,000 pounds of tires every day to burn. I’m sure that will be good for the air quality.
From the Daily paper
“On Tuesday morning, the two Ada County Commissioners unanimously approved Agreement No. 9695, which had been added to the agenda about 24 hours earlier. The action took less than a minute and during that time the commissioners didn’t say whom the agreement was with or explain the changes being made, even though reporters, candidates and citizens were in the room.” …”Dynamis CEO Lloyd Mahaffey said earlier the company plans to use tires to fire up the plant to the high operating temperature it needs to process the waste. According to its air quality permit application being reviewed by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, Dynamis could process up 12,000 pounds of tires daily.”
Throughout this whole Dynamis deal / scam I’ve been wondering what is in it for Ada County – then I realized it’s more about what is in it for Sharon Ullman and Rick Yzaguirre. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Sharon as a “consultant” for Dynamis the day after she leaves the county.
May 23, 2012, 2:03 pm
Perhaps the fires can be ignited with Commish Ullman’s Max Dalton Open Government Award.
May 24, 2012, 4:24 am
KTA
“I don’t care who ya are, that’s funny right there”
May 24, 2012, 4:26 am
Rumor around the courthouse is someone is looking into starting a recall election for Yzaguirre. They almost never happen but you never know. They will have my signature.
May 25, 2012, 4:02 pm
Case appointed.