Wayne County processes hundreds of lease transfers

HONESDALE, PA — The gas drilling company Chesapeake Appalachia is selling hundreds of leases of properties in Wayne County and is filing transfer papers in the county Recorder of Deeds Department. It is selling its list of leases to StatoilHydro, a large Norwegian gas drilling company with interests all over the globe.

According to observers of the oil and gas markets, Chesapeake has been losing money since the price of oil and gas has plummeted in recent months.

“We have processed 578 assignments of leases in just the 10 working days since January 1, 2009,” said Ginger Golden, director of the county’s Recorder of Deeds Department. Golden was unsure how many were processed before January 1. “It was a very small number,” she said.

Cappelli Concord project secures $250 million loan

MONTICELLO, NY — Union Labor Life Insurance Company has committed to a $250 million loan to the Cappelli redevelopment project at the site of the old Concord Resort. The loan will be made through “J for Jobs,” a program created by Union Labor Life Insurance Company in 1977 with the aim of generating favorable risk-adjusted returns for investors and establishing work for unionized workers, in partnership with labor.

When all phases are completed, the Concord Resort reconstruction will prove to be the largest project ever in the state of New York, outside of Manhattan. The managing member of the Concord Associates, LP, Cappelli Enterprises, expects to employ 2,000 union construction workers and over 1,900 permanent union hotel and restaurant workers by the time construction concludes.

Deadline for delinquent taxes approaches

MONTICELLO, NY — Property owners who received a county tax foreclosure notice during October of 2008 have until Saturday, January 31 at 5:00 p.m. to make payments. Payments postmarked on that date will be accepted.

Unless the delinquent taxes are paid in full, or an installment payment plan is agreed upon, the property will be foreclosed and slated for sale at public auction. The Treasurer’s Office will accept payment in the form of cash, certified bank check, money order and MasterCard or Visa credit card. Certified bank checks and money orders should be made payable to the “Sullivan County Treasurer.” Personal checks will not be accepted.

For information about the installment plan, call 845/794-3000, ext. 3204. All other questions should be directed to the treasurer’s office at 845/794-3000, ext. 3242.

Company has plans to develop clear-cut property in Texas Township

INDIAN ORCHARD, PA — A company called Indian Orchard Holding Company has plans to develop a property at the intersection of Routes 6 and 652.

The company, which has an address in Wilkes-Barre, purchased the 11.5 acres in 2008 for $1,107,903, tore down Christopher’s Restaurant and clear-cut the entire property. It has not yet come before the Texas Township Planning Commission, but has filed an application for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.

NPDES is a federal requirement showing how a company will control soil erosion at a building site.

“We received the NPDES application last week and are processing it,” said Robert Mueller, director of the Wayne County Conservation Department. “They are aiming to establish a building pad there. If we grant the application, the company must then go to DEP [Department of Environmental Protection] to submit a stormwater management plan.”

Mueller did not know who the principals of the company were, only the address in Wilkes-Barre. The company will in all likelihood communicate through the mail, he said.

Texas Township has been the site of several large building projects and future building projects; namely, the Wayne County Correctional Facility, Wal-Mart, Home Depot and the future hotel complex on the hill opposite Home Depot.

Hinchey amendment would demand accountability for bailout dollars

WASHINGTON, DC — New York Congressman Maurice Hinchey has offered an amendment on the House floor that would require the Treasury Department to provide Congress with a detailed report on how the money from the recent bailout bill is allocated to financial institutions.

More than $350 billion has been handed out by the Treasury Department to various financial institutions, but because the legislation had no accountability or disclosure requirements, Congress and the American people do not know how the banks have used that money.

Hinchey’s measure would amend the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) Reform and Accountability Act, which is a measure designed to strengthen accountability, close loopholes and increase transparency within the financial bailout bill.

Hinchey voted against the bailout bill in October for a variety of reasons, including the fact that the bill lacked important safeguards and accountability provisions.

Under Hinchey’s amendment, the Treasury Department would have 30 days from the enactment of the bill to file a report with the House and Senate authorizing committees and the House and Senate appropriations committees on how the more than $350 billion already allocated to financial institutions has been spent, and whether it has lessened the severity of the economic crisis.