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136 <br /> Orange County Board of Commissioners 2 January 26, 2009 <br /> Regarding That UNC may receive Federal or State economic stimulus funds to <br /> account for this project — raising the question of whether economic parity is being <br /> preserved for the County" <br /> The University has not submitted and has no plans to submit for economic stimulus <br /> funds for this project. Even if the University were to obtain funds from a third party to <br /> help defray the expense of the project, the risk is still upon the University to entirely <br /> fund the project. By agreement, the County is not sharing in any other downside or <br /> upside opportunity/risk associated with funding. The University is exposed to <br /> significant upside risk associated with cost overruns. We cannot see the fairness or <br /> merit of adding an additional level of complexity to the commercial terms of the <br /> agreement to accommodate this request <br /> We do want to iterate and emphasize that the University very much wants to do this <br /> project. It is in our own best interest to get it done as quickly as possible because the <br /> gas is a finite resource, and every day we delay increases the risk that we will not be <br /> able to recover our costs. We feel, and I'm sure County elected officials would feel <br /> the same way if they were in our shoes, it's a real stretch for any public entity to agree <br /> to a deal wherein it could invest substantial sums and then have the contract <br /> terminated if it doesn't perform through no fault of its own. In the current draft <br /> agreement, we have agreed to expose ourselves to that potential outcome. I hope <br /> that is an indication of how much we want to partner with the County to make this a <br /> successful project. We have continued to discuss these same issues over the past <br /> three months without significant change to the contract proposed. We believe the <br /> contract proposal as it stands is very strong, protects the interest of both the <br /> University and the County, and provides a fair and equitable sharing of the benefits of <br /> the project. We think it is time to move forward with a final decision based on these <br /> terms. <br /> Sincerely, <br /> AT714^-- <br /> Raymond E. DuBose, P.E. <br /> Director for Energy Services <br /> cc: Carolyn Elfland <br /> Will Tricomi <br />