Post 1196: Astorian: Bankrupt LNG Company Leaves Long List of Debtors, 'Rotary Club wonders if bills will ever be paid'

[Hans Laetz, Newsgroup Editor]

Does Bradwood owe you money?
NorthernStar’s trail of bills oozes through coast; county government,
radio station, Rotary Club wonder if bills will ever be paid

By CASSANDRA PROFITA
The Daily Astorian

Clatsop County wasn't the only one left with unpaid bills when
liquefied natural gas developer NorthernStar Natural Gas Inc. declared
bankruptcy last week.

Bankruptcy filings show Bradwood Landing, a subsidiary of
NorthernStar, owes money to owners of a local radio station, an office
supply store, Astoria Rotary Club, a Seaside communication consultant
and former Astorian Mary Louise Flavel, among many other unsecured
creditors.

Clatsop County is owed $186,000, according to bankruptcy documents.
The county had billed NorthernStar for its legal and staff expenses
for the local land-use approval process. County leaders say they are
expecting additional bills from the most recent hearing process and
will be pursuing repayment through the bankruptcy court if the bills
are not paid.

The Houston-based company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last week and
announced it would suspend the development of its $650 million
Bradwood Landing LNG import terminal 25 miles east of Astoria on the
Columbia River. Since the announcement, the company has declined to
comment further on the matter.

The company spent $100 million in six years on the project, which was
stalled at several levels in the permitting process when investors
pulled the plug.

Bankruptcy filings show that NorthernStar was parent company to a
dozen limited liability corporations, one of which is Bradwood Landing
LLC. Overall, NorthernStar reported $165,000 in assets and $129.5
million in liabilities in Texas bankruptcy court.

Clatsop County businesses are owed a lot less than out-of-town law
firms and consultants on the whole. Stoel Rives LLP of Portland, a law
firm, is owed more than $1 million of the more than $4 million
Bradwood Landing owes. Bank of New York Mellon has a $129 million
claim on NorthernStar.

Within the last 90 days of business, records show, Bradwood Landing
LLC spent $1.5 million, including three payments totaling $76,000 to
Energy Action Northwest, a pro-LNG group formed around labor union
supporters, $7,000 to New Northwest Broadcasters, and $121,000 to
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

Bradwood owes:

• $8,679 to New Northwest Broadcasters, owner of several North Coast
radio stations;

• $208 to Abeco office supply in downtown Astoria;

• $190 to Astoria Rotary Club;

• $1,674 to Sterling Concepts and Communication in Seaside;

• $2,625 to former Astorian Mary Louise Flavel, who owns the Bradwood
office building on Commercial Street.

Also left hanging is an option to buy the Bradwood property from Ken
Leahy of Cornelius and an option to buy Svensen Island as a mitigation
property from Charles and Marie Haglund of Astoria.

Astoria resident Laurie Caplan, a vocal LNG opponent, said she's not
surprised the company left local bills unpaid.

"I really do feel bad for the people who got stiffed," she said. "I
think people for whatever reasons put a lot of trust into the company
and I think they must feel really betrayed. ... I'm appalled they
would cheat people and not paying bills is cheating. To stiff the
Rotary Club is just outrageous."

LNG supporters have a different take on the NorthernStar bankruptcy.

Bob Bridgens, who works for Bayview Transit Mix paving company in
Seaside, said there's a lot more than unpaid bills that the local
community will miss out on with Bradwood Landing out of the picture.

"Up to 500 families lost opportunities for jobs," he said. "We lost
access to a clean, efficient energy source and nearly $8 million in
annual tax revenue that would have helped local schools."

Bridgens noted the money NorthernStar spent during its five years of
development efforts in Clatsop County. The company sponsored local
events and several Clatsop Community College scholarships for welding
certificates, offered funds to people in need in the wake of the
December 2007 storms, and was giving $100,000 a year to the Wahkiakum
Community Foundation across the river.

"In the last six years, it's unbelievable what was spent in the local
communities. They were trying to be good neighbors," he said. "I don't
believe this thing ever had a chance because of what we're doing in
Oregon government."

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