Tennessee Drops $424,000 in Stimulus Funds on Its Own Mini-Solyndra

On June 15, 2010, Mountain Plaza, Inc. received a $424,000 stimulus grant for a truck stop electrification terminal off of Interstate 40 in East Tennessee. The innovative terminal was supposed to reduce diesel emissions and improve air quality. Just one problem: 12 days earlier, the company had filed for bankruptcy.

The Tennessean reports on the state's mini-Solyndra stimulus dud:

The Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] and the Tennessee Department of Transportation [TDOT] approved the stimulus grant to Mountain Plaza Inc., the truck stop's owner, despite many red flags. The company, whose creditors included the state and federal governments, filed for bankruptcy protection in the middle of the process. A review of public records shows evidence of the company and its owner's past and present financial troubles was readily available.

Tennessee received $2 million of stimulus funding through the EPA, which funded multiple truck-stop electrification projects. The shiny new terminal on Interstate 40 operated for a few months, until the mortgage company that now owns it shuttered it after failing to find a buyer. The terminal could reopen if a new buyer emerges, which doesn't sound likely:

The chance of that happening anytime soon appears slim, judging by the lack of interest at Thursday's auction and the fact that [former truck stop owner Ricky Hugo] Lewis already has seen one prospective buyer back out. Lewis said it was the prospective buyer who encouraged him to apply for the stimulus grant and prepared the application to TDOT.

Mountain Plaza's owner owed money to the IRS, the state of Tennessee, and the local county trustee, in addition to being in the process of fighting a conviction for writing worthless checks. In 2002, Lewis had been convicted on 31 counts for filing false tax returns in the 1990s. Despite Lewis' suspect record and his company's bankruptcy, Mountain Plaza received almost half-a-million taxpayer dollars. And all we got was a busted truck stop.

Peter Suderman recently documented other related hurdles when stimulus book theory becomes stimulus real-world action.

Comments

[some guy]

Mountain Plaza's owner owed money to the IRS, the state of Tennessee, and the local county trustee...

So who gets first dibs on whatever is left?

[PapayaSF]

I'm laughing at the idea of using taxes to subsidize a company that goes bankrupt due to owing taxes. There's a nice circular symmetry to the whole process.

[johnl]

Solyndrical symmetry.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Looks nice, though.

[JW]

Wait, how many all-electric tractor trailers are on the road? Are there any?

[JW]

OK, RTFA'd...

"The systems reduce diesel emissions and improve air quality by allowing truckers to hook up to air conditioning and electricity so they can shut down their engines."

That might have been helpful to throw in the lede.

[some guy]

This seems like a good idea. Truckers pay for the service, but save money on fuel. Why can't this work without government loans? Protif margin too small?

[adam]

Maybe it costs a lot to run electricity out to some remote truckstop? Or at least more than truckers are willing to pay to save some fuel.

[sevo]

According to McPhee ("Uncommon Carriers") this service is already offered, and yes, it was developed privately.
Yep, here's one:
http://articles.sfgate.com/200.....cess-stops

[some guy]

Thanks sevo. Yet another example of government failing miserably to do something the market handles easily.

[Zeb]

That's what I was wondering too. Thanks for RTFA for me.

[Paul]

But those terminals look green. Someone had to build them. Sounds like green jobs to me. What's the problem?

[Tim Cavanaugh]

Mountain Plaza's owner owed money to the IRS, the state of Tennessee, and the local county trustee, in addition to being in the process of fighting a conviction for writing worthless checks. In 2002, Lewis had been convicted on 31 counts for filing false tax returns in the 1990s. Despite Lewis' suspect record and his company's bankruptcy, Mountain Plaza received almost half-a-million taxpayer dollars.

This is why the subsidized classes have such power. If I had that kind of criminal record, I'd say to myself, "Self, you'll never be able to get through all of the government's ethical hoops. Hell's bells, the federal government? They're the same people who make you get an anal probe just to prevent you from bringing a soda into the licensed-concession-stands-only area of the airport. No way will they give money to somebody with that kind of sheet."

But the subsidized are different than you and me.

[R C Dean]

Its like nobody is doing any due diligence on these at all.

[Paul]

But the subsidized are different than you and me.

Yes, they have more money.

[.]

I bet if you do some investigation, you'll find the guy (a) is well connected, (b) has spent a good deal of his life learning the ins and outs of securing grants & loans, and (c) has presided over the failure of more failures than just this one.

Because your premise is correct: normal people need not apply.

[Bradley]

Who cares? At least aggregate demand was boosted. This is a net benefit to the economy. Only consumption matters.

[UGG boots classic]

We have gotten many great comments from our customers and earn a good reputation in foreign makerts, more than 90% customers are satisfied with our products and service, till now our online members are beyond 80,000. As of right now, we currently serve Cheap UGG Boots customers from over 18 countries, and we are still growing. We really hope to expand our business through cooperation with individuals and companies from around the world.

[UGG boots classic]

Your essay is good, I like it very much. Here I would like to share with you some things :
Ugg Boots On Sale http://www.uggsukmall.com.
---- zhucai