#MiddleburyCT #Business #PartII #Tritec #SolsticeEnergy #MichaudLawGroup #NV5
By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
Part II of II – This article focuses on the solar project presented to Middlebury’s Board of Selectmen (BoS) by Paul Michaud of Michaud Law Group (MLG) on March 18, 2024. Michaud had been introduced to the BoS at its November 7, 2022, meeting by Middlebury Zoning Enforcement Officer Curtis Bosco. Part I focused on the relationships among the involved parties that had not been publicly revealed and questioned if the lack of disclosures violated the town’s employee policy and the town’s code of ethics.
In part I, readers learned that:
- Attorney Paul Michaud and Middlebury ZEO Bosco formed a two-member LLC named Solstice Energy Solutions LLC in December 2021.
- In January 2023, Michaud agreed to represent Middlebury in its quest for a solar project, and Bosco was to be MLG’s primary town contact.
- Michaud served as the legal representative for Tritec, a California company that builds solar projects.
- Tritec was announced as the winner of the proposal to build a solar project in Middlebury
- Michaud and Tritec both were involved in a solar project Bosco proposed to build on land he owned in Naugatuck.
- None of these relationships were publicly disclosed by Michaud or Bosco when they went before the Middlebury Board of Selectmen during its November 7, 2022, and March 18, 2024, meetings.
Those who missed Part I can find it in the July print issue or online at Bee-News.com.
Part I noted Bosco’s failure to publicly disclose his business relationships. Asked why he had not done so, he told this reporter, “What I do in another town is nobody’s business.” His recent actions indicate he may have decided that is no longer the case. Bosco is vice chairman of the Middlebury Conservation Commission, and when the Colonial Farms application came before the Commission on June 24, 2025, the minutes say he stated he is in the glass business with the husband and son of one of the principals of the project and was, therefore, recusing himself. He did this again at the Conservation Commission’s July 29 meeting.
Part I also noted Michaud and Bosco had formed an LLC, Solstice Energy Solutions. Asked why they formed the LLC, Bosco said it was to manage his Naugatuck solar project. However, Senior Investigative Reporter Marc Fitch of InsideInvestigator.org kindly shared with us Paul Michaud’s emailed responses to questions he sent Michaud.
Asked the purpose of forming Solstice Energy Solutions LLC with Middlebury ZEO Curtis Bosco, Michaud replied, “I did not form it. In 2021, Curtis Bosco (Bosco) formed Solstice Energy Solutions LLC. You would have to ask him what the purpose was for its formation.” He then said he presumed Bosco formed it for his Naugatuck solar project “as well as other properties to which he had access.”
We emailed Bosco July 29 and relayed what Michaud said. We then asked Bosco if he formed Solstice Energy and put Michaud down as a member without Michaud’s knowledge. Bosco had his attorney, Dana D’Angelo, respond She attached a copy of the LLC’s Certificate of Organization and said the LLC was formed by Michaud. Asked further questions, she said only, “I think the document speaks for itself.”
Page 2 of the LLC Certificate of Organization includes the “Acknowledgment” certifying the information on the document is true. It is signed electronically on behalf of the “organizer,” Paul Michaud. It appears D’Angelo is saying that proves who actually formed the LLC. So, we have two members, each saying the other formed the LLC, but the document seems to indicate Michaud formed the LLC.
The January 2023 agreement between Michaud and the town said MLG was to develop the Request for Proposals (RFP) with technical assistance from NV5, ensure the RFP attracted multiple competitive and qualified bids and schedule and oversee all necessary site walk, interviews and conferences and be the main point of contact for all RFP-related technical questions. The terms of the RFP differ from the usual RFP issued by the town.
Bids are usually sent to the town’s chief financial officer and then are publicly opened and read aloud in the Town Hall Conference Room. The RFP developed by MLG stated they would administer the RFP. Proposals (bids) were to be sent to Paul R. Michaud at MLG in Middletown.
The RFP also stated proposers were prohibited from contacting any town employee, officer or official concerning the RFP. Yet the agreement between Michaud and the town designated ZEO Bosco as the contact for MLG, who would conduct the site visits for the proposers, thus putting a town employee in direct contact with the proposers.
The RFP also stated all proposals would be opened and analyzed by MLG, which would then provide a recommendation and ranking of the proposals to the town, with the town ultimately selecting the winning proposal. Unless we are mistaken, this meant MLG, which was serving as Tritec’s legal representative, would also be opening and analyzing both Tritec’s proposal and that of its competitors.
Middlebury resident Bob Nerney asked Michaud on March 18, “Is there a revenue stream from the selected vendor coming back to your company?” Michaud responded, “To me, no … no.” Yet the RFP developed by MLG addresses payments in Section VIII, Miscellaneous, which states under “Part A. Michaud Law Group and NV5 – RFP fee agreement” that the proposer will pay a fee of 9 cents per watt for each watt of installed DC capacity to Michaud Law Group and 9 cents per watt for each watt of installed capacity to NV5. For a 1 MW installation, that would be $90,000 to each company.
Section A also states the proposer selected to allocate the Town’s Municipal Accounts will pay 6 cents per kilowatt hour to MLG and 6 cents per kilowatt hour to NV5.The RFP states the 2021 annual kilowatt hours were 1,275,000. For 2021, a payment of 6 cents per kilowatt hour would be $76,500 each to MLG and to NV5.
The payment schedule was for 30% of the fees to be paid within five days of securing the permits needed to begin construction, 40% within five days of construction commencement and the final 30% within 5 days of the commercial operating date of the system. These fees, it said, are to compensate MLG and NV5 “for their considerable time and resources assisting with the RFP.
Jordano Santos also raised questions at the March 18, 2024, meeting after Michaud responded to St. John asking where the savings to the town would be. Michaud explained there would be no savings for the town. The town would get one $250,000 payment, annual lease payments and property tax payments, but would continue to be billed for its electrical use. Michaud noted the town would be able to say it was green.
Santos said the developer would receive all the benefits of the program. He said, “It’s a terrible deal for the town of Middlebury.” If his assessment of the situation is correct, it’s fortunate for the town the deal fell through.
Despite the reporting thus far, the newspaper has likely just scratched the surface of the issues revealed in this case. We may have more to report moving forward. Readers who have information to share are welcome to submit it to mbisubmit@gmail.com.
