So what happens next?

As I reported earlier, we have reached a tentative agreement with Paloma Resources but there is still work to be done.   Bob and Randy will be meeting face-to-face with the Paloma representatives to work out further details including a formal letter of agreement, the gas lease contract itself, as well as the timeline to completion.  This includes arranging a series signing meetings for homeowners, procedures for disbursement of monies, etc. 

This has not taken place yet.   Rumors are creeping up that are straying from the facts of the matter.   The bottom line is if you did not receive instructions or an update in the form of an email from Bob Haelle in your “Inbox” then it is rumor and you should dismiss it. 

This situation with Paloma is still unfolding.  As we meet, discuss and reach agreements the process will begin to take shape as it should.   Also, as we pass each of these “milemarkers” we will bring you up-to-date on them via email and this blog. 

Be advised that even though we have reached this tentative agreement, you are likely to receive personal offers from various individuals and/or entities regarding your mineral rights.  We ask that you remember that any update, alert or call to action for the group will come from Bob Haelle only and broadcast again by this blog.   So if you do receive another offer we ask that you please disregard so that we may finish what we have started together.

Thanks once again for your patience and endurance. 

The end is near!

Now that the holidays are behinds us and work life has returned to normal, things are beginning to pick up speed.  The Negotiating Committee will meet tomorrow to finalize the draft of our gas lease contract proposal.   After the meeting, we will be contacting the land companies to let them know we are ready to discuss offers and terms. 

We are just as ready as you to conclude this whole affair successfully.   Just the same, we will be pressing hard for commitments and concessions when we do meet with the land companies, hopefully, after the weekend.  I will update the blog with more information as I receive it.   Stay tuned.

Negotiation Committee meets and begins to craft contract

A broadcast email went out from Bob Haelle yesterday advising all of our members about the Negotiation Committee’s first meeting held on Thursday, December 13, 2007. The email read as follows:

The negotiation committee held their first meeting yesterday, Thursday. We met to discuss the lease we intend to submit during negotiations. We put our general terms in place and are working toward further details. Once we have it all put together, we will present the lease to our attorneys for their review.

Please keep in mind, it took other neighborhood groups more than 4 months to get this far. We have come a long way in just two months. The key now is to be patient. It is very tempting to take offers that may be presented to you, but the lease is more important than the sign on bonus. We are attempting to put clauses in our lease that will best benefit us all. Once you read the final draft, I am certain you will be happy you held back and stayed with the Neighborhood Group.

In addition, few of us planned on getting any money regarding the Barnett Shale and if you get a lump sum of cash just before the end of the year, it could very easily place you into the next higher tax bracket. If that happens, you’ll end up paying a lot more to Uncle Sam in the year 2007 and your bonus money could possibly be cut in half.

Again I ask, please be patient. We are working hard for you.

Bob Haelle

If you are a member of Neighborhood Group and did not receive the above email it is possible that we don’t have your email address on file or that the address may have been inadvertently entered incorrectly. If so, please send us an email at bobhaelle@gmail.com and we’ll check it and get it corrected.

NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP member meeting exceeds expectations! (Part II)

[continued from Part 1]

The primary task of this committee is to work out the best, most favorable and well thought out gas lease terms to present to the gas companies which are seeking to lease our mineral rights. The committe will begin work on this right away and will likely meet early next week to begin nailing down contract details.

One other major announcement is that, as a courtesy, the Texas Conference Association of Seventh Day Adventists has granted us access to their attorneys in matters regarding the NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP gas lease contract. This means that our group we will be able to tap into their knowledge and expertise and the experience of their oil and gas attorneys will add another layer of professionalism to our efforts.
As I stated earlier, the main purpose of this meeting was to bring our members together as a group. This accomplished several things. First, we were able to collect data forms from many of you. This will keep our member list as up-to-date as possible. Secondly, last night’s meeting let everyone know that we still have a little more ground to cover regarding the gas lease negotiations. Now that we have a Negotiating Committee in place we will be able to begin hammering out the contract details that will best serve our community. Also, going forward from here we now access to some much appreciated expertise and knowledge in this arena, namely, the Texas Conference Association attorneys.

Finally, this meeting provided a first-hand look at the strength of numbers that our group represents. That was impressive, in my opinion. Quite a change from where we were serveral months ago. I know that with your help we will continue to expand our group for the good of us all.

I will to provide updates on the Negotiating Committee’s activity as I am able to report them. Naturally, the committee will, at times, need to keep certain information restricted in order to more effectively advocate for you and secure the best possible gas lease deal for our group members.

Rest assured that we are working with your best interests at heart. And since we are “neighbors helping neighbors” your best interests are our best interests as well.

Thanks and congratulations to everyone who showed up last night. Your presence made this meeting a pleasant surprise for me personally and a big success for our common cause.

NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP member meeting exceeds expectations! (Part I)

What an incredible sight to see a standing-room only crowd turn out for at last night’s NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP gas lease meeting. A special thank you goes out to Burton Academy for allowing the meeting to take place in their gymnasium. There were approximately 300 neighbors and friends taking up every available space in the auditorium bleachers. And there were many dozens more standing along either end of the basketball court.

I heard from several neighbors who wanted to attend who found the parking area completely full when they arrived! For those who either were unable to make it to the meeting due to prior committments or other reasons, this brief recap will let you know what was discussed.

This meeting was really about getting all the members together and getting all of us on the same page as to where we stand as of this moment and what our next step will be.

At the beginning of the meeting Bob Haelle briefly went over the history of offers that had been put forth by some of the land brokerage companies. He noted how things have changed in a few short months. The initial offer was received in this area was from from Dale Property Services for $5500 per acre with $1000 minimun, 25% royalty and 5 year primary term. Another broker has been trying to make inroads in this vicinity and the competition between the two has been driving the per acre price steadily upward. The last written offer received was from Dale was for $7500 per acre and $1200 minimum, 25% royalty and a 3 year primary term with a 2 year option. Bob contrasted those offers with the agreement that was recently reached between a nearby alliance of homeowners associations and Dale Property Services.

Bob also announced that the cutoff date to join the group would be extended. Regrettably, if you have already signed a lease contract with Dale or any other company joining with our group to negotiate a contract is simply not an option for you. For everyone else, there is still time to call on your neighbors and get them to join us as we negotiate a favorable gas lease deal for our group. However, there will be a time when we announce a cutoff date to join our group. For now, though, there is still time to get more neighbors on board with us which will only serve to further bolster our presence at the bargaining table.

Seeing the great turnout last night was a good confirmation that we are on the right track in building our group. The messages of support and encouragement we’ve received from many of you in the last several weeks has been energizing. And now, NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP is ready to proceed to the next stage, the formation of a Negotiation Committee. This was the first major announcement last night.

The primary task of this committee is to work out the best, most favorable and well thought out gas lease terms to present to the gas companies which are seeking to lease our mineral rights. The committe will begin work on this right away and will likely meet early next week to begin nailing down contract details.

[continued in Part 2]

Neighborhood Group area on a Google Map

I created an overlay on a Google Map that shows roughly the boundaries of the Neighborhood Group. I realize a few of you might not be completely in the “green zone” or shading on the map, but don’t worry. If you’ve given Bob Haelle your completed information form sheet you are in our group.

You’ll notice the map also has a marker indicating the place and time of Thursday’s neighborhood meeting. We look forward to seeing everyone there at:

 

Burton Academy located at 4611 Kelly Elliot Rd. at 7:00pm on December 6.

Click here to view the Neighborhood Group area map

Mark your calendars! Homeowners group gas lease meeting set

The Homeowners Group meeting on gas lease/gas drilling has been set! We will be meeting next Thursday, December 6, 2007 at 7:00pm. Please encourage your next door neighbor to attend! Give your friends who are homeowners in our area a call and ask them to join you! The meeting details are as follows:

Homeowners Group Gas Lease Meeting

When: Thursday, December 6, 2007 at 7:00pm

Where: Burton Academy

Address: 4611 Kelly Elliot Rd. (click here for a map)

We will try to provide as much information to you as we can before the meeting date so this can be a short, yet productive meeting. We look forward to seeing you (and a friend, or two or three!) there next Thursday night!

Ready for a Neighborhood meeting? We need your input!

I’ve set up a very small survey (3 questions) to get a feel for what would be the best day of the week and time to hold our neighborhood gas lease meeting.

Would you take 5 minutes to complete this survey so we can schedule our meeting ASAP? Also, I’ve placed a comment box on the survey where you can add your burning questions about gas leases, drilling, negotiations, or any other pertinent topic. We’ll compile the survey results and questions and advise you when the meeting will be.

Click Here to take survey

Update:  Survey is now closed.  Thank you for your participation. 

Let’s get ready to ruuuummmble!

Thanks to everyone who has put their name on Bob’s mailing list so far.  The email list is growing.  The list and, hopefully now, this blog are the two most important tools to keep ourselves informed of the latest news and updates regarding our efforts to negotiate a better lease term deal.

Call your neighbors and encourage them to join our group.  Tell them to send in their name and address to Bob at bobhaelle (at) hotmail.com, or to the blog email arlingtongasdrilling (at) gmail.com and I will forward it to Bob.

I am in the process of compiling a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) including questions about gas leases, drilling issues, mineral rights, etc. and anything else that you want and need to know.

The next step is to schedule a homeowners meeting as soon as possible to get everyone on the same page.  I realize that this is Thanksgiving week and most of us will be with family but we’ll set up a meeting at the soonest time frame possible.   Keep and eye on your email inbox and keep checking back with this blog.

Let’s keep the momentum going!

Two’s company…250 is a (good) crowd

Blogging the Barnett Shale a great post about about a meeting last Monday at Starbucks on Green Oaks and S. Cooper St. set up by and for the residents of Summerwood Addition in South Arlington. Apparently, these homeowners are hungry to know more about what their options are when it comes to their mineral rights.

Starbucks has capacity for a meeting of 25 people, so what do you do when 250 folks show up? Take names, emails, and get ’em on board and on the same page.

Large numbers have a way of getting people’s attention. Keep this in mind as we go forward with our own negotiations!

Talk to your neighbors about joining forces with the growing list of neighbors who’ve decided to not sign lease agreements just yet. Tell them to check out the Coronet Estates Homeowners Blog so they can stay informed and up-to-date. Thanks for you help.