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Home My WebLink About009-26 (AuthOutsideCounselValleyNorthTransLineProj)RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE FREDERICK COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AUTHORIZING THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR AND COUNTY ATTORNEY TO RETAIN O UTSI DE LEGAL COUNSEL TO OPPOSE THE VALLEY NORTH ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION LINE PROJECT WHEREAS, on July 9, 2026, the Frederick County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a Resolution opposing the Valley North electrical transm ission line project; and WHEREAS, the Resolution authorized and directed the County Administrator to do all things necessary to oppose the Valley North project being sited along any and all of the proposed study areas and routes located in Frederi ck County; and WHEREAS, th e Resolution further authorized the County Administrator and the County Attorney to retain specialized legal and consulting services as necessary to assist in the County's formal opposition to the Valley North project; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Frederick County Board of Supervisors as follows: I. That the County Administrator and County Attorney are hereby authorized to retain the services of Whiteford, Taylor & Preston L.L.P. to provide outside legal counsel in opposing the Valley North project. The Chairman shall authorize said representation as set forth in the engagement letter attached hereto as Exhibit A, which has been redacted in part pursuant to attorney-client privilege. 2. That the County Administrator is hereby authorized and directed to identify and set aside funds for said representation in an amount not to exceed Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000) from appropriated funds of the County. The County Administrator and County Attorney shall regularly report to the Board the activities of outside counsel and status of funds expended. Adopted this 12th day of August 2026 by the following recorded vote: John F. Jewell, Chairman Aye Jason C. Aikens Aye Albert L. Orndorff Aye Robert W. Wells Aye Michael D. Guevremont Aye Robert T. Liero Aye Gary R. Oates Aye A COPY ATTEST M ichael Bollho efer Frederick County Adm nistrator No. 09-26 EXHIBIT A WHITEFORD Dale G. Mullen Partne r 804.799.7854 DM ulle n@w hi tefordlaw.com July 27, 2026 Two James Cen t er 1021 East Cary St reet , Suite 2001 Ric hmo nd, VA 23219-4341 804.977.3300 CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE ASSERTED VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL ONLY Frederick County, Virginia c/o Andrew F ox, C ounty At t 01·ney c/o J ohn J ewell, Chairman, F rederick Cou nty Board of S upervi sor s 107 North K ent Str eet 3rd F loor W i nchest er VA 22601 Re: Engagement of Whiteford, T aylor & Pre ston L.L.P. (th e "Firm" or "White ford'') -Opposition to Valley N orth Transmission Project D ear Chairman J ewell and M r. F ox: As a n initia l matt er , l et m e t hank t he Cou nty Attorn ey a nd t he B oard of S upervi sor s fo r the opportuni ty to wor k w i th Fre d erick County, Virginia (t he "C ounty"). This l etter w ill confirm the term s and co n d itions under whi ch Whi teford w ill r epresen t t he Count y wi th r esp ect to t h e P roj ect, defined bel ow, and i n s u ch oth er matt ers as may be requested by the County and we agree i n w rit ing to under take (collectivel y, the "Repres entation"). This let ter w ill a l so p1·ovi de the Co unty w ith certa in i nform ati on concerning our fees, b illi n g polici es, and ot her t erms t h at will govern our r el ationshi p. T he Firm will rep1·esent t h e Co unty in conn ecti on with its evaluati on of and opposition to t he Valley North t r a n s mission p1·oject , a prop osed line of a pproximately 260 miles of 765 kV tran s missi on facilit i es ext ending from Put n am Count y, West Virgini a , to a n ew s u bst a tion i n Frederick Coun ty, Maryl and, with an addit i on a l s u bst ati on in H ardy Co unty, West Vir i n i a devel o ed b Valle Link Transmissi on and i ts affilia t es t he "P ro·ect" . Whiteford , Taylor & Preston LLP I whitefordlaw.com I DC • DE · FL · KY · MD • NC · NY · VA ,.Whfteford, Taylor & Preston LLP is a limited liability partnership. Our Del.aware offices are operated under a separate Dela ware limited liability company~ Whiteford, Taylor & Prest on LLC July 30, 2026 John Jewell, Ch airman, Fre de ric k Cou nt y Boa rd o f Supe rviso rs Pag e 2 T h i s l e t ter s uper sedes a ll prior oral or wri t t e n agreement s r e l a t e d t o t h e matters set fo r th her ein and represents t h e e n t ire agr eement bet ween t he Count y and Whi teford. I will l ead t h e Re presen tation , wit h assi stance fro m M i chael H . B rady and P . Thom as DiStani sl a o a nd oth er co lleagues at Whi teford . At t his time, we expect t h at an Associ ate, Ni co l e E. Bemb e1·is, w ill assi s t in p er for ming the Represen tation effi ci e ntly, effectively, and economi cally. We w ill d r aw on t he exp ertise of other attorn eys, p aral egal s , and supp o1·t staff in Whi teford as a ppropriate and to control t he costs of t he Re presen tat ion. Th1·ou ghout t he Re p resent ati on , Whiteford w ill b ill fo r ser vi ces on a n hourly basi s , i n one-tent h -of-a n-hou r increm e n ts. As t h i s i s a l ocality engagement , Mr. Mulle n and Mr. B rady w ill bill at the n egotiated l ocality r ates of $725.00 and $625.00 p er h our, respectively, rat her t han a p ercen tage d i scount off their standard r ates, a nd Mr. DiStanis l ao and Ms. B emberi s will bill at a 10% discount off their standar d rates of $665 .00 and $380.00. Bel ow i s a list of our s t a ndard and discounted hourly rates for t h e afor ement ion ed timekeep er s: Att orney 2026 Standard R ate Discou n t e d R ate D a l e G . Mullen $1,065.00 $725 .00 M ich ael H . B rady $780.00 $625 .00 P. T homas DiStanisl ao $665.00 $585 .00 N ico l e E. B emberi s $380.00 $342 .00 Please note that t he F irm w ill incr ease r ates i n J a nuary 2027 unless ot herwi se agreed in writ i ng. July 30, 2026 John Jewell, Chairman, Frederick County Board of Supervisors Page 3 We will issue invoices for our services and expenses on a monthly basis, which invoices will contain a summary of services rendered and expenses incurred during the applicable period. Of course, we welcome your inquiry as to any charges included in invoices, and we will make adjustments if appropriate. Any concerns about Whiteford’s bills are due thirty (30) days from the date the invoice is received. If invoices are not timely paid, you understand and agree that Whiteford may pause work on the Representation and/or terminate the same and may be entitled to interest on said fees. Our attorney-client relationship is one of mutual trust and confidence. We do our best to see that our clients are satisfied with every aspect of our services, but also with the fees charged for those services. Whenever you have any questions or comments regarding our services, or the status of the Representation, or whenever any new facts or considerations come to your attention, please contact me. Whiteford encourages clients to inquire about any matter relating to fee arrangements or monthly statements that are in any manner unclear or unsatisfactory. Conflicts of Interest & Other Standard Terms of Engagement Whiteford is a large firm, with many clients. We are aware of no present engagements with clients who are adverse to you. Whiteford will not in the future represent clients whose interests directly conflict with your interests in the Representation or any other matters for which we are to be engaged to represent you. However, Whiteford may be inclined to accept engagements in the future from parties who are actually or technically adverse to you in matters unrelated to the Representation. As a condition of entry into this engagement, Whiteford requests that you prospectively waive any actual or apparent and any present or future conflict of interest with respect to clients who Whiteford represents in matters unrelated to the Representation. Should any of its attorneys take on an engagement adverse to you as permitted by this waiver, Whiteford will protect the confidentiality of your information and abide by all other ethical and legal obligations. Agreement to this waiver is effected by the signing of this letter. Attached is a copy of Whiteford’s Standard Terms of Engagement, which provide all other terms governing our relationship. Our Management Committee has asked that such terms accompany all engagement letters and be accepted by all clients. Please review them and let me know if you have any questions concerning these terms. By dating, signing and returning this letter, you acknowledge your agreement to engage Whiteford on the foregoing terms and in accordance with the attached Standard Terms of Engagement. * * * July 30, 2026 John Jew e ll, Ch airman, Fred e ric k Cou nt y Boar d of Supe rvisors Page 4 We are p l eased t o r epresen t t h e County i n opposing the Project . If t h er e i s ever a q uestion or co n cern abou t our ser v i ces, please cont act m e on my m obile phone num ber, 804.887.0778, i m m edi ately. We s i ncer e l y a ppreci ate t h e co n fidence placed in u s a n d l oo k fo r ward t o r e presenting the County i n this importa n t m atter . S i ncer e ly, D a l e G. Mullen P artner FREDERICK COUNTY, VIR GI N IA J ohn J ewell Chairm an, Frederick Count y B oard of Supervisor s Frederick Cou nty, Virginia APP ROVED AS T O F ORM : Andrew Fox, Cou nty At tor ney Frederick Cou nty, Virginia