Government makes a bad business partner

Here's a good lesson for entrepreneurs: Think twice before you decide to let the government be your business partner.

A seemingly offhand remark by Lee County Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass set off a firestorm in the algae world and reignited the debate about taxpayer subsidies for private enterprise.

At a public meeting recently, Pendergrass questioned whether Algenol Biofuels had met its requirement to create 108 jobs as part of a $10 million subsidy it received from county taxpayers. The company has been developing fuels from algae at a biorefinery in south Lee County.

The timing of Pendergrass' remarks comes at a sensitive time for the county. Lee County commissioners want another firm, Bonita Springs-based VR Laboratories, to reimburse nearly $4.7 million of taxpayer subsidies because it alleges the company has not complied with the terms of the agreement to create jobs and make requirement capital investments.

After hearing Pendergrass' remarks, Paul Woods, the CEO and founder of Algenol, fired off a press release calling Pendergrass' comments “preposterous and defamatory.” Woods says Algenol now employs 127 people and he hosted visitors recently to meet with them at the company's sprawling campus off Alico Road.
Whatever the outcome, some might say both companies would have been better off without government as their partners.