Back in 2004 the city folks decided they needed to extend 39th Ave which is just south of the South Hill Mall.
This would require them to take some of the property in the Willows Shopping Center across the street from the South Hill Mall. The city made an initial offer of $550,000 to take the Key Bank building. That would be the white one which is vacant now.
After years of bungling, delaying, and outright misrepresentation in court, a jury awarded the owners of Willows Shopping Center ...
5.7 MILLION !!!
(page 3).
Because there was more than a 10% difference between what the jury awarded and the "last and final" offer the city tendered, the city was required to pay the owner's attorney fees. On September 11, 2009, the city paid
the owner's fees of ...
$1,041,108.00 !!!
(page 3).
Now, if the city council and their attorney had chosen to make a FAIR offer and had chosen not to LITIGATE a losing proposition the RESIDENTS AND TAXPAYERS wouldn't have had to pay the property owner's attorney fees of ONE MILLION DOLLARS.
But wait, the city council and staff hired an Issaquah law firm to handle the city's case. That means there must be more legal fees the city had to pay.
I made a public document request.
After reviewing the
130 pages from August 2003 to March 2007 and
130 pages from March 2007 to August 2009
of legal billings it looks like the OLD TIMERS on the city council decided to pay over
$800,000!!!
to the city's own attorneys.
Gary McLean was the city attorney when the case started in late 2003. He took over the city managers job in late 2007.
What kind of advice is he giving the council??