Mediation begins on stockyards litigation; Hillsboro awards bid on treatment plant upgrade
By
The Highland County Press-
The city of Hillsboro held a mediation session in Chillicothe with the owners of Union Stock Yards this week. The attorney representing Bill and Janet Butler, the owners of the Union Stock Yards, in their ongoing litigation against the city of Hillsboro, had filed a motion to dismiss the city's appeal of a judge's ruling on the case.
Loveland attorney Tom Tepe, in a filing at Highland County Common Pleas Court, claims a filing deadline was missed by 10 days.
The Butlers sued the city following city council's passage of an emergency resolution on Oct. 2, 2007, which authorized Mayor Dick Zink to purchase the stockyards property for no more than $325,000. The city's counsel, Kathryn Hapner, maintains the purchase agreement was not signed. Following the mediation, in which possible offers to settle the case were exchanged, council took no action.
In a June 13 decision, Judge John Martin ruled in favor of the Butlers and ordered the city to pay $140,000 in damages to the Butlers. On June 19, Hillsboro City Council voted to have Hapner file an appeal of Martin's decision with the Fourth District Court of Appeals.
Tepe has also filed a motion for pre- and post-judgment interest.
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In other business:
• Hillsboro City Council has awarded a contract for the Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade Project to Dugan & Meyers of Cincinnati.
Council voted to award the contract, a total of $14,726,000, to the Cincinnati firm at its Oct. 6 special meeting, Safety and Service Director Ralph Holt told The Highland County Press.
Established in 1935, Dugan & Meyers Construction Co. has "completed quality projects with integrity and professionalism for more than 70 years," according to its Web site.
The company was founded by Jerome E. Meyers and Daniel R. Dugan.
• The city also is negotiating with members of the Hillsboro Police Department for a new labor agreement.
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