Parties in JPA suit ordered to meet [The Anniston Star, Ala.]

Feb. 20--Conflict over property ownership issues at McClellan could soon be resolved if the plaintiffs and defendants in a lawsuit over control of the former fort resolve their disputes at a court-ordered meeting next week.

If the disputes are resolved, it could put an end to more than two years of litigation surrounding the case, allowing developers to move forward with plans to market McClellan. But former members of the old Joint Powers Authority remain divided about its future, and uncertain that they would reach a resolution at the Wednesday morning meeting.

"We hope that all the parities that have been ordered to (the meeting) will come with an open mind and hopefully look at the big picture," said Ken Joiner, Calhoun County administrator.

The issue began when a lawsuit was filed against the Joint Powers Authority, resulting in a decision by Calhoun County Circuit Judge Joel Laird in August 2008 that dissolved the JPA. The judge handed control of the fort to the County Commission. The county and the city of Anniston later set up the McClellan Development Authority to handle McClellan development in place of the JPA.

Laird on Feb. 4 ordered the parties to the mediation meeting planned for Wednesday. A third party negotiator, attorney Blake Lazenby of Talladega, will oversee the meeting. Plaintiffs James Coxwell and Donald Stewart also are expected to attend, along with and their lawyers. Laird's order also said the JPA's former board members and their lawyers must attend. It also said that Chubb, an insurance company that is paying the JPA's legal bills in the case, must attend.

The goal of mediation is to resolve the lawsuit outside of the courts.

"This has been going on long enough so we need to resolve it because no one is benefiting right now except for the attorneys," Joiner said. "It's a very complex issue, but one that with some common sense, can be resolved."

Because of the ongoing legal battle that resulted from the Stewart and Coxwell's lawsuit, property sales have halted at the former fort. Title insurance companies say they will not issue policies at McClellan until questions are answered as to who owns the land. That's important because buyers won't purchase land without such policies.

In the latest attempt to resolve the issue, Laird filed the order of mediation at Joiner's request.

But members of the now legally non-existent JPA are divided on the issue. Three former members of the JPA reached for comment Thursday and Friday, said they'd prefer to let the MDA keep responsibility for the old fort. They included former JPA Executive Director Dan Cleckler and county commissioners J.D. Hess and Robert Downing. County Commissioner James "Pappy" Dunn said he supports re-establishing the JPA.

"The Joint Powers Authority has people with a good background with growth and development in this community, and I think that they should remain," Dunn said.

While Dunn supported the reinstatement of the JPA for the members' qualifications, Hess touted the MDA for the same reasons.

"I'd vote entirely for the MDA to stand," Hess said. "They are a professional group and their makeup is just tremendous. I think they're for the best interest as Calhoun County as a whole."

Cleckler said he hoped the MDA would take over development efforts at McClellan.

"If I had a decision it would be to do what the county and the MDA have wanted to do and that is to reinstate the JPA, let the JPA meet and transfer all JPA property to the county so they can transfer it to the MDA, and then let the JPA dissolve itself," Cleckler said.

Although Downing also supports the MDA, he said the resolution would be best if it were handed down from the state Supreme Court.

"My preference would be that the MDA be legally stood up and how you go about that is really the $64,000 question," Downing said. "That question has not been resolved so the clearest and the quickest way to resolve this whole issue of litigation is for the Supreme Court to rule."

Anniston City Councilman Herbert Palmore, another former JPA board member, declined to comment on the matter. He said he hoped to attend the mediation session. Other JPA members named in the suit also said they might attend, though none said for sure that they would attend the meeting.

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