City of Jasper votes to accept Healthy Dubois County settlement offer
The City of Jasper maintains it didn’t violate Indiana Open Door Law, but a court decision may never be heard in the case brought against the city by Healthy Dubois County, Inc (HDC).
The Jasper Utility Service Board and Common Council, in separate meetings Monday night, unanimously approved a settlement offer from the group.
The offer is at least the third made by HDC since August of last year.
The first offer sent to Attorney Greg Neibarger from the group’s attorney, Too Keller, with the firm Keller Macaluso, LLC. stipulated seven requirements.
-The settlement is to be a public agreement with no confidentiality;
-Jasper will reimburse my clients’ legal fees and expenses;
-Jasper will acknowledge (without specifics) that there were [Open Door Law] violations;
-Jasper will acknowledge that Jasper underestimated the potential health effects of the biomass project;
-Jasper will acknowledge that although there were factual disagreements in this case, Plaintiffs and HDC were neither untruthful in this process nor are they a detriment to the community;
-The industrial/ commercial municipal biomass and/or coal combustion project at 1163 E. 15th Street, Jasper, Indiana has been abandoned;
-HDC will volunteer, in the spirit of saving taxpayers’ dollars, to assist Jasper in grant-writing and securing funds from the EPA, Sierra Club, Heartwood, Valleywatch, Hoosier Environmental Council, 3 50 organization, etc. for power plant demolition costs and brown site clean up.
Jasper declined the settlement and later sent a counteroffer with two stipulations: both parties would dismiss the lawsuit and pay their own legal fees.
HDC offered to remove the requirement that the city admit to violating the open door law, They still required the city publicly declare the biomass incineration project to be abandoned; state publicly that HDC and its litigation has not been a detriment to the city; acknowledge that the city underestimated the health effects from the project; and that although HDC preferred the settlement to be an entirely public agreement with no confidentiality, they were willing to negotiate regarding aspects of the agreement that the city would prefer remain confidential.
HDC’s settlement also required the city pay $240,000 towards the group’s legal fees.
The city and utility service board declined the offer in a joint public meeting held on January 10, but gave City Attorney Renee Kabrick authorization to continue negotiations with the group.
The council and utility service board met in an executive session last Thursday to discuss the settlement offer and then made the decision in public Monday night.
According to a written statement provided by the city, Utility Service Board Chairman Wayne Schuetter is quoted as saying that, “Throughout this process, the Utility Service Board (USB) has remained confident that it has signed a lease with Jasper Clean Energy that is in the best long-term interests of the citizens of Jasper. We engaged the public in the most transparent, protracted discussions I can ever remember for a public works project in this city. It is gratifying to now be able to implement this clean, green energy project.”
Former Mayor Bill Schmitt was in attendance at the meeting Monday. One of Mayor Schmitt’s final actions was signing the lease with Jasper Clean Energy and Jay Catasein.
“I am just glad that they have come to a settlement and the utility service board can enter into the lease with Jasper Clean Energy and see if it will be a viable project,” Schmitt said. “The ratepayers of Jasper will be able to benefit from the decisions prior to the lawsuit.”
Schmitt stated his administration was very cognizant of the open door laws. “The public needs to be informed and we did it in accordance in accordance with how those laws exist today,” he said.
HDC and Norma Kreilein has declined to answer any questions regarding the settlement until it is approved by Judge Sherry Gregg Gilmore and their attorney has been notified.
The city stated they would be in touch with Jasper Clean Energy President Jay Catasein to determine his actions in the process now that the lawsuit is essentially over.
