Font ResizeEditorial: Highpoint will prove its worth
York County has paid almost $882,000 for legal services in its troubled quest to turn land in Lower Windsor Township into the Susquehanna Riverlands Heritage Park.
The expenses could soar even higher as the county copes with the fallout from its use of eminent domain.
County administrator Chuck Noll said the amount accounts only for the bills that have been received and paid between July 2004 -- about two months after the county seized the 79-acre tract known as Highpoint -- and the end of last month.
County officials are waiting for an invoice for the nearly two-week civil trial over the property, now called the Highpoint Scenic Vista and Recreation Area.
In the trial, which ended last week, the jury ruled the parcel's fair market value was $17.25 million when the county condemned it in 2004.
That's nearly $10 million more than what the county has paid Highpoint's former owner, Peter Alecxih Jr.
Noll said the bill payments used money from the county's landfill trust account and "minor sources" -- not the general fund, which is fueled by tax money.
The minor sources include grant funding, he said.
Money from the landfill trust fund, consisting of tipping fees from Modern Landfill, can be used for legal services related to the heritage park because the state allows its use for land preservation, he said.
In 2005, about $3
How much will the county have to pay for its legal counsel during the trial? Noll couldn't say for sure.
What he does know is the bulk of the county's legal spending went to local law firm Stock and Leader, which received $713,850 during the four-year span.
Stock and Leader was the county's special counsel when the county exercised eminent domain to take Highpoint and 411 acres of Lauxmont Farms.
The county had plans to turn the parcels into a park that showcases the area's sweeping view and historical heritage.
In 2004, then-Commissioners Lori Mitrick and Doug Kilgore approved the use of eminent domain to take Highpoint, and again used the power in 2005 to seize the Lauxmont Farms parcel.
Alecxih took the county to court after a prolonged dispute to determine his property's value.
Meanwhile, the Kohr family, which owns Lauxmont Farms, sued the county after it tried to back out of the acquisition in 2007. For years, the Kohrs and the county had argued about the land's worth.
Mitrick and Kilgore lost their re-election bids last year, largely because of the park project. Commissioners Chris Reilly and Doug Hoke replaced them on the board and promised a resolution to the disputes.
Soon after the new commissioners took office, the board reduced the role of Stock and Leader in its effort to signal a fresh start, and it is negotiating a settlement with the Kohrs.
Legal costs for the Susquehanna Riverlands park could balloon if the county can't reach an agreement with the family.
If the issue is decided in the courts, the county could expect to pay another $1 million in fees, President Commissioner Steve Chronister said.
Chronister is the only commissioner re-elected from the board that pursued the seizures. He opposed the use of eminent domain.
"I think we're close to the end if we can settle," he said. "We need to stop the bleeding now."
In January, the county hired attorney David P. Zambito to facilitate settlement talks with the Kohr family.
The county is paying him $300 an hour, and Noll said the attorney has not yet billed the county.
Chronister said he's not surprised by the legal costs resulting from the project, but that's because he never knew what to expect.
According to Noll, the county had not been involved in eminent domain court cases before Highpoint, so there is no benchmark available for comparison.
Chronister said expectations for the park project were unrealistic from the beginning. Had the county chosen to abandon it early, he said, the landfill trust money could have been spent on the county's farmland preservation program.
"To put the whole thing together, it was impossible," he said.
epaik@ydr.com; 771-2001
WHERE THE MONEY WENT
Legal expenses for the proposed Susquehanna Riverlands Heritage Park in Lower Windsor Township -- planned on the 79-acre Highpoint site and several hundred acres of Lauxmont Farms -- have risen to nearly $882,000.
Here is the breakdown:
--- $713,850 to Stock and Leader, a York law firm the county hired in 2004 to handle the acquisitions of Lauxmont Farms and Highpoint. Earlier this year, the county commissioners limited the firm to more of a background role.
--- $92,033 to Michael V. Nixon, a Pittsburgh attorney hired in 2005 as a consultant to the county commissioners.
--- $53,242 to Pittsburgh-based law firm Hollinshead, Mendelson, Bresnahan and Nixon. The firm's William Bresnahan represented the county during the Highpoint trial.
--- $22,653 to CGA Law Firm of York for providing counsel in acquiring Lauxmont Farms through bankruptcy proceedings.
What hasn't been paid yet?
--- Bresnahan's expenses for representing the county during this month's Highpoint trial. His firm is charging the county $225 per hour for its work.
--- Attorney David Zambito's charges for facilitating settlement efforts with the Kohr family, which owns Lauxmont Farms. Zambito's billing rates are $300 an hour.
Source: Chuck Noll, York County administrator/chief clerk
ON THE BLOG
Lauxmont has been controversial since its founding: Read more at York Town Square blog.
