Lolli said there were “issues with part of the lease that we put forward” and he wanted to clear up the language before it was presented to City Council.
“Do this right,” Lolli said. “We don’t want to set ourselves up for further litigation on this situation.”
Vice Mayor Monica Nenni thanked Lolli and the city’s legal team for working to find a solution.
The legislation is expected to be presented at the next council meeting at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 18. The meeting will be held in the Middletown City Schools District offices on the fourth floor of the City Building because Council Chambers are being renovated.
Since it’s emergency legislation, and Mayor Nicole Condrey won’t vote because of her affiliation with Start Skydiving and Team Fastrax, it must pass 4-0.
The city, the Harts and Start Skydiving have tentatively agreed to resolve the four outstanding lawsuits by way of a settlement agreement and new lease for the spaces occupied by Start, according to city documents. The new lease starts once the certificate of occupancy is issued and lasts for eight years renewable for four times for an additional eight years each renewal. So the lease could last 32 years.
Within two weeks after the agreement is signed, the city and Start Skydiving must file a joint notice of dismissal with prejudice, and take any other steps legally required to dismiss the lawsuits and without further costs or attorneys’ fees to any party.
“I believe it is in the best interest of the city to completely resolve these matters with such an important partner of ours at the airport and we’ve been working diligently to get this completed,” Lolli told the Journal-News.
John Hart II told the Journal-News he didn’t want to comment until the lease and settlement agreement were executed.
In exchange to dismiss the four outstanding lawsuits, the city will pay for the construction of the $1.4 million, 10,000-sqaure-foot hangar at 1711 Run Way at Middletown Regional Airport/Hook Field. Start will continue to pay $1,395 a month for the spaces occupied until the certificate of occupancy is issued.
After that, the rent will increase to $4,500 per month and 2% per year following the initial term of the lease, according to city documents.
In addition, Start Skydiving, which has operated at the airport since 2009, will be a self-service fueling entity and may purchase its fuel from its source of preference, according to documents. The fuel can be delivered and stored in its 10,000-20,000 gallon containers located adjacent to the city’s existing gas storage location.
The agreement also recognizes the “value that Start Skydiving, by its presence and activity, brings to the city of Middletown and apologizes to Start Skydiving for actions that prior representatives of the city may have taken to damage the relationship between Start Skydiving and the city,” according to documents.
On Tuesday, City Council approved an amendment to the current pay and benefits ordinance (PBO) to include the position of airport manager that had been removed from the PBO. The city has explored the possibility of contracting with a third party to act as its designated airport manager.
City staff is recommending the hiring of an airport manager who would be an employee of the city.
LAWSUITS FILED BY THE CITY, START SKYDIVING
Open meetings lawsuit: On Dec. 28, 2020, John P. Hart III, a co-owner of Start Skydiving, filed a civil complaint in Butler County Common Pleas Court against the city of Middletown and council members Talbott Moon, Monica Nenni, Joe Mulligan and Ami Vitori alleging the council illegally went into executive session on Nov. 13, Dec. 1 and Dec. 15, 2020 to consider the lease of public property.
Mayor Nicole Condrey was not listed as a defendant since she abstained during the vote to go into executive session and did not participate in the discussion. She is limited by an Ohio Ethics Commission Advisory Opinion due to her past employment and current affiliation with Team Fastrax, a professional skydiving team operated by the Hart family.
Middletown complaint and eviction notice: On Jan. 7, 2021, Middletown filed a civil complaint against Start Skydiving and Selection Management Systems, Inc., for declaratory judgment and other relief in Butler County Common Pleas Court. In addition, it also filed an eviction notice for Start to vacate the office space in Hangar 1707 that is used for the airport manager and Fixed-Base Operator.
City officials allowed Start to remain in that space as productive conversations happened between Start Skydiving and the city toward resolution of real estate and operational issues among them.
Federal lawsuit filed by Start Skydiving: Start Skydiving filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati late in 2020 against the city, Matt Eisenbraun, then assistant economic development director who oversaw the airport, and Dan Dickten, former airport manager.
Start said that “this case is about the ongoing vindictive, corrupt, and deceitful attempts by the city and its key personnel to kick Start out of the airport and to harm its business, despite Start’s 20-year lease at the airport which runs through 2029.”
Start alleged city personnel hacked into Start’s online financial database to spy on Start and steal its business data in violation of Start’s civil rights under federal law, spread false and defamatory statements about Start’s operations and made up claims of unsafe operations by Start that were not true. The company also raised claims about ongoing lease issues with the city.
Criminal complaint against past, present city employees: Three former and current Middletown employees were charged in December 2020 following a criminal investigation by police.
Middletown police were contacted Sept. 15 by John Hart II of Start Skydiving, who alleged hacking, corporate economic espionage and illegal recordings by city employees at the Middletown Regional Airport.
The investigation was completed Dec. 8 and was reviewed by an outside prosecutor for charges. Hart II signed the complaint Dec. 22.
Those charged included:
Eisenbraun for failure to report a crime, a second-degree misdemeanor. He left the city and works for the city of Moraine.
Dickten for unauthorized use of property and obstruction of justice, both fourth-degree misdemeanors. He was also charged with two counts of aggravated menacing, both first-degree misdemeanors. He retired from the city in August 2020.
Ashley Schulte for complicity to unauthorized use of property. Schulte, who formerly worked for Start Skydiving, allegedly gave Dickten her account access information to Start’s computer system. She also filed a separate federal lawsuit against the city for unpaid wages and an EEOC complaint against Dickten.
SOURCE: Journal-News archives
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