THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 25, 1995 TAG: 9501250435
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
Dare County officials released details Tuesday of an out-of-court settlement reached late last year in connection with a breach-of-contract suit filed against Dare County by a Manteo resident.
Leon Daniels had alleged in a 1994 lawsuit that Dare County violated the terms of a lease for office space he owns in Manteo. The suit was settled for $23,100. Daniels had sought $46,200 in the original action filed July 12.
Dare County spokesman Charles Hartig said that in 1991, the county commissioners of that time authorized the lease with Daniels for the space, which was to be used by the Dare County Sheriff's Department.
When other commissioners took office in 1992, they instructed County Manager Terry Wheeler to terminate the lease agreement. None of the current members of the board was in office at the time the lease was authorized.
The sheriff's department personnel now work in a county-owned satellite office in Kill Devil Hills.
Hartig and County Attorney Al Cole said the settlement was initiated as a cost-saving measure.
``In essence, had the county not terminated the lease, it would have cost the county $46,200, excluding utilities,'' Hartig said. ``The net savings amounted to $23,100, excluding utilities.''
Under the original agreement, the county agreed to lease the building for five years, at a cost of $1,450 per month. The county was also obligated to pay utilities for the duration of the contract, which contained a five-year renewal option.
``If the litigation had continued, and we had just sat back waiting for this to come to trial, there was a chance we wouldn't have prevailed, and we would have wound up paying for an empty building, as well as utilities, attorney's fees and court costs,'' Cole said.
Asked about the delay in issuing terms of the settlement to the public, Cole said, ``I was hired to serve the county as a lawyer, not as a public relations man. Nor did I think to do so (release terms of the settlement). I simply would not have time to do my job as legal counsel if I had to release every filing to the media.''
The settlement occurred prior to Hartig's appointment as media liaison. Since then, the county released information on a suit filed by a Kill Devil Hills woman against the Dare County Health Department, alleging negligence in providing her with the results of her Pap smear. by CNB