Litigation is underway in response to the recent Marshall County BZA decision to deny a variance of use for the Tamarack solar project and BZA attorney Derek Jones advised the board in their Tuesday night meeting to be ready for the long haul.
“This will be not fast moving process, just so you’re aware of that,” said Jones. “If we get this concluded by the end of this year, I would be kind of amazed.”
Jones stated that the amount of time involved to “comb” through the record (transcripts, documents, video recordings) in order to present the County’s case “…will be extraordinary…” and as a result expensive.
Jones advised the board to add Marshall County Commissioners attorney Sean Surrisi — already recognized by the court as “an interested party” — to the case to give him the ability to respond to the case on behalf of the Board.
In addition, Jones recommended the addition of attorney Robert W. Eherenman of the Fort Wayne firm of Haller Colvin who specializes in this particular type of litigation. Jones said that Eherenman and his firm would have the time and resources to do the type of research necessary for the case.
The question was raised about payment since the budget for legal services would be exhausted quickly and any additional money would need to be approved by the County Council before a contract could be negotiated.
Jones felt that since Surrisi is already on retainer as counsel for the Marshall County Commissioners, it is likely his fees would be paid for by that board. He told the Board that he would like to have Eherenman “on board sooner rather than later” to allow him to begin working on the county’s case. He told the board that they could terminate Eherenman’s representation at any point, “before he gets neck deep into it” if they could not procure approval from the Council.
The Board voted to proceed with acquiring Eherenman’s services.
Tamarack has asked the court for a change of venue in the case and has until Feb. 24 to present their reasons for the move.
