BY GREGORY A. HALL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON -- A grand jury's impending investigation of Kenton County's 1996 courthouse bidding has revived settlement talks in a civil lawsuit between the fiscal court and the winning bidder.
The Kenton Fiscal Court met for 90 minutes behind closed doors Tuesday discussing the litigation, and will meet again in executive session at 8 a.m. Friday to resume those talks.
"I wouldn't bet you a plugged nickel either way right now," said Judge-executive Rodney "Biz" Cain.
Mr. Cain confirmed that the winning bidder, Corporex Cos., is increasing its offer, which previously was $200,000. In rejecting that earlier amount, Mr. Cain said, the county would not settle for anything less than $425,000.
Mr. Cain said that's still the county's price but declined to say Mr. Butler has met that.
"He's upped the offer, but we ain't just looking for money," he said. "This is not totally about money."
The county is suing Corporex and its chairman, Bill Butler, to recoup an $850,000 settlement paid to the two losing bidders -- Wessels Construction and Development Corp. and Carroll Properties -- over the competition for courthouse and parking garage construction contracts.
The county also seeks more than $700,000 in other damages and an unspecified amount as punishment.
The county accuses Mr. Butler of manipulating the process to win the roughly $36 million projects.
Attempts to reach Corporex attorney Joseph Trauth were unsuccessful Tuesday night.
Corporex and Mr. Butler deny any wrongdoing and place blame on the county for failing to follow its own rules. In particular, company attorneys have previously detailed why they think Deputy Judge-executive George Neack targeted them. Mr. Neack has denied the allegations.
Corporex and Mr. Butler said there was nothing improper about his meeting the night the bids were opened at the home of then-Judge-executive Clyde Middleton, where the developer was able to see competitors' bids and later copy them. They said the bids were public records available to anyone.
County officials contend that by having competitors' proposals, Mr. Butler was able to have an unfair advantage in revising his offering. Mr. Middleton resigned at the time of the settlement. In his Feb. 11 resignation speech, he said, "I inadvertently and unintentionally did not comply with the Kenton County procurement code."
A grand jury requested by the Kentucky attorney general's office is scheduled to meet Oct. 28. Subpoenas said Mr. Middleton is the subject of the investigation.
Three officials have received subpoenas: Kenton County Administrator Ralph Bailey, Treasurer Ivan Frye and project manager Rob Thrun. Others expect to be called to testify.
Mr. Middleton has not received a subpoena, said his attorney, Phil Taliaferro.
In a related matter, the state auditor of public accounts is criticizing the failure of Mr. Middleton and County Attorney Garry Edmondson to disclose the civil lawsuit during an audit conducted in 1997.
Auditor Edward B. Hatchett Jr.'s examination says the county should have disclosed its potential liability in the Wessels case to the state.
Not doing so is punishable by a $500 fine, but the matter is being referred to the Kenton County ethics board, said Ed Lynch, a spokesman for Mr. Hatchett.
He said the attorney general's office could still prosecute. Earlier this year, Mr. Edmondson wrote the auditor's office saying he misunderstood the time period covered in a letter he wrote to the auditor's office at the time.
Mr. Edmondson said Tuesday that at the time he wrote the letter, the meeting between Mr. Butler and Mr. Middleton hadn't become public knowledge. So, he said, he didn't believe the county had any potential liability.
Both he and Mr. Middleton's attorney said the auditor's office had to have known about the well-publicized case.
"This lawsuit has not been a secret," Mr. Taliaferro said. "It has been widely reported by the press all over Kentucky. No Kenton County official ever attempted to keep information about the lawsuit from the auditor."
