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Weeki Wachee Springs In Deadline Dispute

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By TONY MARRERO, Hernando Today

Published: February 5, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - Weeki Wachee Springs missed a deadline Friday to submit an amended agreement that would make the troubles with its landlord go away.

That could mean the dispute between the attraction and the Southwest Florida Water Management District, which owns the land on which the park sits, could wind up back in court after all, a water district spokesman said Friday.

The attraction's attorney, however, said he wasn't aware of any deadline and that there is another meeting planned this week to hash out one final detail.

The attraction was supposed to turn in an amended settlement agreement by 5 p.m., signed by Robyn Anderson, mayor of the city of Weeki Wachee and general manager of Weeki Wachee Springs LLC.

It's the same agreement that Anderson already signed and that was approved Jan. 29 by the governing board of the water district. The deal stated that if the attraction followed through on a deal with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to make the 60-year-old landmark a state park, the lawsuits that both sides have filed claiming breaches of the lease would be dropped.

Water District Added Stipulations

According to the deal, Weeki Wachee Springs LLC agrees to sell its assets to DEP for $10. Closing is set for Nov. 1.

However, there were stipulations added by the water district's governing board: If the state park deal fell through, the court would "retain jurisdiction" over the legal dispute concerning the lease.

That means the legal proceedings would pick up where they left off, rather than starting all over again, said Michael Molligan, spokesman for Swiftmud.

"If their intention was truly to become a state park, there's absolutely no reason why they shouldn't approve that agreement," Molligan said.

If the state park deal fell through, he said, "Why should we start from scratch and spend tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars. It's only appropriate to start from where we left off."

The board's approval rested on the condition that Anderson sign the amended deal by 5 p.m. Friday.

"By not receiving this agreement, we're back in court and we'll let a judge decide on the issue," Molligan said.

Lawyer Disputes Deadline

Joe Mason, attorney for Weeki Wachee Springs, said he wasn't aware of the deadline. Mason said that he spoke Friday with former Florida Supreme Court Justice Ben Overton, who is acting as a mediator in court-ordered talks between Swiftmud and the attraction.

According to Mason, Overton planned a teleconference between the two sides for early next week. The stipulation about the court retaining jurisdiction "is the topic of conversation," Mason said.

He declined to comment further, citing confidentiality laws that govern mediation.

Molligan said he wasn't aware of that planned teleconference. He countered that Mason was told of Friday's deadline when the agreement was dropped off at his office Tuesday afternoon, and then two more times on the telephone.

Molligan also said Swiftmud informed Overton two weeks ago that the district considered the mediation, which had gone on for four months, to be at an impasse.

He said staff has no authority from the board to continue negotiations.

"This is the agreement that the governing board approved," he said. "I don't know what else there is to talk about."

Mason had criticized the district for leaving the table even though the deal with the state was nearly complete.

John Athanason, spokesman for Weeki Wachee Springs, said the attraction's management learned of the additional stipulations Friday.

"It was our understanding this was a done deal, and that the agreement we sent to them meant it was done," he said. "We're acting in a good faith and doing what we need to do."

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