Commission warns Colony parties

Mayor Jim Brown asked the long-feuding parties at the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort to picture something:

Imagine it with only six units per acre, Brown said of the 18-acre, 237-unit shuttered resort.

If the parties don’t work something out by December, a six-unit-per-acre Colony could be a reality.

Commissioners heard from the interests in the Colony dispute at their March 5 regular meeting. The status update was a requirement of the extension the commission approved last May that extended a continuance of the town’s tourism abandonment requirement for the Colony to Dec. 31, 2012. Without the extension, the property could have lost 85 of the resort’s units by Aug. 15, 2011 — exactly one year after the resort closed — because they were built on the property before town code limited tourism units to six per acre. Commissioners heard from all parties about why they wanted a redeveloped Colony, the complexities of the legal cases and the unsuccessful attempts at mediation. What they didn’t hear, they said, was evidence of progress.

“I think we called this meeting to hear what has been resolved,” Commissioner Hal Lenobel said. “So far, nothing. It’s still up for grabs. We’re sitting here and we’ve heard nothing substantial.”

Perceptions of progress
Typically presentations at Town Commission meetings are limited to 20 minutes. Colony Beach & Tennis Association Board President Jay Yablon asked for 30 minutes in a letter to Town Manager David Bullock because of the case’s “great importance of The Colony redevelopment to the town and the complexity of those involved.”

Commissioners knew about the case’s complexity. In August 2010, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge K. Rodney May had given owners control of their units after a longstanding dispute with longtime Colony owner Dr. Murray “Murf” Klauber, but, last July, U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday overturned the rulings and later recommended damages for Klauber and other parties.

Brown didn’t think they’d need the extra 10 minutes.

“We’re not here to talk about the history of the Colony or how much we enjoyed raising our families there,” Brown said. “We’re here to find out what progress has been made between the parties to move forward with the redevelopment of the Colony.”

Yablon told the commission of plans to create a “new, modern Colony-inspired resort” on the property and praised the commission’s avoidance of taking sides in ongoing disputes. Next up was developer Glenn Miller, of Miller Group Development, who was followed by Scott Anderson, who, if the Association’s plans are successful, would lead the Colony’s marketing, sales and operations efforts. Anderson outlined the progress that had been made.

“We have not waited to begin in terms of creating the vision and the strategy and the marketing plans and the pricing for the new Colony,” Anderson said. “We have made significant progress in the direction we want to go.”

Then Stacy Miller, who would serve as project executive, told the commission that a unit owners’ meeting was scheduled for April 2 and April 3 to present the proposal and prepared to show the commission a site plan. She invited architect Tim Baker up to the podium to assist in the presentation.

Then Brown cut in.

“This evening has been reserved to see what progress has been made toward resolving the issues at the Colony and not toward making an architectural presentation,” he said. “I don’t want to cut you short, but we really have to stay on that issue.”

Stacy Miller told the commission that owner approval was needed for the project to move forward.

Commissioner Lynn Larson jumped in and recalled meeting with the Association and its partners in December. She said that she had the impression that the Association would talk with owners shortly.
Brown expressed frustration and referred to the presenters’ estimate that a redeveloped Colony could generate $10 million in revenue.

“The way I see it, the year we granted you has already cost us $2 million,” he said.

He asked if any commissioners disagreed with him.

“No,” Larson said. “It seems like we asked for an update and we’re getting excuses.”

Glenn Miller stepped back to the podium.

“Do you want to look at the site plan?” he asked.

“No,” Larson said.

“I don’t know what we would look at it for,” Brown said.

Heat is on

Commissioners heard from others involved with or representing those involved with the dispute, including longtime Colony owner Dr. Murray “Murf” Klauber’s attorney, Charles Bartlett, Association attorney Jeffrey Warren and Colony Lender LLC partner David Siegal.

Bartlett said that the deal was “doable” and said that the most viable scenario would be for the Association to buy out the assets of the other interests.

By the end of the meeting, commissioners weren’t optimistic.

Vice Mayor David Brenner told the parties to get their acts together, saying what’s happening “now turns my stomach.”

“By God, if you don’t do it between now and the end of December, I for one, will not vote on an extension,” he said.

Commissioner Jack Duncan said he wouldn’t either.

“I, for one, don’t see a resolution in the off hang between now and December,” he said.

Larson wondered if they could determine an abandonment of the use right then and there. They couldn’t. But she went on to say that the issue wasn’t just about the parties, saying that she has neighbors who can’t sell their home because of the blighted property down the road.

“You’re not only hurting yourselves but everybody’s property values,” she said.

Town Attorney David Persson told commissioners that when and if it came time for the commissioners to vote in a quasi-judicial hearing, they would have to base their decisions on the evidence presented during the hearing rather than what they had just heard during Monday’s meeting.

“We don’t know where any of this is going,” he said. “I don’t think anyone in this room knows where this is going.”

But he described the mounting pressure on the parties:

“They’re all in the same bath tub, and the water is getting hotter and hotter,” he said.

Colony dispute sent back to Tampa

The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals threw out an appeal filed by the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort Association Friday, sending the legal dispute back to Tampa-based U.S. Bankruptcy Judge K. Rodney May for further hearings.

The decision further delays a resolution to the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort development unless an agreement can be reached among all parties involved.

In the ruling, the Court of Appeals granted Colony Beach & Tennis Club Inc.’s motion to dismiss the association’s appeal of the bankruptcy judge’s rulings “for lack of jurisdiction.”

In essence, the Court of Appeals said it’s premature for such an appeal and sent the matter back to May for further review and more hearings.

Colony Beach & Tennis Resort attorney Charles Bartlett said the decision means “the 11th Circuit agreed with us that the matter is not right for appeal because the judgment Judge (Steven D.) Merryday entered requires us to go back to bankruptcy court for a final determination.”

Colony Beach and Tennis Resort Association President Jay Yablon said the decision only means a final resolution in the court system will take longer.

“We had hoped that everybody could avoid the expense and the delay of everything going back to Judge May,” Yablon said. “More than anything, this ruling means that if anybody is looking to the courts to provide a final resolution at the Colony, they are going to have to wait an awfully long time and spend quite a bit of money.”

Colony Lender LLC partner David Siegal told the Longboat Observer the Court of Appeals decision means that now more than ever all parties involved need to make a deal.
Bartlett and Yablon also believe that’s the most ideal outcome for the Colony to be rebuilt any time soon.

— Kurt Schultheis