Rumors have been circulating all day (and last night) that the city was about to announce a settlement in the Beachwood case following its closed door meeting Thursday night. I called city hall this morning, asking to be copied when the city issued its press release.
Instead, the city decided to announce its decision to “authorize a settlement” by posting a note on its bulletin board, located in the City Hall parking lot. A note was put on its website at 3:10 this afternoon. The announcement reads in full:
March 28, 2008
City Council authorizes settlement of Yamagiwa case
As we have reported, the city and Ms. Yamagiwa have been in active settlement discussions. Last night, the City Council authorized a settlement, which remains subject to Ms. Yamagiwa’s review and approval. If and when Ms. Yamagiwa approves of the settlement, the city will make it public and will report the terms of the agreement. Until such time, the terms of the proposed settlement must remain confidential.
There are no other details.
I dropped in on the pre-closed session meeting on Thursday night at 6:00 and have never seen so many glum faces. Add to the fact that the city announced to us that they decided to authorize a settlement on a bulletin board like a little post-it bodes poorly for the outcome. Since I was actively for appealing this judgment, the above statements indicate to me that I’m not going to like the settlement but then again, we don’t necessarily have to accept it. And then again, neither does Yamagiwa. If the “greed” thread continues, who knows?
Dana Kimsey