1993-09-16 Stip. M/Cont. STATE OF FLORIDA
DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
CITY OF OKEECHOBEE, )
Petitioner, )
vs . )
)
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, ) DOAH Case No. 92-4909GM
)
Respondent. )
and )
)
OKEECHOBEE COUNTY, )
Intervenor. )
AGREED UPON MOTION FOR CONTINUANCE
Petitioner, CITY OF OKEECHOBEE, by and through its undersigned
attorneys and pursuant to Rules 60Q-2 . 016 and 60Q-2 . 017 , Florida
Administrative Code, hereby files this Agreed Upon Motion for
Continuance and requests that the final hearing in the above-
referenced case currently scheduled to begin on October 4, 1993 in
Okeechobee, Florida, be continued in order to allow the parties to
conclude their deliberations and execute a written settlement
agreement. In support of this Agreed Upon Motion the City would
state as follows :
1 . The parties have been actively involved in settlement
negotiations . Those settlement negotiations as between the
Petitioner City of Okeechobee (City) and Intervenor Okeechobee
County (County) have resulted in the City and County entering into
and executing a stipulated settlement agreement (SSA) . The terms
of the SSA provide, among other things, that upon execution of the
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agreement by all of the parties, the agreement will be filed with
DOAH accompanied by a motion for abatement of the proceedings so
that the County may adopt the agreed upon plan amendments .
2 . Counsel for Respondent Department of Community Affairs
(DCA) has been kept fully apprised of the status of settlement
negotiations between the City and the County and has been provided
a copy of the executed SSA. However, because of the final hearing
schedule of counsel for the DCA and the workload of other
Department staff, the executed version of the SSA entered into by
the City and the County has not been finally reviewed by the DCA
staff or transmitted to the Office of the Secretary for her
consideration and execution. Therefore, the parties are in
agreement that a continuance of the final hearing would be
appropriate in order to allow the parties to conclude their
settlement deliberations .
3 . Counsel for all parties mutually agree that the five-day
final hearing in this case which is scheduled to begin on October
4 , 1993, formal discovery and compliance with the requirements of
the Pre-hearing order of May 6, 1993, should be continued and
suspended in order to allow the parties to conclude the substance
of their settlement deliberations . Counsel for all of the parties
further agree that upon the review, approval and execution of the
SSA by the DCA, the SSA will be promptly filed accompanied by a
motion to abate the proceedings .
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3 . Counsel for the City has conferred with counsel for the
DCA and counsel for the County and provided them with a draft copy
of this Agreed Upon Motion. Counsel for the City has been
authorized by said counsel to represent that they concur in the
substance of this motion and join in its filing.
WHEREFORE, the City of Okeechobee respectfully requests that
the Hearing Officer enter an order which: (2 ) grants this Agreed
Upon Motion for Continuance; (2) cancels the five-day final hearing
currently scheduled to begin on October 4 , 1993; ( 3) provides that
during the period of the continuance, formal discovery and
compliance with the requirements of the Pre-hearing order of May 6 ,
1993 will be suspended; and (4 ) directs the parties to file on or
before November 1, 1993, an executed copy of the SSA together with
a motion for abatement of the proceedings, or in the alternative,
a status report which informs the hearing officer of the status of
the case.
Respectfully submitted this 16th
day of September, 1993 by:
t
Michael Wm. Morell
Attorney at Law
310 West College Avenue
Tallahassee, Florida 32301-1406
904/ 425-8300
and
John R. Cook
City Attorney
City of Okeechobee
202 N.W. 5th Avenue
Okeechobee, Florida 34972
Attorneys for Petitioner
City of Okeechobee
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the original and one copy of the
foregoing Agreed Upon Motion for Continuance has been furnished by
hand delivery to:
Division of Administrative Hearings
1230 Apalachee Parkway
The DeSoto Building
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1550
and that a true copy has been furnished by facsimile transmission
and U.S. Mail to:
John Cassels
Okeechobee County Attorney
Laura McCall
Okeechobee County Attorney
Law Offices of Cassels and McCall
400 N.W. Second Street
P.O. Box 968
Okeechobee, FL 34973
Karen Brodeen
Assistant General Counsel
Florida Department of Community Affairs
2740 Centerview Drive
Tallahassee, FL 32399-2100
on this 16th day of September, 1993 .
kXitt(,( (64, )lica
Michael Wm. Morell
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