City commissioners met behind closed doors two separate times Thursday, but did not emerge with a settlement to avoid an upcoming trial with Wal-Mart.
"We're still preparing for a Monday trial," Mayor Mike Amyx said after commissioners left an executive session with their attorney Thursday afternoon.
Wal-Mart is suing the city over a decision to deny a building permit that would have allowed the retail giant to build a nearly 132,000-square-foot store at the northwest corner of Sixth Street and Wakarusa Drive.
But Amyx said commissioners likely weren't done discussing the case.
"We may have a need for more special meetings in the next couple of days," Amyx said.
He wouldn't say whether the city was seriously considering a settlement or what a settlement might entail.
Wal-Mart officials and a pair of Lawrence developers who own the property have alleged the city denied the permit for political reasons, which the city denies.
Douglas County District Court Judge Michael Malone is scheduled to hear arguments at 9 a.m. Monday.
Comments
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 12 years ago
What are you basing your "I told you so" on, truthlawrence? Were you at the meeting?
And your prediction of more predatory pricing by Walmart in order to drive out competition is hardly going out on a limb.
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 12 years ago
I don't doubt that this will end up with some sort of settlement-- I just don't think truthlawrence has any idea what is taking place in the current meetings.
The city is at a disadvantage in this case. Compton's buddies on previous planning and city commissions obligingly violated H2020 and city zoning laws to OK this development in the first place. Once they broke Humpty, putting him back together again, especially with Walmart's well-financed legal sledgehammer hanging over them, is a tall order.
monkeyhawk 12 years ago
Agreed. The PLC has been feeling their oats seeing how effective they have been in controling the little people through impositions of bans on things they don't like. Maybe they actually thought they were powerful enough to beat up Walmart (and Compton, et. al.).
Unfortunately, it is the little people that will have to pay for their misconception. The little people are not going to like that.
monkeyhawk 12 years ago
bozo:
"planning and city commissions obligingly violated H2020 and city zoning laws to OK this development in the first place."
Like this is a rarity in this county/city? I"m sure it boils down to mere interpretation...
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 12 years ago
Historically, it hasn't been a rarity. The main reason Compton, et al, filed the lawsuit (aside from the huge windfall they expect to make on the deal) is to make sure that is doesn't become a rarity.
After all, you can't have city government doing the bidding of the little people. Its only real purpose is to do the bidding of Walmart, Compton, etc.
lunacydetector 12 years ago
horizon 2020 was outdated the day it rolled off the presses.
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 12 years ago
By definition, it won't be outdated till it's amended or replaced by another governing document. But the movers and shakers are too important to play by any rules but their own.
Rebecca Valburg 12 years ago
Wal-Mart will be rolling out more organic foods to ALL of its stores because that's what customers are asking for, not personally attacking the Merc by placing organics in the Lawrence, KS store only. HyVee and Dillons have expanded their organic selections as well. And Wal-Mart, like the other major groceries, aims to be competitive, but in comparing the pricing at the Merc to the prices at the grocery stores - if you compare like items (including brand name), the Merc is actually amazingly competitive a lot of the time.
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 12 years ago
Walmart does what is in the best financial interest of its stockholders. It's actually illegal for them to do anything else, just like any other publically traded corporation.
They are only motivated to serve their customers to the extent that that will benefit their stockholders. If it serves the interest of their stockholders to use slave labor in China, and treat their employees here like sh*t, that's what they'll do, although after enough bad publicity about that, they will throw in a little window dressing to assuage the critics.
jafs 12 years ago
Richard, unless the Merc has drastically reduced its' prices, I have to disagree. When I shopped there, I spent approximately 2-3x/much as at Hy-Vee or Target, at least. And, if other stores offer store brands for much less, why would one buy name brands at the Merc instead?
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 12 years ago
It's very unlikely that any store brands at Target or Hy-Vee are comparable to anything that the Merc carries.
While some items at the big stores are the same or cheaper than what the Merc sells them for, if you're looking at like items and brands, the Merc's prices are generally very competitive, usually cheaper, than the bigger stores. And it's for the same reasons the Merc isn't cheap on the big-name grocery items. The Merc sells a much bigger volume of the organic items, and buy from distributors who specialize in those items.
jafs 12 years ago
And I completely agree with bozo - with Wal-Mart and many other large corporations, we see the effects of a purely profit-driven economy.
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