Friday, April 25, 2003
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Friday, April 25, 2003 |
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DAPC hopes letter will clear up issues surrounding failed restaurant contract
By J. FRANK
LYNCH
The Development Authority of Peachtree City has asked its attorney to craft a legal opinion in an effort to quiet complaints of mismanagement leveled against the athority by the original operators of the restaurant inside the Tennis Center. Bob Stieber, owner of Valentino's in Braelinn Village, partnered with his wife and brother to open and manage the Ashland Grille at the tennis center last fall. After months of delays in opening and disagreements with Tennis Center Executive Director Virgil Christian over everything from signanage to exterior lighting, the Stiebers abandoned the operation on a Saturday night last fall after just three weeks in business. A few weeks later, the Development Authority evicted the Stiebers from the premises and declared them in default of their contract. The restaurant reopened April 1 under new management. Bob Stieber has approached the City Council twice seeking an audience for telling his side of the story, and at the April 3 meeting accepted a request from Councilman Dan Tennant to "go through proper channels" to negotiate with the DAPC before seeking advice from the council, which appoints members to the authority. "Are you willing to go to the Development Authority and work it out?" Tennant asked. But at last week's DAPC meeting, there ended up being little "to work out" as Stieber and his partners insisted they were there to hear the board explain its side of the mess. "You've got all the information from us," Stieber told the authority Monday. "Everything we have issue with, we have addressed with you in writing already and we've never gotten a response." "We're here to listen," he said. The board sat mostly silent until Vice Chairman Scott Bradshaw replied, "We pretty much came to listen to you." "Well, so did we," said Stieber. "We were asked by City Council to come meet with you, and we really don't know what else to say." Stieber contends that Virgil Christian, executive director of the Tennis Center, misled and "lied to us" about numerous issues as work on the restaurant progressed as part of the expansion of the athletic facility, especially relating to lighting and signage. But Stieber acknowledged, "We signed the lease," and said he wasn't seeking monetary compensation, though his losses totaled $80,000, he said. He has also downplayed the threat of any legal action against the DAPC. At the Development Authority meeting, as both sides dug in their heels and refused to concede ground to "listening" or "talking," the Stiebers walked out in frustration. The authority is at a loss as to exactly what to do, said Chairman Tate Godfrey. "I will say, there are two sides to every story, and this one has two definite sides." Godfrey suggested drafting the formal letter explaining the authority's position and outlining the actions it took to answer the Sibler's concerns as an effort to bring closure to the disagreement. "Our attorney says we gave them everything they asked for," Godfrey said. "We've tried everything we know how, we'v tried in every way." Mark D. Oldenburg, attorney for the DAPC, said the response letter could be ready to send to the Stiebers on Monday.
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