When Pleasant Pond Mill LLC (PPM) and AquqaFortis Associates LLC (AQF) appealed the Clary Lake Water Level Order in Lincoln County Superior Court back in February 2014, they requested mediation under the Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Service (CADRES). The request was granted. Butch Duncan and Art Enos also asked to participate in mediation. It now appears that mediation has finally ended and the long-awaited mediation report has been filed with the Lincoln County Superior Court. It is a public document and as such it is being made available here:
I will reserve comment on the report at this time except to say first, after a year and a few months of mediation, nothing appears to have been accomplished except to delay these proceedings. Second, that the Clary Lake Association greatly appreciates the time and effort the Department of Environmental Protection put into mediation and we regret that their efforts were wasted. Third, Clary Lake Association counsel Ron Kreisman asked on numerous occasions for us to be allowed to join in mediation but both Pleasant Pond Mill LLC (Paul Kelley) and Aquafortis Associates LLC (Richard Smith) refused to let us participate. Fourth, as the report suggests, we spent considerable time and effort this past winter putting together a very generous offer for all the property belonging to PPM and AQF; for obvious reasons it was a very complex offer and we simply asked for the opportunity to present it to the parties in person so we could explain everything and answer any questions they might have. All they had to do was sit there and listen but they refused.
With mediation out of the way we look forward to both the water level order appeal being quickly resolved in court and to vigorous enforcement of the Clary Lake water level order by the Department of Environmental Protection.