RPS development

Some defendants in the federal lawsuit over the River Park Square garage may have objections to the settlement between the city and the mall's developer. The settlement is so complicated that attorneys for the city's former bond counsel and the underwriter of bonds sold in 1998 to buy the garage said they don't know yet how it affects their case.

The Spokane City Council has scheduled an unusual Saturday public meeting to discuss something even more unusual in recent years, a proposed settlement with the developer of the River Park Square mall. The meeting, which begins at 8 a.m., will be televised live on City Cable Channel 5, with repeat showings at 8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday.

SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND GENERAL RELEASE OF ALL CLAIMS

The city of Spokane and the companies that developed the River Park Square Mall would trade assets, set aside cash and drop a wide range of legal claims against each other, according to a tentative settlement released Wednesday. The city would protect programs for low-income neighborhoods by getting solid financial assurances from the developer to repay a federally guaranteed loan. It would get as much as $2 million to settle a pending federal lawsuit and another $1.05 million by 2018, according to the city's most recent version of the complicated settlement, which was posted Wednesday evening on the city's official Web site.

The Spokane City Council on Monday postponed a possible vote on a settlement in its legal battle over River Park Square, and instead scheduled an unusual Saturday session to consider the pact. Council members said they want to give themselves and the public a chance to look over the details of any settlement before voting. The meeting was scheduled for 8 a.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall. Public testimony will be taken.

Details were still being ironed out Sunday in a possible settlement in the River Park Square legal dispute. City Council President Dennis Hession said he hoped a proposed agreement would go to the council for a vote during its regular meeting at 6 tonight in Council Chambers at City Hall. The meeting will be broadcast live on Cable Channel 5.

There are many unknown numbers in a proposed settlement between the city of Spokane and the River Park Square developer that the City Council is expected to consider Monday. Lawyers and accountants will spend much of the weekend filling those numbers in, because without them, the council will likely ask for a delay.

The proposed settlement in Spokane's ongoing dispute over River Park Square could end a major threat to one of the key programs helping the city's low-income residents and poorer neighborhoods. The threat grew more serious in recent weeks when the developer of the mall disclosed it was considering bankruptcy as one of its options for dealing with financial problems at the mall, city officials said.

The Spokane City Council has approved a settlement with the former manager of the River Park Square mall in connection with a lawsuit over financing of the mall's parking garage. It is the third agreement reached in the city's effort to settle a securities fraud lawsuit over $31.5 million in garage financing. The council approved the agreement Monday in a 5-2 vote with Cherie Rodgers and Bob Apple voting no.