(Spirit Lake)– An out-of-court settlement has been reached in the latest civil lawsuit involving Butch Parks and the city of Okoboji.
Testimony in the case was scheduled to start this (Wednesday) morning in Dickinson County District Court. An eight person jury was seated late Tuesday afternoon.
In the suit, Parks alleged discrimination against a former Mayor and city council in connection with action surrounding Okoboji Boats. The suit alleged civil rights violations, interference with prospective contractual relations, intentional interference with an existing contract and inverse condemnation.
The suit also accused the city of arbitrarily enforcing zoning laws and parking ordinances.
The city has strongly denied any wrongdoing on all the allegations.
According to Jim Clarity, an attorney representing the city, details of the settlement call for the city to pay Parks 500-thousand dollars in exchange for Parks releasing the city from all past alleged allegations and claims against the city stemming back to about 2001.
Clarity describes the agreement as a “compromised settlement”, under which neither the city nor Parks admit any wrongdoing.
Clarity says the latest case would have taken six to eight weeks to complete. He says no one wanted to go through that, as it would have interfered with the summer season…a peak time for business in the Iowa Great Lakes.
Clarity says the settlement means Parks can operate Okoboji Boats as he had in the past “under the special use exception permit issued by the city in 1973 to prior owners Mr. Eves and Mr. Higgins”. As long as he operates under those parameters, Clarity said “that’s fine, nobody has a problem with that. If he wants to make a request to change that or alter it or change the zoning he can do that through the proper channels…that’s up to the city”.
Clarity says all parties involved in the dispute are glad to have the matter put behind them.
