Trail Ridge lawsuit could cost Jacksonville $1.2 million

The cost of the using a private law firm to defend Jacksonville in the Trail Ridge landfill lawsuit is expected to surpass $1 million in taxpayer dollars, city attorneys say.

City General Counsel Rick Mullaney said the city has already paid its outside help — the law firm of Tanner Bishop — $450,000 to defend the suit filed in May in federal court by Waste Management. Now the City Council is being asked to approve an additional $750,000, which should be enough to pay for the costs of seeing the matter through trial, Mullaney said.

The lawsuit is the result of the City Council’s decision to allow companies to bid on the right to operate the landfill instead of approving the Mayor John Peyton’s proposed contract extension with Waste Management, worth an estimated $750 million over 35 years.

Waste Management vowed to file suit, arguing all along that the original contract gives it the right to operate the entire 978-acre site. A jury trial is scheduled for December, and thus far attempts at mediation have been unsuccessful.

Council President Richard Clark supported the decision to put Trail Ridge operations out to bid but said he is not convinced that it would be a wise decision to spend more money fighting the lawsuit.

“I do have concerns that we went through $450,000 in such a short amount of time,” he said.