Complaint filed against city of WR

Warner Robins Council members were informed Sunday evening of an official complaint filed against them in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.

Denis Blackburne, senior vice president – development of Woda Cooper Companies, Inc., emailed council members a link to the complaint the company’s attorneys filed. Warner Robins Mayor Randy Toms is expected to be served the papers within the following week.

Blackburned stated in the email, “We regret having to go this route but we were left with no other option. Our objective is to still build Perkins Field as soon as possible.”

The complaint filed by Woda Cooper Development, Inc., Parallel Housing, Inc., Perkins Field Limited Partnership, and Parallel Perkins Field Development, LLC, was for a breach of contract, violations of fair housing obligations, specific performance, violation of section 1983 and for pursuing litigation in bad faith entitling recovery of attorneys fees, against the city of Warner Robins and the Development Authority for the city of Warner Robins.

Blackburne and Gregg Bayard with Parallel Housing, Inc., have been working with the city of Warner Robins and the development authority since 2017 on developing the Perkins Field affordable housing project. The project is an affordable housing complex worth nearly $17.4 million, which will be comprised of 90 apartments in three buildings located at the current site of Perkins Park on Watson Boulevard. Developers said the apartments are income based, and credit and criminal background checks would be performed on residents. The complex would also have laundry and community rooms, fitness area, wellness office and 4,000 square feet of retail space.

Back in February, Toms received a letter and email, with council members copied on the email, from Reno and Cavanaugh, PLLC (attorney for Woda Cooper Development, Inc.), stating that the city had failed to live up to its word, and failure to act in accordance with the letter within 15 days will leave the company no choice, but to immediately seek all available legal and equitable remedies. No action was taken and the filed complaint in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia was a result of that.

In April of 2019 the city held public hearings where a majority of residents in attendance were against the project, but in August of 2019, the council voted 4-2 in favor to move forward with the development/lease agreement. Toms and Councilman Keith Lauritsen voted against it.

After council voted to approve the project in August 2019, Toms said after that meeting, “I, too, was in favor when this project was first getting started, and I still think it can be a good project. More people were for not approving this, and I felt like I was elected by the citizens of Warner Robins, and it’s my duty to stand up for them. I also offered anyone to change my mind by coming to see me, and no one did. But I, too, will work to make it a great success because at the end of the day, the goal is to make Warner Robins a better place.”

Former councilman Tim Thomas also said after that meeting the council was put into an unfair situation. Documents provided to the Houston Home Journal showed that Toms signed and had notarized the owner environmental questionnaire and disclosure statement in 2018.

“I feel that the council was put into a position that we had to approve it based on the paperwork that the mayor had signed,” Thomas said in August 2019. “That was sent in to DCA (Department of Community Affairs) with the application, and without his signature or those forms notarized, the application would have never been accepted. But because they were sent in and signed, we were put into a position that we had to make a decision. Our thoughts and mine personally, if we didn’t follow through after [Woda Cooper, Inc.] spent $350,000 to $400,000 [City of Warner Robins] would look at potential litigation. We were put into a position that wasn’t fair without even knowing that the forms were signed, notarized and sent in.” Furthermore, the Development Authority of Warner Robins unanimously approved the project in December 2019.

On March 2, 2020 council was to vote to rescind the land lease agreement on the Perkins Field Project. Blackburne came before mayor and council during that meeting, asking them to not rescind the land lease agreement.

“This project has been repeatedly approved by the city of Warner Robins and the Development Authority of Warner Robins, to build 90 units of housing as well as build shops and restaurants,” Blackburne said. “We have done everything the city has asked of us and we have designed some very beautiful buildings. We have done the environmental/GEO technical testing and all the necessary documents have been provided to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for tax credit and financing purposes.”

Blackburne went on to say that Woda Cooper Companies has already spent over a million dollars on the project.

“In order to bring this project to fruition, the city needs to live up to its previous agreements with us to execute the ground lease,” Blackburne said. ” The building permits are done, but are not allowed to be picked up. We are committed to providing high quality affordable housing in downtown Warner Robins. We just ask the city to honor its commitment it has made to us.”

After that meeting, Blackburne told the Houston Home Journal that this was the first time they had seen the resolution to rescind, as documents were not available before the meeting.

The resolution states, “On August 5, 2019, the mayor and council adopted the following resolution: Be it resolved by the mayor and council of the city of Warner Robins authorize Mayor Randy Toms to execute the attached Development Agreement by and among the city of Warner Robins, Georgia, The Development Authority of the city of Warner Robins, Georgia and Woda Cooper Development, Inc. pending the grant being lifted; and whereas said “grant,” being a limitation of use related to the property known as Perkins Field and other recreation facilities, remains in place as of this date. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the mayor and council of the city of Warner Robins rescind the said August 5, 2019 resolution in its entirety.”

“The resolution of Aug 5, 2019 was resolved that the city would transfer the land to the Development Authority of Warner Robins, to enter into a lease agreement with us,” Blackburne said. “It was subject to Department of Natural Resources’ release, which they were already working on. The city already has a contract with the Development Authority of Warner Robins to lease the property. The Development Authority of Warner Robins can’t sign it until the property gets transferred to them, and this was the resolution that was to do so. Nothing has happened since then, and we’re not sure why. We were asked in April of last year, to explain who was going to live in these apartments because there had been a concern of the housing being section 8, low income, but it is not section 8.”

During the regular meeting on March 2, 2020, Councilman Charlie Bibb made the motion to rescind and Councilman Kevin Lashley seconded. Before taking a vote, Councilman Daron Lee said the motion to revoke the land lease agreement was not brought before the council properly. Citing Robert’s Rules of Order, Lee said the motion to reconsider the project came too late and that the decision to cancel the contract could’ve only been made during the last session of council last year.

Mayor Toms then called for a motion to table the matter until the next council meeting. Councilman Keith Lauritsen made the motion and Lee seconded it. City Attorney Fred Graham also stated that night that this was the first time he had heard anything about the rescinding of the land lease agreement resolution.

At the second meeting on March 16, 2020, council came to a 3-3 vote; Toms broke the tie in favor of rescinding the agreement. Councilmen Daron Lee, Clifford Holmes, and Larry Curtis voted against rescinding the agreement.

Toms said the final presentation of the project was not what it was first portrayed as, which was loft style apartments with retail space. Toms said he was against the project from the very beginning, but went to Gary Lee, Warner Robins Economic Development Director, and asked him to give him (Toms) a better understanding of the project. Toms said Lee didn’t do so, and no other person came and talked to him about it. The allegation of Toms signing the owner environmental questionnaire and disclosure statement in 2018, he said it was false of that document being the one to set the project in motion.

Developers are seeking awards of eight counts of the complaint they have filed.

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