Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/107047
ON TO MEDIATION The Hub Baja Grill (right) and The Cottage are two of Chris Brown's properties in Siesta Village. Photo by Norman Schimmel THE SARASOTA COUNTY COMMISSION REJECTS A SECOND SETTLEMENT OFFER IN A LAWSUIT FILED IN 2011 BY SIESTA KEY BUSINESS OWNER CHRIS BROWN By Rachel Brown Hackney Editor Once again, the Sarasota County Commission has rejected a settlement offer in the October 2011 lawsuit Siesta Village property owner Chris Brown filed after parking assessments rose substantially on three of his parcels while assessments on other Village parcels dropped. Following a 90-minute executive session on Jan. 30 with County Attorney Stephen DeMarsh and Assistant County Attorney David Pearce — who has been handling the case for the county — DeMarsh announced at the start of the commission's afternoon session in Sarasota that Brown's attorney, Morgan Bentley of Bentley and Bruning in Sarasota, had offered to settle the case for $315,000. DeMarsh added that the matter is "scheduled for mediation in the very near future," then The [settlement] terms are not recommended against what we wanted — not what I wanted, the settlement. anyway. Mediation has been planned for Friday, Joe Barbetta Commissioner Feb. 1, court records Sarasota County show.