Hall bond attorney seeks to 'set record straight'

GAINESVILLE - Hall County's bond attorney denied at Thursday night's commission meeting that his financing proposal for the North Hall Park ignored last month's court injunction on the park's community center and library.

The accusation came during Wednesday's work session from attorney David Syfan, representing Clermont in its suit against the county which claims commissioners abused their power by moving the new library away from Clermont and to the North Hall site on Nopone Road. Bond attorney Tred Syfan said he wanted to set the record straight, the community center and library both were removed from the financing which did not include construction funds.

"I did not bring something to this commission that would have resulted in y'all being found in contempt of a court order," Syfan said. "The judge's order was oral, the judge's order has not been reduced to writing and it stated orally that the county could not perform any construction on the community center and library since it was one building."

Syfan said the order did not apply to construction of the park and did not apply to construction of any other facilities and did not apply for financing of the park.

Commissioners approved the North Hall Park financing, removing $4.5-million financing for the community center; Syfan said the $3-million for the library had already been removed.

"The size of the financing has been decreased to $15,390,000 by taking out $4.5-million for the community center building and as I reported yesterday the $3-million had already been taken out of the financing for the library," Syfan said.

Syfan also denied that the installment purchase agreement for the project did not comply with Georgia law, and that such financing was ruled legal by the State Supreme Court in a Jackson County case.

Syfan said as of Thursday afternoon the Gainesville Hall County Economic Development Corporation had the power to handle the financing for the county, contrary to what the Clermont attorney said Wednesday.

"We had been intending to amend their articles of incorporation and had planned to do that today and their articles have been amended providing them the power to undertake a transaction of this nature for the county," Syfan said.