Title
Resolution to Approve Amendment Number 1 to the Legal Services Agreement with Kaplan Kirsch, LLP For Legal Services (Airport Runway Project Litigation) (Amendment $75,000.00; Total $150,000.00)
Memorandum
Attached for your review and approval is a resolution to approve Amendment Number 1 to the legal services agreement with Kaplan Kirsch, LLP in the amount of $75,000.00 for additional legal services relative to the City's airport litigation, making the total amount for the agreement $150,000.00.
In connection with the 6/24 airport runway safety extension project initially authorized in 2009, the City completed its environmental assessment and based thereon in October 2023 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Michigan Department of Transportation (Aeronautics) (MDOT) issued a Finding of No Significant Impact and Record of Decision (FONSI/ROD) documenting their determination that the project would not have significant impacts.
On December 15, 2023 Pittsfield Charter Township, Michigan and Committee for Preserving Community Quality, Inc. filed a petition for review of the FONSI/ROD in the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (DC Circuit litigation) which remains pending.
In August 2024, the petitioners in the DC Circuit litigation also filed a separate lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (USDC litigation) against MDOT, its director, and the City alleging numerous violations of federal and state law and seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to stop the project. FAA is not a party to the USDC lawsuit. The USDC litigation has been stayed by stipulation of the parties pending the outcome of the DC Circuit litigation.
The City immediately engaged specialized outside legal counsel, Kaplan Kirsch, LLP, who had assisted the City previously on airport litigation, to assist with the DC Circuit and USDC litigation and entered into a legal services agreement for an amount not...
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