Colony parties talking without lawyers

The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort Association and longtime Colony owner Dr. Murray “Murf” Klauber announced Thursday in a press release they are trying to reach a settlement without the presence of attorneys. It’s the first time attorneys haven’t been actively involved in more than seven years.

The Colony Association wrapped up three days of closed-door meetings Wednesday, Feb. 27, at Temple Beth Israel.

“Perhaps the most significant result to emerge from the meetings this week was an intensive, direct dialogue between leaders of the Association and the Klauber family to resolve all of the legal disputes that have been ongoing since 2006,” state the press release.

Jay Yablon, president of the Colony Beach and Tennis Resort Association, announced that Klauber and Katie Klauber Moulton, longtime Colony Beach & Tennis Resort general manager, were invited to the meetings and allowed to participate.

Klauber acknowledged reasonable progress in a prepared statement.

“The Association's meeting was promising and I was happy to see the unit owners who attended engage in productive debate and discussions,” Klauber said. “The board brought some very qualified professionals to the table and the attendees had a chance to openly and honestly express their opinions of the various options presented. Afterward, there were some honest and candid discussions between us and a few of the board members. Though there remains a great deal of pain for all that has happened these last many years, I think now is the time to align our business interests and get this done. To all my dear friends on Longboat Key, we will make this happen, and I intend to be there with all of you to help cut the ribbon at the grand reopening.”

Yablon is pleased with the progress made this week.

“We are finally at the point where everybody has decided to leave their lawyers at home and talk directly with one another to try to resolve these issues,” Yablon stated in a press release. “We have found that at this point in time there is much more that unites our interests than divides them. We are now collaborating on strategies not only to settle our own bilateral disputes but to press the other key stakeholders toward resolution, as well, so that we can soon return to the heavens that was once The Colony.”

Moulton disclosed she agrees having a conference between members of the Colony Association and her group would be valuable at this time.

“There is a time for everything, and now is the time to end the years of dispute and work collaboratively to find a swift resolution to the issues that have plagued our precious Colony for far too long” said Moulton, in a prepared statement. “We are delighted to see that the board is open to finding a cooperative route to resolving the disputes. Good and productive dialogue is now underway, and we will not stop until we have succeeded in ending this long nightmare.”

This week, Yablon said his board and unit owners primarily discussed the redevelopment of the Colony on Longboat Key.

“In the next several weeks leading up to the Association's annual meeting on May 6 and May 7, the unit owners will be taking an advisory vote to help the board determine whether to pursue a rehabilitation of all the existing units or a project that is mostly new construction with the exception of the dozen or so beach units closest to the Gulf of Mexico,” Yablon stated in his press release.

For more information, pick up a copy of Thursday’s March 7 Longboat Observer.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].