Latham back on board
Supervisors rehire attorney at Rentech’s request
Published Thursday, January 10, 2008
NATCHEZ — Members of the Adams County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Wednesday to temporarily rehire former county attorney Bob Latham.
At a Monday board meeting, members voted not to rehire Latham as county attorney.
But Latham was rehired Wednesday at the behest of Rentech consultant Bill Harrell to facilitate the land transaction between Rentech, International Paper and Adams County.
Harrell said Latham had such an intimate knowledge of the Rentech project that moving forward without him could hinder the project’s progress.
Harrell said the closing on the land must be completed by April 1, as dictated by the terms of sale set forth by IP.
And since an illness in the family of Joe Regnery, Natchez Project Manager for Rentech, will have him away from the project for the next 30 days, Harrell said Latham is even more important to the project.
“That could unnecessarily delay the closing date,” he said.
Harrell stressed to the board just how important the land acquisition is to the Rentech project.
“It’s really the fist major step,” he said.
Newly elected Supervisor’s President Henry Watts said he thought interim attorney Bobby Cox could handle the deal on his own.
However Latham and Harrell did not agree.
Latham said that his in-depth involvement in the project makes him more than qualified to see it to its completion.
“He (Cox) has just not been involved,” Latham said. “I’ve devoted two years to the project.”
Latham also said the closing on the Rentech deal was unique because of the fluid nature of the entire project.
“It’s constantly changing,” he said.
And while the board has voted to rehire Latham until the closing goes through or until April 1, Latham said he has not discussed the logistics of the working alongside Cox or his own fees for working on the closing.
“I’m not sure why they need two lawyers to work on the same case,” he said. “That just doubles the amount the county pays in fees.”
On Wednesday evening Watts said he envisioned Cox functioning in a supervisory role that would review Latham’s work on the project.
Latham said while he is not opposed to continuing to work on the case, he is reluctant to work with Cox in a capacity that would have Cox reviewing his work.
Watts said he will try to meet with Latham on Thursday to iron out the details of Latham’s newly extended contract.
At the close of Wednesday’s meeting, Harrell said he was pleased with the issue.
“Having Bob is a smart choice,” he said. “It’s complex issue and he knows it well.”