Ken Harwood: Speculation on Judge Doyle Square project is not helpful

Dear Editor: Regarding the article "Nothing short of bizarre: New dispute emerges between Madison and Judge Doyle developer." I would like to hear from George Austin and the developers who would have a real understanding of the issues here and I can wait until after the meeting because speculation only make things worse. I get very nervous when the lawyers step up to the mic and in this case the two representing the city do not seem to agree.

Funding may be a real issue because in development time is money and a delay regardless of cause may cause money to tighten, but that is only a guess on my part. I do not know how much of the actual process has made the news, but if letters from lawyers is the first point of discussion I have real concerns with the management of the product. My assumption is that the staff has been working on this and Beitler is concerned about the time it takes for government to do anything — again only speculation on my part but we have some pretty smart people at the table.

Also, why is Assistant City Attorney Kevin Ramakrishna so vocal and opinionated while City Attorney Mike May is more reserved and pragmatic in his comments? Of course that might just be me reading between the lines but the mayor and staff have offered no comment. Even Ald. Dave Ahrens is not addressing the specifics and he is often very vocal regarding the developer.

Clearly there is tension between the two parties, but until we have this issue before us in full the city needs to manage the press — me included.

Ken Harwood