Details will be released once deal is finalized

~ A provision in the Sunshine Law allowed the county to keep the negotiations secret for a year.

When Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority officials announced the buyout of Kelley Transportation Co., Inc., Monday, there were several things kept from the public.

The price to be paid for the company was one item and the letter of intent that sets out conditions that must be met to complete the sale was another. The secrecy is based on the anticipation that the transit authority may, at least during a transition period, lease the offices and other property used by Kelley Transportation to provide its taxi and van service, said Doug Richards, chairman of the transit authority.

Once all outstanding issues are settled, Richards said, "we will immediately make available everything about the transaction. This is simply about protecting the business interests of the Kelleys."

The announcement, to assembled reporters and members of the public in the county administration building, culminates more than a year of work, County Commissioner Jay Purcell said.

Participants offered differing versions of what got the parties to the negotiating table. Purcell said he urged the transit authority to pursue the purchase from Kimberly and Terrenc Kelley.

Kimberly Kelley said the proposal "came up mutually in a meeting some time ago."

And Richards, chairman of the transit authority, said his agency initiatied the discussions.

"It is all part of a long-term plan of where we want to be," he said.

However negotiations began, they have been a closely guarded secret. And details of the proposed purchase are protected from disclosure by exemptions in the Missouri Sunshine Law, Richards said.

When the deal is final, Richards said, the authority will immediately make all of the details available to the public.

All of the board meetings to discuss the sale have been held in private. The letter of intent isn't a final sale document, Richards said, adding that about a dozen "contingencies" must be met to complete the sale.

"I don't think the deal is going to fall through, barring any major unseen situation," Richards said.

The Sunshine Law allows negotiations for the lease of real estate to be kept from the public when "public knowledge of the transaction might adversely affect the legal consideration therefor." And despite the public announcement, the lack of a final contract allows the details to remain secret, said Morley Swingle, Cape Girardeau prosecuting attorney.

Those provisions are designed to protect the seller's interest in their property, Swingle said.

"As long as there is a chance this could fall apart, there could be real harm to the parties involved," Swingle said. "Once it is clear what they were willing to sell their business for, they could hardly turn around and ask that someone pay more for it."

The justification for keeping the negotiations private were laid out by Brent Nelson, assistant prosecutor, in a memo prepared in October for Swingle and the Cape Girardeau County Commmission.

Nelson cited a court case involving Jackson that allowed the city to keep closed its meetings on the purchase of a landfill until a contract was signed.

The transit authority will need office space and parking, Richards said. "One of the biggest problems we have right now in Jackson is adequate parking for our vehicles," he said.

The Kelleys said they plan to continue operating their construction business from their office building at 41 N. Sprigg St. That should leave room for operations of the transit authority, which Richards said hopes to complete the takeover by July 1.