Lani Kai owner Ken Conidiaris has sent a letter to the town council warning them that the hotel’s legal team is keeping an eye on who they might appoint to its Nuisance Abatement Board. Conidiaris is worried several members being considered for that board have a bias toward his hotel.
The town created a Nuisance Abatement Board shortly after a murder took place on the property of The Lani Kai four months ago. The murder is still unsolved.
The killing of 22-year old Johnny Jackson on the Lani Kai property was the final straw for several members of the town council. For years, the Lani Kai has been a magnet for thousands of police and fire department calls. Lawyers for the Conidiaris family argued that many of the calls to the hotel were due to the hotel being a landmark on the island and didn’t actually have anything to do with crime at the hotel. People were just dialing 911 and saying they were near the hotel, for example.
In his letter to the council, Ken Conidiaris wants the town to know he’s watching them. “We are monitoring your progress as you establish the board, its policy and procedures.”
Conidiaris claims, without providing any specific names, that several people being considered for the board ‘have an inherent bias.’ He says his legal team is keeping a log of the public comments being made by those being considered for the NAB.
We believe Dawn Thomas, now a member of the Public Safety Committee, is one of the targets of the Conidiaris e-mail. Thomas, and her husband Bryan, appeared on Episode # 131 of Beach Talk Radio on September 30th. Both spoke about their support for a Nuisance Abatement Board and concern with the extremely high volume of police and fire calls to the Lani Kai. We understand Thomas is being considered for the NAB.
Conidiaris goes on to caution the council about wasting taxpayer dollars, says he’s logging comments potential NAB members are making and hopes the town is doing the same.
It’s important to note that the Conidiaris family tied the town up in lawsuits for 2 years by objecting to a legally approved town council project — the Margaritaville Resort.
It’s still unknown how much money that lawsuit cost the town in terms of legal fees and lost revenue due to the long delay their lawsuit caused. The Conidiaris family immediately dropped the lawsuit following the murder of Jackson.
Here’s a copy of the letter Conidiaris sent the council…
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