Published Saturday, November 21, 2009 12:28 AM

Sides work on out-of-court deal on cameras

By CASSIE SMITH
cassie.smith@theeagle.com

It won't be official until Monday, but the battle over College Station's red light cameras appears to be over.

Both sides of the dispute over whether results of the city's Nov. 3 election should stand agreed to resolve the issue Friday after a judge ordered mediation.

Visiting District Judge Suzanne Stovall was expected to issue an opinion on whether the election violated the city's charter but said she thought the parties could come to terms on their own.

"It appears to me that the issues involved are something that could very, very likely be resolved if I make the attorneys get together and lock them in a room for some period of time," she said.

After meeting behind closed doors for 2 1/2 hours, both sides decided the voters' decision to end the red light camera program should stand.

Details of the agreement are expected to be finalized Monday, when the City Council will vote to approve it.

If an agreement isn't finalized, Stovall said, she's prepared to order arbitration.

The city had planned to turn the cameras off last week, but two College Station residents filed a court petition arguing that the election should never have been allowed to happen because it violated the city's charter.

The attorney for the men said that the ballot measure was a referendum and not an initiative, as the city argued. A referendum repeals a city ordinance, while an initiative creates a new ordinance.

The city charter requires referendum petitions to come within 20 days of the passage of the ordinance they are challenging. The ordinance authorizing photo enforcement of red light violations was approved in 2007, and four cameras were installed in early 2008. More cameras were added in 2009.

City Manager Glenn Brown said he was surprised the judge ordered mediation but was satisfied with the outcome.

"We're much closer to a resolution," he said. "The goal has been to carry out the direction of 52 percent of our voters."

Brown said the city will likely give American Traffic Solutions, the company that operates the cameras, the required 60-day termination notice on Tuesday. Citations can still be issued through the company during that time.

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