SOUTH POINT— Let’s take 90 days and think about this.

That was the consensus of a meeting Wednesday regarding Superior Marine, Inc.’s lease of land at The Point industrial park.

McNational, Inc., the holding company of McGinnis, Inc., has asked the Lawrence Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) to terminate its lease with Superior Maine Ways, Inc., and allow McNational and a partner, the Columbus-based Slane Co., to use part of the riverfront property now leased by Superior. McNational and Slane have plans to develop a $120 million ethanol plant and want to use part of the riverfront land to load and off load products shipped by river barge.

But Richard Meyers, the attorney for Superior Maine Ways, Inc. said his client has a valid contract and any breach of that contract would be met with a lawsuit.

“I don’t believe you have any right to terminate the lease,” he said.…“Dale Manns won’t stop any new business from coming into the county. But if the lease is terminated we will ask a court to decide it.”

Under an agreement with the LEDC, Superior has leased land in the park, including the land along the Ohio riverfront, for the last four years under a 20-year agreement that is reviewed every five years. The two sides were to have had a review session conducted and paperwork signed by Dec. 31 — the end of the fourth year. That has now been pushed back to March 31 to allow LEDC members to consider whether they want to terminate the lease and accommodate the new venture or continue its agreement with Superior as is.

“This will allow us to properly review and discuss and meet to resolve any concerns we may have,” LEDC Executive Director Bill Dingus said. “This lease has been a point of contention for years — since it was signed — and we want to make sure all the Is are dotted and Ts are crossed. More importantly, we want to make sure we do what is in the best interest of the county.”

What is in the best interest of the county was at the center of Wednesday’s debate.Jim Wilmer, vice-president of development for McNational, said the two entities will put an ethanol plant somewhere and the industrial park is the preferred location.

“Our goal is to decide on this within 90 days on this site or an alternate site and this site is best for us — but not without the river,” he said. “…We’re not trying to take the land (away from Superior). But the LEDC needs control of it. It needs to be accessible.”

Doug McGinnis, chief executive officer of McGinnis, Inc., challenged Superior Marine owner Dale Manns to go with him to the riverfront and try to find a solution to the problem.

“Why can’t we share?” Doug McGinnis asked.

On the other hand, Meyers said Manns has done business with the LEDC and other entities throughout the county for years and employs 150-200 people in his various enterprises. In the last four years, Manns, he said, has faithfully upheld his part of the agreement with the LEDC and would have had more of an opportunity to develop it were it not for a lawsuit filed by McGinnis four years ago over the awarding of the lease in the first place.

Meyers said breaking that lease with a known quantity such as Manns for a proposal that may or may not come to fruition would be tantamount to grabbing at “pie-in-the-sky.”

Manns told LEDC members that breaking his lease with The Point property would jeopardize his plans for the proposed RiverWalk community in Union Township, since his faith in the LEDC and in the county would be shattered.

“Do the fair thing,” he said.

Dingus had first suggested that the lease be continued but altered with three clauses: one would allow the LEDC to cancel footage leased by Superior to accommodate other businesses with a 60-day notice; a second would require any entity that uses the riverfront to operate an intermodal facility; a third clause would allow the LEDC to approve or reject any plans for improvements to the property before the improvements are made.

It was the first clause that most concerned Meyers. He said it would be very difficult for Superior to conduct business with any other outfit if they had to constantly consider of they would or would not have a lease for the riverfront land.

“We can’t have a lease and let you be able to take it away at will,” he said. “That’s not a lease.”

The lease of the riverfront land has been the subject of hot debate and even legal battles since the LEDC and Superior inked their agreement four years ago. McGinnis alleged the LEDC and its former executive director, Pat Clonch had secretly negotiated the lease without properly considering other bids and sued the LEDC and Clonch.

In a settlement reached late last year, the case was thrown out of court with the stipulation that the LEDC would reconsider the contract with Superior and give McGinnis an option to bid on the property.