The commissioners are scheduled to meet this morning to discuss "the possibility of settling pending litigation involving the county," according to today's agenda.

Thompson distributed a media advisory over the weekend, saying he plans to vote against going into closed session. Instead, he will host a press conference on open government outside the meeting room.

He said commissioners will meet to discuss a settlement offer from developers of the Jefferson Tech Park over a lawsuit.

Developers of the tech park, Jefferson Park Development LLC and JTPI Investments LLC, sued the county in August for $30 million, and sued the State Highway Administration.

At issue was ownership of a bridge the county required the developers to build, a condition of developing a 173-acre park at Md. 180 and U.S. 15, near I-70.

The settlement offer includes a list of demands, such as a $12 million tax increment financing deal from the county. Under the offer, commissioners must agree not to change the property's zoning during the current comprehensive rezoning, Thompson said.

Among other conditions, the county would agree to exempt the development from future changes to other land-use laws, he said.

The suit alleges the developers paid more than $1 million to design the bridge and were prepared to pay an additional $9 million in building costs, but couldn't get permits because of a disagreement between the county and SHA about which would own and maintain it.

Thompson alleges the developers filed the suit to force the discussion of bridge ownership into closed session. He also maintains the suit will move talks about policy related to the development of the property out of the public eye.

"If the (board) discusses the proposed secret agreement in closed session, it will provide other developers and the local land use bar with a perverse incentive to sue or threaten to sue in order to convert otherwise public proceedings into private ones," Thompson said in a statement.

Commissioners President Jan Gardner said the board will not conduct legislative business in the session.

That includes tax breaks or other economic development tools, many of which require public hearings before they can be enacted.

"The purpose of the closed session is to consult with our counsel on pending litigation," she said. "No one else will be present."

Paul D. Flynn, the developers' attorney, said the owners of Jefferson Tech Park have, at the county's invitation, attended meetings and prepared detailed settlement proposals to "reach a positive resolution for all concerned."

"We choose to respect the confidentiality of those efforts and the trust of those people who are engaged in them, even if one commissioner does not," Flynn said.

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