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City, former worker settle suit Central Point agrees to pay $60,000 By CHRIS BRISTOL CENTRAL POINT -- The City Council has settled a lawsuit -- the second of two filed by female employees who said they were harassed by former Mayor Rusty McGrath. Sandy Lommel, who worked as the city's administrative secretary for six years before she resigned in November 1996, received a lump-sum payment Tuesday of $60,000 as part of an agreement reached last week on the eve of a trial scheduled in Jackson County Court. City Councilwoman Donna Higginbotham said she and fellow council members decided to settle "because we thought it would cost a heck of a lot more if we didn't." The $60,000 figure covers everything, including attorney fees. Lommel declined an interview. In a statement, she thanked her supporters and their efforts "to keep Rusty McGrath from taking unprecedented control of the city of Central Point." As part of the settlement agreement, City Administrator Jim Bennett wrote a letter acknowledging Lommel as an "excellent employee" and expressing "regrets" for the circumstances that led to her resignation. In her lawsuit, Lommel claimed that McGrath harassed her because she is a woman and that the city wouldn't do anything to stop him. She sought back and future wages and benefits, and $100,000 for emotional distress. Lommel claimed McGrath told her he would get rid of her if she did not help him get rid of former City Administrator Dave Kucera. In October 1996, McGrath broke a tie vote of the council to fire Kucera. Lommel also alleged that McGrath told other councilors "that they need to do something about the f----n' b----," that he asked her to make deliveries for his personal business and that he falsely accused her of wrongfully taking sandwiches and soft drinks from the city. Finally, she said McGrath accused her of sabotaging his re-election campaign by giving private information to the press -- information she was obligated to release under the Oregon Public Records Act. Lommel now works for a Medford travel agency. City Councilman David Gilmour echoed Higginbotham's statement that a settlement was necessary. And he bluntly blamed McGrath. "We were stuck in a bad situation if we didn't settle," he said. "The city could have ended up paying out a huge sum of money. Our attorneys gave a negative view of our chances in court. "The perpetrator gets off scot-free without paying a cent." McGrath could not be reached for comment. In the past, he dismissed Lommel's claims as "nonsense." Lommel was the second female Central Point employee in less than a year who sued the city, claiming harassment by McGrath. Susan Wilson Broadus, then the city's director of public works, filed a lawsuit in federal court in March 1996 that accused McGrath and Kucera of interfering with her attempts to hold developers and contractors to Central Point's public works standards and environmental regulations. The city eventually settled the suit for $20,000 plus legal costs and attorney fees. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA