SHARON

Checks mailed. Checks received.

That's easy enough to understand. But now comes the legal fine point -- Mercer County Industrial Development Authority wants to hear from Winner Development LLC if the $16,338 in checks are meant as a partial payment on the more than $31,000 in unpaid expenses the agency said it's owed by the Sharon company or is the money considered payment in full.

Winner Development's answer: Give us a detailed bill of what you say we owe you and based on that we'll let you know.

It's the latest twist in the ongoing fight over money between the non-profit development agency and the company run by Jim Winner.

On Tuesday Winner said he was issuing the checks to the agency for the expenses and complained his character was under attack. Charles Bestwick, MCIDA's chairman, said the agency has never attacked Winner's character and only wants to be reimbursed for the expenses it incurred.

In June MCIDA sued Winner Development for the more than $31,000 the authority says it's owed. The expenses are for legal and administrative expenses the agency said it paid out to help the company apply for a $7 million state grant for the business to develop the former Westinghouse Electric Corp. plant in Sharon.

Winner Development dropped the application through MCIDA complaining the agency was hindering its efforts and is now seeking to secure the grant through the city of Sharon. MCIDA said that despite repeated requests the company failed to supply information on 21 conditions set by the state in order to get the grant.

At a special MCIDA meeting Friday on the Mercer County court house previously scheduled on a separate matter, Tom Kuster, an MCIDA solicitor, reported to the agency's board the company's checks arrived. But he said one check only had a notation that it was for legal fees and the other was marked as a replacement check. MCIDA rejected a previous check by Winner Development because it was marked by the company as payment in full which the agency said wouldn't suffice.

Kuster said he will send a letter to Winner Development asking how the checks are supposed to be applied towards the outstanding debt.

Winner was not in his office Friday but Charles Miller, the company's chief financial officer, said the checks pay off all the administrative and legal fees in full. The remaining amount in dispute involves out-of-pocket expenses, he said.

"We have not been provided with adequate documentation for these expenses,'' Miller said. "Provide us with the proper documentation just like we get with any other expense voucher that comes through our company.''

On the recommendation of Kuster the board took no action. Board member Joseph Loedding noted the dispute has dragged on for a long time but that all of the decisions made by the board on the issue have been unanimous.

"We stand behind what Chuck has done,'' he said of Bestwick. "He has been patient.''

If the board accepts the checks it would bring the disputed amount below $20,000. Kuster noted that could mean the matter may be settled through court-supervised arbitration rather than through a regular court suit.

Arbitration is where two sides use an independent third party to settle civil suits such as contract language. Negotiations between Winner Development and MCIDA broke down earlier this summer over settling the matter through arbitration outside of court supervision.

On the special matter for the meeting MCIDA approved a $2.325 million refinancing for International Timber Veneer which has a wood veneer products plant in Jackson (Township) Commerce Park. The refinancing from a $4 million MCIDA loan given in 1996 will be used to replace debt it has with GE Capital.