The process of expanding the public record ordered by Grant County Circuit Court Judge Craig R. Day in the lawsuit brought by the Crawford Stewardship Project, Arnold Steele, Mark Fishler, Loren Fishler, and Dan Linder against the Town of Bridgeport is moving slowly forward.

The attorney representing the township, Tim Yanacheck, met with Marcel Oliveira, the attorney for the plaintiffs, on Tuesday, June 24.

Yanacheck was seeking a review of the record by the plaintiffs’ attorneys before submitting it to the judge.

“We need to let the other side inspect the record to make sure it is complete,” Yanacheck said. “The goal is to have this to the judge by Friday.”

Yanacheck believes that Day will file another scheduling hearing within a couple of weeks. That hearing will determine how the lawsuit will proceed -- if the attorneys file written arguments or present oral argument prior to a decision.

“This is a more complex case, so we expect the court to schedule a hearing when we will set dates for submission of our written arguments and then a date to hear our oral arguments,” Oliveira said.

Because of the case complexity, Oliveira expects that the decision will be made in writing rather than at the bench when arguments are heard.

Day made the order to further develop the public record during a pre-trial scheduling conference held on January 21, requiring Bridgeport Township to hold a new hearing to address issues of public comment and conflict of interest. The township held two meetings, one on May 15 and the other on May 28.

Crawford Stewardship Project and the four landowners are seeking to have the conditional use permit, which allows Pattison Sand Company to operate a frac sand mine in the township, voided and the permit application reheard.