Jun. 8--Hollywood City Manager Sam Finz wants to rachet up the fight with developers of the Diamond on the Beach hotel by hiring an outside agent to recruit other developers to the project. 

At the city commission meeting Wednesday night, Finz suggested the city hire a real estate attorney -- possibly one from outside of Florida -- to help settle the fight over the property at Johnson Street and the Broadwalk. 

The idea: If Hollywood had options, a financial settlement with the Diamond developers could be more palatable -- and achieved sooner. 

"We have to stop thinking in this small box," Finz said. "I want a national-level expert. This site has potential that's beyond most people's imagination." 

Finz wants to end the city's two-year fight against the developers, led by hotel builder R. Donahue Peebles. 

City Commissioners agreed to push for a conclusion Wednesday night. 

They voted to hold an executive meeting June 19, but stopped short of hiring an independent attorney/real estate expert. 

In 1999, Hollywood terminated an 89-year lease with Peebles and Gus Boulis, the real estate mogul killed in Fort Lauderdale in February, because commissioners believed the pair lacked timely financing for the project. 

The men sued. In May, Broward Circuit Judge Robert Lance Andrews ruled that the city must allow the resort hotel to be built, or pay the developers damages capped at $1 million. 

Hollywood could still reach an independent settlement with the Diamond developers for more than $1 million. 

Diamond attorney Martin Woods said Peebles still wants to build the hotel, and added that any separation fee would be more than $1 million. 

"I don't think the city of Hollywood has a tremendous amount of money to pay people, they seem to be pretty cash-strapped," Woods said. 

Hollywood Commissioner Sal Oliveri wanted commissioners to agree to hire outside help Wednesday night, and said another meeting is "just a waste of time." 

"I've always thought we were dealing with a sophisticated opponent," Oliveri said. "We don't have the resources in this area." 

City Attorney Dan Abbott said on Wednesday that his hands have been tied because the seven-member city commission has been divided on the project. 

The site is currently an empty lot surrounded by a chain-link fence. 

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