Fort Walton Beach Council minutes — 10-23-07 regular minutes — reading text

Hartwell moved to remove Mr. Robert Rettie as a member of the CRA Board of Commissioners for behavior unbecoming a member of the CRA Board of Commissioners. Mr. Minich seconded motion.  190 Regular Council 10/ 23/ 07 REMOVAL OF CRA MEMBER ( CONTI Some members of Council expressed concern that this type of action could send the wrong signal to volunteers and potential volunteers; that one of the e- mails written by Mr. Rettie was not intended for public view; that the Chairman of the CRA had taken care of the situation at the CRA meeting; and that what is being discussed cannot be verified since Mr. Rettie is not present to explain. Further discussion ensued that the behavior of Mr. Rettie had not changed after the CRA meeting and that negative e- mails continued to be sent; that the behavior of Mr. Rettie is totally unacceptable behavior of an emissary of the City; and that this action would send the correct message to volunteers that professionalism on City boards is what is expected. I Mr. Hartwell received clarification from the City Attorney that while e- mails sent over the Internet may not be public domain, they are public record when conducted in the venue of the business of the City. The Mayor asked if there was any public input. Lee Bobo, 38 Memorial Parkway and member of the CRA, explained that at the October 3 CRA meeting, one of the CRA members made a motion to remove Mr. Rettie from the Board with no warning, no preamble, nothing, and that the motion did not receive a second. Mr. Bobo then advised that the Chairman of the CRA took about five minutes and adequately explained what was expected from members of the CRA and any City board or committee. Mr. Bobo stated that when he learned that Council was going to discuss Mr. Rettie' s removal from the Board, he questioned to himself whether the Board member that asked for his resignation at the CRA meeting was asked to make the motion by a member of Council, or did the member ask a member of Council to make that motion. Mr. Bobo offered his personal feeling that Mr. Rettie is a very intelligent individual who speaks his mind, but his comments and questions during CRA meetings are always relevant to the issue before the Board, and he has never heard any negative remarks directed at the City government or staff from Mr. Rettie. Doug Reed, 842 Santa Rosa, advised he is the CRA member who asked for Mr. Rettie' s removal from the Board. He advised that the removal was requested not because of Mr. Rettie' s actions during the CRA meetings, but because of blanket e- mails being sent and the way he conducts himself outside of the meetings. Mr. Reed stated he feels Mr. Rettie can do good on the Board, but his actions can be construed as speaking for the Board, and that is not the truth. There was no more public input. The City Attorney clarified the procedures for Council removal of a member of a board is set I forth in Chapter 163, and it does not state there has to be five days to give the individual time to prepare. She stated the individual is entitled to ten days notice that there will be a hearing on their removal, and that the e- mail that went back and forth between Mr. Hartwell and Mr. Rettie was ten days in advance. The City Attorney further noted the e- mail was after the motion made at the last meeting two weeks ago, and that proper notice and due- process requirements of the Statute were followed. Mr. Garvie stated his feeling he did not have enough information on this issue and for that reason he could not support this motion. J, L  191 10/23/ 07 Regular Council REMOVAL OF CRA MEMBER ( CO NT) Mr. Hartwell advised that all e- mails referenced were forwarded and disbursed through the City Clerk to ensure it was public record, except for the telephone calls between he and Mr. Rettie that were not documented. Dr. Pullen noted that the one e- mail where Mr. Rettie allegedly mentions government officials as e- mail, and that corrupt was not sent to the public by Mr. Rettie and was meant to be a personal Mr. Rettie has done a good job throughout the years serving the community. Mr. Miller agreed that Mr. Rettie should be present to discuss the allegations against him. The Mayor called for the vote on the motion to remove Mr. Robert Rettie as a member of the CRA Board of Commissioners for behavior unbecoming and it carried by a vote of 4 to 3 with Holmes, Reeves, Hartwell, and Minich in favor and Miller, Garvie, and Pullen opposed. SHORELINE PROTECTION ZONE STUDY Consideration of a request from the City of Fort Walton Beach to direct Community Protection Development Services staff to include a study of allowable uses within the Shoreline Zone as a Major Issue to be addressed in the Evaluation and Appraisal Report for the Comprehensive Plan. The CDS Director explained this request was initiated by Mr. James Tucker to amend the Future Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan to modify the uses in the Shoreline Protection Zone to include boat yards/ marinas. She advised the Municipal Planning Board ( MPB) heard the request and voted to transmit the studyto Council and recommend Staff include the study on the Shoreline Protection Zone as a major issue to be addressed in the Evaluation and Appraisal Report ( EAR) of the Comprehensive Plan. The CDS Director continued Staff is in the process of evaluating its Comprehensive Plan, which is due to the Department of Community Affairs by May of 2008, and the issue of the Shoreline Protection is an appropriate topic to be revisited, because of the issue raised with marinas and the first 50 feet being used mainly for passive activities. Mr. Minich moved to accept the Municipal Planning Board' s recommendation to direct the CDS Staff to include the study on the Shoreline Protection Zone as a major issue to be addressed in the Evaluation and Appraisal Report for the Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Miller seconded motion and it carried unanimously with Holmes, Miller, Reeves, Garvie, Pullen, Hartwell, and Minich in favor. COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE FOR NLC CONGRESS OF CITIES BUSINESS MEETING Consideration of designating a Council representative to serve as the City' s voting delegate for the 2007 NLC Congress of Cities Annual Business Meeting on Saturday, November 17, 2007. Mr. Minich moved to designate Councilman Bill Garvie to serve as the City' s voting on November 17, delegate for the 2007 NLC Congress of Cities Annual Business Meeting 2007. Dr. Pullen seconded motion and it carried unanimously with Holmes, Miller, Reeves, Garvie, Pullen, Hartwell, and Minich in favor. RECESS The meeting recessed at 8: 45 p. m. RECONVENE The meeting reconvened at 9: 00 p. m. 192 10/ 23/ 07 Regular Council INVESTIGATION OF CONDUCT OF FINANCE DIRECTOR Consideration of a discussion relating to Charter Section 12 with the Council in regard to conducting an investigation into the conduct of the Finance Director, Lisa Absher. The Mayor explained the procedure to be followed for this item as well as for the following items regarding the conduct of the City Manager and the discussion of Council decorum. He asked that the presenter of each item be allowed to present their issues, then the Council and the public will have the opportunity to ask clarifying questions. He stressed that there is no investigation being done tonight, and that absolutely no questions on investigating should be asked; only the merits of having an investigation. He advised there is a copy of the Charter at Council' s place and he read Section 12, I.. Investigations of Transactions of Departments and Officials, which states, " The council, the mayor or any committee, duly authorized and appointed by councilor the mayor to do so, may investigate the financial transactions of any office or department of the city government and the official acts of any city official, and by similar investigation may secure information upon any matter relating to the city' s business. " The Mayor continued that when discussions and considerations are completed on Item 20 Consideration of a discussion relating to Charter Section 12 with the Council in regard to conducting an investigation into the conduct of the Finance Director, Lisa Absher), and Item 21, Consideration of a discussion relating to Charter Section 12 with the Council in regard to conducting an investigation into the conduct of the City Manager, Joyce Shanahan), and if an investigation is deemed necessary on either or both, discussion will center on how the investigation will be handled, be it Council, the Mayor, or a committee. The Mayor confirmed with the City Attorney that this procedure was appropriate. Mr. Holmes, who requested the item be placed on the agenda, reported that due to numerous phone calls, information he has received from residents, and a telephone call from a city resident expressing concern over the conduct of the Finance Director, he felt the matter needed to be discussed to bring it to resolution and begin to move ahead with the business of the City. Mr. Holmes stated he contacted the City Attorney who advised he speak with the City' s labor attorney, Mr. Mattimore, and after a lengthy discussion with Mr. Mattimore about Section 12 of the Charter, Mr. Holmes feels the information included in the backup material presented to Council is more than enough to open an investigation and look into the matter of the conduct of the Finance Director. Mr. Garvie requested clarification on what exactly should be investigated, and questioned whether the allegations were in reference to financial transactions or official acts of a city official, and that if a motion is being looked at to investigate someone, there should be a clear understanding of what exactly is being investigated. Mr. Holmes responded the situation regarding the conduct and relationship of the Finance I,. Director with her staff has been discussed previously. He cited documentation from a city employee in reference to a conversation the Finance Director had with Robert Rettie involving a directive set forth from this Council and that, in his opinion, is overstepping the bounds of a Charter Officer to intervene in a directive from Council, according to Section 12 of the Charter. Mr. Holmes noted the investigation is in reference to the official acts, and not the financial transaction of the Finance Director, and explained that the investigation will clarify whether the