Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 09-14-2010 Special-City Attorney Condidates — reading text

location in 1999. This office is approximately 18 miles from City Hall. Our Panama City Beach office was first established in 2002 and moved to its current location just this year. This office is approximately 48 miles from City Hall. During our recent representation of Walton County, the distance between our office and the administrative offices was not an issue. A.S. Identify Potential Conflicts of Interest. There are no known conflicts of interest. A.6. Fees and Charges: With regard to billing, our intent is to provide the City with a level of certainty of costs for budgeting purposes; therefore, Burke Blue proposes a monthly retainer of $9, 000 which will include the firm' s attendance at all City meetings and for providing routine legal representation to the City Commission and the various departments each month. For matters which are not routine, for example litigation, administrative hearings, the representation of the City for non -routine contract negotiations, or special projects Burke Blue will bill the City according to the Fee Schedule attached hereto. Prior to engaging in any non -routine work or special projects, Burke Blue will address the issue with the City Manager or City Commission, whichever is appropriate. If the City desires a different form of billing, then Burke Blue is open to consideration of a mutually acceptable fee agreement. BURKE BLUE 2010 FEE SCHEDULE ATTORNEY RATE PER HOUR William C. Henry 200 Michael S. Burke 200 Dustin N. Dailey 175 Denise H. Rowan 175 Michael I Henry 150 PARAT. FCTA1, Paralegal fees are billed at $ 75 per hour. TRAVEL Extraordinary travel is billed at one -half the hourly rate published above for each attorney. Extraordinary travel is defined as travel related to the representation ofthe City which occurs outside of Okaloosa County, but does not include the normal travel from our offices to Fort Walton. COSTS Administrative costs, for example, long distance telephone, copies, and faxes are billed at 8% of the monthly bill. Other costs, for example, computer assisted legal research which is outside the firm' s Westlaw Plan, are billed at the actual cost to the firm. SECTION III MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS Must graduate from an accredited 4 -year college /university and accredited law school. All lawyers with Burke Blue have graduated from accredited colleges and law schools. Must be in good standing with the Florida Bar. All lawyers with Burke Blue are in good standing with the Florida Bar. 0 Experience. The members of Burke Blue' s Local Government Law Division are familiar with the broad range of legal issues pertaining to municipal government law, and collectively bring extensive experience in local government law. SECTION IV SCOPE OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICES Burke Blue' s sixteen attorneys are prepared and have the capability to handle all general counsel /legal matters that may be assigned to it by the City. Burke Blue attorneys are admitted in and have authority to practice in all courts in the State of Florida, as well as United States District Courts, Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of the United States. Provide at least three ( 3) related references, including company name, contact person and phone numbers. Keith Howard Mike Thomas, Bay County Commissioner 185 Grand Boulevard, Suite 100 17544 Front Beach Road Sandestin, FL 32550 Panama City Beach, FL 32413 Tel. 850- 837 -1886 Tel. 850- 234 -1942 Larry Jones, Walton County Commissioner 1483 County Highway 1087 DeFuniak Springs, FL 32433 Tel. 850 -892 -8474 Ronnie Bell, former Walton County Administrator (ret.) 8474 County Highway 183 Ponce de Leon, FL 32455 Tel. 850- 836 -4307 Lynn M. Hoshihara, Walton County Attorney ( Interim) 161 Sloss Ave. DeFuniak Springs, FL 32433 Tel. 850- 892 -8110  RFC FOR CITY ATTORNEY SERVICES PROPOSAL FOR PROVIDING PROFESSIONAL LEGAL SERVICES AS CITY ATTORNEY CITY OF FORT WALTON BEACH, FLORIDA Respectfully submitted, 1 F. COLD ICH, E Q Florida Bar No.: 0977675 Law Offices of John F. Colowich 225 Main Street, Suite 7C Destin, FL 32541 850) 650 -7545 850) 650 -7590 - facsimile email: jfclaw@embargmail. com  In connection with the Request for Qualifications, the following proposal is hereby submitted for consideration by the Law Offices of John F. Colowich: Identification of Principal and Secondary Representatives. Principal /primary representative to serve as City Attorney: John F. Colowich, Esq. It is not anticipated that a secondary representative would be necessary except in the case of a medical emergency. However, if secondary representation becomes necessary, counsel will retain other counsel, at his own expense, to attend council or other meetings in his absence. Such retained counsel would be fully advised and prepared to address any issues that may arise from the Agenda for the particular meeting. There are no known scheduling conflicts which would in any way impair or impede providing regularly scheduled services to the City of Fort Walton Beach. 2. Qualifications. Principal /primary representative: John F. Colowich, Esq. Education: Georgetown University, Washington DC (B. A. cum laude 1974) George Washington University, Washington DC (M.A. in Forensic Science, 1976) Loyola University, School of Law, New Orleans, LA (J. D. 1979) Bar Admissions: Florida and Louisiana Bars. Legal Experience: 31 years of practice. Admitted to Louisiana Bar in 1979, admitted to Florida Bar in 1993, admitted to United States District Courts ( N. D., FL; E. D., M..D. and W.D. Louisiana, E. D. of Texas), United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, United States Supreme Court.  Municipal Law Experience: Previous representation of City of Mary Esther in capacity as City Attorney for about 3 years, including attendance at workshop meetings, legislative meetings, code enforcement meetings, review and negotiate contracts on behalf of City, provide opinions as to any local ordinance conflicting with state law, obtain Attorney General opinions when requested and appropriate, provide opinions as to the legality of proposed actions taken by the City Council, monitor and assist outside counsel in litigation matters when appropriate. Other Practice Areas: Business Law, Real Estate Law, Contracts, Casualty Defense, Commercial Litigation, Condominium Law, Construction Litigation, Premises Liability, Bankruptcy. 3. Work Load: There are no known scheduled commitments that conflict with the meeting schedules for the City. 4. Proximity of Local Office: The office has been in existence since 2004 and is located in Destin, Florida. Travel time to the city' s offices is approximately 20 minutes. 5. Potential Conflicts of Interest: There are no known conflicts of interest. 6. Fees and Charges: Two options are submitted for consideration: A. Flat Fee Proposal: Flat fee proposal of $8, 000.00 per month or $96, 000. 00 per year., This figure is based on a review of the current budget for the city attorney. The proposal does not include direct handling of any litigation, which would be billed at a rate of $175. 00 per hour or bond work. It does include all services of a City Attorney as well as the monitoring of any litigation. B. Hourly Rate Proposal: All matters will be billed at the following rates: i. $ 175. 00 per hour for attorney; ii. $ 75. 00 per hour for legal assistants; iii. No fee will be generated by routine consultations with the Mayor, City  Council members, The City Manager, The City Clerk, and Department heads, not exceeding fifteen minutes and unrelated to real estate transactions, litigation and which do not require research or document preparation; iv. Counsel' s general billing policies are as follows: no fee will be charged for travel to and from home or office to City Hall for regularly scheduled meetings; other travel time is billable as incurred; travel expenses will be billed based on the authorized by statute; copy charges are billed at the rate of .25 per page; long distance telephone charges are billed at a flat rate of 3. 00 per call with extended or specially billed calls ( conferences etc.) as incurred; postage charges are billed as incurred; and facsimile transmission and receipt charges are $ 1. 00 per page. Counsel' s time records are kept in quarter -hour increments rounded off to the nearest quarter hour, with the minimum being one -quarter hour. All work assigned to Counsel will be accomplished by attorneys' or legal assistants of Counsel under the direction of Counsel. Florida Bar No.: 0977675 Law Offices of John F. Colowich 225 Main Street, Suite 7C Destin, FL 32541 850) 650 -7545 850) 650 -7590 - facsimile email: jfclaw@embargmail. com  PROPOSAL SIGNATURE Firm /Individual( s) John F. Colowich, Esg. Address: 225 Main Street, Suite 7C City: Destin State Florida Zip: 32541 Telephone: ( 850) 650 -7545 Fax: ( 850) 650 -7590 E -mail: Aclawgembargmail. com. Website: destinlawoffice.com Type of Business ( Corporation, Partnership, Other Specify: Sole Practitioner Tax Number EIN /S SIB] Authorize Signature: Date: ' • Professioi 1. John Lulue, Former City Manager City of Mary Esther 2805 W. HM. 98, Mary Esther, FL 32569 850) 581 -0048 2. _ John C. O1_er, Council Member City of Mary Esther 195 Christobal Road, Mary Esther, FL 32569 850) 855 -5640 3. Ronald Stearns, Council Member City of Mary Esther 195 Christobal Road, Mary Esther, FL 32569 850) 244 -5703 Conerly, Bowman & Dykes, LLP' s Request for City Attorney Professional Legal S ervices City of Fort Walton Beach, Florida Conerly, Bowman & Dykes, LLP 4481 Legendary Drive, Suite 200 Destin, Florida 850) 837 -5118  TABLE OF CONTENTS