Imagine how differently this would have been if our city would have honored our citizens

May 7, 2023

Hi Everyone,
First, I’d like to thank you all again for your support. Citizen turn out at our city meetings has been amazing. Your participation is essential and having an impact.

What happened at the last meeting?
If you recall from my previous newsletter, On March 16, 2022, Mr. Evans Jr. made a donation to the City of Oak Hill in the amount of $5,000 with the condition that the money be spent for “improvements at Nancy V. Cummings park.” Click Here to see the check.

Six days later, on March 22, 2022, City Staff made a donation to the Oak Hill Sports Club Inc., in the amount of $5,000. Mayor Gibson and City Administrator Evans signed check number 17827, click Here to see it.

At the April 10, 2023 city commissioner’s meeting, Evelyn Evans asked where her son’s money went. She said her son had asked her about it and that “He would like to find out what’s going on with that.” Click here to see the video from the city commissioner’s meeting.

April 14, 2023, when City Administrator Kohn Evans sent an email to the commission to inform them that the city was returning the donation to Mr. Evans. She cited city attorney Scott Simpson and the city auditor as having consulted with her regarding the decision, “everyone decided the best way to handle this is to return the funds.” I struggle to understand how an accountant, a legal expert and a city administrator could conclude that “the best way to handle this” would be to return the donation without either retrieving the funds from the Sports Club or bringing the issue before the commission for public debate and a vote. The latter would have allowed for the city to use taxpayer funds to return the donation and allow the Sports Club to keep the donation from the city.

April 18, 2023 I made a public records request asking for a copy of the check from the City Of Oak Hill to the Oak Hill Sports Club, and any correspondence and ordinances the city relied on to make the decision to donate the money to the Sports Club. I also asked for a copy of the check from the Oak Hill Sports Club to the city returning the donation. And finally, I asked for all correspondence and ordinances the city staff used to reach the decision to return the $5,000 donation to Mr. Evans. These records would provide the answers Evelyn Evans was seeking from our city.

My records request yielded two documents: a copy of Mr. Evans’ check to the city for improvements at the Nancy V. Cummings Park and a copy of the check from the City of Oak Hill to the Oak Hill Sports Club. No record of authority, purchase order or city resolution supporting this donation was produced and no exemption was claimed by the city. No check from the Sports Club returning the donation from the city or any documents, or communications, supporting the city’s decision to give the money to the Sports Club or to return the donation to Mr. Evans was provided.

During the April 24, 2023 Oak Hill City Commissioner’s meeting Darry Evans Sr. told the commission that he and his brother personally delivered his son’s check to city hall and emphasized to the recipient that the city use the funds for improvements at the Nancy V. Cummings Park as indicated on the check. This is called a donor-imposed restriction; by law, a restricted donation, if accepted, must be used as the donor specified FS 617.2104. To view a short video on the subject click here.

Imagine how differently this would have turned out if our city would have honored the restrictions that were placed on this generous donation or sought to have the restrictions removed or modified. For more background on this, click here for my April 21, 2023 newsletter.

What Else is new?
A new development in the January 25, 2023 Sunshine law violation. If you recall, City Administrator Kohn Evans wrote an email to the City Commission requesting a vote-by-email to approve spending $2200.00 for the removal of a concrete slab on a lot the city has recently leased to the Oak Hill Community Trust for use as a community garden. This action by the administrator and 4 commissioners, violates FS 286.011. For more information, click here for my February 11, 2023 newsletter and here for episode 2 of the JoeShow.

At the February 13, 2023 commissioner’s meeting, Mayor Gibson attempted to explain away this violation of state law by telling the commission that as mayor he has $1,000 of discretionary money that he can spend without prior approval from the commission. He went on to say that the city administrator also has $1,000 of discretionary funds that she can spend without the approval of the commission. So, between them, they can spend up to $2,000 without prior approval from the city commission. Well right away, you can see that the city was invoiced for $2,200 so city ordinance at the time prohibits any purchase over $1,000 without prior approval by the commission. For more on this, click here for my February 24, 2023 newsletter. More interesting was an exchange between Mayor Gibson and City Attorney Scott Simpson where attorney Simpson tells the Mayor that he could not co-mingle funds to circumvent our city ordinances. To view that exchange, click here for episode 3 of the JoeShow.

At the March 13, 2023 City Commission meeting, Mayor Gibson again tries to explain away the vote-by-email Sunshine law violation by asserting that he declared the potential contamination of the Flamingo road community garden site a public emergency and therefor the expenditure was exempt and did not require a vote by the commission. Click here to review my March 24, 2023 newsletter. To view the exchange Click here for episode 3 of the JoeShow.

For some background, the contractor (Stantec Corporation), who performed the initial testing, described their findings from the phase I assessment of the property in a report that can be viewed by clicking here. They found no indication that the property was contaminated but “out of an abundance of caution,” because the property was slated to be used as a community garden, they recommended the Phase II assessment be completed. I sent an email to Shawn Lasseter, Sr. Project Manager from Stantec corporation and asked him if Stantec requested the removal of that concrete as a condition for Phase II assessment of the property. His response was to say that “Stantec did not request the removal of the concrete.” click here to view that email.

Mayor Gibson asserted that a concrete slab on the Flamingo Road property, a slab that’s been there for decades, presented a clear and present danger to the public. Is the Mayor’s assessment based on any evidence other than city administrator Evans’ statement that the Brownfield organization requested it be removed because they wanted to test under it? We know that falls flat because of Mr. Lasseter’s email. As far as I know, Stantec’s report on the phase II assessment hasn’t come back. But we’ve had an opening day ceremony, started digging beds, and put a fence around the entire property. The city certainly gave no notice to the public of a risk associated with being on the property and in-fact encouraged the public come and participate in the festivities. How does a public emergency declaration serve the public if the public is not notified?

On April 9, 2023 I made a public records request for a copy of Mayor Gibson’s emergency declaration and any records that supported his declaration. The city’s May 1, 2023 response revealed “There are no records with the information you have requested.” Click here to see the public records request.

What’s Next?
Selection of a City administrator.
On May 2, 2023 Oak Hill had a townhall meeting with citizens and Ken Parker, senior advisor to the Florida City and County Management association. The purpose was to seek citizen input on what they consider ideal attributes for the city administrator of Oak Hill. Citizens wrote out and discussed the attributes and the commissioners where given questionnaires to fill out and send to Mr. Parker. These questionnaires will be discussed at one-on-one meetings between the commissioners and Mr. Parker scheduled for Monday 5/8/23 and Tuesday 5/9/23. Mr. Parker, and the organization that he represents, are providing an invaluable service to our city at no cost. We’re fortunate that these services are available to us.

What’s Coming up.
I’m pretty sure the next Oak Hill City Commissioner’s meeting is May 22, 2023 at city hall. The time is 6:00 PM. We just switched from two meetings a month to one. The agenda is not available yet.
Please come and let your voice be heard. Your presence and participation are how we hold our commission to account.

As Always, it’s my pleasure to serve you, I appreciate your support.