To
the Residents of Apalachicola:
As
you know, the City of Apalachicola has filed a lawsuit against the Franklin
County Board of County Commissioners to compel them to meet jointly and in public
with the Apalachicola and Carrabelle Board’s of City Commissioners as required
by the Governmental Conflict Resolution Act, Florida Statutes 164.1055. The intent of the lawsuit is very much contrary
to the political spin that has most recently emanated the chambers where our
esteemed county commission conducts the business affairs of the people of this
great county.
The
complaint is solely about the Franklin County Commission refusal to meet jointly
and in public with the City of Apalachicola and the City of Carrabelle on
December 19, 2012, to discuss and attempt to resolve conflicts regarding the
local plan for allocation of Restore Act Fine Funds under the stated Governmental
Dispute Resolution Act.
The
total focus of which is to require the Franklin County Commission to meet as required
by the statue to discuss and attempt to resolve conflicts between the County
and the two Cities. It is not to compel Franklin
County to accept the fair distribution plan adopted by both cities in August
and early September, which apparently to date has been rejected without cause
or comment at a meeting of the County Commission on Wednesday morning, January
2, 2013, without being on the agenda and without any notice being given to the
cities.
The
truth is that Franklin County has knowingly and repeatedly refused to meet with
the cities to even discuss much less attempt to resolve the conflicts and has
in large part ignored the many cordial requests by Carrabelle and Apalachicola
since August of 2012 to meet with the cities to discuss a fair plan of
allocation to our respective communities.
The
Franklin County Commission now comes to the court cloaked in indignation, with a
defiant attitude where their actions have made it abundantly clear that they
would rather fight than meet with the two cities to discuss the simple and uncomplicated
matter of how the cities are to receive a fair share of the Fine Funds.
We
trust that the Court will declare F.S. §164.1055 applicable and require
Franklin County to meet jointly and in public with the cities such as the meeting
called and noticed and attended by both Apalachicola and Carrabelle on December
19, 2012.
Again,
I thank you for your time and attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Van
W. Johnson, Sr., Mayor
The
Historic City of Apalachicola
* * * * * * * * * *
The 2012 Florida Statutes
Title
XI
COUNTY
ORGANIZATION AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS
Chapter
164
GOVERNMENTAL
DISPUTES
164.1055 Joint
public meeting.—
(1) Failure to
resolve a conflict after following authorized procedures as specified in s. 164.1053
shall require the scheduling of a joint public meeting between the primary
conflicting governmental entities. The governmental
entity first initiating the conflict resolution process shall have the
responsibility to schedule the joint public meeting and arrange a location. If the entities in conflict agree, the
assistance of a facilitator may be enlisted to assist them in conducting the
meeting. In this meeting, the governing
bodies of the primary conflicting governmental entities shall:
(a)
Consider the statement of issues prepared in the conflict assessment phase.
(b)
Seek an agreement.
(c)
Schedule additional meetings of the entities in conflict, or of their
designees, to continue to seek resolution of the conflict.
(2) If no agreement
is reached, the primary conflicting governmental entities shall participate in
mediation, the costs
of which shall be equally divided between the primary conflicting governmental
entities. The primary conflicting
governmental entities shall endeavor in good faith to select a mutually
acceptable mediator. If the primary
conflicting governmental entities are unable to mutually agree on a mediator
within 14 days after the joint public meeting, the primary conflicting
governmental entities shall arrange for a mediator to be selected or
recommended by an independent conflict resolution organization, such as the
Florida Conflict
Resolution Consortium, and shall agree to accept the recommendation of that
independent organization, or shall agree upon an alternate method for selection
of a mediator, within 7 business days after the close of that 14-day period.
Upon the selection of a mediator, the conflicting governmental entities shall schedule
mediation to occur within 14 days, and shall issue a written agreement on the
issues in conflict within 10 days of the conclusion of the mediation
proceeding. The written agreement shall not be admissible in any court
proceeding concerning the conflict, except for proceedings to award attorney’s
fees under s.164.1058, where the agreement may be used to demonstrate an
entity’s refusal to participate in the process in good faith.
History.—s.
8, ch. 99-279.
Copyright © 1995-2013 The Florida Legislature • Privacy
Statement • Contact Us
No comments:
Post a Comment