Passions flared and allegations were thrown around during Tuesday’s Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) discussion over the agenda item of the County reimbursing $60,000 to Commissioners Kevin Van Ostenbridge and James Satcher for attorney fees and settlements resulting from an alleged sunshine violation lawsuit filed by Paralegal Consultant, Michael Barfield in December 2020. The lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed recently and Barfield has agreed to a nominal settlement after a period of 4 months and roughly 20 public record requests. The public records request was placed due to loosely based, and now unfounded accusations by Commissioner Carol Whitmore, that Commissioner Vanessa Baugh coordinated with recently elected Commissioners, George Kruse, Kevin Van Ostenbridge, and James Satcher to fire former County Administrator, Cheri Coryea, prior to a November 19th BOCC meeting. The lawsuit filed by Barfield accused Van Ostenbridge and Satcher of violating Florida sunshine laws by failing to fulfill his public records request in a timely manner. Many of the Commissioners reiterated their belief consistently on the Dias that politics were at play over the public records request and lawsuit during the discussion.
County Attorney, William Clague, clearly outline his position and recommended the county to pay the attorney fees and settlement, quoting Florida Statue 111.07, to Van Ostenbridge and Satcher because the lawsuit resulted from them acting in their official duties. Clague stated “Justice wears a blindfold to politics” and this statute was designed to prevent a “chilling effect” where public officials are afraid to perform their public duties if personally responsible for job-related legal fees. He added that the public and BOCC may hear different conclusions from lawyers regarding his official recommendation. Clague clarified the attorney fees for Satcher were $15,750, while Van Ostenbridge was $34,150, due to more intensive litigation taken by his attorney, and a collective $6,000 settlement payment to Barfield. Clague indicated there were 17 days between Barfield’s rather large public records request and his filing of the lawsuit and deemed his action as very aggressive nor believes that Van Ostenbridge or Satcher violated sunshine laws.
Commissioner Carol Whitmore told fellow members she believes that the board works well together and that Van Ostenbridge and Satcher attorneys are overcharging. While reading from a written statement, Whitmore indicated she learned through a discussion with an unnamed individual that Commissioner Vanessa Baugh, was persuading the newly elected County Commissioners (Kruse, Satcher, and Van Ostenbridge) to fire the County Administrator prior to the November BOCC meeting. Whitmore also expressed her concerns about the lack of information on the invoices, such as hourly fees, being provided to the public.
Commissioner George Kruse was clearly in favor of reimbursing the attorney fees stating “Commissioners Van Ostenbridge and Satcher had to have been acting in their official duties or they wouldn’t have been subjected to the public records request to begin with”. Kruse offered Whitmore sharp criticism about her conflicting comments saying the commissioners work smoothly together followed by “accusing half the Board of potential criminal activity”. Kruse stated “filing needless lawsuits can place a sense of fear into people and is a poor way of governing” and was a political move.
Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge referenced the Lena Road Landfill purchase in the summer of 2020 that the previous BOCC approved the purchase of property for $32.5 million which appraised for $18.4 million when he said to Whitmore “You didn’t give a damn about taxpayer dollars then!” and mentioned he has never witnessed a request for a line-item invoice from her in any previous BOCC meetings. Speaking to Whitmore, Van Ostenbridge scolded “It’s hypocritical that you are the person that started all of this (lawsuit) with those accusations you made”.
Commissioner James Satcher provided a brief timeline of his actions from when he received Barfield’s request, how he retained an attorney, and immediately began going through all forms of communication to fulfill the public records request including phone logs, emails, text messages, and social media. Satcher stated “elected officials shouldn’t go bankrupt for being elected” in regards to the county reimbursing the legal fees he incurred from Barfield’s lawsuit.
Commissioner Vanessa Baugh noted in the discussion the case was settled with Barfield voluntarily and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) conducted a separate investigation and declared that a sunshine violation had not occurred. Baugh stated, “This (issue) came about due to politics” and many of the commissioner’s reputations have been unfairly tainted.
To the majority of the public listening members, there was little doubt that four BOCC members believed Commissioner Whitmore directly targeted them by orchestrating with Michael Barfield’s public records request and filing a lawsuit. The BOCC voted 7-0 in favor of approving payment of legal expenses incurred by Van Ostenbridge and Satcher.
In a request for comment to Manatee Herald, Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge specified, “From the outset, I said that this was a waste of taxpayer money. A frivolous lawsuit that centered around baseless accusations. I am pleased to have been vindicated. It’s unfortunate that taxpayers ended up footing the bill for this witch-hunt.” Commissioner Satcher said, “I hope the days of using the courts as an anvil and frivolous lawsuit as a hammer are over.” When Manatee Herald asked Commissioner Whitmore about Barfield’s public records request and the lawsuit, she stated “I have no relationship at all with (Michael) Barfield. I have seen many cities get accused by Barfield’s lawsuits. He makes a living out of this – I am cautious when he has called.”
