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Commission backs sunshine for EDC
By SAUNDRA AMRHEIN © St. Petersburg Times, published January 19, 2001 BROOKSVILLE -- After 4 1/2 years of public wrangling over the accountability of the Economic Development Commission, the County Commission has set a time line for bringing the agency under the Florida Sunshine Law. During a workshop on economic development Thursday in which the County Commission discussed an upcoming study by the University of Florida, Commissioner Nancy Robinson pressed staff members to present proposed changes to the EDC contract, which they agreed to do in two weeks. Soon after, the commission would review the changes regarding the Sunshine Law with EDC officials and adopt them. "I want to get that one element to the board as soon as we can," said Robinson, who has often voiced support for the full application of the state's open meetings and records rules. Meanwhile, the county administrator worked on contract amendments the past several months. The EDC, a public-private partnership, receives $331,000 of its $445,000 budget from taxpayers' funds yet restricts access to its records and has been cloaked in secrecy since 1996, when it hired executive director Rick Michael, who was forced to resign in December. In an ironic twist, Michael this week asked the County Commission liaison to the EDC for copies of EDC documents, citing the very Sunshine Law he long argued did not apply to the EDC. In the middle of the same controversy last year that led to Michael's departure -- including an improper EDC closed meeting and a story by the St. Petersburg Times that Michael hadexaggerated EDC accomplishments in an annual report -- the County Commission agreed to amend the contract. On Thursday, the County Commission said it wanted to make the agency comply with the Sunshine Law as soon as possible and not wait for the outcome of the UF study, whose final report will be issued in August. "I agree totally with Nancy's issues with accountability," Commissioner Betty Whitehouse said. "If we deal with issues of accountability quickly, we can alleviate a lot of people's fears and issues going on with the EDC." County Administrator Paul McIntosh and Commissioner Chris Kingsley, who is the EDC liaison, have been working on other proposed changes in the EDC contract, including stricter performance measures. The commission agreed to allow those changes to wait until after the UF study. Regarding the open records and meetings changes, County Attorney Garth Coller said he recommends that the commission adopt language that would make future EDC contracts completely subject to the Sunshine Law. The laws have exceptions, he added. For instance, the EDC would not have to disclose information about businesses exploring a move to the area. Despite that concession, EDC treasurer Gus Guadagnino said after the meeting that he was uncomfortable placing EDC business in the open. "It scares the heck out of me for the EDC to work under the Sunshine (Law) like that," he said. "You're having an hour to talk (each month) and you can't go to lunch with another board director and talk about possibilities of a new company. I don't think I would be very comfortable with that." Despite Coller's comments about exceptions regarding new businesses, Guadagnino remained disturbed. "It's putting a dog on a very short leash," he said. During the rest of the workshop, the commission listened and asked a few questions of professor Rhonda Phillips of the University of Florida. She outlined for the commission her three-pronged approach to a study on Hernando County's business community and potential for development. It includes interviews with business leaders, phone and mail surveys of community members and a continuing development evaluation with benchmarks.
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