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CDD directs legal review after HPCA schedules 'Coffee With Candidates' event
Summary
The Heritage Pines CDD directed its manager and counsel to review an HPCA-scheduled "Coffee With Candidates" after Vice Chair Arthur Rhodes raised Sunshine Law and governance concerns; HPCA General Manager Herb Hurley said the candidates requested the event.
Arthur Rhodes, vice chair of the Heritage Pines Community Development District, successfully moved that the board direct the District Manager and District Counsel to review implications of an HPCA-organized “Coffee With Candidates” event scheduled for Oct. 9, 2024 and provide a legal opinion.
The motion, made Sept. 17 and approved by the board, followed Rhodes’s contention that the event — which meeting materials listed as including three candidates (identified in the materials as Mr. Steel, Mr. Putman and Mr. Kleeman) — raised "serious problems in the relationship between the HPCA and the CDD" and could pose Sunshine Law issues if multiple sitting supervisors attended. Rhodes noted attendance records indicating low prior attendance by some candidates and said the event’s candidate materials had been circulated to residents.
Herb Hurley, HPCA General Manager, told the board the candidates had asked for the event so they could become known as candidates for the CDD Board and said board members were advised they could not attend because of the Sunshine Law. Hurley also declined to continue discussion on the topic at the meeting and suggested it be handled by attorneys.
District Manager Chuck Adams told the board he would ask District Counsel to prepare a memorandum on the legal questions and reminded supervisors not to reply to the related email thread. Supervisors approved the directive to the manager and counsel on a motion by Arthur Rhodes, seconded by Carol Vaughan; the motion carried "with all in favor." The board also previously approved adding the discussion about the candidate event to the meeting agenda.
Why it matters: The board’s request for a written legal opinion will clarify whether HPCA’s hosting or promotion of the forum and the attendance or participation of CDD supervisors could violate Florida’s Sunshine Law and whether the HPCA — a separate entity mentioned in meeting materials — had authority to schedule an event that pertains to CDD elections or governance.
Next steps: District Counsel will prepare a memorandum for the board; the manager will review the event materials and advise the board of counsel’s opinion at a future meeting.
