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Heritage Pines board directs legal review after concerns about candidate 'coffee' event
Summary
The CDD board unanimously directed the district manager to review an October candidate “Coffee With Candidates” event and asked District Counsel for a legal opinion after Vice Chair Arthur Rhodes said the HPCA-organized event risked violating Florida’s Sunshine Law.
The Heritage Pines Community Development District Board unanimously directed the District Manager to review the implications of an HPCA-hosted "Coffee With Candidates" event scheduled Oct. 9, 2024, and asked District Counsel to prepare a legal opinion on whether the event could violate Florida’s Sunshine Law.
Vice Chair Arthur Rhodes raised concerns that the HPCA, a separate legal entity, may have no authority to schedule what he characterized as a campaign event and that candidate biographies distributed in advance blurred lines between the HPCA and the CDD. Rhodes said the records show varying attendance histories by the candidates and questioned whether scheduling and promotion by the HPCA created an appearance of improper coordination. He also asked who instructed staff to schedule the event.
HPCA General Manager Herb Hurley said the candidates requested the event "so they could become known as candidates for the CDD Board," and added that he would not discuss the matter further, saying it was for attorneys to resolve. Mr. Hurley also stated board members were advised they could not attend the event because of Sunshine Law constraints.
On a motion by Mr. Rhodes and seconded by Ms. Vaughan, the board voted "with all in favor" to direct the District Manager to review the implications of outside candidates and to direct District Counsel to provide a legal opinion. The motion passed unanimously.
The board did not vote to prohibit the event; the action asks for a legal memorandum and for the District Manager to report back. The discussion also noted that some candidates have limited prior attendance at CDD meetings, which Rhodes said was relevant to the governance and oversight relationship between the CDD and the HPCA.
