The DeFuniak Springs City Council took over the Community Redevelopment Agency after a tense meeting in which the Council attempted to fire the CRA director and settled on firing the CRA board instead. 

City council members and CRA commissioners tersely argued over whether to fire the CRA Executive Director, who was hired without a background check, whether or not the CRA itself was a “parasite” and an “albatross” around the city’s neck, and members called one another “toxic and embarrassing.”

By the end of the meeting, the City Council had dissolved the current CRA Board and replaced it with itself. 

RELATED: ‘Mudslinging’ says mayor in latest round of City/CRA talks in DeFuniak Spring

The CRA hired Executive Director Rob Hamilton, following the departure of Josh Irvin – who left for a job with Walton County’s Board of County Commissioners. 

Hamilton went through the hiring process overseen by the CRA Board of Commissioners.  However, after being selected for the position, it was alleged by members of the public and City Councilwoman Amy Heavilin that an “essential hiring practice” for the City was not followed by the CRA Board.  They claim the CRA Board omitted a background check before extending an offer for a position that CRA members said pays approximately $193,000 (including salary and benefits).  

At the last City Council meeting, the hiring process and the oversight of the customary background check became a source of contention.  The City Attorney, Clay Adkinson, told the City Council that the CRA’s written guidelines do call for a background check, but if the CRA did not require it for this hiring process for the Executive Director, that was their decision and problem. Adkinson is also the CRA’s attorney. Adkinson explained that the City of DeFuniak Springs conducts background checks, but the CRA and the City are two separate entities.  At that same meeting, several City Council members expressed grave concerns about the CRA, and there were questions about the proposed amphitheatre, which the CRA had explored as a possible way to support development and increased commerce for the city.  But the problem that continues to attract the greatest attention is the existing infrastructure, most specifically the “alleyway” sewage issues in the downtown area.  The concern for business owners is the recurring problem of sewage backups that impact buildings and cause flooding to street level and into the marketplace.  

An Attempt to Terminate CRA Executive Director Rob Hamilton

On Wednesday, February 18, a joint “workshop” between the City Council and the CRA was held at the Community Center.  All City Council members were in attendance, along with the City Attorney and City Manager, Koby Townsend.  The CRA Commissioners were all in attendance, except Reynolds Henderson, who had apparently resigned his position before the meeting. 

The meeting went from zero to warp speed within the first five minutes after the invocation. 

CRA Commissioner Lothar Newsome (Seat 3) made a motion to terminate the CRA Executive Director, and Commissioner Donald Graham (Seat 2) seconded the motion. Hamilton appeared calm and unfazed by the motion made.  The reason for the motion to terminate was not given by either members of the CRA or the City Council.

Following the motion to terminate Mr. Hamilton, discussion ensued regarding the CRA’s financial obligation to the Executive Director if he were terminated, unless Hamilton chose to resign instead.  The City Attorney then clarified with Hamilton that, with one CRA Commissioner missing (due to resignation), Hamilton waived the contractual requirement that all CRA Commissioners must be present to vote on his termination.  

City Council Mayor Pro Tem Amy Heavilin sought clarification on the difference between Hamilton’s termination and his resigning.  Heavilin said, “I wanted to point out, the Executive Director shall be eligible for severance only upon termination by the [CRA] Board…Because there’s a section in this contract that says if he resigns, then something else would happen that might not cause us cash flow issues.”

Adkinson clarified, saying, “To be clear, the motion as made is to terminate without cause…which would then require a minimum of three [CRA Members’] votes, and a severance would be due in the amount of 20 weeks [salary.]   If Mr. Hamilton, for some reason, desires to resign, that is his, of course, sole discretion, and that is up to him.”

Hamilton was not terminated, and neither did he resign at the workshop.  But hold on to your seat – a true shake-up of the CRA was about to unfold.

Alan Osborne, Walton County resident, came to the podium and said, “The issue is not Mr. Hamilton.  The issue is the process of how he came to be in that [Executive Director] seat.”  Osborne continued, “I’ve got all the paperwork, and this [issue] is about policy, and that’s the whole damn problem, really…You had a policy that required background checks, and somebody didn’t do [it], and I don’t know if they had the authority to do it…So the question is, who directed [that the background check not take place], that may have stopped this from being here, because that’s the issue.”

Following more discussion, Commissioner Graham rescinded his earlier motion saying, “It’s just sickening how some of our representatives will go to the county or to the social media and belittle and attack citizens that’s [sic] trying to volunteer and approve this city with fiction, with no fact, a lot of ‘showboat’ and attacks on people’s character.  And you know what I’m talking about, if you’re going to come at somebody, come out with facts.”  Graham indicated that he wanted to rescind his ‘second’ to the motion to terminate and allow Hamilton the opportunity to resign.  The City Attorney, who also represents the CRA,  instructed the remaining CRA Commissioners about the need to provide a ‘second’ or the initial motion would die..

“A bullet to the head” of the CRA

The Chair for the CRA, Cathy Moseley, asked to make a brief statement.  During her statement, she said, “It is clear from some comments made on social media that many people appear to have misunderstandings about how the CRA functions.”  She took time to describe the process for receiving grants (financial support) from the CRA and the required steps a resident would need to take to receive monies as a property owner.  Moseley was clear that the grant received is not a gift, “it is a reimbursement with strings attached.”

Moseley argued that the CRA Board continually practiced ethical behavior and she began to expound that as a volunteer appointed by the City Council, it was disheartening to hear the CRA reviled by a City Council member, “to hear ourselves labeled ‘parasites’ and this commission [the CRA] called ‘an albatross that needs a bullet to the head’ so that it can be great or dead is both disgraceful and unacceptable.”  She then named the City Council member, saying, “Mr. Cosson, it is also disrespectful to the CRA volunteer commissioners who gave up their time to serve the citizens of DeFuniak Springs.”  She added, “…with all of this that is going on, like this and the threats of getting rid of us this time, I hereby tender my resignation as CRA Chairperson and Commission member, effective immediately.”  And with that, she gathered her things and left the dias.

Another ‘Breakdown in Communication’ For DeFuniak Springs Elected Leaders

Mid Bay News recently spoke in another article about the costs of poor or nonexistent communication within government organizations, and it appears that the situation is the same in DeFuniak Springs.  CRA Commissioner Burton Campbell-Work (Seat 5) shared his frustration with the lack of communication [between the DFS City Council and the CRA], saying that he has attempted to reach out multiple times to every City Council member and two of those elected officials have never responded.  He added, “So the lack of communication costs just as much as [anything] else.”

Immediately following Commissioner Campbell-Work’s remarks, Donald Graham added the following about Councilman Cossan, “Lack of communication and a lot of non-factual statements, constantly bashing volunteers [meaning the CRA Board] that live inside the city who love DeFuniak Springs…And to use the term [phrase] “with a bullet” [referring to a statement made by Cosson at the City Council meeting and inferring the CRA should be dissolved].  Graham concluded, “You need to apologize.  I mean, because you represent the city of DeFuniak Springs, Mr. Cosson, and you is [sic] a disgrace to the city…So, I want to call you out.  You need to apologize to the City of DeFuniak Springs.”

Termination?

Mayor Pro-Tem Amy Heavilin directed her discontent with the CRA Executive Director back on the CRA Commissioners, saying, “This whole issue is because you violated the background check policy that is required by your bylaws.”  Heavilin, who has also expressed her discontent with the City Attorney, who also represents the CRA as legal counsel, added in her remarks to the CRA, “And I’m sorry that people feel deceived by that [the background check] not being completed, and whether it was on ‘counsel advice’ or not. To me, that is why I’m saying I’m conflicted.  I am conflicted with this meeting being conducted and having one representation.”  It appears that she is most likely referring, yet again, to the preference or request for outside counsel that she made at the last City Council meeting – due to the fact that the CRA and Council are represented by the same attorney, Clay Adkinson. As she closed her remarks, Heavilin said, “Mr. Mayor, I would like to make a motion that we terminate the CRA.”  It was quickly seconded by Councilman Cosson.

From that point in the meeting, former CRA Commissioners spoke alongside residents of DeFuniak Springs and the county.  It goes without saying that many responses were full of passion to dissolve the CRA, but quite a few emphasized the significance of CRA funds, which could be readily allocated to repairing the alleyway in the business district.  

The Swing Vote Stands With the Continuation – and Coup – of the CRA

City Councilman Harrison, who referred to himself as the ‘swing vote’ on council, gave a calm and yet direct address to the attendees at the workshop.  Toward the end of his remarks, he shared that he believed the intended design of the CRA was a viable solution for the essential repairs and infrastructure needs of the city, but he indicated that the “adversarial relationship” between the two entities is “toxic and embarrassing to me…I’m a real practical person, and…this is a dysfunctional relationship between the CRA and this City Council, and I am not in favor of ending the CRA.  It can be beneficial to the city.”  Harrison discussed the impact of leadership and the reputation of DeFuniak Springs.  He added that people are discouraged by leadership’s behavior, and that it impacts people who may be looking to make DeFuniak Springs their home.  Additionally, he said, the adversarial behavior discourages businesses from considering the city as a place to open or expand local commerce that enhances our economy.  Harrison believes the perceived reputation and behavior of leadership in public forums certainly has an impact on the City of DeFuniak Springs, filling the vacant Finance Director position and now the City Clerk position.  A member of the City Council stated that the City Manager may also be seeking other employment opportunities.

With the close of his remarks, Councilman Harrison made a substitute motion [to replace the dissolution of the CRA] for the City Council to take over as the official Board of the CRA.  Councilman Todd Bierbaum immediately seconded the motion.

A Divided House in DeFuniak Springs 

The City Council voted 3-2 to return control and oversight of the CRA to the City Council.  Those who voted to return the CRA to the City Council were Councilmen Josh Sconiers, Todd Bierbaum, and Glen Harrison.  Council members emphasized a consistent division that rests at the heart of the city’s leadership.  

Councilman Sconiers ended the meeting with words of gratitude and empathy for the struggle that the current CRA and commissioners faced with city leadership over the past years.  He said, “There have been a lot of times when we [the City Council] went back and forth – where you [the CRA] brought [proposed CRA] projects before us, and we kicked them back to you.  It was a never-ending cycle.  So, tonight’s decision, for me, is based on that.  It’s the fact that I am tired of seeing you get beaten up.  You’ve done nothing but good for our community.  Your time has been voluntary.  You have served our community with pride, and I appreciate you.”