Special from Vero Beach 32963
VERO BEACH — Of the five-member Vero Beach City Council seated in the spring of 2008, only one actually read the entire 68-page, multi-billion contract with the Orlando Utilities Commission.
The other four were offered a copy of the new 20-year agreement and declined to take it, according to City Manager Jim Gabbard. Mayor Tom White said he had already read a complete copy during contract negotiations.
In an interview last week, Gabbard told Vero Beach 32963 that each of five members was given a one-hour general briefing on how Vero Beach officials and their consultant had chosen OUC, and was shown a copy of the contract with 13 pages that had portions blacked out.
When asked what was blacked out, City Attorney Charlie Vitunac said “it was just the numbers” — the rates and penalties and fuel costs delineated in the contract — and Gabbard said Council members were told the contract mostly contained “stuff put in there by the lawyers” that they did not need to focus on.
Nevertheless, at the conclusion of each briefing, Gabbard said “we offered to give them a copy of the (unredacted) contract” to take and review.
“None of the Council members took one,” Gabbard said.
Since no members of the City Council took a copy to read, one of the key questions that remains unanswered is whether any were aware – prior to signing the contract – that a blacked out section on page 12 provides for up to a $50 million penalty should Vero Beach break or seek to renegotiate the contract within 10 years.
“That was a surprise,” said Fish. “You know you have to trust the staff on these things.”
White said he didn’t take the contract because, as mayor at the time, he was privy to the negotiations and had read it both in parts and as a whole document.
“I don’t remember a one-hour meeting, there were so many hours of meetings,” he said. “I never had the contract in my possession due to confidentiality reasons. I reviewed it in my office at City Hall. I didn’t want to take it home because, in my view, it would then become public record and as long as it stayed with the city manager and the utility director, it wasn’t public record.”
White said there had to be confidentiality in making the selection.
“Look, when you open things like this up to the public, other parties can know what’s going on and there’s a lot of problems when you do that, corporate raiders and other bad things,” he said.
Other than White, the members of the City Council at the time were Sabe Abell (then vice mayor, now mayor); Debra Fromang and Fish, who are both currently seeking reelection; and Ken Daige, who subsequently lost a reelection bid but who is seeking to return to the Council in next week’s election.
(To see the complete story visit www.verobeach32963.com)
Columnist Mary Beth McDonald contributed to this report.