VERO BEACH — The law firm of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP has been hired to work with the Vero Beach City Council to help hammer out a deal to sell the Vero Beach Electric Utility.
The council Friday voted 5-0 to spend an initial $50,000 to contract with the 500-attorney law firm to counsel the city council members through negotiations with Florida Power and Light, the Orlando Utilities Commission, the Florida Municipal Power Agency and the Florida Public Service Commission.
Attorneys John Igoe and Rick Miller were the second team to be interviewed by the council Friday morning, as council members interviewed the Orlando firm of Carlton Fields on Thursday.
“There are lawyers who get things done and there are lawyers who are obstructionists and we’re the ones who get things done,” Miller said.
Igoe added that the firm closes on more than 90 percent of the deals they start.
A few things set the West Palm Beach firm apart, including its offer to charge no travel espenses and its strategy of giving the city a “special rate” of $60 to $300 off the hourly rates of attorneys and support staff working on the city’s projects.
“Both applicants are impressive, but I do think that we need a firm that is considerate of the taxpayer dollars,” Councilman Brian Heady said.
The firm also made some points with the council because of its familiarity with the FMPA. In fact, Igoe and his colleagues are currently representing the City of Lake Worth in its efforts to get out of the FMPA All Requirements Project. It took Vero about three years and millions in consultant and legal fees to exit exit this aspect of the FMPA so Vero could buy power from the OUC.
The attorneys’ concers about handling the city employees properly also resonated with the council, as approximately 113 employees could go to FPL in the event of a sale.
“You don’t want to do something for the benefit of the community that will devastate part of the community,” Igoe said.
The council empowered City Manager Jim O’Connor to execute an agreement with the law firm. Attorneys will get started with a conference call with FPL officials next Thursday.
Igoe said it will take “a couple of weeks” for his team to get up to speed on all the contracts and other documents involved in a potential sale.
