Grover, Gulf Breeze, the Bridge and Sunshine [podcast]

The State Attorney’s Office is investigating Escambia County Commissioner Grover Robinson’s phone call with Gulf Breeze Mayor Matt Dannheisser regarding the new Pensacola Bay Bridge to see whether Robinson violated Florida’s Sunshine Law.

The SAO received a complaint from Escambia County Commissioner Doug Underhill about a phone call Robinson made to Dannheisser. The three elected officials serve on the Florida-Alabama Transportation Planning Organization.

Commissioner Grover Robinson discussed his conservations with the Gulf Breeze officials on “Pensacola Speaks” on Wednesday, the day after FDOT and Gulf Breeze had agreed on a price for the city’s wayside park.

“I got the phone call from Austin Mont, who is the director of the West Florida Regional Planning Council, because I’m the incoming chair, that said, ‘Hey, we’re being told that this is all about to unravel if a couple things are not resolved,’” said Robinson.

“At that point, I had to at least represent, from our standpoint, the TPO and try to deal with a couple things and communicate with Gulf Breeze on those two issues,” he said. “I had talked to Buzz Eddy and tried to communicate with him on the second issue, which was related to this cost of Right-Of-Way.”

He pointed out the state usually doesn’t pay for right-of-way,

“If they did, we’d almost have no roads. Usually we give them stuff. Escambia County has given lots of stuff,” said Robinson.

“I get that this is a little bit more of an issue with Gulf Breeze and a variety of other things there, and the uniqueness of this park and asset,” he said. “What I kept hearing was they were rejecting everything, and they needed to find something, at least what I could see is, DOT did not want to settle for $13 million. They offered out $2.2 and it seemed to be going nowhere, and my issue was … (like) I said last night, I’m not saying what you need to do, but I’m saying you need to find a solution, because you do not need to risk this.”

Commissioner Robinson has communicated with several state staff and lawmaker that told him the over half billion in funding for the new bridge was at risk.

“I don’t understand how Gulf Breeze and the state got to here. I was not involved in that, so I don’t know all of their things, and clearly I agree with what came out of the Gulf Breeze City Council, but they weren’t the only ones … State of Florida also had some of these issues, but for whatever reason, it had come down to this had to get done, and for my constituents, not having the safety, as you said, going across it back and forth, jeopardizing safety or jeopardizing the money that would come to it and if it turned out to be toll, those were two things that were unacceptable for me.”

He said, “I’m happy Gulf Breeze, whatever they got, that’s fine, as long as it didn’t jeopardize the bridge and the safety, or the ability to have it non-toll, and whatever they did, didn’t necessarily, shouldn’t have come out of the TPO money, and that’s what I really want to thank Secretary Boxold, the FDOT secretary, for making that decision. That was not the decision they originally communicated to me. They told me anything that was given above 2.2 would come out of the TPO money, which that could be Santa Rosa County, it could be Escambia County, City of Pensacola, City of Milton, City of Gulf Breeze too, but obviously they were getting money …”

WEAR TV posted on its website a letter from Mayor Dannheisser regarding Robinson’s call on June 4.

“I received a call from Grover Robinson who was very careful in his words saying that he had received calls from officials at FDOT and from legislators to the effect that the public records request that I made for release of the bridge design submittals was drawing considerable attention at FDOT and my records request might potentially jeopardize the funding for the bridge project,” he said. “Commissioner Robinson therefore suggested that it might be best if I withdrew my public records request. It was very apparent from the brief conversation that Commissioner Robinson was being very careful and deliberate with the words he was using, from which I formed the impression that he was trying to make sure that he did not violate the Sunshine Law.”

He said that he told Robinson to it would best to direct any conversation related to the bridge design to City Manager Buz Eddy.

Dannheisser served as the attorney for the City of Gulf Breeze before becoming mayor last year. In his opinion, he does not believe that the Robinson’s phone call violated the state’s Sunshine Law.

“The fact that I did not respond to Commissioner Robinson’s comments (other than to say that he should direct such matters to our City Manager) also removes the conversation from the scope of the Sunshine Law,” Dannheisser told WEAR. “Although perhaps not advisable to do so (because it could be interpreted incorrectly), opinions of the Florida Attorney General are clear that a communication by one member of a board or commission to other members of the same board or commission do not violate the Sunshine Law if none of the other members respond to the incorrectly communication.”

In a phone interview this morning, Commissioner Robinson said that he relayed to Dannheisser in the June 4 phone conversation that FDOT officials wanted him to pull back his public record request of the state agency regarding the bridge by the end of the day or the bridge funding would be in jeopardy. He did not see it as Sunshine violation since the call concerned a personal request made by Dannheisser to FDOT and was not something that would ever be voted upon by the TPO.

“I get that it probably wasn’t the best way for FDOT to deal with that issue, but I agreed to pass along the message and nothing more,” said Robinson. “I told Matt the decision was up to him, but I was concerned that we might lose the funds.”

The FDOT also wanted Robinson to talk with Gulf Breeze about the cost of the right-of-way. “But I didn’t mention that to Matt because that eventually might come before TPO,” said Robinson. “I knew that Buzz (GB city manager) was the one I had to discuss that with.”

The commissioner said that this isn’t the first time a fellow commissioner has turned him in for an alleged Sunshine violation. Commissioner Wilson Robertson had the state attorney investigate him, Lumon May and Steven Berry when the three commissioners refused to approve a contract of former Interim County Administrator George Touart. No violation was found then.

“It’s disappointing, but these things happen,” said Robinson, who plans to meet with Chief Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille later today.