October 19, 2009
Bill Eddins
State Attorney
First Judicial Court of Florida
190 Governmental Center
Pensacola, FL 32501
Mr. Eddins,
I have read the report which was furnished to me by your office concerning the various charges I brought before you concerning Team Santa Rosa. These mainly centered around Open Meetings and Chapter 119 Open Records. When I first brought the charges forward I was told by Mr. Marcille and Mr. Brooks that although I may not agree with the findings your office might reach I was assured that I would walk away with a clear understanding of how your office reached their conclusions. The area of the report which confuses me and to which I officially request an explanation is on the charges of Chapter 119 Open Record violations.
I am not sure if you are aware of it or not but your Milton Office back in 2006 met with Team Santa Rosa and Jerry Couey and they intervened on some Open Record issues that Jerry was having with Team Santa Rosa. Out of that meeting the investigator Mr. Schuller informed Mr. Couey that Team Santa Rosa was “crystal clear†on their requirements to meet open records. That same year in a memorandum that was provided to your office Aleta Floyd in communication with the County Attorney said that Team Santa Rosa wanted to come off the county server to “avoid the sunshineâ€.
Fast forward to the present and your findings indicate that Team Santa Rosa unknowingly has been violating the open record laws. I and others who have read this need help in understanding the basis for your conclusion. How does one go from being “crystal clear†in 2006 after meeting with your office to being “unknowingly violating open records†in 2009. One would assume by such a conclusion that your office either failed in their responsibilities in 2006 or the conclusion you came to in 2009 is incorrect.
　
And to make matters worse your report acknowledges that to date I still do not have one of my requests from last February/March time frame fulfilled which was a simple Accounts Receivable report from Team Santa Rosa for 2008/2009. Why to date after your investigation am I left without my request being fulfilled for a report that any quasi-governmental agency should be required to provide since they operate using taxpayer funding.
So where do I go from here. I am left with one request not fulfilled. Mr. Couey has indicated several that to date he has not been provided. So my question is do I have any other recourse to getting my request fulfilled. Is there an appeals process with your office or perhaps another agency that could assist me with this situation? If they are not shooting straight with the taxpayers right now then how can we expect it several months later when the spot light is off of them?
I am discouraged with your finding that they “unknowingly violated Chapter 119 but I am appalled that your office has left this with requests not being properly fulfilled. I can’t say justice has been served in this one area. So I ask that your office explain their conclusions in this one area and to inform me of any appeals process available to me and your assistance in getting the requests fulfilled..
Sincerely,
Alan R. Isaacson