Attorney fighting NextEra back on job

Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.

It was a cryptic and confusing discussion that the Jefferson County Commission recently held regarding the attorney it hired late last year to fight the 150-mile high-voltage transmission line that NextEra is proposing to put across the county on its way from Lake City to Marianna.
Reading between the lines – as one had to do to make sense of the terse discussion – not only is Attorney David Collins back on the job, but he reportedly is making progress in his interactions with the energy company.
Readers may recall that Collins emailed commissioners his resignation as the attorney representing the county in its “struggle with big power” on Friday, Jan. 28.
“I believe an iron fist is preferable to a velvet glove when dealing with big power and their ilk,” Collins' email stated in part. “I believe transparency and honesty in public service are more important than backroom negotiations with purported insiders who are 'connected.' It is apparent that my approach is disagreeable to some who believe otherwise. Unfortunately, I am incapable of being less confrontational and nice when dealing with the shameful acts of NextEra. That I should not 'upset' the power companies and Tallahassee politicians is an approach I am also incapable of. So be it.”
The commission never discussed or acknowledged Collins' resignation publicly, although inexplicably, an executive session with Collins was advertised on the board's agenda for 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, one hour before the regular meeting. “Attorney David Collins: NextEra public easements, transmission lines and landowners,” the item read.
Both the public and press are barred from attending executive sessions, and the information from officials afterwards was that the session had never taken place, either because of a miscommunication or the inability of some individuals to attend. That was the last heard publicly on the issue.
Until Thursday, March 5, when the topic resurfaced on the commission's agenda as the first-listed item under the title, “Legal Representation for Special Projects BOCC/NextEra Route.”
When Collins failed to materialize for the discussion (he apparently was never notified of the item being on the agenda), it created momentary confusion, until Commissioner Stephen Fulford spoke up and said it was he who had requested that the item be placed on the agenda “to find out where we're at and where we're going” relative to NextEra.
Fulford took note of Collins' resignation and apparent subsequent return.
“We need to discuss what's the best strategy to minimize the impact if we can't stop it,” he said, referring to the high-voltage transmission line.
He was aware, Fulford said, that Collins was proposing an ordinance that he could use to fight the energy company. Collins' expertise, however, was not related to utilities or government, he said.
“Maybe we need to hire another attorney to determine if this is even something that we need to be doing,” Fulford said.
Commissioner Stephen Walker cautioned about discussing the issue publicly.
“I think we need to discuss this with the attorney and not in public,” Walker said, adding that Collins' strategy was evolving and he was making headway in his dealings with the energy company.
Any commissioner who wanted to know what was happening needed to talk one-on-one with Collins, as confidentiality prevented him and officials from discussing the matter publicly or even among themselves, Walker said.
Commission Chairman J.T. Surles agreed.
“There are things happening,” he said, without elaborating.
As for the resignation, Surles said that Collins had admitted that it had been “a knee-jerk reaction” on his part and he wanted to continue to represent the county.
To which remark, County Coordinator Parrish Barwick added that the emailed resignation had never really been accepted by the board.
County Attorney Scott Shirley then observed that subsequent to Collins' resignation, the latter had submitted a new contract, which he (Shirley) was unaware if the board had ever accepted.
At which point Commissioner Betsy Barfield noted that not only had a contract been submitted and published in the agenda, but it had then been pulled from the agenda at the last minute and never discussed. She had found the removal of the contract from the agenda confusing, she said, as she had had no idea who had pulled it or why. Especially, she said, as she had found a couple of errors on the document that had needed correcting and that she had planned to raise during the discussion.
Barfield called it disingenuous to the public to advertise an item on the agenda and then withdraw it without explanation or cause. It turned out, as the cryptic conversation continued, that despite the contract having been mysteriously pulled from the agenda at the last minute and never discussed by the board, the chairman had nonetheless signed it. It also came to light that the original contract had been oral.
In light of which information (even Shirley had been unaware of the oral nature of the first agreement), it was his recommendation that the commission formally ratify the already signed second contract by a vote and that the board write Collins a letter rejecting his resignation. Which two actions the commission agreed to undertake by a 4-1, with Commissioner Gene Hall the nay vote.
Surles sought again to reassure the public of the progress that was being made relative to NextEra, although he was limited as to what he could say because of the confidential nature of the communications, he said.
“Day by day, the county's position is getting better,” Surles said.
Fulford, meanwhile, noted that, given that Walker's was the district that stood to be the most affected by the high-voltage transmission line, he would yield to the latter on the issue.
“I will defer to Commissioner Walker if he's satisfied with what is happening,” Fulford said.
Phil Calandra, a citizen, tried to bring clarity to the preceding discussion, if only for his own sake.
“So, when he resigned, he was resigning orally from an oral contract?” Calandra asked.
That was correct, was the response.
Calandra, who apparently had seen the second contract on the agenda before it had been pulled, noted that it had called for a minimum $20,000 retainer. Which amount, he said, didn't cover any appeals that might develop. Did the county really want to get into such a contract? Calandra asked.
Surles assured him that it did; and that things were going well.
“NextEra is already starting to make concessions,” Surles said. “He (Collins) is in the driver's seat. It will all come out in time.”
Calandra, however, remained skeptical. It was his expressed belief that the county should keep its lines of communication open with NextEra, and that negotiation, rather than confrontation, was the best path forward.
“I don't know why NextEra would be intimidated or cowed even by a bulldog attorney,” Calandra said, referring to an earlier description of Collins' tenacity. “He's only going to antagonize NextEra. I question the process and what you're trying to accomplish by antagonizing NextEra.”
Not everyone agreed with Calandra, however. An unidentified gentleman who followed him to the podium praised and thanked the commission for its stand against NextEra.
“Appeasement has never been a good strategy,” the man said. “It means a lot to us residents that you're fighting NextEra.”
Another resident, Debbie Brock, echoed the sentiment.
“I say stay the course,” she said. “You can't just roll over. Stay the course.”
On a related note, the ordinance that Collins has been helping the Planning Commission to draft is one that he plans to use in his expected legal fight with NextEra. This ordinance was scheduled to come up for review again by the planners on Tuesday, March 17. The workshop, however, was postponed because of concern over the coronavirus outbreak.
Collins' goal in his dealings with NextEra it to get the energy company either to bury the power line along the Waukeenah Highway or reroute this particular section to US 19.