The Community Development District 7 Board of Supervisors is set to hire a Tallahassee law firm as a result of a bitter dispute over the Project Wide Advisory Committee.
CDD 7 Board of Supervisors Chairman Jerry Vicenti on Thursday reminded his fellow board members of the reason they were considering hiring the firm of Hopping Green & Sams.
CDD 7 supervisors are still sore about signing a 20-year agreement that they believe surrendered too much control to the Developer-controlled Sumter Landing Community Development District board. PWAC serves as an advisory committee to the SLCDD board, which has the final authority. PWAC, which includes Community Development Districts 5 through 12 and jointly pays for infrastructure and its upkeep south of County Road 466, now consumes 49 percent of CDD 7’s annual budget. That adds up to $1.2 million, which is collected from residents’ maintenance assessment fees. Supervisors fear that the percentage of money required by PWAC will continue to climb as infrastructure south of State Road 44 is added to PWAC’s portfolio.
“They took our voice away,” Vicenti said of the 20-year pact. “It gave more authority to the commercial property owners’ board and took it away from the residents.”
CDD 7 Supervisor William Von Dohlen claims that the board was under extreme pressure in 2019 when it signed the two-decade agreement.
“This agreement is a way for the Developer to continue to exert control,” Von Dohlen said. “We were under duress.”
After the ink dried on the 20-year contract, CDD 7’s legal counsel, Brionez & Brionez, admitted it had a conflict of interest because it was representing the other CDDs of PWAC as well as CDD 7.
“It’s like me going through a divorce and using the same attorney my wife is using,” Vicenti said.
That prompted Vicenti to go on a mission of exploration, leading him to Hopping Green & Sams, a firm which has 55 attorneys, 17 of which have expertise in special districts in Florida.
District officials presented a comparison that showed that the annual legal expense would be $12,580 if CDD 7 decided to stay with Brionez & Brionez. The comparison projected that CDD 7’s legal expense would soar to $102,000 if the board moved to Hopping Green & Sams, which would be billing for attorneys at upward of $300 per hour as well as travel. Brionez & Brionez bills at $200 per hour. It has a local office on County Road 466 in Lady Lake.
Vicenti disputed the $102,000 projection.
“You’re trying to balloon how much we would have to pay,” Vicenti said to District staff.
He said it’s one more reason to hire independent legal counsel.
“It would be worth it to have an attorney that doesn’t have a conflict of interest,” Vicenti said.
Supervisor Steve Lapp agreed it was time to make a change.
“We are out of control. Our money is out of control. Our agreements are out of control. We need someone who is not siding with the Developer. We need to protect our residents’ investment,” Lapp said.
He made the motion to begin negotiations with Hopping Green & Sams for legal representation for CDD 7. The vote was 4-0. Supervisor Dennis Broedlin was absent from the meeting.