The Community Development District 4 Board of Supervisors has agreed to seek a legal opinion on a potential conflict of interest of one of its members.
Don Deakin of the Village of Chatham is a longtime member of the CDD 4 and succeeded Rich Lambrecht in 2014 on the Amenity Authority Committee. Lambrecht had also served in the dual capacity as a CDD 4 supervisor and AAC member.
Deakin has been repeatedly elected to the CDD 4 board by voters in that district which includes the villages of Briar Meadow, Calumet Grove, Chatham, Piedmont, Springdale and Woodbury. The landowners in CDD 4 have also repeatedly re-elected Deakin to serve on the AAC.
However, a question is being raised as to whether Deakin’s dual service may pose a conflict when it comes to issues like ponds and multi-modal paths.
“Don does a great job on both boards. He has done a great job for many years,” said CDD 4 Board Chairman Cliff Wiener.
However, he said the dual service has raised the question of a potential conflict.
“I think we need to put this issue to rest once and for all,” Wiener said.
He polled fellow board members at Friday’s meeting at Savannah Center, asking whether they favored seeking a formal legal inquiry into the issue. All were in favor, with the exception of Deakin, who questioned spending the money on the matter which was has been made clear in the bylaws of the AAC and the CDD 4 board.
