- April 22, 2024
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The Flagler County government is preparing for the possibility of suing one of the county's own constitutional officers.
Repeatedly during a July 15 County Commission meeting, commissioners showed their frustration with Clerk of Court Tom Bexley. First, over the fact that he hadn't shown up at the meeting, in which commissioners were slated to discuss an ongoing dispute between Bexley's office and the Flagler County Sheriff's Office over the allocation of space between the two government offices in the courthouse.
"I almost want to say for the sheriff and the clerk to put on their big boy pants and sit down and solve this thing."
GREG HANSEN, county commissioner
"I just thought it would have been nice if Tom had showed up tonight," Commissioner David Sullivan said.
And about the fact that he hadn't replied, except through the press, to the commission's written requests that he cede 5,000 feet at the courthouse. And about the fact that Bexley had commissioned his own formal study of the space at the building and then sat on the study results for a month, revealing them to the commission only at the July 15 meeting, through his deputy Luke Givens, in order to bolster his own case that he didn't have space to cede.
"I almost want to say for the sheriff and the clerk to put on their big boy pants and sit down and solve this thing," Commissioner Greg Hansen said. "If the clerk won’t even come to the table, I don’t know how we do it."
Commissioners decided to issue an ultimatum: At Sullivan's suggestion, they opted to send Bexley a letter requesting that he agree to have an independent space study of the building conducted, and to comply with its conclusions. If Bexley does not reply favorably within 48 hours, the county will begin preparing for a legal action against Bexley's office, starting by hiring the law firm of Nabors, Giblin & Nickerson.
That process, County Attorney Al Hadeed said, would mean that an independent judge, from outside the circuit, would be brought in to adjudicate.
The FCSO's staff has been displaced from the agency's Operations Center building since June 2018 because of mold issues that employees believe were responsible for a number of staff illnesses there. They've been staying at the county courthouse while new facilities are built. The new building is expected to be completed in about two years.
But in the meantime, Staly has repeatedly said his staff is so cramped at the courthouse that it's hindering their work. Bexley has countered that the FCSO's presence has impeded the the Clerk of Courts operations.
The County Commission, on May 20, had told County Administrator Jerry Cameron to determine the availability of space in the courthouse to see if the sheriff's operations there could be expanded. Heidi Petito, the county's general services director, sent the clerk a letter in her capacity as acting county administrator telling him to provide an additional 5,000 feet of space to the sheriff. But that had not happened, and before commissioners came to their decision July 15, Cameron told them that Bexley hadn't seemed willing to work with the county administration.
He cited Bexley's decision to have a space study conducted but not reveal it to county staff until the July 15 meeting as an example, saying he would have expected "some reciprocity" from the clerk in terms of sharing information.
"You know, I’m here before my board tonight trying to give them a report, and I can’t begin to tell them what I think of this because I haven’t had time to review it," Cameron said.
He told commissioners that they had three options: Get the clerk and the sheriff to work out an arrangement to share the space; rent space for the Sheriff's Office at an estimated $1 million or more; or sue.
The first option — though the best one for taxpayers — seemed unlikely, he said.
County Commissioner Joe Mullins did not want to use taxpayer money to rent more space, he said — not after taxpayers had already paid millions of dollars for the Sheriff's Operations Center on State Road 100, which has now sat unused for more than a year because of mold.
"I’m not going to the taxpayers and asking them for more money. I'm not doing it."
JOE MULLINS, county commissioner
"Do we really want this image to the public and the state that we’re fighting internally?" Mullins asked. " ... It just needs to get resolved. And the quicker we do it, the quicker it’s going to get over with. So I beg all parties, consider the taxpayer first."
Commissioner Greg Hansen said he was familiar with the courthouse building.
"We all know there's empty space over there that nobody’s sitting in," Hansen said. "And it's temporary, as we’ve heard. There’s room in the courthouse for growth — that’s 30 years of growth. We’re talking about two years."
"We all know there's empty space over there."
GREG HANSEN, county commissioner
Cameron had proposed that the county could have a space study conducted by an outside firm, at a cost of about $25,000. But Hansen and Sullivan didn't see the point of spending that money that unless Bexley would agree beforehand to abide by its conclusions.
Commission Chairman Donald O'Brien agreed.
But, O'Brien said, "I abhor one governmental entity suing another. ... I think that is the most complete waste of taxpayer dollars that I can even imagine. ... I would be completely opposed to taking that action."
Mullins asked if the county could add portable buildings outside the courthouse building to add space for the Sheriff's Office.
Chief Mark Strobridge, the FCSO spokesman representing Staly at the meeting — Staly was away at a conference — said the FCSO had looked into that option but determined that it would cost about a million dollars or more, because short-term portable building rentals have high rates.
Sullivan believed the matter may require litigation.
"We may have stumbled, I’m sorry to say, on an issue that needs legal clarification," he said. Namely: Does a county commission have the right to reallocate space among constitutional officers in a county-owned building? "It may well be the only way to resolve this is through a legal determination," he said.
"I abhor one governmental entity suing another. ... I think that is the most complete waste of taxpayer dollars that I can even imagine."
DONALD O'BRIEN, county commissioner
One expert has already provided some words of caution: On July 12, the circuit's chief judge — Raul Zambrano — for the first time spoke publicly on the controversy, warning commissioners in a four-page letter (view it HERE) that allowing a "quasi forced taking of courthouse space sets a terrible precedent," as the courthouse was not designed to be used as overflow space. And, Zambrano added, "most importantly to this court," an overwhelming law enforcement presence at the courthouse could create legal issues and "could create a chilling effect on the administration of justice."
"I cringe at the thought that someone may choose to forego coming into the building out of any fear or concern, whether real or imagined, because of an overwhelming presence of law enforcement officers," Zambrano wrote.
He explained his concerns in a series of bullet points, noting that the county is slated to receive an additional judge soon, and that the new judge will require space in the courthouse and potentially the addition of more staff.
During the July 15 meeting's public comment period, Palm Coast resident Ed Fuller said he'd read that letter.
"He just said consider; he didn’t say you were breaking the law," Fuller said. "He didn't say it was against the law, he just said consider." He added that taking a position isn't leadership. "Leadership is taking action. ... You are the primary owner of that building."
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Heidi Petito sent a letter to Clerk of Court Tom Bexley while Petito was serving as acting county administrator. A previous version of this story had stated incorrectly that Jerry Cameron, the county administrator, had send the letter through a staff member.
