Backup Documents 04/24/2018 Item #11C ,
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Michelle Anchors ! ,y471,-3'- ze,
`v. Virlindia Doss
Chair Executive Director
Michael Cox4.es''
Vice Chair C.Christopher Anderson,III
Jason David Berger General Counsel./
Daniel Brady,Ph.D. State of Florida Deputy Executive Director
Matthew J. Carson COMMISSION ON ETHICS
P.O.Drawer 15709 (850)488-7864 Phone
Ashley Coone Tallahassee,Florida 32317-5709 (850)488-3077(FAX)
Guy W.Norris325 oad www.ethics.state.fl.us
Kimberly Bonder Rezanka Building dohn Knox R200
E,Suite 200
Tallahassee,Florida 32303
"A Public Office is a Public Trust"
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April 17, 2018 /410 f j
Mr. William L. McDaniel, Jr. ��,� 1 1
Vice-Chairman
Collier County Commission
Transmitted via email to bill.mcdaniel@colliercountyfl.gov
Re: Your inquiry received via email March 16, 2018 and supplemented April 3 and
April 13, 2018
Dear Commissioner McDaniel:
This letter is the response to the above-referenced inquiry. In the email dated March 16,
2018, and supplemented by additional information you, and your aide (on your behalf), have
provided, you write that you are a member of the Board of County Commissioners for Collier
County, and that you have a 50%ownership interest in an outdoor recreational park located in
Hendry County that has been in operation for over five years (the "Park"). You relate that the
Board of County Commissioners (the "Board") is considering creating an outdoor recreation park
in Collier County(the "Proposed Park"). Your aide has advised me that one of the potential sites
for the Proposed Park is currently a holding area for dredging and is located 15 miles from the
Park. You state that an ad-hoc advisory committee has been established to advise the Board
regarding the creation and location of the Proposed Park. You also state that all of the sites
under consideration for the Proposed Park are within Collier County, and that your Park is
located approximately half a mile from the Collier County line. You also write that three
measures have come before the Board regarding the Proposed Park, and that you voted in favor
of two of the measures, and abstained on one of the votes. You state that you are unsure of
whether you are required to abstain on measures concerning the Proposed Park. You inquire,
therefore, whether you are required to abstain from voting on any measure that comes before the
Board pertaining to the Proposed Park.
The provision of the Code of Ethics relevant to your first inquiry is Section
112.3143(3)(a),Florida Statutes,which provides:
r �
Commissioner William L. McDaniel, Jr.
11C
April 17, 2018
Page 2
VOTING CONFLICTS.No county, municipal, or other local public
officer shall vote in an official capacity upon any measure which would inure to his
or her special private gain or loss;which he or she knows would inure to the special
private gain or loss of any principal by whom he or she is retained or to the parent
organization or subsidiary of a corporate principal by which he or she is retained,
other than an agency as defined in s. 112.312(2); or which he or she knows would
inure to the special private gain or loss of a relative or business associate of the
public officer. Such public officer shall,prior to the vote being taken,publicly state
to the assembly the nature of the officer's interest in the matter from which he or
she is abstaining from voting and, within 15 days after the vote occurs, disclose the
nature of his or her interest as a public record in a memorandum filed with the
person responsible for recording the minutes of the meeting, who shall incorporate
the memorandum in the minutes.
Section 112.3143(3)(a), Florida Statutes,prohibits a local public officer from voting whenever
the measure under consideration would inure to his own special private gain or loss, to that of
any principal by whom he is retained, or to that of a relative or business associate of the public
officer, or to that of any other person or entity listed in the statute. The law requires a
declaration of interest, abstention from voting and the filing of a memorandum(CE Form 8B) as
to such measures.
Section 112.3143(1)(d), Florida Statutes, defines special private gain or loss:
"Special private gain or loss"means an economic benefit or harm that would
inure to the officer, his or her relative, business associate, or principal, unless the
measure affects a class that includes the officer, his or her relative, business
associate, or principal, in which case, at least the following factors must be
considered when determining whether a special private gain or loss exists:
1. The size of the class affected by the vote.
2. The nature of the interests involved.
3. The degree to which the interests of all members of the class are
affected by the vote.
4. The degree to which the officer, his or her relative, business
associate, or principal receives a greater benefit or harm when compared to other
members of the class.
The degree to which there is uncertainty at the time of the vote as to whether there
would be any economic benefit or harm to the public officer, his or her relative,
business associate, or principal and, if so, the nature or degree of the economic
benefit or harm must also be considered.
♦ I
1 1 C
Commissioner William L. McDaniel, Jr.
April 17, 2018
Page 3
A voting conflict would be created for you as a County Commissioner if a measure
would affect the economic value of the Park.1
However, when determining whether "special private gain or loss" will occur, the
definition referenced above specifies several factors that must be considered, including
the "degree to which there is uncertainty at the time of the vote as to whether there would
be any economic benefit or harm to the public officer, his or her relative, business
associate, or principal and, if so,the nature or degree of the economic benefit or harm
must also be considered." The Commission has consistently interpreted Section
112.3143(3)(a)to find that no special private gain or loss exists in situations where any
gain or loss to a public officer would be remote or speculative. See, for example, CEO
06-20 (county commissioner not presented with a voting conflict regarding measures
concerning a proposed county judicial complex located two blocks away from property
owned by the commissioner's company), CEO 05-2 (village workplace/affordable
housing committee member not presented with a voting conflict when voting on mobile
home park measures where she operated a mobile home park not located within the
village's mobile home zoning district), CEO 85-87 (city council member who was a vice-
president of a bank was not prohibited from voting on the sale and redevelopment of
property located one block from the main office of the bank), CEO 85-77 (school board
member not presented with a voting conflict regarding matters related to the use of school
district property where he owned a clothing store near the site of the proposed school
complex), CEO 85-54 (county commissioner was not prohibited from voting on a
developer's site plan where the commissioner owned land over two miles from the
development project), and CEO 79-66(board of adjustment member was not presented
with a voting conflict regarding a variance request opposed by a homeowner's association
of which he was president where his personal residence was situated one-mile from the
subject property).
Here,the closest potential site for the Proposed Park is located 15 miles from the
Park, and all of the sites under consideration are located within Collier County.2 In
addition,the Park is located in Hendry County, and not within Collier County where the
Proposed Park will be located. Under the circumstance presented in your inquiry,
therefore, it appears that any economic benefit to the Park (your interest) from the
creation of the Proposed Park is remote or speculative. For this reason, Section
112.3143(3)(a), Florida Statutes, apparently will not prohibit you from voting on
measures concerning the Proposed Park.
' This response assumes that the Park is the only economic interest of yours, or of any other
persons or entities connected to you as listed in Section 112.3143(3)(a), at issue. If this is not so,
please contact me further.
2 If I have misunderstood any facts of your situation, please let me know.
A1C
Commissioner William L. McDaniel, Jr.
April 17, 2018
Page 4
If the facts of your situation change in a material way, please contact us for further
guidance. If you do so,please reference this letter. Feel free to contact me if you have any
questions.
Sincerely,
goldt 01 /Could,
John M. Knight
Staff Attorney
Florida Commission on Ethics