The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About07 28 1989 Legal fees draw fire at meetingJuly 28, 1989 (USPS 1506) Legal fees raw fire it meeting By George Ricker Attorney's fees dominated the Sebastian City Council's meeting Wednesday night. Discussion of Cutler & Stanfield's charges for their work in drafting the ordinance required by the airport referendum, and in negotiating the standstill agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), was a thread that wound through the en- tire meeting, a theme that council- men seemed compelled to return to over and over again. Former City Councilman George Metcalf, speaking as a private citi- zen, said, "I find it difficult to digest fees of more than $100,000 being paid to a firm that is not licensed to practice law in the state of Florida." Cutler & Stanfield are based in O Washington, D.C. When the firm was hired by the City Council on April 20, Eliot Cutler, a partner in the law firm, conceded no attorney in the firm was a member of the Florida Bar. Metcalf noted that, had the money ,been used in conjunction with the airport improvement grants avail- able from the FAA, the $100,000 could have paid for more than $2 million in improvements at the air- port. "I don't know if it is possible to recapture any of that money," he said. "But if the majority (of the City Council) cannot be. held financially responsible, I hope the citizens will hold them politically responsible," Metcalf concluded. Steve Johnson, co-owner of Se- bastian Aero Services, also found himself talking about the attorney's bills. As a spokesman for the majority of the airport's users and operators, Johnson said he was appearing be- fore the council to put into the public record the position that the operators and users. were "110 percent op- posed" to the manner in which the proposed airport study was going._ Johnson said he had noticed, in Cutler's most recent bill, numerous phone conversations with John Evans, attorney for Citizen's Airport Watch (CAW), the group that spon- sored the airport referendum that led to the city hiring Cutler's firm. "Evans has spent billable time with the attorney," Johnson noted. "We are going to have to take the position that we will bring as much pressure, to bear as we can in order to get what we have to have." He told the council that, while Cutler had apparently been consult- ing with Evans, no one from Cutler's firm or the FAA had made any effort to contact the group he represents. "No one has asked us," Johnson said. "This is not a linear problem," he said. "It is a triangular problem. The FAA does not, in every case, repre- sent what the pilots and operators represent." Cutler had been the CAW's attor- ney, Johnson said, and he could not ignore that. "Cutler came here because of the CAW. It is a natural adversarial rela- tionship," he added. City Manager Robb McClary said he did not know what all of the con - See Airport Page 3-A Airport (from 1-A) versations between Cutler and Evan had involved. He noted he had sat in on on meeting between Cutler and Evans i Sebastian, when the standstill agree ment between the city and the F was being presented. McClary said he felt then and stil believed it was appropriate to involy Evans in those discussions becaus the organization he represented ha w a d and had succeeded in having them, reduced by about $9,000. However, he stated the City Coun- cil appoints the city manager, the city attorney, the city clerk and any spe- cial legal counsel, such as Cutler. Each of those officers has respon- sibilities defined by state statutes, the city charter, city ordinances and contracts, except in the case of the city clerk, McClary said. He observed Cutler's contract with the city was broad, and so long as the work his firm performed was within the scope of that contract, McClary said he felt obliged to approve pay- ment fat the work. "I don't think I can be responsible for controlling Eliot Cutler's clock," he said. McClary said the council had hired Cutler because of the attorney's expertise in aviation matters. "I think you need to keep the terms of Cutler's engagement fairly broad, or he is going to be ineffective," oae stated. "At present, we have planning is- sues before us, not legal issues." He repeated he would rather not be responsible for turning Cutler's clock on and off. McCarthy, who had said earlier he would support the move to place limits on Cutler because the situation had changed since the attorney was hired, said that, based on McClary's comments, he would not support it. "It might handcuff the attorney," he said. Subsequently, McCollum with- drew his motion to prevent Cutler from accepting calls from private citizens, Evans or the CAW. Later in the meeting, it was Ober - beck's turn. He also was concerned about the telephone calls, he said. "This whole thing with Cutler goes against my grain," Oberbeck said. Turning to Votapka, he said, "I guess you have to live with it. I don't intend to." Oberbeck was the only council- man who voted against hiring Cutler & Stanfield on April 20. Although a motion he made to fire the attorney on June 28 died because no one would second it, Votapka indicated his support for the motion.