The Joint Legislative Auditing Committee has issued subpoenas for two Okaloosa County commissioners and the president of The Zimmerman Agency to appear at its March 4 meeting in Tallahassee.

Read the subpoenas.

The subpoenas for Commission Chairman Don Amunds, Commissioner Wayne Harris and Curtis Zimmerman were issued Wednesday. It was not clear Thursday whether they had been served.

The Auditing Committee plans to question Amunds, Harris and Zimmerman, or another representative of his company, about findings in the auditor general’s recent audit of the County Commission and the Tourist Development Council. They also are expected to answer questions about former TDC head Mark Bellinger’s illegal and unauthorized expenditures from 2010 to 2012.

“I plan to honor the subpoena,” said Harris, who is being represented by Tallahassee lawyer Ronald Meyer.

Amunds and Zimmerman could not be reached for comment Thursday.

The Zimmerman Agency of Tallahassee is a marketing and advertising firm that held a lucrative contract with the TDC for about 20 years.

The state’s Auditing Committee, made up of six state representatives and five state senators, oversees the Auditor General’s Office.

In addition to the three subpoenas, the committee has sent letters to 10 people requesting they voluntarily appear before the committee March 4. Those people include County Administrator Jim Curry, County Attorney John Dowd, County Clerk of Court Don Howard, former TDC attorney Steve Hall and Lewis Communications Vice President Ellen Wingard.

Read some of the letters.

Lewis Communications, based in Mobile, Ala., is the advertising firm that issued the check Bellinger used to buy his $747,000 home in Destin. The four-bedroom home was paid for with money from a BP oil spill grant.

The Auditing Committee had planned to subpoena Lewis Communications, but changed that plan because it would have taken too long to file the subpoena through the Alabama court system, said George Levesque, general counsel for the Florida Senate.

Attorney Gus Fontenot of Mobile, who represents Lewis Communications, said Thursday he is not sure if Wingard or another company representative will attend the committee meeting.

Also included on the committee’s list are Warren Gourley, chairman of the TDC; Bobby Nabors, a Fort Walton Beach City Councilman and TDC member; and former TDC members Kathy Houchins, Patricia Hardiman and Nick Nicholson.

Gourley, Nicholson and Houchins said they are willing to appear.

“I responded that I’ll absolutely be there,” Houchins said. “I will welcome the opportunity to answer their questions and lend them my opinion if they ask for it, and maybe even if they don’t ask for it.”

Houchins is one of four TDC members who were asked to resign Feb. 5 by county commissioners. She opposed stepping down but complied because she said she wants the county to move past the controversy.

Gourley has refused to resign. He said he welcomes the chance to talk with the Auditing Committee.

“I don’t believe they understand how (the TDC) was structured,” he said. “We were volunteers. We did not sign checks. We did not see invoices.”

Nabors said he is “still working out the details” of whether he will attend the March 4 meeting.

“What I want to avoid is going over there and sitting all day for nothing,” he said. “If they legitimately want to have a conversation with us, then I’m agreeable to that. … There’s no reason for us to go over there and get politically demonized.”

State Rep. Matt Gaetz does not sit on the Auditing Committee but participated in its Feb. 11 hearing on the TDC scandal. He said he is not sure if he will attend the next meeting.

Gaetz said he doesn’t believe the Auditing Committee will be pleased to hear that Okaloosa County commissioners on Tuesday declined to fire Dowd.

“That would have been an obvious step toward healing and moving forward,” he said.

Gaetz has pushed for Dowd’s removal at previous meetings.

“Every day that John Dowd continues to be employed by the county is a day that taxpayers have to be concerned,” he said.

Gaetz said Dowd provided legal opinions and helped draft contracts with Zimmerman and Lewis that “subjected taxpayers to untold liability.”

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: State subpoenas Harris, Amunds and Zimmerman about TDC funds

Editor's Note: Voters of municipal elections on March 12 will decide several positions in Crestview and Laurel Hill city governments.

To help readers make informed decisions at the polls, the News Bulletin will publish profiles of each candidate running for office in each edition of the newspaper through March 2. Today, we profile three candidates running for Crestview City Council's Precinct 1 position.

Each candidate was asked to answer the same questions and received the same amount of space to respond. Candidates appear alphabetically.

JOE BLOCKER

Personal: Wife Jackie, two children, three stepchildren. Member of Woodlawn Baptist Church, where he volunteers teaching an adult co-ed Sunday school class and serves as deacon. Has served as a member of Gideon's International Ministry for the last 28 years.

Relevant experience: A retired commercial construction onsite project manager for 50-plus years. As a resident, businessperson and property owner for more than 50 years, I feel that I am uniquely qualified to fill this position. Working in the commercial construction industry, I have experience working with a vast number of city, county, state and federal officials over the years. Being recently retired, I feel that I have the time and experience to make a difference for the citizens of Crestview.

Other education/experience: Unanswered.

Reason you seek this position: The trying economic times we are facing demand someone who is in touch with the community and understands its needs.

My goal — and reason for seeking this council seat position — is to restore trust and confidence in our elected and appointed leaders. As your city council representative, I will serve you by passionately advocating for your needs and ensure that our neighborhood is fully represented on the Crestview City Council.

With your trust and support, we can make this vision a reality.

Biggest issue this position faces and how you plan to address it: Restoring trust and confidence in our elected and appointed leaders. 

LANDRUM "LANNY" EDWARDS

Personal: Married to Winnie Edwards; two children.

Relevant experience: I am a citizen of the city of Crestview. I spent four years in the Navy. I retired from civil service at Eglin Air Force Base. I have been a business owner for over 20 years in the city of Crestview.

Other education/experience: High school civil services and management courses.

Reason you seek this position:  I have a strong desire to serve the city of Crestview and its citizens without any hidden agenda.

Biggest issue this position faces and how you plan to address it: I hope to stop the wasteful spending that is going on in the Crestview area — spending that does not benefit the people of Crestview.

I will work on getting a bypass around the city of Crestview, even if I have to walk to Tallahassee and talk to the representatives and the governor.

I will work on improving the downtown parking for the city of Crestview.

BENJAMIN J. IANNUCCI III

Personal: I am a single father raising two children: son, Benjamin J. Iannucci IV, and daughter, Natalia J. Iannucci. I hold a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering, and a Master of Aeronautical Science and begin my Doctorate of Business Administration in October 2013. I belong to the Boy Scouts of America and serve as a Tiger Cub Den Leader for Den 5, Pack 799 in Crestview.

I am the city representative to the Military Sustainability Partnership Executive Committee, Okaloosa Economic Development Council, Northwest Florida League of Cities, and the Okaloosa Library Cooperative. I also am a member of the Professional Inspired Leaders of Tomorrow, the Military Affairs Committee, and serve on the Florida State Energy and Environmental Quality Legislative Committee, and the Federal Action Strike Team.

I am a passionate athlete, participate in many athletic competitions, and am a coach at various youth and adult sports activity events, including Crestview City T-ball/baseball.

In 2012, I launched my business, Iannucci 3.0 Inc., in which I teach leadership development, teambuilding, strategic planning, soft skills training, life development, coaching, corporate leadership consulting, and athletic consulting.

Relevant experience: Led successful effort to reduce taxes in the city, and was elected City Council president for my results. Led countless teams in military and civilian jobs, managed $200M+ projects, and built my own business in leadership development.

Most importantly, I bring integrity to the role. I will say what I believe to be correct. I always keep my head up; always push forward and I will succeed because I live my life and do my job with integrity, character and passion.

Other education/experience: I spent three budget cycles on the council where I have lowered taxes — the first time in over 20 years. I have developed long-term projects and goals that increase jobs, services and revenue, which will lower taxes even further by bringing a large retail center in 2013. Spearheading effort to build a sports complex within the city. I solidified the passing of the business incubator program, bringing small business to our downtown area.

Reason you seek this position:  Crestview is my home, I’m raising a family here, and built my business here. I am excited by the future of Crestview and I want to continue to play an active role in shaping that shining future.

Every decision I make, every action brought before me I decide what I truly feel is best for the city, not for me.

I have been told that I’m the youngest member to serve, and that I’m a voice of reason as we grow. I believe in accountability for a person’s actions, including my own. I bring what this council has not had in many years: leadership.

Biggest issue this position faces and how you plan to address it: My top priority is planning. I have already begun developing processes that will allow this city to operate more efficiently both financially and operationally.

In the past, this city has had no forward-thinking leadership and operated without oversight or uniform direction. There has never been any strategic planning until I came on board and starting working with the rest of the city council.

We put together a prudent and accountable planning process for all our expenditures, for all of our projects, and for the basic operations and future planning that will in turn allow the city to lower taxes as we operate with improved efficiency.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: MEET THE CANDIDATES: 2 challenge Crestview council incumbent

CRESTVIEW — A "safety-improvement project" for P.J. Adams Parkway will begin to address the road's notorious congestion sooner than expected, Okaloosa County Public Works officials have announced.

However, it is not the road's anticipated four-laning project that may not even be funded until 2030, Public Works Director John Hofstad said.

"The state has a safety-improvement project on their docket now. They'll do some shoulder work, some striping work, some widening in some sections to include a left-turn lane. It only runs from where we completed the four-laning at (State Road) 85 and terminates at Ashley (Drive)," he said.

The project should begin in 2015, Hofstad said.

Re-striping of P.J. Adams will continue to Antioch Road and on to U.S. Highway 90, but adding turn lanes or widening the stretch of road is not included in the project at this time, Hofstad said.

The growth of neighborhood communities off the P.J. Adams-Antioch Road corridor has led to increased traffic during morning and evening rush hours. Countryview Estates residents have complained that relentless flow of evening rush-hour traffic west on P.J. Adams makes them virtual prisoners of their own neighborhood.

The state's allocation of funds for the safety improvements came as a surprise when county engineer Jason Autrey learned about it last week, Hofstad said.

"If the state's going to manage local projects, you'd think they'd let us know about it, but we're not going to turn our backs on it," Hofstad said.

A study on widening the P.J. Adams-Antioch Road corridor to four lanes and making it an anticipated bypass around Crestview's southwest quarter concluded last summer, but funding for that project is not expected until 2030 at the earliest, state officials have said.

Hofstad said his department hopes to accomplish some of the bypass project components in intervals as financing becomes available.

The recently announced safety improvement project is a first step.

"There are some dollars available," he said. "It's not going to be four-laning and it's not for a couple years — but at least it's something."

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: State surprises county with PJ Adams Parkway improvements

Okaloosa County hopes to recoup the money Mark Bellinger used to buy his home in Destin some time in March.

Bellinger, the former director of the Tourist Development Council, purchased the home illegally in August 2011 with $747,000 from a BP oil spill grant. He lived in the four-bedroom house in Kelly Plantation with his wife Kathy until his death in early May 2012.

The home was seized by the U.S. Marshal’s Office last summer and now is under contract to sell for $620,000.

“The way the process works with the federal government is they have contracts with outside brokers who attempt to arrive at a buyer for these properties,” said attorney Greg Stewart, special counsel to Okaloosa County.

Stewart on Tuesday presented county commissioners with a plan to “aggressively” pursue the recovery of some of the revenue Bellinger spent illegally and without authorization while he headed the TDC.

See presentation about TDC recovery efforts.

Stewart said the county has filed a petition to receive 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the house minus maintenance and broker fees.

He said the county has contacted BP and the company has agreed that no refund is necessary as long as the money recovered is spent according to the oil spill grant’s intent.

In addition to the house, only two other items — a $48,000 2008 Porsche Cayman and $6,258 worth of furniture — are considered illegal purchases, Stewart told the board.

Not only were they purchased with public funds, they “went to a private person for a private person’s gain,” Stewart said.

The Porsche was one of Bellinger’s first thefts, occurring in August 2010, about three months after he was hired. He eventually traded it in for a Subaru sedan.

“And I believe there was a cash component. There was $6,000 in cash that ultimately went to him,” Stewart said.

The Subaru has been turned over to the county, which plans to take it to auction.

The county also has seized the furniture purchased with BP money and is deciding how to dispose of it.

“If we use it for alternative purposes, we will be obligated to refund BP,” Stewart said.

If the furniture is sold, the money would have to be used in accordance with the BP grant’s purpose.

Stewart also briefed the board on efforts to recover several of Bellinger’s unauthorized purchases. They include:

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.  

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa lays out plans to recoup Bellinger theft losses (DOCUMENTS)

FORT WALTON BEACH — Okaloosa County Administrator Jim Curry and County Attorney John Dowd still had their jobs on Wednesday.

Curry remained employed despite tendering his resignation at Tuesday night’s county commission meeting. Dowd held onto his post despite Commissioner Kelly Windes’ attempt to fire him.

The tension-filled, seven-hour meeting was the latest example of county officials seeking to satisfy critics calling for accountability in the wake of the Mark Bellinger fraud scandal.

The board voted unanimously to reject Curry’s resignation, which was offered just before 9 p.m. during a discussion about the county’s response to the scandal.

“The theft of public funds to purchase a house, a car and other items was beyond comprehension,” Curry said in a prepared statement. “In retrospect, perhaps I should have been better prepared for such, especially after so many other criminal revelations involving other constitutional offices.”

He said he regretted not recognizing the circumstances under which the Tourist Development Council was operating and the conditions “that enabled a crook to steal from the public.”

“I also was at times a part of the approval process that allowed these transactions to take place, and I do not take that responsibility lightly,” Curry said. “I regret that perhaps I should have recognized and acted earlier to prevent the crimes that Mark Bellinger perpetrated upon our community.”

All five commissioners voiced support for Curry and asked him to stay at his post for another 60 days. He already is scheduled to retire sometime between May and October.

Commissioner Wayne Harris said Curry and the TDC members are “not guilty of anything other than being hoodwinked by a criminal.”

“I think it’s appalling that people are asking for resignations,” Harris said. “Accepting his resignation at this time would be a travesty, and I won’t accept it.”

Dowd did not have the same across-the-board support. His contract came under fire a few minutes before the meeting adjourned at 1 a.m. Wednesday.

Windes told the board he had serious concerns about Dowd continuing as the county’s attorney in the wake of the TDC scandal. He said Dowd’s oversight and legal advice on various department matters, contracts and leases have fallen short.

“I believe the people would be best served by starting over with a new face and reset of our legal representation,” he said.

Windes’ comments echoed those of state Rep. Matt Gaetz and Senate President Don Gaetz, who have criticized county officials for keeping the county attorney and not having already fired employees who approved Bellinger’s questionable purchases.

Windes said “new faces, time and accountability … will make Okaloosa proud again.”

“So having said that, Mr. Dowd, do you have any interest in following Mr. Curry’s lead and stepping down?” Windes asked.

“No sir," Dowd answered.

He declined to comment further during the meeting.

Windes then pushed for the board to provide Dowd with his contract’s required 90-day notice of termination, but that proposal was voted down 3-2.

Windes and Commissioner Dave Parisot voted to fire Dowd. Harris, Commission Chairman Don Amunds and Commissioner Nathan Boyles were opposed.

Parisot said he supported firing Dowd for reasons unrelated to the TDC scandal. He said he’s had concerns about the quality of some of the legal work Dowd has provided the county, specifically contracts that have required major changes.

Harris disagreed, and reminded Parisot that he isn’t a lawyer.

“With the exception of one commissioner up here, I didn’t know we all had law degrees and know the peculiarities of contracts and legal issues,” Harris quipped.

Sounding frustrated, Windes interrupted, “C’mon, Wayne, this is common sense.”

“No, no, I don’t agree with you at all,” Harris fired back.

“Well, you can vote against me,” Windes said.

“Well, I intend to,” Harris answered.

“That’s fine,” Windes said.

Harris argued that Dowd has done “a very good job” and “has always been there with the right answers.”

Boyles prefaced his vote with support for Dowd, adding that he planned to meet with Dowd to discuss his work for the county.

“I’m not going to vote to terminate John Dowd tonight,” Boyles said. “It’s 15 minutes to 1 a.m., and we’ve been at this for seven hours.”

He said Okaloosa County has changed tremendously since Dowd took his job and the county is “no longer a one-attorney county.”

Boyles said the county must look at restructuring its legal representation in the near future.

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Commissioners reject Curry’s resignation; Dowd survives vote

“A cloud of smoke and confusion developed over this bill and I couldn’t push it away,” said Broxson, R-Midway.

He said the misinformation came from groups that sold the public on the notion that oil would be spilled into the Blackwater River and that prospectors would spoil hunting, fishing, hiking and camping opportunities.

“Nobody offered to explain the history of drilling in the Blackwater, the safety of the drilling in Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties, and the fact that they’ve been doing it for over 30 years and nobody knew anything about it,” he said.

He said a petition opposing House Bill 431 with 2,500 signatures arrived Tuesday at his district office.

In a news release, Broxson defended his introduction of the bill “as a means to guarantee safety, protect the environment and increase optimal financial benefit for the state and Panhandle.”

“The bill related to the way private companies competed for oil leases in the Blackwater River State Forest where drilling and petroleum exploration has already been underway,” the news release said.

Broxson said he remains committed to hosting a town hall meeting Monday in Jay in Santa Rosa County to discuss drilling.

“I look forward to continuing this discussion … as a means to safeguard our quality of life and achieve maximum economic benefit for every citizen in Northwest Florida,” Broxson said in the news release.

He said he is prepared to point out that 14 billion barrels of oil and 770 cubic feet of natural gas have been pumped out of Northwest Florida wells over the decades without leaving a footprint on the environment.

One of the first organizations opposed to H.B. 431 was the Florida Audubon Society and its Pensacola-area chapter.

Audubon spokeswoman Julie Wraithmell congratulated those who helped defeat the bill and applauded Broxson for his decision to withdraw the legislation.

“There’s something to be said for Rep. Broxson. He clearly listened to his constituents on this and we applaud him for that,” Wraithmell said.

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Tom McLaughlin at 850-315-4435 or tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMnwfdn.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Broxson withdraws Blackwater River State Forest drilling bill

Okaloosa County has been vindicated in its assertion that it never abandoned its courthouse annex in Shalimar.

Florida’s First District Court of Appeals went along last week with a circuit court’s ruling and rejected the Meigs family trust’s effort to have the land on which the annex complex stands returned to it.

The family argued the county violated a reverter clause built into a deed drawn in 1973. The deed gave the land on which the Shalimar annex now stands to the county for as long as a courthouse function was maintained at the property.

When the county mostly vacated the annex in October 2011 in favor of the new Courthouse Annex Extension on the Northwest Florida Fairgrounds property in Fort Walton Beach, the family claimed the reverter clause had been violated.

The county argued it had no intention of leaving the annex building mostly empty and that it expected to use about 15,000 square feet of the 66,000-square-foot complex for courthouse functions.

The appeals court agreed.

“There is no evidence that constructing the annex extension somehow precludes continued judicial use of the annex,” the judges said in their ruling, citing case law that states “reduction of use or even non-use is not in itself abandonment.”

While the Meigs family still has time to request a rehearing, plans are moving steadily forward to begin filling a renovated Shalimar annex building.

County Administrator Jim Curry said a “design and build team” expects to present its plans for modernizing and revitalizing the annex, built in 1976, at the County Commission’s second meeting in March.

Newly invested Circuit Court Judge Mary Polson and Okaloosa County Court Operations Manager Alicia Wardlow represent Florida’s First Judicial Circuit on the task force deciding what to do with the Shalimar annex.

Circuit Court Judge William Stone, Okaloosa’s administrative judge, said the task force and county have “shown great deference” in allowing those representing the judiciary to decide what its presence at the annex will be.

“The only request we have made is to ask that they please use their facilities at the annex to conduct the full gamut of judicial proceedings,” Curry said, indicating that hearings, motions, mediation and actual trials all should be conducted in whatever space in Shalimar is allocated to the courts.

At this juncture, Wardlow said, discussions have revolved primarily around using the Shalimar annex for family law or juvenile court proceedings.

“There’s been discussion on that,” she said. “We haven’t hammered out all the details.”

One consideration, Wardlow said, is the ease of movement for children within the one-floor annex structure.

Stone said it isn’t likely the judicial function in Shalimar will return to any of the four big courtrooms where major cases were heard before the move to the annex extension.

 The county’s tax collector, property appraiser, clerk of court, supervisor of elections and sheriff’s office could also be among those occupying space within the renovated Shalimar annex, Curry said.

“We just want to be careful not to try to put ten pounds of potatoes into a five-pound bag,” he said. “We’re trying to determine who will fit and who won’t.”

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Tom McLaughlin at 850-315-4435 or tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMnwfdn.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Court sides with county over Shalimar courthouse annex