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St. Augustine, June 21, 2005
Many
Florida condo owners are furious about two members of the Condo Advisory
Council. They allege that chairman Joe Adams and member Peter Dunbar are
using their positions on the Council to promote their own personal
agendas instead of following the Florida Statutes.
Considering that the Condo Trust Fund pays for the cost of this
Council, condo owners think that the Council was created to serve the
welfare of the citizens, not as a tool to promote special interests. For
the actual wording of the complaints, please see below. So
far the council has done very little to follow the legislative intent
that created this Council during the 2004 legislative session.
Many condo owners are disappointed that so far very little has
been achieved. Instead of
concentrating on the many tasks at hand, chairman Adams is now taking on
the unsolicited task of trying to evaluate the work of other entities
– like the Division of Florida Land Sales, Condominiums and
Mobile Homes and the Condo Ombudsman Office. Representative
Julio Robaina had sponsored House Bill 1123 in 2004. Considering that both Adams and Dunbar strongly opposed House
Bill 1123 that contained the wording for the creation of the Condo
Advisory Council, it seems now they are using the tactic of: "If
you can't beat them, join them to covertly plot for their demise”? Florida’s
condo owners are not willing to sit idle and wait, while these attorneys
destroy a tool that had been established by the Florida legislature to
help solve many of the problems these owners face on a daily basis! Jan
Bergemann, President 2.
PERSON AGAINST WHOM COMPLAINT IS BROUGHT: Name:
Joseph Adams, Esquire
Telephone Number: (239)
433-7707 Address: 14241 Metropolis Ave, Suite 100 City: Fort Myers County: Lee Zip Code: 33912 Title
of office or position held or sought: Member
of the Advisory Council on Condominiums 3.
STATEMENT OF FACTS: Mr.
Adams is a licensed, practicing member of The Florida Bar and a managing
shareholder in a statewide law firm known as Becker & Poliakoff,
P.A.. Mr. Adams and
his law firm specialize in condominium and community association law.
At least two (2) attorneys (Gary Poliakoff, Esquire and Keith
Poliakoff, Esquire) in Mr. Adams law firm are registered Florida
lobbyists for the Becker & Poliakoff, P.A. law firm as their
principal. Based on the
foregoing it appears that an irreconcilable and continuing conflict of
interest exists between Mr. Adams’ personal interests as a lawyer and
his public duties as a member of the Advisory Council on Condominiums. Mr. Adams as chairman of the Advisory Council has
advocated and promoted legislation in open Council meetings that were
lobbied for by his law firm for the benefit of their clients. He also
has used the Advisory Council as a vehicle to recommend to the Governor
certain other legislation should be vetoed. This activity is not only
outside of the statutory jurisdiction, functions and duties of the
Advisory Council but also clearly perpetrated by Mr. Adam’s to further
his own personal interests.
The
procedural safeguards enacted by Chapter 112, Florida Statutes, are not
sufficient to protect against Mr. Adams proposing, supporting or voting
on recommendations that would favor or further the interests of himself,
his law firm, his clients or principals and/or their firms and interests
and any of their own political or social agendas and do not inspire and
ensure the public’s confidence in his service on the Advisory Council
on Condominiums. 2. PERSON AGAINST WHOM COMPLAINT IS BROUGHT: Name:
Peter Dunbar, Esquire
Telephone Number: (850) 222-3533 Address: P.O. Box 10095 City: Tallahasee County: Leon Zip Code: 32302 Title
of office or position held or sought: Member
of the Advisory Council on Condominiums 3.
STATEMENT OF FACTS: Mr. Dunbar is a licensed, practicing member of The Florida Bar and a partner in the Tallahassee, Florida, law firm of Pennington, Moore, Wilkinson, Bell and Dunbar, P.A.. Mr. Dunbar specializes in, among other areas, condominium and community association law. He is also a registered Florida lobbyist for various principals including his own law firm, the National Association of Industrial & Office Properties and Parkway Maintenance & Management Company. Based on the foregoing it appears that an irreconcilable and continuing conflict of interest exists between Mr. Dunbar’s personal interests as a lawyer and lobbyist and his public duties as a member of the Advisory Council on Condominiums. The procedural safeguards enacted by Chapter 112, Florida Statutes, are not sufficient to protect against Mr. Dunbar proposing, supporting or voting on recommendations that would favor or further the interests of himself, his law firm, his clients or principals and/or their firms and interests and any of their own political or social agendas and do not inspire and ensure the public’s confidence in his service on the Advisory Council on Condominiums. |