LAKE POINT PHASE I, LLC, and LAKE POINT PHASE II, LLC, Florida limited liability companies,
Plaintiffs,
Case No.: 2013-001321-CA v.
SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT, a public corporation of the State of Florida, MARTIN COUNTY, a political subdivision of the State of Florida, and MAGGY HURCHALLA,
Defendants. ____________________________/
PLAINTIFFS' MOTION TO COMPEL PRODUCTION OF E-MAILS FROM DEFENDANT MARTIN COUNTY
Plaintiffs, Lake Point Phase I, LLC and Lake Point Phase II, LLC (collectively Lake Point), through their undersigned counsel, move to compel the production of certain e-mails from Martin County (the County) and to require that the County make a full and complete disclosure of its efforts to obtain such e-mails from each County Commissioner, and state as follows: Introduction 1. Lake Point has contracts with the South Florida Water Management District and the County (the Contracts) to construct a public works project (the Lake Point Restoration Project) in Martin County. The Lake Point Restoration Project is designed to ultimately treat polluted water from Lake Okeechobee and the St. Lucie Canal. Once it is cleaned, the water will 2 be transported to various points throughout South Florida. Among other claims, Lake Point has sued the County for breach of contract and Defendant Maggy Hurchalla (Ms. Hurchalla) for tortious interference. 2. Ms. Hurchalla, a former five-time Martin County commissioner, has been working aggressively behind the scenes to improperly induce the County to breach the Contracts with Lake Point. To date, discovery has revealed that Ms. Hurchalla has surreptitiously communicated with various County Commissioners (the Commissioners) by sending messages to their private e-mail accounts under Ms. Hurchallas code name DEEP Rockpit directing certain County Commissioners to terminate the Lake Point Contracts. Discussion about the way in which the County should terminate the Contracts with Lake Point is public business by any reasonable test. These communications constitute public records and are discoverablejust as if they were made to the Commissioners public e-mail addresses. 1 This Motion is to require that the County produce all public records and responsive documents related to Lake Point and to require that the County account for its efforts to obtain such e-mails. The Commissioners Have Used Private E-Mail Addresses to Evade Discovery and Access to Public Records.
3. Over nine months ago, on February 7, 2013, Lake Point made a public records request to the County for e-mails from several commissioners concerning Lake Point (the Public Records Request). (Exhibit A). The Public Records Request sought, in part, [A]ll communications between you and Maggy Hurchalla. Id. On February 11, 2013, Lake Point served a request for production on the County. (Exhibit B). Lake Point requested that the County produce the following:
1 Under Florida law, any and all e-mails sent to or received by a Commissioner via a personal e- mail address in which public business is conducted are public records. See Butler v. City of Hallandale Beach, 68 So. 2d 278, 280-81 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011). 3 - Any and all documents from or to Maggy Hurchalla sent or received since December 1, 2012. (Request No. 5.)
- Any and all documents from or to Maggy Hurchalla related to the Lake Point Restoration Project. (Request No. 6.)
The County did not object to these requests, and produced documents revealing Ms. Hurchallas communications with the Commissioners via their public e-mail addresses for Martin County. 4. For example, the County produced an e-mail sent by Ms. Hurchalla on January 13, 2013, titled Tues Lake Pt. Agenda item, to the public e-mail addresses of all Martin County Commissioners regarding the upcoming January 15, 2013 County board meeting agenda (the January 13th Public E-mail) (Exhibit C). In the January 13th Public E-mail, Ms. Hurchalla chose her words carefully, stating: I know that it is very hard to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I would strongly advise that you take [the Lake Point Restoration Project] off the agenda until you know what you are getting into. Exhibit C. 2
5. Unbeknownst to Lake Point, Ms. Hurchalla had sent an e-mail the day before, on January 12, 2013, to Commissioner Ed Fieldings private e-mail account, discussing the same January
15th meeting (the January 12th Private E-mail) (Exhibit E). In contrast to the January 13th Public E-mail, Ms. Hurchalla holds nothing back about Lake Point in her communication to Commissioner Fielding using his private e-mail. 6. In the January 12th Private E-mail, Ms. Hurchalla directs Commissioner Fielding to ask staff to bring back an agenda item terminating the Interlocal [A]greement, to Just set up a meeting to legally void that contract, and to Get the contract cancelled and wait for staff
2 Lake Point made similar requests toand received a similar e-mail fromMs. Hurchalla. Lake Point has asked Ms. Hurchalla during her deposition whether she produced all responsive documents related to Lake Point. Ms. Hurchalla represented that she had conducted a search of her e-mails, compiled all responsive documents, and produced all responsive documents, which include communications with the Commissioners related to Lake Point. (Exhibit D).
4 to come back. Id. (emphasis added). Ms. Hurchalla even gives a roadmap to Commissioner Fielding on how to pit one Commissioner against another during a public hearing regarding Lake Point: Avoid discussion of other issues. Dont complicate things. Just set up a meeting to legally void that contract. *** Dont issue any cease and desist order on the mining. Get the contract cancelled and wait for staff to come back. Doug [Commissioner Smith] will scream that you are missing an opportunity to save the river and giving up money due the county. Engineering will back him up. Donaldson is Dougs man.
(Exhibit E). At the January 15, 2013 public hearing, Commissioner Fielding followed Ms. Hurchallas direction by: (1) moving to postpone the hearing; (2) directing the County staff to prepare a termination document; and (3) asking that the staff not take any actions other than to come back at the next meeting to get the contracts canceled. Commissioner Fielding did not disclose Ms. Hurchallas e-mail on the record at that time. 7. The County did not produce the January
12th Private E-mail until November 8, 2013, and only then after repeated requests by Lake Point that the County investigate the use of personal e-mail accounts for the use of public business related to Lake Point. In sum, this e-mail was (1) not disclosed in a public meeting; (2) not available on the Countys public records website; 3 (3) not produced in response to the Public Records Request Lake Point made over nine months ago; (4) not produced in response to Lake Points request for production; and (5) not produced by Ms. Hurchalla. In all respects, Lake Points efforts to uncover all efforts by the County and Ms. Hurchalla to cancel and interfere with the Contracts have been thwarted.
3 When the County Commissioners use e-mail as a means to communicate public business, the e- mails are uploaded to a public records website that allows the public to review such e-mails at any time. 5
The County Should Be Required Under Oath to Account for All of the Requested E-Mails 8. It appears from the limited production to date that Ms. Hurchalla has been communicating with individual Commissioners about Lake Point using private e-mail addresses over an extended period of time. It is certainly a reasonable inference based upon the limited e- mails produced to date that Ms. Hurchalla had similar communications with other Commissioners on their private e-mail addresses like the January 12th Private E-mail; indeed, Ms. Hurchalla has produced some e-mails related to Lake Point that she had sent to Commissioner Sarah Heards private e-mail account. No e-mails to or from any other commissioners private e-mail accounts, however, have been produced. 4 The County should be required to account for all e-mails sent to/from the private e-mail addresses of its Commissioners with Ms. Hurchalla relating to Lake Point, and to produce all such e-mails. Further, given the obvious attempted evasion by the Commissioners of public records requirements, the County should be required to explain under oath what methodology it has used to search the various e- mail accounts of Martin County Commissioners for e-mails pertaining to Lake Point. 9. Because the County acts through its Commissioners, the County has the legal right to the requested documents from the individual Commissioners, as they pertain to County business, rather than the Commissioners personal lives. See Rosie D. v. Romney, 256 F. Supp. 2d 115 (D. Mass. 2003) (concept of control exists, among other circumstances, where party has a legal right to obtain documents). Consequently, the County certainly has the requisite possession, custody, or control of the requested documents under the discovery rules. Indeed,
4 Lake Point has a related motion to compel pending directed to documents, including e-mails, from Commissioner Sarah Heard's private e-mail account pertaining to Lake Point.
6 Florida courts have specifically required county commissioners to participate in the discovery process in which their counties are involved. See e.g., Hillsborough Co. v. Pinellas Co., 425 So. 2d 1196, 1197 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983) (denying a countys motion for protective order to preclude the depositions of each of the countys board of county commissioners). WHEREFORE, Lake Point respectfully requests that this Court enter an Order in accordance with this Motion, and provide Lake Point such other and further relief as appropriate. CERTIFICATE OF GOOD FAITH Pursuant to Local Rule 5(c), the undersigned has attempted to resolve this dispute without Court intervention through several written communications and telephone calls, but has been unsuccessful. s/ Ethan J. Loeb ETHAN J. LOEB Florida Bar Number 0668338 ethanl@smolkerbartlett.com heatherw@smolkerbartlett.com JON P. TASSO Florida Bar Number 0120510 jont@smolkerbartlett.com cynthiam@smolkerbartlett.com SMOLKER, BARTLETT, SCHLOSSER, LOEB & HINDS, P.A. 500 East Kennedy Blvd, Suite 200 Tampa, Florida 33602 (813) 223-3888; Fax: (813) 228-6422 and DAN BISHOP Texas Bar 02348500; Florida Pro Hac Vice: 63645 dbishop@bishoplondon.com lalaniz@bishoplondon.com CHRISTINA CARLSON DODDS Texas Bar 03813520; Florida Pro Hac Vice: 63641 cdodds@bishoplondon.com mprice@bishoplondon.com BISHOP LONDON & DODDS 3701 Bee Cave Road, Suite 200 Austin, TX 78746 (512)479-5900; Fax (512)479-5934 Attorneys for Plaintiffs
7 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and foregoing copy has been served via electronic mail to David A. Acton, Senior Assistant County Attorney, Martin County, DActon@martin.fl.us, and LegalEsvc@martin.fl.us, 2401 SE Monterey Road, Stuart, Florida; and Jeff Collier, Esquire jacollier@sfwmd.gov and Edward Arteau, Esquire, edwartau@sfwmd.gov, South Florida Water Management District, litigation@sfwmd.gov, mahall@sfwmd.gov, 3301 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, Florida 33406-3007; Virginia P. Sherlock, Littman, Sherlock & Heims, P.A., LSHLawfirm@gmail.com, Post Office Box 1197, Stuart, Florida 34995; Andrew P. Rock, Esquire, pleadings@rocklawpa.com; jlightfoot@rocklawpa.com and Cristina P. Cambo, Esquire, ccambo@rocklawpa.com, Trey White, Esquire, dwhite@rocklawpa.com, The Rock Law Group, 1760 Fennell Street, Maitland, Florida 32751; John J. Fumero, Esquire, jfumero@sfflaw.com, mwashington@sfflaw.com, Thomas F. Mullin, Esquire, tmullin@sfflaw.com, Sundstrom, Friedman and Fumero, LLP, 7700 Congress Avenue, Suite 2201, Boca Raton, Florida 33487; and John L. Wharton, Esquire, jwharton@sfflaw.com, brevell@sfflaw.com, Sundstron, Friedman & Fumero, LLP, 2548 Blairstone Pines Drive, Tallahassee, Florida 32301 this 25th day of November, 2013.
/s/ Ethan J. Loeb ETHAN J. LOEB Florida Bar Number 0668338
EXHIBIT "A" EXHIBIT "B" EXHIBIT "A" EXHIBIT "A" EXHIBIT "A" EXHIBIT "A" EXHIBIT "A" EXHIBIT "A" EXHIBIT "A" EXHIBIT "B" EXHIBIT "B" EXHIBIT "B" EXHIBIT "B" EXHIBIT "B" EXHIBIT "B" EXHIBIT "C" EXHIBIT "C" EXHIBIT "C" EXHIBIT "C" EXHIBIT "C" EXHIBIT "C" EXHIBIT "C" EXHIBIT "C" EXHIBIT "C" EXHIBIT "C" EXHIBIT "C" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" EXHIBIT "D" BEFORE THE BOARD OF COUNTY CO:MMISSIONERS MARTIN COUNTY, FLORIDA RESOLUTION NO. 08-8.11 A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MARTIN COUNTY, FLORIDA APPROVING THE SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT'S ACQUlSmON AND DEVELOPMENT OF A 2200 ACRE:t: PUBLIC STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PROJECT IN MARTIN COUNTY WHEREAS, under the Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection Program, the South Florida Water Management District (the "District") has identified the need for stonnwater management and water quality treatment areas; and WHEREAS, the proposed St. Lucie River Watershed Protection Plan will be a component of the Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection Program: and WHEREAS, the 2266 +/- acres Lake Point Project (the "Property") is within the proposed St. Lucie River Watershed Protection Plan conceptual boundary and is located as depicted on attached Exhibit "A"; and WHEREAS, the District has detennined that the Property's location. connected to the C-44/St. Lucie canal with a pennitted discharge easement to Lake Okeechobee. and the ability to discharge south through the L-8 right-of-way extension. lends itself to phosphorous reduction and water treatment and transfer possibilities; and WHEREAS, the District has entered into a Letter of Intent with the Property owner to acquire and develop the Property into a stonnwater management und treatment facility, including approximately 1,600 acres of water quality and treatment areas ("the . Public Works Facility"); and WHEREAS, the Public Works Facility will provide a mechanism to divert hannful freshwater discharges away from the St. Lucie Estuary; and WHEREAS, fee title to the Property. subject to a twenty (20) year reservation by the owner of mineral rights beneath the 1.000 acres intended [0 be mined, us shown on Exhibit "B", will be conveyed to the District pursuant to a proposed agreement between the property owner and the District; and WHEREAS, the excavated mine will have value as a water quality treatment and transfer area, and create a local source for limestone, aggregates and related materials from lake ex.cavation activities for potential use in other public or private projects. such as the Herbert Hoover dike remediation; and EXHIBIT "E" WHEREAS, approximately 150 acres of land adjacent to State Road 76 (as depicted on Exhibit "B") will be donated to Martin County as a public recreation area (lbe "Recreation Area"), together with an interest in the Property which may take the fonn of an undivided interest or a conservation easement; and WHEREAS, additionally, the Property owner has agreed with the District to pay an environmental enhancement contribution to Martin County for use in :-;uch conservation and environmental enhancement programs as Martin County shall detennine from time to time, equal to five cents ($0.05) per yard of material hauled from the Property. This environmental contribution will be in addition any other fee required under Martin County's Land Development Regulations; and WHEREAS, until the issuance of all necessary pennits for construction of the Public Works Facility, the owner of the Property will continue to operate under the Major Development Approval (County Resolution Nos. 07-5.14 dated May 22, 2007 and 0712.22 dated December 18,2007) for the Lake Point Ranches Project; and WHEREAS, the District has assured the County that construction and operation of the Public Works Facility will comply with the County's Excavation and Fill and Mining Land Development Regulations. but in no event will the lakes be excavuted to a depth in excess of twenty (20) feet from the control water level. (which level will not exceed five (5) foot below natural grade); and the Public Works Facility, as described above, qualifies as an exempt "public stormwater management project" pursuant to Section 1O.1.E.2.e of the Land Development Regulations. Martin County shall not be required to contribute any funds to the District's Public Works Facility; and WHEREAS, Manin Coumy supports the proposed Public Works Facility as described above. NOW, THEREFORE, be it l"esolved by the Board of County Commissioners of Martin County, Florida, that: 1. The foregoing recitals are true and correct and incorporated into this Resolution. 2. Simultaneous with the execution of the agreement between the Property owner and the District, the District and the County shall enter into an agreement regarding the construction and operation of the Public Works Facility and regarding the recreation land and the undivided interest or easement. Such agreement shall insure that the District and the owner of the mineral rights have continued use of the existing entryway on SR76 during construction of the Public Works Facility_ In addition. an access easement shall be granted to the City of Pahokee between the tWO Pon Mayaca EXHIBIT "E" cemetery sites located on the south side of SR76 adjacent to the northeast comer of the property. The location and size of said easement shall be acceptable to the City of Pahokee; and 3. The agreement between the District and County shall also provide for the fee title to reven to the entity that conveys the Property to the District in the event that such entity is not able to timely obtain or able to maintain the penn its and approvals necessary to mine and to construct the Public Works Facility as may be contemplated in the agreement between the Property owner and the District. 4. This resolution is neither a development order nor an agreement with the District or the Property owner, nor does it create any vested rights for the benefit of the District or the Property owner. DUL Y PASSED AND ADOPTED TIDS 12th DAY OF AUGUST, 2008. ATTEST: BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, MARTIN COUNTY, FLORIDA ~ ~ n EXHIBIT "E" IIF Lake Okeechobee and Estuary Recovery Project "' For ...... ,. ............. '.- ~ _ Iii " ~ I 1 ........... _ ....... W I I I I I I ~ I L I I _ .. __ ~ ::r: H 1;1:1 H >-:l ;; EXHIBIT "E" EXHIBIT "'S" LAND ACQUISITION EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PROJECT: COUNTY: SIZE: ACQUISITION PRICE: , APPRAaSED VALUE: OWNI!R: REQUEST: HIGHLIGHTS: St Lucie River Watershed Protection Program Martin 2266 +/. acres Donation $53,500,000 (1212006) lake Pointe Phase 1 LLC. Rusbridge Family Trust, Harold D. Rusbridge. Trustee George Undemann, Sr. Frayda Undemann Adam Lindemann George Undernann, Jr. Francis Judson Lalrd,IV Authorize enby Into an agreement for donation of land and constructIOn services to the South Florida Water Management District Creation of stormwater treabnent area and stormwater management lake fronting on C-44 Canal with permitted outfall easement to Lake Okeechobee and l-8 right of way extension allowing for connection to Loxahatchee River and the L-8 Reservoir CONSIDEM TIONa: The 2266 sere subject tract Is located in Martin County with its northem bOundary fronting on the C-44/St. Lucie Canal while its eastern boundary Is adjacent to the SFWMO owned 21,875 acre DUPUiS Management Area. (see Exhibit A) The property's location, adjacent to C-44 with a permitted discharge easement to Lake Okeechobee and the L-8 right of way extension on its southwestern boundary will play an Integral part in phosphorous reduction and water storage possibilities for the st. Lucie River Watershed Protection Program. Approximately 1,000 acres of the property is currently fully permitted by all agencies for a privete polo development with 44 ranchette sites, a polo field already constructed on site and a mining operation en.;ompessing approximately 160 acres. The owner has an option to expand the project to approximately 100 homes by exercising an option to buy tJie additional 1.200 acres by August 14, 2008. In December 2006, the South Florida Water Management District appraIsed the raw land at 8 value of $53,500,000. The main components of the draft donation agreement are as follows: EXHIBIT "E" Donation of approximately 2,200 acres to the District with the retention by Owner of the rock mining rights under approximately 1.000 acres for approximately 20 years 1.000 acres mined under Martin County permit and, in accordance with District stormwater manegement requirements, to maximum depth of 20 feet at Owner's expense Approximately 600 acres to be utilized as stormwater treatment areas constructed at Owner's expense In conformance with District specifications Approximately 150 acres in the northeastem uplands comer of the property adjacent to the CM to be donated to Martin County for use &s a recreational site Previously, In April 2008, the Gov8ming Board approved entering Into a non-bindIng letter of intent regarding this donation transaction. At that time, the Board requested that a detailed feasibility analysis be perform8d to ensure the viability of the intended project use of the donated property as a 1000 acre stonnwater management lake and 600 acre stormwater treatment area . The feasibility team has run various modeling scenarios balancing treatment with water avanability to provide a range of environmental benefits through phosphorus load reduction and delivery of water to the Loxahatchee River. Thes8 benefits are being quantified with the cost of construction and operating the facility to determine the costlbenefit of the project The initial results appear to indicate that the facility has the potential to capture and treat additional -excess'" basin water and make it available for other water related needs while at the same Ume providing flexibility to function as a kidney for the treatment of Lake Okeechobee water. Pr1Illmlna,y analysis shows a measured in three different directions: Lake Okeechobee, thel-8 and st. Lucie Estuary. The final analysIs will be presented to the full Board at the August meeting. The benefits of this donation and construction proposal include: Ability to cleanse, store and convey water between Lake Okeechobee, C-44/St. Lucie Canal and the L-8 via 3 existing permitted pumps Creation of 1,600 acres of storage and water quality sites NO land acquisition cost for the land with substantial amount of the project construction completed upon delivery of excavated portions of the property Opportunity to reduoe the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) to Lake Okeechobee '50 acres of recreational upland acres to Martfn County Compliance with Martin County mining requirements to maximum of 20 feet Creation of local limestone source for necessary public work projects such as the Herbert Hoover Dike remediation EXHIBIT "E" TIming is critical. The Owner must exercise its option to acquire the remaining 1.200 acres by August 14, 2008. FISCAL IMPACT: No monetary cost for land acquisition with substantial amount of the earthwol1c for the stormwater management lake and stormwater treatment area being provided by the Owner. RECOMMI!NDAnON: That the Governing Board of the South Florida Water Management District aU1hortz8 eritry into an acquisition agreement for donation to the South Florida Water Management District of 2266 -+-/. acres in Martin County and construction of substantJal project components at no cost to the District for the St Lucie River Watershed Protection Program. ______ ________ ______ ___ Ruth P. Clements, Director Land Acquisition Department Approvedby: ____ Kenneth G. Ammon, P.E. Deputy Exeeutlve Director Everglades Restoration Resource Area Date Date EXHIBIT "E" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "F" EXHIBIT "G" EXHIBIT "G" EXHIBIT H From: Maggy Hurchalla To: Sarah Heard; Doug Smith; J ohn Haddox; Anne Scott; Taryn Kryzda; Ed Fielding Subject: Tues Lake Pt. Agenda item Date: Sunday, J anuary 13, 2013 10:48:27 PM Dear Commissioners, You have another agenda item on the Lake Point rockpits on Tuesday. The handling of the project continues to be very strange. Did the staff just read the contract for the first time? I know that it is very hard to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I would strongly advise that you take this item off the agenda until you know what you are getting into. Lake Point is asking you to acknowledge that the violations that happened in 2012 weren't really violations because they were acting under the mining permit rather than the County approval. If you accept the payment that is being offerred you may be causing the County some serious problems arising from the fact that the Interlocal agreement with the SFWMD appears to be based on a clear violation of the Martin County Comp Plan. You may be absolving the owner of all of the violations that have occurred under the County permit by accepting the assertion that last year he was NOT acting under the county permit. The owner's attorney appears to believe that rescinding the County approvals and transferring the project to management by the SFWEMD will exempt the project from the requirements of the Martin County Comprehensive Plan. I don't think you can or should let that happen. The project's attorney asks that you accept the payment and recognize that in 2012 they were operating under the mining permit. The mining permit allows 60 acres of wetlands to be destroyed. The Interlocal agreement states that the project is exempt for the process required for development orders as per 10.1.E.2.e of the LDRs. That section of the code specifically states that it MUST FOLLOW ALL COMPREHENSIVE PLAN POLICIES. "The provisions of section 10.1.E.2. shall not waive any requirement of the Comprehensive Plan, the Land Development Regulations, or the Code other than the procedures for development review set forth in sections 10.2 through 10.7,10.9, and 10.11 through 10.14. " It does NOT qualify for exemption from comp plan polices under 9.1.G.1.(7)(g) "Policy 9.1G.1. Protection of wetlands. All wetlands in Martin County shall be protected. Negative impacts shall not be allowed in wetlands or within the buffer surrounding the wetland. All development shall be consistent with the wetland protection requirements of the CGMP and Florida Administrative Code section 9J-5.013(3). Inconsistent and/or incompatible future land uses shall be directed away from wetland areas. (7)Waivers and exceptions. All wetland alterations allowed under these exceptions shall be mitigated sufficiently to ensure no net loss of functions or of the spatial extent of wetlands in Martin County. No exceptions or waivers will be granted to these standards except under the conditions described below: (g)Stormwater treatment projects listed in the adopted Capital Improvements Plan and constructed by the Martin County Board of County Commissioners, as well as reservoirs, stormwater treatment areas and related facilities constructed as part of the Comprehensive EXHIBIT "C" Everglades Restoration Plan in any part of Martin County" THIS IS NOT A CERP PROJECT. IF THE COUNTY WAS TOLD IT WAS, THEN THE AGREEMENT WAS BASED ON FALSE INFORMATION. It does not qualify for exemption under Obj. 14.1.E. You have a mess on your hands and for reasons I don't understand your staff seems unwilling to deal with the problem. Before taking any other action, the faulty Interlocal agreement needs to be corrected or voided. Sincerely, Maggy Hurchalla 1 I N THE NI NETEENTH J UDI CI AL CI RCUI T COURT I N AND FOR MARTI N COUNTY, FLORI DA 2 CASE NO: 2013- 001321- CA 3 4 LAKE POI NT PHASE I , LLC, and LAKE POI NT 5 PHASE I I , LLC, Fl or i da l i mi t ed l i abi l i t y compani es, 6 Pl ai nt i f f s, 7 vs. 8 SOUTH FLORI DA WATER MANAGEMENT DI STRI CT, a publ i c cor por at i on of t he St at e of 9 Fl or i da; MARTI N COUNTY, a pol i t i cal subdi vi si on of t he St at e of Fl or i da; 10 and MAGGY HURCHALLA, 11 Def endant s. 12 ________________________________________/ 13 14 15 VI DEOTAPED DEPOSI TI ON OF 16 MAGGY HURCHALLA 17 TAKEN ON BEHALF OF THE PLAI NTI FFS 18 VOLUME I - PAGES 1 - 104 19 20 Wednesday, Oct ober 30, 2013 21 10: 24 a. m. - 4: 45 p. m. 22 Cl ar i on I nn 1200 Sout heast Feder al Hi ghway 23 St uar t , Fl or i da 34994 24 Ther esa Tomasel l i , RMR 25 MAGGY HURCHALLA Volume I LAKE POINT vs. SOUTH FLORIDA October 30, 2013 800.211.DEPO (3376) EsquireSolutions.com MAGGY HURCHALLA Volume I LAKE POINT vs. SOUTH FLORIDA October 30, 2013 1 800.211.DEPO (3376) EsquireSolutions.com
EXHIBIT "D" 1 A. That ' s cor r ect . 2 Q. Al l r i ght . And i t l ooks l i ke a ser i es of 3 e- mai l s and ar t i cl es t hat wer e compi l ed? 4 A. Compi l ed? 5 Q. Yeah, because t hey appear t o al l - - i t l ooks 6 l i ke someone t ook and cut and past ed some ar t i cl es and 7 some e- mai l s i nt o t hi s. 8 A. I went t hr ough my e- mai l s - - 9 MR. WHI TE: Obj ect t o f or m. 10 THE WI TNESS: - - and I sear ched f or Lake 11 Poi nt . 12 BY MR. BI SHOP: 13 Q. Okay. And t hi s i s what came up? 14 A. Yes. 15 Q. And so, how exact l y was t hi s put t oget her and 16 pr i nt ed out ; I mean, j ust t he way t hat you t al ked about ? 17 A. Yeah. 18 Q. Okay. You di d a sear ch f or Lake Poi nt ? 19 A. Fi r st , I st ar t ed t r yi ng past i ng t hem 20 t oget her . 21 Q. Okay. 22 A. I do not have a f i l e on Lake Poi nt of 23 cont i nui ng i nf or mat i on - - 24 Q. Okay. 25 A. - - al l of t he hear i ngs and ever yt hi ng el se. MAGGY HURCHALLA Volume I LAKE POINT vs. SOUTH FLORIDA October 30, 2013 800.211.DEPO (3376) EsquireSolutions.com MAGGY HURCHALLA Volume I LAKE POINT vs. SOUTH FLORIDA October 30, 2013 83 800.211.DEPO (3376) EsquireSolutions.com YVer 1f 1 Q. Okay. 2 A. So, I st ar t ed by t r yi ng t o past e t he e- mai l s 3 t oget her , f i gur ed out t hat woul d t ake f or ever , and 4 e- mai l ed e- mai l s - - f or war ded t he e- mai l s t hat I f ound 5 t hat i dent i f i ed Lake Poi nt t o my at t or ney. 6 Q. Okay. Di d your at t or ney put i t t oget her 7 t hen? 8 A. Fi nal l y, yes. 9 Q. Okay. So - - and I ' mgoi ng t o r ef er t o t hose 10 Bat es number ed - - Bat es number s at t he bot t omon t he 11 r i ght - hand si de of t he page. Do you see t hat ? I t ' s MH? 12 A. 175, 174, et cet er a? 13 Q. Uh- huh. 14 A. Okay. 15 Q. And I ' mgoi ng t o use t hose i n t al ki ng about 16 t he pages of t hi s - - 17 A. Okay. 18 Q. - - so t hat we know t hat we ar e on t he same 19 page l i t er al l y. 20 A. Al r i ght y. 21 Q. Al l r i ght . So, pages 174 t hr ough 1 - - t he 22 t op of 179 appear t o be newspaper ar t i cl es? 23 A. That appear s t o be cor r ect . 24 Q. And ar e t hey newspaper ar t i cl es t hat you had 25 somewher e i n your r ecor ds or how di d - - how di d you come MAGGY HURCHALLA Volume I LAKE POINT vs. SOUTH FLORIDA October 30, 2013 800.211.DEPO (3376) EsquireSolutions.com MAGGY HURCHALLA Volume I LAKE POINT vs. SOUTH FLORIDA October 30, 2013 84 800.211.DEPO (3376) EsquireSolutions.com YVer 1f EXHIBIT "E"