Alachua County Commission discusses animal shelter records issues, announces agreement with GRU to save trees in roadway

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At the April 14 Alachua County Commission meeting, the board discussed allegations that animal shelter volunteers received inaccurate responses to public records requests and learned that the County and GRU have an agreement to save five live oaks that were threatened by the Parker Road extension near South Pointe.

Tribute to Latoya Gainey

The meeting began with a tribute to Latoya Gainey, who passed away last week. Gainey served as Executive Manager of the County Commissioners’ Office and had been with the County for 22 years. Throughout the meeting, there were many references to how much she will be missed, particularly for County Commissioners, and County Manager Michele Lieberman said it would probably take two people to do what Gainey did.

Public records requests about animal shelter issues

General public comment lasted nearly an hour, and most of the speakers were shelter volunteers who provided detailed accounts of their attempts to get information on the fate of 26 dogs that were turned over to Emerald Shores Humane Society in February. Our April 13 article describes the results of their public records requests, some of which appeared to provide inaccurate information, and although the speakers repeatedly stated that their main concern is the fate of 11 specific dogs, no information was provided about those dogs.

County Attorney Sylvia Torres: “There’s a common misunderstanding that a request for information is a public records request. That is not a public records request. A public records request is asking for existing records… We’re not required by the law to create records.”

After the public comment period, Chair Ken Cornell asked County Attorney Sylvia Torres to comment on the public records process. Torres said that when people complain about not getting public records, her office looks into the issues. She said, “There’s a common misunderstanding that a request for information is a public records request. That is not a public records request. A public records request is asking for existing records… An example is the tennis courts. They ask for every tennis court in Alachua County Parks. If we have a record containing that, we would provide that record. If not, there would be no responsive records. We’re not required by the law to create records.”

She said the default is “to release more than less… If [a record] is on the fence, if we’re not sure if it’s responsive, we [send them], because people are entitled to those records.”

Torres did not address the response from the County that stated, “All animals used in [euthanasia] training were provided by the trainer. No ACAR animals were used in this training” and the contradiction with a later email from Commissioner Anna Prizzia that said, “The 15 dogs in question were dogfighting case animals that were euthanized as part of the euthanasia training course held at our shelter.” Torres also did not address the speakers who said that some people received records while others were told that those records did not exist, although she said that the wording of each public records request was different, and that can affect which records that are provided.

In response to Cornell’s question about whether the information provided by the public would be part of the investigation into shelter operations, Torres said the County is providing “everything” to the independent investigator, but the scope of the investigation is up to the investigator. She said her office would send any “relevant” information brought forward in public comment to the investigator.

County Manager Michele Lieberman: “The public wants answers, but some of the people with the most direct knowledge are the ones whose information is being discounted, so that makes the process more difficult and time-consuming.”

Lieberman thanked the public for their “concern and questions and public scrutiny,… but treating allegations as fact before those facts are known — and that is why we are doing this independent process — is concerning.” She agreed that some practices should be “clarified and improved,… [and] that is what is happening… The public wants answers, but some of the people with the most direct knowledge are the ones whose information is being discounted, so that makes the process more difficult and time-consuming. There have been calls to remove individuals with key operational knowledge, even though we have County oversight at the highest levels and do not have any direct evidence of wrongdoing that would warrant excluding them from the process… Everyone here shares the same goal: a shelter that is humane, lawful, transparent, and continually improving in the care of the animals entrusted to us. That remains our focus, and that is the work that we will continue to do.”

Commissioner Mary Alford: “There were accusations that staff was lying to the public or misleading the public. Well, if they’re doing that, they’re also lying and misleading us, and so if that does prove to be the case, in this investigation, there will be repercussions.”

Commissioner Mary Alford said, “There were accusations that staff was lying to the public or misleading the public. Well, if they’re doing that, they’re also lying and misleading us, and so if that does prove to be the case, in this investigation, there will be repercussions. I just wanted to make that very clear… And I have to say that the information that has come up about the Emerald Shores Humane Society really does concern me, and I appreciate the work that’s gone into digging into that particular organization. So thank you.”

Lieberman said, “The decision was made pretty quickly to no longer use Emerald Shores, at a minimum during the investigation. We can always go back and look at it, but I already instructed staff a while ago to not do that.”

Prizzia said, “As Commissioner Alford said, if there is any criminal activity, if there is any malfeasance, if there is any falsifying of records, if there is any lying,… the people who are responsible better not ever work for this County again, if that’s the case. But we need to let that due diligence happen.”

Regarding the public records issues, Prizzia said, “I don’t think there’s anything nefarious going on. I know that there’s no intention of trying to leave things out or not provide you the information through the public records request process. I believe in the integrity of that, and I believe that our PRR team is doing the best that they can to get you the information. And I think that if it comes down to the fact that some of the records that you are getting were falsified or left out or whatever — again, hopefully that will be part of our investigation.” 

Commissioner Anna Prizzia: “I just wanted to say to everyone, I know that it’s hard to be patient in a situation where you feel like things aren’t being handled appropriately, but we’re asking you for your patience while we conduct this investigation.”

Prizzia concluded, “I just wanted to say to everyone, I know that it’s hard to be patient in a situation where you feel like things aren’t being handled appropriately, but we’re asking you for your patience while we conduct this investigation, so that we can do the best, not just by the dogs and the cats and the animals who are under our care, but for the public and so that we can do our job well.”

Cornell said he had questions, and he didn’t need answers immediately, but he wanted to know why Lilly and 50 Cent were brought back from foster homes; he wanted to know more about Doug Eddins (the owner of Emerald Shores and the company that conducted the euthanasia training) and his companies; he wanted to know more about the data behind the live release rate; and he wanted to support the rescue organizations that serve this community.

Cornell concluded, “I agree with my colleagues. We’re going to let this investigation happen. We’re going to get to the bottom of it. We’re going to hire somebody that’s great. We’re going to support them,… and  I trust our Manager, I trust our Attorney to bring us back really good recommendations during that process.”

Whistleblower ordinance

The board held a public hearing to explicitly add volunteers to the County’s whistleblower ordinance. Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler made a motion to adopt the amendment to the ordinance, there were multiple seconds, and the motion passed unanimously.

Paynes Prairie property is now on County’s active acquisition list

During Commission Comment, Wheeler brought up the emails that Commissioners are still receiving about a previously-proposed project near Paynes Prairie; she wanted to make sure she understood correctly that the developer withdrew its application. Cornell confirmed that the application was withdrawn, and Prizzia said the property is now on the County’s active acquisition list and may be purchased by the County. Communications Director Mark Sexton said some people may be conflating the Paynes Prairie project with the Newnans Lake project, which is moving forward.

South Pointe live oaks

Cornell asked for an update on whether GRU had agreed to provide easements that would allow the County to shift the Parker Road (NW 122nd Street) extension westward to curve around five live oak trees, and Assistant County Manager Missy Daniels said that GRU has agreed to give the easement to the County, so “we’ll be able to work around [the trees].”

Cornell said he respects the opinion of former City of Gainesville Arborist Meg Niederhofer, but the County Forester thinks the trees can be saved.