An FBI investigation has halted Riviera Beach’s plans to redevelop its marina and cast a pall over a city government juggling several huge development projects.
City Council members, sitting as the board of the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, were supposed to hear presentations on Feb. 25 from three teams trying to land the marina redevelopment project. But Chairperson Shirley Lanier abruptly postponed those presentations, saying: “There is a lot going on. We need to make sure this process has integrity, that this process is transparent and that the public has a trust in us to be able to get this project done.”
Lanier would not say what specifically led to the postponement, but multiple media outlets had reported — and The Palm Beach Post has confirmed — that the FBI issued subpoenas for the communications of Lanier, fellow council member Bruce Guyton and Mayor Douglas Lawson related to the marina project.
City has not issued a statement on FBI contact
The city has offered no official statement on the investigation. A statement from the FBI said it “contacts individuals for a variety of reasons on a daily basis whether they are a witness, victim, subject, or someone providing information. To protect the privacy of people who contact or communicate with the FBI, we cannot confirm or deny any particular contact or the potential existence of an investigation.”
Curiousity and concern have filled that void.
“Last week, five FBI agents came to the Public Works building,” Fane Lozman, a Riviera Beach resident who has had many legal battles with the city, said during the March 4 City Council meeting. “They served subpoenas on three elected officials by (City Manager) Jonathan Evans. They served the mayor. They served Mr. Guyton, and they served Miss Lanier. They were looking for documents.”
Lozman occasionally looked back at fellow residents in the audience as he spoke.
“We don’t know if they were looking (to get officials to) testify before the grand jury or not. But’s a serious matter because they did not serve a subpoena on (Councilwoman KaShamba) Miller-Anderson, (Councilwoman Fercella) Davis-Panier or (Councilman Glen) Spiritis. You can voluntarily tell these residents here — were you served a subpoena and what were the grounds?
“I cannot get the subpoena, nor can anybody in the audience, because that’s sealed. That’s exempt from public records and exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. But the fact that you were served one, you certainly can say, ‘I got one. They wanted certain documents. They wanted me to testify.’ You can do that voluntarily, and you’re not breaking any laws. The people in this town would like to know what’s going on. I leave it at your feet. Do you want to tell us what’s going on with the subpoenas?”
Lozman’s entreaty prompted no response either from Evans or any of the officials on the dais, who only occasionally respond to remarks made during the public comment portion of city meetings.
Marina project key to Riviera Beach development plans
One source told The Post the decision to hit pause on the marina redevelopment project is not related to U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Broward County Democrat whose district includes Riviera Beach and other parts of Palm Beach County.
The U.S. House Ethics Committee is investigating whether Cherfilus-McCormick misused Federal Emergency Management Agency funds. A federal grand jury in Miami indicted the representative in December on charges that she stole federal disaster money and laundered the proceeds to support her 2021 congressional campaign.
A consulting firm owned by one of Cherfilus-McCormick’s staff members, Charisma K. Adams, is part of a team bidding to land the marina redevelopment project.
There is no indication Cherfilus-McCormick has tried to influence the bidding process or that Adams violated ethics rules or federal law. But Adams’ spot on one of the teams bidding for the marina project does raise questions about whether that team will have an unfair advantage, given the representative’s importance to the city as someone who can get federal funding and help clear regulatory hurdles.
The marina project, which is expected to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars and would transform a portion of U.S. 1, has been pushed and paused for years.
Six years ago, an economist determined that developers’ plans to redevelop the marina were not financially sound. The city then fired the economist, although city officials said they did not provide the economist with enough information to properly assess the financial viability of the redevelopment plans.
The marina project is not the only huge undertaking in Riviera Beach that’s now stalled.
Former council member Tradrick McCoy, who frequently feuded with colleagues and sued the city during his years in office, filed a lawsuit alleging the city gave “defective and legally insufficient notice” of its plan to demolish Barracuda Bay and build a new police department headquarters on the site.
The city’s meeting notice “merely referenced the address of a proposed police department headquarters without identifying the parcel or geographic area affected.”
“As a result,” the suit states, “the notice is legally insufficient and fails to provide meaningful notice to interested or affected parties” as is required by Florida law.
McCoy’s suit prompted the City Council to vote to postpone any demolition or setup work at Barracuda Bay, keeping in place the city’s munipal swimming complex but raising new questions about where the city will build a new police department headquarters.
A Palm Beach County Circuit Court judge has directed the city to confer with McCoy on possible hearing dates.
There is no time certain for when Riviera Beach residents might learn more about the FBI investigation, but it remains top of mind there.
“This has really been an eye-opener, as the last speaker has said,” Doretta Paulk, a Riviera Beach resident, said after Lozman addressed city officials. “I do hope we get some feedback on this. I am so sorry this has happened, but we do need to have some answers.”
Wayne Washington is a journalist covering education and Riviera Beach development for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: The FBI, a massive redevelopment project and 1,001 questions
Reporting by Wayne Washington, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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