White Springs Special Council Meeting Roundup

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Joe Griffin passes out packets of information on his lawsuit to the board before speaking. -Photo: Joyce Marie Taylor

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March 7, 2013

White Springs Special Council Meeting Roundup

Joyce Marie Taylor Suwannee Democrat The Suwannee Democrat Thu Mar 07, 2013, 11:23 AM EST

Jasper — At the Feb. 26 meeting of the White Springs town council, comments from the public took up a large portion of the meeting, which only had three items on the agenda; discussion and possible action for H.O.P.E. programs, discussion and possible action regarding Sterling and King contract and legal representation directive. The H.O.P.E. programs are covered in a separate article.

Comments from the public

White Springs resident Joe E. Griffin

1) Griffin advised the board that he and his wife Karin have retained two attorneys; one who specializes in 119 cases and one who specializes in general litigation. He referred back to nine cases having to do with civil court case 2003CA000397 where he had asked for copies of public records from the town of White Springs and was denied. He also indicated the town had falsified records, which he said is a third degree felony.

The Jasper News reported in September and October of 2010 that Griffin had filed 18 lawsuits against the town of White Springs, as well as five ethics complaints against a town official, all without attorney representation. The ethics complaints were dismissed and he lost 17 of those lawsuits. White Springs Police Chief Kenneth Brookins stated at that time that the town seized by court order, computers and other property worth just under $10,000, the amount Griffin owed the town for his lost lawsuits. Shortly thereafter, Griffin paid the amount he owed in full and the town returned his property. Griffin was then ordered to appear before a judge and show cause as to why he continued to pursue lawsuits without an attorney. Later, according to a judge's order, “In the exercise of the Court's inherent power to prevent abuse of court procedure,” Griffin was prohibited from filing, on his own behalf in the Circuit Court of the Third Judicial Circuit and in Hamilton County for any cause, any pleadings, petitions, motions, or other papers, wherein he is the plaintiff or petitioner.

2) Griffin explained the issue of the $10,500 debt he owed the town for three lawsuits from 2001 and 2003. The town of White Springs, he said, had hired a collection agency, Sterling and King, to collect the debt from him.

“Sterling and King made several good faith attempts to collect that debt,” said Griffin.

Then, Griffin said, town attorney Fred Koberlein and former town manager Robert Townsend operating with the town of White Springs ransacked his house and seized several items of furniture, breaking some of them, and took them to Jasper, thereby violating the town's contract with Sterling and King. Meanwhile, Sterling and King wanted their monies from the town for their services, he said.

Griffin said he and his wife have decided to sue the town of White Springs for breach of contract and for breaking several of his possessions, including an antique grandfather clock, as well as for ruining his credit rating due to the liens he had against his property well after the debt was paid.

Griffin said now that new town manager Bob Farley is onboard, he has been getting his 119 requests in a timely fashion.

“I know this will be difficult for you to believe, but you all continually skirt on the edges of the law and I'm here as always to get you all to obey the law,” Griffin said to the board.

Resident Robert Dezendorf

Dezendorf expressed his concern about the time of day the meeting was being held, which was 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 26. He said he didn't think it was fair to the citizens, most of whom work during the day, nor to some of the council members who may have other commitments during the day, as well attorneys who may have had an interest in the day's proceedings. He wanted to know who made the decision on the time of the meeting and why.

Mayor Helen Miller pointed out there were more people in the audience for this meeting than usually shows up for the evening meetings.

“That doesn't matter,” said Dezendorf.

Miller went on to explain that the 1 p.m. meeting time was decided on by council members and staff at their last meeting and that there was adequate time to give notice to the citizens of the town. Councilman Dennis Price concurred that he felt the meeting time was convenient for all concerned and that other towns hold both day and evening meetings, so it wasn't that unusual.

Dezendorf said, “Maybe it's a convenient time for the council, but maybe it's not a convenient time for the general public.”

Dezendorf also told Mayor Miller that maybe the reason there were so many people in the audience was because of the issues being discussed and not because of the time of day.

Resident Woody Woodard

Woodard told the board the town needed to live within their budget, or within some semblance of it. He said the desire of some on the board is to hire another person to put on staff at town hall.

“I'm saying we're going to have to get rid of some people,” he said. “You've got to curb your spending. You cannot continue to spend like you're spending now without going bankrupt. Arithmetic does not lie. It will tell you the truth.”

Agenda items

Sterling and King contract

Sterling and King is the collection agency the town hired to collect monies due from Joe Griffin for the lawsuits he lost. Town attorney Fred Koberlein stated he had asked that this item be removed from the agenda because the contract was signed by the manager that day.

“The contract amount of 50 percent of funds collected, although I expressed to the manager I wasn’t sure whether the contract was enforceable or not,” said Koberlen. “The manager decided to honor the contract.”

Koberlein said it should be noted that a total of $23,000 has been recovered from four of Griffin’s lost lawsuits, even though it cost the town over $4,000 for the services of the collection agency.

Legal representation directive

Town manager Bob Farley made a recommendation to continue the services of attorney Fred Koberlein, who is leaving his current firm on Feb. 28 and moving on to another law firm. Councilman Richard Marshall expressed a concern that other options were not explored before having the vote. In the end the board voted 5-0 to retain Koberlein as the town’s attorney.

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