Ethics complaint to keep trustee from voting on Richburg's status

The complaint, filed with the state Commission on Ethics in early April, is against both Henderson and Richburg.

It claims the two have not properly disclosed their business relationship with Charlie Clary, a former state senator whose architectural firm has received more than a half-million dollars in business from the college in recent years.

The person who filed the complaint, Alan Vafides, is a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel who lives in Valparaiso. He described himself Monday as "just a citizen" who takes an active interest in local government.

"The (Okaloosa County) commissioners and the (college) board of trustees aren't watching anybody," Vafides said. "So it's up to the citizens."

The complaint centers on whether Henderson or Richburg disclosed their business relationship with Clary prior to taking action on contracts related to DAG Architects, which Clary owns.

Henderson, Richburg and Clary are all board members of Beach Community Bank in Fort Walton Beach.

They also own portions of a limited liability partnership called BCB Holdings Inc.

BCB Holdings' main business is that it owns the building and property that Beach Community Bank's main office sits on at the corner of Eglin Parkway and Perry Avenue. The bank pays BCB Holdings rent for the property. The lease with BCB Holdings is reviewed each time regulators examine Beach Community Bank.

In both 2007 and 2008, Richburg disclosed his interest in Beach Community Bank and BCB Holdings on his "Statement of Financial Interests" on file with the Commission on Ethics.

Henderson's 2007 "Statement of Financial Interests" on file with the county supervisor of elections shows he is on the board of Beach Community Bank, but does not include any information about BCB Holdings.

Vafides' complaints claim that Richburg and Henderson did not publicly disclose their interests in BCB Holdings or Beach Community Bank - and their business relationship to Clary - before taking specific action at board of trustees meetings to award money to DAG Architects.

According to state statutes:

l "Such disclosure, indicating the nature of the conflict, shall be made in a written memorandum filed with the person responsible for recording the minutes of the meeting, prior to the meeting in which consideration of the matter will take place, and shall be incorporated into the minutes.

l "In the event that disclosure has not been made prior to the meeting or that any conflict is unknown prior to the meeting, the disclosure shall be made orally at the meeting when it becomes known that a conflict exists."

Minutes that the Daily News examined recently of some meetings at which contracts with DAG Architects were discussed do not include any statements of conflict of interest related to DAG Architects from Henderson or Richburg.

Vafides said he visited the college in January and looked at minutes for every meeting the board held since 2001, and found no disclosures related to DAG Architects.

College spokeswoman Sylvia Bryan said Monday that the board's administrative assistant had found only one occasion when Henderson abstained from any vote as a result of a business conflict, and that was with a firm apparently unrelated to DAG Architects.

DAG Architects has worked on a number of projects at the college in recent years.

Projects include the college's observatory, health tech building, and education center in south Walton County. Records the Daily News obtained show the college has paid DAG Architects at least $558,839 since 2004.

 Henderson told the Daily News that college attorney Joe Lorenz has advised that he not vote on Richburg's status with the college when the board meets this morning.

 "The college attorney was apprised of our relationship on the (bank's) board," Henderson said. "With respect to the (ethics) complaint itself, I won't discuss specifics. There is a process a complaint goes through, and I will work through the process.

 "I intend to abstain from voting with respect to Dr. Richburg's employment or benefits. However, I intend to fully participate in the dialogue, in accordance with the statutes."

 Richburg could not be reached for comment Monday. Clary also could not be reached for comment.

 The Commission on Ethics routinely refuses to disclose any information about complaints.

 However, Vafides e-mailed copies of the complaints to the Daily News.

 He pointed out that he filed them in advance of a grand jury's recent indictment of Richburg for official misconduct and perjury, both felonies.

 "I'm not piling on," Vafides said.

 The indictment stems from Richburg's relationship with state Rep. Ray Sansom, who also was charged with official misconduct.

 In November, Richburg hired Sansom into an unadvertised, part-time position at the college that paid $110,000 a year. The job was announced the same day Sansom became state speaker of the House.

 Media scrutiny disclosed that Sansom helped the college obtain more than $30 million in funding in the two years before Richburg hired him. That included $6 million for a training facility at Destin Airport that the grand jury's report stated was really an aircraft hangar for developer Jay Odom, a political supporter of Sansom. Odom has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

 On Monday, the college received a letter from Gov. Charlie Crist asking for the return of the $310,000 the state has so far given the college for the Destin project.

 "I would appreciate the board of trustees approving this disbursement as soon as practicable," wrote Crist.

 The Northwest Florida State College Board of Trustees meets this morning at 10 a.m. to discuss Bob Richburg's status as college president and the Destin EOC project.Committee workshops at 9:30 a.m. will precede the meeting.The meeting and workshops take place in Building K on the college's Niceville campus.