PAHOKEE – The last few weeks have been chaotic for the City of Pahokee, with  meetings devolving into shouting matches and the mayor and various officials asking law enforcement to escort people out of the meeting room.

July 19, 2021: Commission fires attorney

At the July 19 City of Pahokee meeting, Commissioners Sara Perez and Juan Gonzalez and Vice Mayor Regina Bohlen voted to terminate the contract of Pahokee City Attorney Burnadette Norris-Weeks. Mayor Keith Babb and Commissioner Clara Murvin voted against the firing.

Some citizens in the audience complained Perez should have recused herself from the vote because she was involved in a lawsuit with the city, which had been filed prior to her election. Her husband was also involved in a different lawsuit with the city.

Others in the audience brought up the suspicious termination of previous City Attorney Gary Brandenburg at the April 23, 2019 meeting. At that meeting, Brandenburg, who had been Pahokee’s city attorney for 12 years, was ready to share a four-page list of concerns about then-City Manager Chandler Williamson. Brandenburg never got the chance to review his concerns about Williamson because city commissioners re-ordered their April 23, 2019 agenda and fired Brandenburg without letting him speak. After asking a sheriff’s deputy to escort Brandenburg from the commission chambers, they voted to give the interim city attorney position to Norris-Weeks who, observers noted, “just happened to be in the audience." (Babb, Bohlen and Murvin were on the commission at the time. Bohlen cast the lone vote against the termination. Perez and Gonzalez were elected in 2020.)

At the July 19, 2021 meeting, before considering the motion to terminate Norris-Weeks, the mayor allowed Norris-Weeks to speak. “When we came into the city it was pretty chaotic, and the meetings lasted well into the night,” she said. “I know I have done nothing wrong.” She also noted the mayor has accused other commissioners of meeting with city staff behind closed doors, in violation of Florida law.

The city attorney’s contract included a 90-day notice of termination. “Mayor, I move that we let her go immediately and pay her for her 90 days,” said Perez. Bohlen seconded the motion. The meeting exploded in a shouting match in the audience. The mayor adjourned the meeting without allowing the vote on the motion. “You can’t adjourn the meeting. We have a motion and a second on the floor,” pleaded Bohlen, as the mayor got up and walked away.

“This is why we can’t get anything done,” said Perez. “This happens every week. They take the floor. They speak until the time runs out.”

July 23: Special meeting in the hallway
A special city commission meeting was reportedly held July 23, at 2 p.m. but it is not available on the city’s Youtube channel with the other meetings. According to a citizen’s Facebook video, Bohlen, Perez and Gonzalez gathered outside the locked commission chambers to conduct a special meeting, where they voted to finalize the firing of Norris-Weeks, and also fired Interim City Manager Rodney Lucas and City Clerk Tijauna Warner. Gary Brandenburg was named city attorney, temporary interim manager and interim clerk.

July 27: A tale of two attorneys
At the July 27 city commission workshop and meeting, both Norris-Weeks and Brandenburg were sitting at the attorney table. When the roll call asked if the city attorney was present, both responded.

When Brandenburg suggested the commission relieve Norris-Weeks from the responsibility of being at the meeting, Lucas said there was an injunction issued by circuit court.

“This city manager is 100% incorrect,” said Brandenburg. “I was in circuit court with the judge this afternoon at 3 p.m. and he confirmed there was no such injunction. I am afraid the mayor previously misinformed both the commission and the residents of Pahokee that the circuit court of Palm Beach County had issued an injunction. That is in fact not truthful.”

Norris-Weeks claimed the meeting held July 23 was illegal. “I fully intend to sit as the city attorney tonight,” said Weeks. “There has been no legal meeting which would prevent me from doing so.”

Following the workshop, when the commission meeting was to start at 6:30 p.m., both attorneys tried to advise the commissioners, talking over each other, amid shouts from the audience.

“I am going to ask folks to leave this meeting if they are disruptive,” said the mayor. The mayor asked Bradenburg to step into the audience. He claimed Bradenburg was appointed at an illegal meeting. “There was no recording other than a Facebook post by a resident,” he added.

“I am afraid you have been given bad legal advice all along,” said Brandenburg, who refused to move to the audience. He said there is an attorney general opinion regarding a city with the city charter identical to Pahokee’s charter. He said the charter states three commissioners may call a meeting.

Norris-Weeks said over a short period of time, three requests from the three commissioners came in requesting a special meeting. She said the third request came in less than 12 hours before the meeting, which would not satisfy the legal requirement for 12 hours notice.

The mayor refused to recognize a motion on the appointment of the attorney because it was not on the agenda. He also refused to allow the commissioners to add the item to the agenda.

The mayor asked law enforcement to remove Brandenburg from the meeting.

Perez asked law enforcement to escort Norris-Weeks out of the meeting for being disruptive.

The mayor asked law enforcement to escort Perez out of the meeting for being disruptive.

Palm Beach County deputies hesitantly moved to the front of the room several times but did not escort anyone out.

The mayor then tried to adjorn the meeting without voting on other items on the agenda, including the millage rate.

“We really need to have the millage rate. I have to send it on tomorrow,” objected Lucas. “If the city doesn’t pass this millage rate tonight, the people of Pahokee are going to suffer.”

“Mr. Mayor, come on, let’s get the business of the city done,” said Bohlen.

Both attorneys continued to argue, giving conflicting advice.

Brandenburg advised the commissioners they have the power to override the mayor. Brandenburg and Norris-Weeks continued to speak over each other.

Perez made a motion to add Weeks’ immediate dismisal to the meeting agenda. When the mayor ignored the motion, Perez, Bohlen and Gonzalez voted in favor.

The mayor then adjorned the meeting.

“It (the motion to adjourn) has to be by the majority,” said Brandenburg. Please stay in your seats.” Then the video cuts off.

Aug. 9: State of Emergency

On Aug. 9, 2021, Mayor Keith Babb signed a declaration declaring a state of emergency through Aug. 16. The proclamation stated “the atmosphere is one where there is an immediate threat to public peace and order.” It also states that during the state of emergency “only essential city functions may continue as determined by the city manager at his discretion,” and “no city commission meetings or advisory board meetings shall be held during the declared state of emergency.”

Aug. 16: Town Hall - A tale of two cities

On Aug. 16, Mayor Babb held a town hall meeting. Babb said the purpose of the meeting was to listen to the community, but he, Murvin, Norris-Weeks and Lucas did most of the talking.

“This is a mayor town hall meeting. It’s not an official meeting,” said Babb. He said all of the commissioners were invited, but only Murvin was in attendance.

He introduced Norris-Weeks as the city attorney and Lucas as the interim city manager.

“This meeting is not about either. It’s more than likely both may end up terminated at some point,” he added.

Babb shared some highlights of the city’s progress of the last six years. He mentioned the demoilition of the old city hall. “I am currently in possession of a letter of intent from a major, major investor that is willing and able and wanting to build a brand hotel and a luxury resort in that location. Whether that will go forward or not is unsure."

He also mentioned the demolition of the old hospital. He said the property was sold to a private developer for affordable rental housing.

“Everybody can’t afford a home. Everybody doesn’t want to own a home,” he said. “We need all types of housing development in Pahokee.”

He said the zoning has been approved but they still have to submit their site plan.

The old water plant was also demolished, he said.
The Pahokee gynmasium (where the town hall meeting was held) was rennovated, mainly by Palm Beach County, at a cost of about $1.9 million, said Babb. “This is for everyone. It’s not just a sports facility. You can rent it for parties and other events.

In the past six years, 60% of the roads have been renovated or resurfaced, he continued.

He said they spent $1.2 million at the marina.

He also mentioned new playground equipment, tennis courts, work on stormwater system.

“We have an $800,000 football field,” he added.

Norris-Weeks explained: “When I first came on as the city attorney in 2019, I was first appointed as an interim.

“I was appointed as the permanent city attorney in November 2019. There were two pending cases at that time. One of them was involving Commissioner Sara Perez’s husband and a Main Street property that was hotly contested," she said. The other was a lawsuit over attorney's fees in a different case, which had been filed by Perez prior to her election.

She said at a July meeting, when Commissioner Perez made a motion to terminate her contract, the other commissioners seemed a little confused.

Norris-Weeks said at a subsequent meeting, when Commissioner Bohlen moved to terminate her contract, it was passed 3-2. Her contract requires a 90 day termination notice, she added.

“Come to meetings. See what is going on,” she said.

“I came here based on the great potential of what Pahokee brings,” said Lucas, who said he has been interim city manager for 58 days. He said he has heard a lot about how corrupt the city is and that “we’ve got to clean house.

“I thought I could come here and build things based on team effort,” said Lucas. “I had investigations for IG (Inspector General) for travel. I was told about misspending of $2.1 million for the marina and campground."

He said the city is currently under several audits.

“We have successfully turned in  the DEO the grant submitted back in 2018,” he said. “We cleared that grant which was a two part submittal.”

“I was told of the restaurant and marina being managed by Mr. Lambert,” he continued. The city and the state have both rejected that contract, he added.

He said they have nine acres of city property that can be developed into an industrial park.

He said at the site of the old fire station, a lady from Miami wants to build a hotel.

"We’re looking at infill housing,” he continued.

“We were able to certify our millage rate at 6.5419 mills,” he continued.

“We’re going through some things with Florida Department of Environmental Protection for the marina. The marina still needs a lot of work,” he continued.

The marina includes docks A, B,C, D E and F.  In 2005, the hurricanes left extensive damage to D, E and F, he explained.

“We don’t own the rights to the marina. The state owns it,” he continued. “Boats can’t permanently stay there. They have to rotate every six months. We had to administer correcting things that had gone on for years.

“We’re at a critical point where the city is divided. You have a tale of two cities here. You have a white version of what is going on with the city, then you have this black version of what is going on. We need to hit the reset button."

He accused Bohlen, Perez and Gonzalez of bullying the other two commissioners.

“We’re on the eve of 100 years. I don’t know how you guys are going to make it,” he said.

“I’ve never been interfered with so much in my whole career,” said Lucas. “It just hurts.”

A city resident who wore a paper bag over his face said it’s important to unite the commission.

“What I have seen has been so nonprofessional, has been so dishonest, has been so disrespectful,” he continued.

“A lot of things put in place by the last city manager need to be undone,” said another resident. “You need to be more professional. You need to be more considerate and listen to the public."

Aug. 18: Special meeting
On Wednesday, Aug. 18, the Pahokee City Commission met for a special meeting with commissioners Bohlen, Perez and Gonazlez present.

Bradenberg started by reviewing Section 204 of the City Charter. “The mayor is not authorized on his own to speak on behalf of the city on any matter. Additionally, he has no administrative authority. He cannot order city employees to do anything. City employees are instructed not to take any direction from the mayor on any topic. The mayor designation is only ceremonial in nature. He presides over the meetings when he decides to attend them, and his decisions on matters regarding the agenda can be overruled by the majority of the commission should they decide to do so at any time.

“I think it’s very important for the residents and the employees and the citizens of Pahokee to understand the very limited nature of the mayor’s designation. He is in effect, no more important or powerful than any other commissioner,” he continued. “No city employee should take any direct orders or instruction from any commissioner or the mayor.

"The mayor has attempted to declare states of emergency in Pahokee which are based on false information, false assumptions. There is no emergency in Pahokee and there has not been one. The sheriff’s department has done an excellent job of keeping the peace and making sure citizens abide by the law, as well as commissioners,” said Brandenburg.

He said the mayor’s proclamations are invalid unless they are approved by the majority of the city commission.

In other business, Greg Thompson was named interim city manager at a salary of $10,000 per month and the use of a city vehicle.

The commission also approved the vice mayor, city attorney and interim manager to authorize checks on the city bank accounts.

“The reason and the necessity of today’s special meeting was to make sure all of the city employees are paid on time,” said Brandenburg. “We have had a complete lack of cooperation from the former interim city manager and the mayor in getting anything done for the city, so we had to call this meeting today so the bank has the authority to transfer monies to the paycheck company that will deposit the monies automatically in each of the employees’ accounts, per normal, as of Thursday.”

The commissioners authorized the attorney to file a counter-claim against the individuals who filed a lawsuit against the city. The commissioners also authorized the attorney to file an injunction against the former city manager and the former city attorney to prevent them from interfering in city business.

Commissioners also voted to terminate Mark Liskay, Coastal Solutions LLC as the City of Pahokee IT consultant. “Mr. Liskay has not been cooperative in helping the city and the city employees obtain access to their computer system,” said Brandenburg. “He has refused to provide me with public records and has in essence tried his best to prevent the city from moving forward.”

A new IT company has assessed the city system and will be helping the city move forward, said Brandenburg.

“Late last night, after I requested Mark to give us the necessary codes and information so that we could access all of our information and the city employees could access their computers, he refused to do so and instead downloaded it and sent it to the mayor. I have since asked the mayor to provide us that information and provide us the public records that were downloaded to him. As of this time, the mayor has not responded to my request.

“The destruction of public records by anyone is a criminal offense, so I am hoping our mayor comes forward and is cooperative in allowing the city to go forward.

“I am concerned about what is going on in the city,” said resident Richard Brown in the public comment period. “It’s like a kanagroo court. You’re talking about the mayor when he’s not here.

“You are tearing this community up,” he said.

“If you would like to tell your brother, the mayor, that his presence was requested at today’s meeting,” said Brandenburg. “I sent him a copy of the agenda. I sent him a reminder last night of today’s meeting. It is your brother, the mayor, who has refused to come to this meeting, and who is sowing discontent.”

Brown responded that the three commissioners at the Wednesday meeting had not attended the town hall meeting.

“The mayor’s town hall, only the mayor called, none of the other commissioners called it. Only the mayor attended with a group of his friends from Broward County who were trying to stir up tensions in this community,” said Bradenburg.

“We have a commission meeting on the 24th. I look forward to working with him on that meeting,” added Brandenburg.