Joel EngelhardtA self-described malcontent files complaint with the county’s inspector general about a council member’s business relationship with the developers.
The developers of a proposed ice rink complex in Palm Beach Gardens have rented virtual office space from a company co-owned by City Council member Dana Middleton for more than five years.
Why it’s important: Middleton did not disclose the business relationship when she joined a 4-0 vote in April to grant the Palm Beach North Athletic Foundation a 40-year lease of a city park to build the ice rink.
A complaint filed with the Palm Beach County Inspector General’s Office says Middleton’s vote violated state law.
Middleton says it does not. The amount PBNAF pays is “de minimis,” she told Stet News in an email.
She said she conferred with City Attorney Max Lohman before voting “and he advised me that due to the de minimis dollar value, it did not constitute a conflict.”
- Middleton did not disclose the relationship at the meeting in which residents now opposed to the project said they had no notice that the city planned to grant PBNAF the right to convert Plant Drive Park into an ice rink.
- The council gave PBNAF 15 months to raise $40 million to build the rink, which has the backing of hockey great Wayne Gretzky and billionaire Larry Robbins.
The other side: Rebecca McKeich, one of several residents fighting to keep the park, which includes a free skateboard park, discovered the relationship and filed the complaint.Subscribe
She’s one of several self-described “malcontents,” who formed to save the park after city officials recommended the lease and described the park as “a marginal recreational facility (that) attracts malcontents who engage in illegal activities, including vandalizing the premises.”
What the law says: “No county, municipal, or other local public officer shall vote in an official capacity upon any measure which would inure to his or her special private gain or loss.”
Penalties: A wide range from removal or suspension to a fine. The law does not suggest the vote can be rescinded.
Tax forms filed by the nonprofit PBNAF show that its occupancy costs — defined by the IRS as expenses for office space, including utilities — totaled $1,050 in 2020, $2,015 in 2021 and $2,345 in 2022.
PBNAF President Mike Winter stood by the figures in the tax form. He said a consultant set up the account to provide a mailing address before Middleton joined the council.
Those figures are far from a de minimis amount, said Bob Jarvis, a Nova Southeastern University law and ethics professor.
“That argument is laughable on its face,” he said, explaining that de minimis is typically $25 or $50. “I think that any reasonable person would say $2,000 is something.”
Middleton and her husband, David, co-own Intelligent Office at 4440 PGA Blvd., Suite 600, the same address that PBNAF lists on its website. They provide physical addresses, mail services and other business needs.
Flashback: Middleton began serving on the City Council in April 2023 after winning her Group 5 seat without opposition.
What’s next: The inspector general must determine if the complaint warrants investigation. The complaint remains confidential until it is closed.
