batmasian - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T11:48:01Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/batmasianBoca Raton: Two-tower hotel proposed at site of downtown post officehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-two-tower-hotel-proposed-at-site-of-downtown-post-offi2023-08-02T15:05:28.000Z2023-08-02T15:05:28.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}12175733691,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12175733691,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="12175733691?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="600" /></a><em>Investments Limited has submitted a proposal for a pair of nine-story towers with a total of 266 guest rooms to be built where the post office now stands downtown. <strong>Rendering provided</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>James and Marta Batmasian, the largest commercial property owners in downtown Boca Raton, have proposed building a two-tower hotel on property where the downtown post office now sits.</p>
<p>The Batmasians’ submittal to the city is very preliminary and it is not clear if they will move ahead with the project. One official with their company, Investments Limited, who did not identify himself, declined to elaborate on the project, saying only that they are “not really sure what we will do yet.”</p>
<p>But the two-paragraph submittal and conceptual renderings show an ambitious project named Mizner Plaza that aspires to feature high-end retail such as Hermes, Cartier and Ferragamo and would locate restaurants on the ground floor and second floor.</p>
<p>The hotel’s nine-story towers would have a total of 266 rooms, one with 153 rooms and the second with 113 rooms. A pool amenity deck, lounge and restaurant would be on the fourth and fifth stories of the second tower.</p>
<p>An outdoor staircase to the second floor would separate the two towers, and the project would be “a destination and experience for all,” the submittal states.</p>
<p>A total of 423 parking spaces would be located in two levels of underground parking, including some mechanical parking.</p>
<p>The project would be located on 1.6 acres at 132 and 170 NE Second St., east of Federal Highway and north of the Tower 155 condo, where a one-story mixed-use building with restaurants and retail and the post office now sit.</p>
<p>City staff responded to the submittal with many questions and requests for clarifications, including an explanation of what would happen to the post office.</p>
<p>Potential loss of the post office in 2018 stirred outcry when postal officials notified the city that they planned to relocate their facility somewhere else in or near the downtown because their lease on the building was about to expire. </p>
<p>The Batmasians, who bought the property they now want to redevelop in 2013, were among those strongly objecting to the post office’s closure. Residents packed a public meeting to let the U.S. Postal Service know how they felt.</p>
<p>Postal Service officials said they wanted a long-term lease of at least 10 years but were unable to get one from the Batmasians.</p>
<p>James Batmasian, however, said at the time that he had no idea the Postal Service wanted a long lease and offered to provide one. The Postal Service signed that new lease, and it runs through 2028.</p>
<p>Investments Limited proposed building a 144-room extended-stay hotel and restaurants in Royal Palm Place in 2019, and the City Council approved the project one year ago. Construction has not yet started.</p></div>Boca Raton: More luxe condos planned for Royal Palm Roadhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-more-luxe-condos-planned-for-royal-palm-road2022-11-02T14:56:04.000Z2022-11-02T14:56:04.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10861025894,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10861025894,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="667" alt="10861025894?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a>The proposed four-story building would house seven residential units near the recently completed Wildflower Park and renovated Silver Palm Park.</em><strong> Rendering provided</strong></p>
<p> <strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>East Royal Palm Road continues to draw the interest of builders looking for redevelopment opportunities.<br /> Most recently, the city’s largest commercial property owner in the downtown is proposing a four-story residential project on the road near the new Wildflower and Silver Palm parks.<br /> The project by James Batmasian, who along with his wife, Marta, head Investments Limited, would have seven units ranging in size from nearly 2,000 to 2,800 square feet. It would include 17 parking spaces, with 14 for residents whose vehicles would be stacked using a mechanical lift.<br /> The ground floor would contain a lobby, exercise room and pool, according to a project description provided to the city.<br /> Batmasian, who wants to build on two adjacent properties, seeks a zoning change from “residential low” to “residential medium high” to permit greater density at 450 and 468 E. Royal Palm Road. He contends the zoning change aligns with the density of other nearby developments, including the nine-story, 24-unit 327 Royal Palm condominium.<br /> The recently submitted proposal has not yet been reviewed by city boards.<br /> Another Batmasian project, a 144-room extended-stay hotel to be built in Royal Palm Place, was approved by the City Council, sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, in August.<br /> A second project seeking city approval is a five-story building that would house four condominiums at 343 E. Royal Palm Road, immediately east of the 327 Royal Palm condos developed by Group P6.<br /> The site of a now demolished duplex is being redeveloped by 343 Royal Palm LLC. Residents of each unit will have access to rooftop space with various amenities. Eight of the 10 parking spaces will use a lift that will stack two cars per unit, with one car parked underground.<br /> Two large projects are now coming out of the ground along East Royal Palm Road.<br /> The three-tower Royal Palm Residences, also by Group P6, will have 48 luxury condos in the nine-story buildings. The project at 475 E. Royal Palm Road is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.<br /> A luxury assisted living facility at 375 E. Royal Palm Road also is on its way to completion five years after it was unanimously approved by the City Council.<br /> The nine-story building will have 193 assisting living units that include studios and one- and two-bedroom residences.<br /> Boca Raton-based Penn-Florida Cos. is developing the facility. Penn-Florida also is behind the Mandarin Oriental hotel and residences now rising on Federal Highway just north of Camino Real.</p></div>Boca Raton: Haynie’s trial pushed off until Januaryhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-haynie-s-trial-pushed-off-until-january2020-09-11T21:30:00.000Z2020-09-11T21:30:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p class="Body"><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p class="Body">Former Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie’s trial on public corruption charges has been postponed for the fourth time, and is now set to begin on Jan. 11, 2021.</p>
<p class="Body"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960836274,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960836274,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-left" alt="7960836274?profile=original" /></a>Prosecutors and Bruce Zimet, Haynie’s criminal defense lawyer, agreed to move back the trial date from Oct. 26, citing disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, additional time needed to complete pre-trial discovery and the possibility that not enough potential jurors would be available.</p>
<p class="Body">Palm Beach County Chief Judge Krista Marx suspended all jury trials in April because of the coronavirus pandemic but issued an administrative order on Sept. 9 allowing a limited number of trials to begin after Oct. 9.</p>
<p class="Body">Circuit Judge Jeffrey Gillen ordered the new trial date on Sept. 11.</p>
<p class="Body">Haynie, 64, was arrested on April 24, 2018, on charges of official misconduct, perjury, misuse of public office and failure to disclose voting conflicts. She faces more than 20 years in prison if convicted.</p>
<p class="Body">Prosecutors contend that Haynie used her position on the City Council to vote on six matters that financially benefited James Batmasian, the city’s largest downtown commercial landowner, and failed to disclose income she received from him.</p>
<p class="Body">Haynie has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Zimet has repeatedly said she will not accept a plea deal.</p>
<p class="Body">Then-Gov. Rick Scott suspended Haynie from office, but she never resigned. Scott Singer won a special election to claim the position in 2018 and was re-elected in March.</p></div>Boca Raton: Haynie trial to start no sooner than late Octoberhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-haynie-trial-to-start-no-sooner-than-late-october2020-07-23T01:16:46.000Z2020-07-23T01:16:46.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p class="Body"><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p class="Body">Former Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie’s trial on public corruption charges has been pushed back for the third time.</p>
<p class="Body">The new trial start date is Oct. 26, but there is no certainty it will begin then.</p>
<p class="Body">Palm Beach County Chief Judge Krista Marx in early July extended her suspension of all trials until further notice because of the coronavirus pandemic.</p>
<p class="Body">Circuit Judge Jeffrey Gillen set the new date on July 10 after both the prosecutor and Haynie’s criminal defense attorney agreed on the change. They also agreed on the previous Sept. 21 trial date.</p>
<p class="Body">In both instances, they said the pandemic has made it difficult to complete pre-trial discovery and expressed concern that not enough potential jurors would be available.</p>
<p class="Body">The original date for Haynie’s trial was March 23.</p>
<p class="Body">Haynie, 64, was arrested on April 24, 2018, on charges of official misconduct, perjury, misuse of public office and failure to disclose voting conflicts. She faces more than 20 years in prison if she’s convicted.</p>
<p class="Body">Prosecutors contend that Haynie used her position on the City Council to vote on six matters that financially benefited James Batmasian, the city’s largest downtown commercial landowner, and failed to disclose income she received from him.</p>
<p class="Body">She has pleaded not guilty. Her attorney, Bruce Zimet, has repeatedly said she will not accept a plea deal.</p></div>Boca Raton: Coronavirus forces another delay for Haynie's trialhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-coronavirus-forces-another-delay-for-haynie-s-trial2020-06-03T21:34:22.000Z2020-06-03T21:34:22.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>Former Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie’s trial on public corruption charges has been postponed until Sept. 21 due to disruptions caused by COVID-19.</p>
<p>Prosecutor Brian Fernandes and Bruce Zimet, Haynie’s criminal defense lawyer, agreed to cancel a scheduled July 20 trial and to set the new trial date because the pandemic has made it difficult to complete pretrial discovery. They also were concerned that not enough potential jurors would be available in July. Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Gillen agreed to the new trial date on May 28.</p>
<p>A March trial date also was postponed.</p>
<p>Haynie was arrested on April 24, 2018, on charges of official misconduct, perjury, misuse of public office and failure to disclose voting conflicts. She faces more than 20 years in prison.</p>
<p>Prosecutors contend that Haynie, 64, used her position on the City Council to vote on six matters that financially benefited James Batmasian, the city’s largest downtown commercial landowner, and failed to disclose income she had received from him.</p>
<p>Haynie has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Zimet has repeatedly said she will not accept a plea deal.</p>
<p>Then-Gov. Rick Scott suspended Haynie from office, but she never resigned. Her option to reclaim the mayor's post ended March 31 after Boca Raton voters elected Scott Singer, who was elevated from deputy mayor to replace Haynie during her suspension, to a full term as mayor succeeding her.</p></div>Boca Raton: Haynie trial on corruption charges postponed until Julyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-haynie-trial-on-corruption-charges-postponed-until-jul2020-03-04T18:02:41.000Z2020-03-04T18:02:41.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>Any hopes that suspended Mayor Susan Haynie might have had of reclaiming her elected office ended Feb. 27 when both her defense lawyer and the prosecutor asked that her trial on public corruption charges be delayed.<br /><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960936286,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960936286,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-left" alt="7960936286?profile=original" /></a>In a four-minute hearing Circuit Judge Jeffrey Dana Gillen canceled Haynie’s March 23 trial date and rescheduled it for July 20. He also told prosecutor Brian Fernandes and defense attorney Bruce Zimet to file any new evidence by June 1.<br />Fernandes contends that Haynie used her position on the City Council to vote on six matters that financially benefited Jim and Marta Batmasian, the city’s largest downtown commercial landowners and failed to disclose income she received from them or their company, Investments Limited.<br />Haynie, 64, did not attend the hearing. She has pleaded not guilty to charges of official misconduct, perjury, misuse of public office and failure to disclose voting conflicts. She faces more than 20 years in prison if she’s convicted.<br />Haynie, a fixture in Boca Raton politics for 18 years, has not publicly commented on the case since her April 24, 2018, arrest. Then-Gov. Rick Scott suspended her from office, but she never resigned.<br />If her trial had started March 23 and she were quickly acquitted, Haynie could potentially have reclaimed the mayor’s seat but only until her term of office ends on March 31.<br />Scott Singer was elected mayor four months after Haynie’s arrest and is seeking election to a full term on March 17 with only token opposition from Bernard Korn.<br />Until the rescheduling, there had been little activity in the case.<br />Three people listed by Fernandes as witnesses and who were subpoenaed in September to testify at trial have not been deposed and say they have not heard from the State Attorney’s Office.<br />Fernandes issued subpoenas at the same time to 12 other witnesses, but five were not served. The court file does not indicate another attempt was made to contact those witnesses.<br />Zimet has said repeatedly that he would file motions in the case. But as of late February, he had filed only two — a motion to dismiss the charges, which a judge dismissed in September 2018, and the motion to reschedule the trial.<br />Zimet has repeatedly insisted no plea deal is in the works. <br />“Innocent people don’t have plea bargains,” he said after an April 2019 hearing.<br />Al Zucaro, who no longer is updating his BocaWatch blog, confirmed receiving a trial subpoena but said he has not been deposed.<br />“I haven’t heard from the defense or the state on the issue. Dead silence,” he said on Feb. 18.<br />Zucaro, a Haynie adversary whom she defeated in the 2017 mayoral race, filed complaints against her with the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics and the Florida Commission on Ethics and spoke with state prosecutors. The county ethics panel had launched an investigation before receiving his complaint.<br />The Batmasians also received trial subpoenas but have not been deposed, Marta Batmasian said.<br />“We haven’t been called or contacted by the State Attorney’s Office,” she said in mid-February.<br />Also on the state’s witness list is Abigail Irizarry, an investigator with the county ethics panel, which probed Haynie’s financial ties to the Batmasians before she was charged by the state.<br />The county panel reached a settlement with Haynie in which she was reprimanded and fined for failing to disclose a conflict of interest. A second allegation that she misused her public office was dismissed.<br />A notice in the court file states that Irizarry and two State Attorney’s Office investigators were scheduled to be deposed in August 2018.<br />Irizarry said she was deposed but has not been contacted by the State Attorney’s Office recently. “I am sure I will be getting a telephone call in the next few weeks,” she said on Feb. 18.<br />Zimet and Fernandes have said they expect a five-day trial.<br />The State Attorney’s Office investigation found that Haynie failed to report $335,000 in income on financial disclosure forms required by the state, including $84,000 from the Batmasians or Investments Limited, from 2014 through 2017.<br />Her six votes allegedly benefiting the Batmasians were uncontroversial, and all but one of the matters received unanimous or near-unanimous City Council approval.<br />The vote that made a difference came in an appeal to the City Council of a Community Appearance Board denial of two signs. The council reversed the advisory board’s decision by a 3-2 vote on Jan. 10, 2017, with Haynie in the majority.<br />The Florida Ethics Commission in October 2018 found probable cause that Haynie violated state ethics laws in eight instances, and that she failed to disclose income, acted to financially benefit herself and her husband, and improperly voted on matters that benefited the Batmasians without disclosing a conflict of interest.<br />That ethics case is pending resolution of the criminal case.<br />The evidence gathered against Haynie by investigators for the state and for the county and state ethics commissions is similar. One key difference is that while state prosecutors determined that Haynie voted on six matters that financially benefited the Batmasians from 2014 through 2017, state ethics investigators found 17 votes between 2012 and 2016.</p>
<p><em>Jerry Lower contributed to this story.</em></p></div>Boca Raton: Downtown post office will stay where it ishttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-downtown-post-office-will-stay-where-it-is2018-07-05T15:00:00.000Z2018-07-05T15:00:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="margin:0px 0px 13.33px;"><strong><span style="margin:0px;color:#000000;font-family:Cambria, serif;"><font size="3">By Steve Plunkett</font></span></strong></p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px 13.33px;"><span style="margin:0px;color:#000000;font-family:Cambria, serif;"><font size="3">The city’s downtown post office is staying put, postal officials announced July 5.</font></span></p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px 13.33px;"><span style="margin:0px;color:#000000;font-family:Cambria, serif;"><font size="3">The U.S. Postal Service told Boca Raton in February that it had been unable to get a new long-term lease on the facility at 170 NE Second Street. </font></span></p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px 13.33px;"><span style="margin:0px;color:#000000;font-family:Cambria, serif;"><font size="3">“The Postal Service and the landlord since have been able to come to a long-term agreement to stay at the current location,” USPS spokeswoman Debra Fetterly said. Landlords <span>James and Marta Batmasian bought the site, which has housed the post office for decades, in 2013.</span></font></span></p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px 13.33px;"><span style="margin:0px;color:#000000;font-family:Cambria, serif;"><font size="3">Mayor Scott Singer called it “a great outcome” ending months of concern for city officials and downtown businesses and residents.</font></span></p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px 13.33px;"><span style="margin:0px;color:#000000;font-family:Cambria, serif;"><font size="3">“I’m glad the Postal Service listened,” Singer said.</font></span></p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px 13.33px;"><span style="margin:0px;color:#000000;font-family:Cambria, serif;"><font size="3">Residents crowded a room in the Community Center Annex on March 29 to plead with postal officials not to relocate the post office, saying it was part of the city’s history. The lease was set to end July 13.</font></span></p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px 13.33px;"><span style="margin:0px;color:#000000;font-family:Cambria, serif;"><font size="3">Damian Salazar, a USPS real estate specialist, said the agency wanted a lease for at least 10 years with three five-year renewals.</font></span></p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px 13.33px;"><span style="margin:0px;color:#000000;font-family:Cambria, serif;"><font size="3">James Batmasian, who attended the meeting, told Salazar that was the first he had heard that the Postal Service wanted a longer lease and offered on the spot to redo a four-year lease he and his wife had negotiated in September.</font></span></p></div>Boca Raton: Mayor Haynie charged with public corruptionhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-mayor-haynie-charged-with-public-corruption2018-04-25T02:00:00.000Z2018-04-25T02:00:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p class="Body"><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p class="Body">Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie was booked into the Palm Beach County jail April 24 on seven charges related to her city votes on matters that financially benefitted the city’s largest downtown commercial landowner.</p>
<p class="Body">Haynie, who on April 16 settled a case against her by the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics on similar allegations, was charged with three counts of official misconduct, a third degree felony; perjury in an official proceeding, a third degree felony; misuse of public office, a first degree misdemeanor; corrupt misuse of public office, a first degree misdemeanor; and failure to disclose voting conflict, a first degree misdemeanor.</p>
<p class="Body">The charges were brought by the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office public corruption unit.</p>
<p class="Body">Haynie arrived at the jail at 7:38 p.m. April 24, and was released on $12,000 bail about 90 minutes later.</p>
<p class="Body">“Mrs. Haynie wholeheartedly and completely denies the allegations which we plan to fight in court to the fullest extent,” her attorney, Leonard Feuer, said in an email to <em>The Coastal Star.</em></p>
<p class="Body">Haynie, a Republican, withdrew from the District 4 county commission race in a two-sentence letter received by Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher the same day she was charged.</p>
<p class="Body">The remaining candidates to replace term-limited Steven Abrams are Democrat Robert Weinroth, who recently resigned from the Boca Raton city commission to run, and Republican William Vale, a Boca Del Mar Improvement Association board member.</p>
<p class="Body">News of the arrest, first reported by <em>The Palm Beach Post</em>, stunned her fellow city commissioners who were in the midst of a regular meeting when they got the word.</p>
<p class="Body">They had expected her to comment at the meeting on the county ethics case. That same morning, she said in an email to <em>The Coastal Star</em> that she would do so.</p>
<p class="Body">“I have no intention of resigning,” she wrote.</p>
<p class="Body">But she did not show up for the meeting, and City Manager Leif Ahnell said he had heard that Haynie was ill.</p>
<p class="Body">“I find news of this as I sit up here as beyond upsetting,” said council member Andrea O’Rourke.</p>
<p class="Body">Council members Monica Mayotte described the arrest as an “awful situation”, adding that it was “deeply disturbing.”</p>
<p class="Body">“We are all surprised, flabbergasted… and processing this,” said Deputy Mayor Scott Singer.</p>
<p class="Body">The investigation began in March 2017 when the State Attorney’s Office received complaints that Haynie used her position on the city council to vote on issues having a favorable financial impact on commercial landowner James Batmasian, the probable cause affidavit states.</p>
<p class="Body">The state investigation found that Haynie failed to report $335,000 in income, including $84,000 from Batmasian or from his company Investments Limited, from 2014 through 2017.</p>
<p class="Body">Of the total, $45,000 came from rent paid to Haynie for a property she owns in Key Largo.</p>
<p class="Body">Haynie and her husband, Neil, formed Community Reliance, a property management company, in 2007 which managed Tivoli Park, a 1,600 unit apartment complex in Deerfield Beach. Batmasian and his wife, Marta, own 80 percent of the Tivoli Park Units, and five of the six Tivoli board members work for Investments Limited, the <em>Post</em> has reported.</p>
<p class="Body">Community Reliance earned between $10,057 and $16,490 between 2014 and 2017 from Tivoli Park's master association, according to the affidavit.</p>
<p class="Body">"This amount is well below the expected income for managing a property of this size, which would normally command an income of nearly $150,000 to $200,000 per year," the affidavit states.</p>
<p class="Body">Haynie told investigators that she had no involvement in running Community Reliance and another company she and her husband started, Computer Golf Software of Nevada, Inc., and derived no income from them.</p>
<p class="Body">But bank records revealed she wrote two checks to herself from the Community Reliance account totaling $5,300 and received $72,600 from Computer Golf Software.</p>
<p class="Body">During 2016 and 2017, Hayne cast four votes that benefitted Batmasian, the affidavit states.</p>
<p class="Body">Haynie left Community Reliance in 2016 and announced in December that her husband had ended his business relationship with Tivoli Park master association.</p>
<p class="Body">On April 16, Haynie admitted to violating the county's ethics code and agreed to pay a $500 fine for voting on matters that financially benefitted Batmasian.</p>
<p class="Body">In the settlement between Haynie and the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics, she agreed to accept a letter of reprimand and pay the stiffest fine the commission could levy for failing to disclose a conflict of interest. The ethics commission dismissed its second allegation that Haynie misused her public office.</p>
<p class="Body">The ethics commission launched its investigation of Haynie in November, one day before the <em>Post</em> reported that Community Reliance had been paid by the Tivoli Park master association.</p>
<p class="Body">The article raised the question of whether Haynie had a conflict of interest in voting on matters involving Batmasian and should have recused herself.</p>
<p class="Body">The ethics commission investigation corroborated the <em>Post</em>’s key findings, but also unearthed an additional, and more direct, financial link between the Haynies and Batmasian.</p>
<p class="Body">Community Reliance was paid at least $64,000 in 2016 and 2017 for installing security cameras at several properties owned by Batmasian, including at Royal Palm Place in downtown Boca Raton, according to the commission’s investigation file which was made public on April 17. Investments Limited made the payments to Community Reliance.</p>
<p class="Body">Haynie has denied that she acted improperly and said she had requested in 2013 an opinion from the ethics commission, which advised her she could vote.</p>
<p class="Body">But the opinion was narrowly written and was based on a specific instance in which Batmasian was neither the applicant or the developer of a project coming to the city council for approval. In other instances, he was the applicant or developer.</p>
<p class="Body">Mark Bannon, the ethics commission’s executive director, said Haynie should have understood the opinion to mean that she should not vote in such circumstances.</p>
<p class="Body">“The advisory opinion said (Batmasian) was not the developer or applicant, which tells you when he is the developer or applicant, you can’t do that (vote)”, Bannon said.</p>
<p class="Body">On the dismissed misuse of office count, the ethics commission found that probable cause existed, but determined the violations were unintentional because, based on the 2013 advisory opinion, City Attorney Diana Grub Frieser told Haynie she did not have a conflict of interest that prevented her from voting.</p>
<p class="Body">On the conflict of interest count, the commission at its April 16 meeting did not determine whether or not Haynie’s actions were intentional.</p>
<p class="Body">Ethics commissioners were tied 2-2 on that, with one member absent. The settlement was reached before commissioners held a full hearing on the case, and several commissioners said they did not have enough information to decide this issue. As a result, they made no finding.</p>
<p class="Body">The settlement states that Haynie “believes it to be in her best interest to resolve the issues contained in the complaint and avoid the expense and time of litigation in this matter. Accordingly, (Haynie) admits to participating in and voting on matters that gave a special financial benefit to a customer or client of her outside business and she accepts a letter of reprimand.”</p>
<p class="Body">In a statement after the settlement, Haynie said: “I have accepted a letter of instruction, a letter of reprimand and fine as part of the dismissal of all complaints and conclusion of this matter. I am glad the issue is resolved, as I believed it would be, with a fair process by the Commission on Ethics.”</p>
<p class="Body">Al Zucaro, a Haynie adversary who was defeated by her in last year’s mayoral race, filed complaints last year with both the county ethics commission and State Commission on Ethics. The state ethics investigation is ongoing.</p>
<p class="Body">Since Haynie settled the county ethics case, Zucaro has repeatedly called on Haynie to resign.</p>
<p class="Body">“We have an elected official who has admitted to violating the code of ethics,” he told <em>The Coastal Star.</em> “The bottom line is she should resign now.”</p>
<p class="Body"></p></div>Along the Coast: 9 months away, race to replace Abrams on County Commission heats uphttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-9-months-away-race-to-replace-abrams-on-county-co2018-01-31T19:38:42.000Z2018-01-31T19:38:42.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong><br /> <br /><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960766670,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960766670,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-left" width="95" alt="7960766670?profile=original" /></a><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960766883,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960766883,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-right" width="93" alt="7960766883?profile=original" /></a>The election to replace term-limited County Commissioner Steven Abrams isn’t until November, but already the race threatens to overshadow the March vote for two Boca Raton City Council seats.<br /> Council member Robert Weinroth, who opened a re-election campaign account in June, shifted gears during Boca Raton’s official Jan. 2-10 qualifying period and filed instead to seek Abrams’ seat. He will face Mayor Susan Haynie, who opened a County Commission campaign account in October. <br /> Weinroth, in a memo withdrawing from the City Council race, said it was “apparent” to him that Haynie’s campaign for the commission seat “has faltered.”<br /> Weinroth switched races after a Palm Beach Post article in November questioned Haynie’s votes on matters involving James and Marta Batmasian, the city’s largest commercial landowners. The Batmasians also own most of a Deerfield Beach apartment complex that in 2010 hired Haynie and her husband as property managers.<br /> Haynie said she voted on Batmasian projects in Boca Raton only after she asked for and received clearance from the county Ethics Commission. She resigned from her husband’s company in 2016 and announced in December that he had given up the Deerfield Beach work.<br /> As of Dec. 31 Weinroth had amassed $115,905 in donations for his council re-election bid. Under state law he had to notify all contributors within 15 days that he changed races and offer to return their money.<br /> Haynie sent a letter to all his donors Jan. 22 encouraging them to do just that. <br /> “A donation to Robert’s County Commission campaign is a contribution opposing me,” Haynie wrote.<br /> She also messaged her supporters, saying she was “all in, working hard and ready to go.”<br /> “Despite the best attempts of my political opponents, my campaign continues to move forward and build support,” she wrote.<br /> Haynie reported collecting $18,901 in donations as of Dec. 31. Her endorsements include Abrams, state Rep. Bill Hager, South Palm Beach Mayor Bonnie Fischer and Vice Mayor Robert Gottlieb, Lantana Mayor Dave Stewart, former Ocean Ridge Mayor Ken Kaleel, incoming Delray Beach City Commissioner Bill Bathurst, Boca Raton Deputy Mayor Jeremy Rodgers and City Council member Scott Singer, and former Deputy Mayor Michael Mullaugh. <br /> Weinroth’s campaign war chest included donations of $1,000 each from James and Marta Batmasian, whom he linked to Haynie’s troubles. Their son Armen Batmasian also gave $1,000.</p></div>Boca Raton: Council seeks clearer ethics procedureshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-council-seeks-clearer-ethics-procedures2017-11-29T20:30:00.000Z2017-11-29T20:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong><br /> <br /> Boca Raton City Council members asked the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics to clarify if Mayor Susan Haynie can vote on matters coming before the council that involve James Batmasian, the city’s largest commercial landowner.<br /> They also want more transparency about how to handle potential conflicts of interest involving council members.<br /> These issues arose after a Nov. 5 Palm Beach Post report found that a property management firm — Community Reliance — owned by Haynie and her husband, Neil, has been paid $12,000 a year since 2010 by the master association of Tivoli Park, a 1,600-unit apartment complex in Deerfield Beach.<br /> Batmasian and his wife, Marta, own 80 percent of the Tivoli Park units, and five of the six Tivoli board members work for the Batmasians’ company, Investments Limited, the Post reported.<br /> Haynie has denied that she acted improperly, noting that she requested an opinion from the ethics commission on whether she could vote. <br /> The article raises the question of whether Haynie has a conflict of interest in voting on matters involving the Batmasians and if she should recuse herself. Haynie has cast at least 12 votes on such matters, according to the Post.<br /> Haynie was one of the registered agents for Community Reliance, but her name was removed last year. About half her votes took place after Haynie left the company, the Post reported. Palm Beach County’s ethics code prohibits an official from casting a vote that benefits a spouse. <br /> The commission determined in 2013 that there was an “insufficient nexus” among the Batmasians, the master association and an issue coming before the City Council for Haynie to be prohibited from voting. But in that specific case, Batmasian was neither the applicant nor the developer.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960764453,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960764453,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="600" alt="7960764453?profile=original" /></a><em>A county ethics investigator has filed a public records request for some of Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie’s emails. Haynie said earlier that she relied on legal guidance before voting on issues that might have raised questions about conflicts of interest. <strong>Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p><br /> “I have always followed the process and relied on professional legal guidance,” Haynie said at a Nov. 13 Community Redevelopment Agency meeting at which ethics issues were discussed. “As an elected official, I have a responsibility to vote if there is no conflict. And that’s what I was advised to do.”<br /> Yet Mark Bannon, the commission’s executive director, signaled in advance that the commission would not revisit its 2013 opinion.<br /> “We would not be able to give an ethics opinion about an ethics opinion,” he said after the Nov. 13 meeting.<br /> In a Nov. 28 letter to City Manager Leif Ahnell, Bannon confirmed that, saying that an ethics opinion must be requested by the public official or employee who is affected, and not by the entire city council. As a result, the ethics commission can not “affirm or re-address” its 2013 opinion, he said.<br /> Asked after the Nov. 13 meeting if the opinion allowed Haynie to vote on projects the Batmasians are involved in, Bannon said “no.” He then added, “That opinion is a very narrow opinion. It talked about a specific circumstance. That does not mean anything [Haynie] has done violates that opinion.”<br /> But a commission investigator has filed a public records request with the city. Abigail Irizarry asked for copies of emails from Haynie, Boca Raton City Attorney Diana Grub Frieser and Joshua Koehler between January and December 2013 that contain <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960764862,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960764862,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-right" width="99" alt="7960764862?profile=original" /></a>certain key words. She also requested all site approval plans from January 2013 until this November containing many of the same key words. Those key words include Batmasian and Investments Limited.<br /> Koehler was not identified in the request, but a Joshua Koehler was Boca Raton’s senior assistant city attorney as of Oct. 19.<br /> Bannon would not comment on the records request. But he did say the commission has the authority to investigate if it gets new information, including from a media report. He would not comment on whether the Post article was sufficient to spark an inquiry.<br /> Council member Andrea O’Rourke asked for the matter to be placed on the Nov. 13 meeting agenda.<br /> “This is something we cannot ignore,” she said at that meeting, adding that many matters coming before the council directly or indirectly involve the Batmasians.<br /> O’Rourke called for a review by an outside agency other than the ethics commission. <br /> She also expressed concern that the council never knew Haynie requested an ethics opinion. “Should we not have known about this?” she asked.<br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960764690,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960764690,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-left" width="98" alt="7960764690?profile=original" /></a> O’Rourke is an ally of Al Zucaro, and was editor of his BocaWatch blog, which is often critical of the council, until she resigned in September 2016 to run for City Council. Haynie defeated Zucaro in the March mayoral election. She has since announced she is a candidate for the Palm Beach County Commission seat being vacated by term-limited Steven Abrams, a former Boca Raton mayor.<br /> Zucaro filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Ethics against Haynie in April accusing her of failing to disclose her interest in Community Reliance. That complaint is pending. <br /> Zucaro was critical of the council’s decision to seek a review of the opinion by the county’s ethics commission.<br /> “They kicked the ball over to somebody else because they are impotent in not wanting to address this issue in the city,” he said after the Nov. 13 meeting. “They have the responsibility for bringing this forward and taking appropriate action. … They should be looking at it themselves.”<br /> O’Rourke also has been caught up in the ethics quandary, although she insists she has done nothing wrong. Her husband, George O’Rourke, is employed by Merrill Lynch and served as financial adviser to the Batmasians until his wife won election to the council in March.<br /> Andrea O’Rourke requested an opinion from the ethics commission, which determined she had no conflict of interest because her husband no longer advises the Batmasians, she said at the meeting. She said she recused herself from a June 12 vote on a matter involving the Batmasians before the opinion was issued “to avoid the appearance of impropriety.”<br /> O’Rourke and council member Robert Weinroth were critical of how Frieser handled on Haynie’s behalf the request for the ethics opinion.<br /> Frieser disputed Weinroth’s contention that she pushed hard to get an opinion that allowed Haynie to cast votes.<br /> “I don’t think the city attorney has done our mayor any favors in being as aggressive as she was in pushing for a ruling that eventually allowed the mayor to vote,” Weinroth said.<br /> Frieser denied that she sought an outcome that favored Haynie, saying she simply notified the ethics commission of relevant legal issues. <br /> “My goal was to act as an objective and neutral city attorney,” she said.<br /> Frieser approached the ethics commission in 2011 and obtained an informal opinion that Haynie had no conflict of interest. In 2013, Haynie asked her to seek a formal written opinion. A draft opinion found Haynie could vote, but included a recommendation that she abstain based on an “appearance of impropriety.”<br /> Frieser responded, saying why she thought the recommendation was not warranted. More back-and-forth followed over five months until the final opinion determined Haynie could vote.<br /> The first draft opinion said Haynie could vote, as did the final opinion. <br /> “There is nothing I did that altered that,” she said.<br /> With public scrutiny on Haynie and what other members of the council will do about it, council members agreed that they needed to be more transparent on ethics matters.<br /> Council member Scott Singer proposed, and other members supported, measures aimed at keeping themselves and the pubic informed. <br /> They include notifying each council member and the public when one of them requests an ethics opinion, when any additional communication about the request takes place, when an ethics opinion is issued, identifying in requests for opinions the person seeking the opinion and bringing in an ethics expert to give guidance to the council. When the proposals came back to the council on Nov. 28, they were expanded to include restrictions on outside attorneys advising the city on ethics issues. <br /> Attorneys could not be hired if they had participated in a city political campaign or made a campaign contribution six months before they are retained and for six months after their work is done. Attorneys also will be ineligible if they have served as an officer or director of a “political committee” or “electioneering communications organization” involving a city issue or campaign during the time they work for the city and six months afterwards.<br /> During discussion about the proposals, O’Rourke said the proposed time restrictions were too short, and suggested they apply for six years before an attorney is retained and six years after their work is done<br /> Other council members agreed changes should be made, with specifics to be worked out when the council votes on the proposals at its next meeting.<br /> Investments Limited is primarily known as a buyer and seller of properties. But it also has been a developer. Most recently, the company submitted plans for redevelopment of two portions of its Royal Palm Place, a 14-acre downtown destination featuring retail and restaurants.<br /> Investments Limited describes the property as the “crown jewel” of its property portfolio. Plans call for two buildings with luxury rentals, retail, restaurants and parking.</p></div>