MILTON — Businessman Gary Pruitt contends City Councilman Jimmy Messick used his position for personal gain.
To that end, Pruitt has filed an ethics complaint with the state’s Commission on Ethics office, stating that Messick violated a Florida statute pertaining to public officers and employees.
Pruitt accused Messick of steering the council toward purchasing downtown property parcels, two of which surround property owned by his wife, Theresa.
Pruitt referred to a June 2015 Community Redevelopment Agency meeting in which Messick voted in favor of allocating $50,000 of CRA funding toward purchasing properties that, at the time, would be used to accommodate a new county courthouse.
During that meeting, City Manager Brian Watkins said the council was voting on a memo pertaining to five properties sought by the Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners for the courthouse.
Properties 6 and 8 were sought to accommodate the city’s Riverfront Master Plan; both these properties were also on the market at the time. Mrs. Messick’s property, or property 7, wasn’t considered for purchase at this point in the process.
Watkins said the only reason Messick’s property was part of the map was to show the total of acreage available for the courthouse downtown.
“I knew (property 7) was not for sale, there was no ‘for sale’ signs on it,” Watkins said. “It wasn’t one of the five properties from the county, in which they said they had to have.”
However, Messick’s property became necessary in November 2015, when the council decided on a new courthouse location, Pine Street.
Pruitt, who co-operates RE Development, cited two other council meetings in which Messick voted in favor of approving purchasing contracts on the two properties surrounding his wife’s property.
“I contend that Messick failed to disclose voting conflicts of interest and corruptly used his position,” Pruitt said in the ethics complaint letter.
One of those conflicts, according to Pruitt, pertained to Theresa Messick serving on the Milton Historic Preservation Board.
City Attorney Heather Lindsay said there was no legal conflict.
In a telephone interview, Pruitt said the $125,000 asking price for Theresa’s property exceeded the parcel’s nearly $50,000 appraisal.
Despite one nay vote from Councilman Alan Lowery, the council voted in favor of the purchase agreement. However, a sales tax referendum needed to fund a new courthouse did not pass during this year’s primary election. With the election results, the city opted to not pursue property 7. As part of the agreement, Mrs. Messick only received $2,500 as an escrow amount.
The Press Gazette previously reported Theresa Messick had no interest in selling the property, according to Theresa Messick’s attorney, Brad Johnson, during an executive committee meeting in April.
The city is supporting Messick.
“Councilman Messick abstained from voting in all meetings in regards to his wife’s possible property purchase upon advice from (the) city attorney,” the city’s public information officer stated.
In an email, Lindsay stated, “Councilman Messick has acted consistent with advice from the city attorney throughout his term of office; he has shown a commitment to full compliance with the law.”
Lindsay stated in the email that should a media outlet “have possession of the ethics complaint, then confidentiality has been breached by the complaining party because it is a confidential process.”
Pruitt interpreted otherwise, and said both parties can share the complaint.
In a telephone interview, Pruitt said he is aware of the timing of filing his complaint, especially with the election on Nov. 8 in which Messick along with seven other candidates are currently campaigning for Milton City Council.
Pruitt said the public needs to know about his concerns. He anticipates learning the results of his complaint soon.
In an email, Lindsay said Councilman Messick and the city staff would cooperate fully with the Commission on Ethics.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Ethics complaint filed against councilman