Ethics panel says LWB commissioner has no conflict of interest with WMODA project

7 days ago
3 min read

IN A VICTORY for opponents of the WMODA development, the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics has ruled that Lake Worth Beach City Commissioner Christopher McVoy can vote on and discuss the proposed mixed-use project.

City commissioners sought the opinion at the request of Vice Mayor Sarah Malega, a supporter of the Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts development, a 110-unit apartment building and parking garage anchored by a fired arts museum in the heart of downtown.

In March, Malega accused McVoy, a vocal WMODA critic, of opposing the development because she said he has “a personal gain to keeping our community undeveloped.’’

She based her accusation on the fact that McVoy is an employee of South Florida Engineering & Consulting, a firm with offices across the street from the site of the WMODA apartments in a federal Historically Underutilized Business zone.

If WMODA succeeds, she said at a March 18 commission meeting, it could threaten his company’s HUBZone certification, which makes the firm eligible to receive special federal contracts.

In a four-page opinion unanimously approved May 1, Ethics Commission Executive Director Christie Kelley summed up Malega’s concern as “remote and speculative.’’

Kelley pointed out that there are hundreds of other parcels in the HUBZone.

“Commissioner McVoy is not prohibited from participating in discussions or voting on these matters because the size of the class affected by this project is large enough to remove any potential conflict of interest,’’ Kelley said.

“Further, the facts do not indicate that SFEC’s location provides a unique circumstance wherein any potential personal gain or loss by this vote would exceed significantly that of other property owners located within the HUBZone,’’ she said.

Kelley also pointed out that the engineering firm’s property is HUBZone qualified until July 1, 2028.

“Any number of things could occur during this time frame that would impact the nature of the involved area. Considering this, it is remote and speculative whether any vote on the project would result in a prohibited entity receiving a special financial benefit,’’ she said.

She added, “there does not seem to be any direct nexus between a vote on the project and any potential economic gain or loss to SFEC.’’

Kelley said the ethics commission “has held that any such financial benefit must be direct and immediate, rather than remote and speculative.’’

At the March 18 meeting when Malega persuaded the city commission to seek the ethics opinion, McVoy blasted her for what he called “a BS attempt to try to disqualify the one person who has made sure that (elected officials) listen to the community and hear from the community as to what they want about this project.’’

Also at that meeting, Mayor Betty Resch, an attorney, said she thought Malega’s allegation was “tenuous.”

Malega could not immediately be reached for comment on the ruling.

“It’s unfortunate that the Vice Mayor wasted expensive city attorney and Ethics Commission time simply because she didn’t want me to vote on a large development project that she supports,’’ said McVoy, who is worried city leaders are rushing too quickly into a complex project that could adversely alter the city's downtown and cost taxpayers millions.

“Instead of attempting to squash democratic representation using allegations that even the Mayor called ‘tenuous,’'' he said, "the Vice Mayor would do better to carry out many residents’ request: Bring this whole project for a vote by the public.''

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About the author

Joe Capozzi is an award-winning reporter based in Lake Worth Beach. He spent more than 30 years writing for newspapers, mostly at The Palm Beach Post, where he wrote about the opioid scourge, invasive pythons, the birth of the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches and Palm Beach County government. For 15 years, he covered the Miami Marlins baseball team. Joe left The Post in December 2020. View all posts by Joe Capozzi.