MARK SCHUMANN
After hearing from transactional attorney, John Igoe, the City Council voted 4-1 yesterday to approve an additional $250,000 for his firm’s continued work on the proposed sale of Vero Electric to Florida Power & Light. Councilman Jay Kramer opposed the funding authorization.
The latest funding request brings to $1.65 million the total the Council has agreed to spend with Igoe’s firm. Igoe acknowledged the cost and the time it is taking to conclude the deal is “far more than any of us anticipated.” Igoe said that, in consideration, his firm unilaterally agreed to discount its work to date by $50,000.
Igoe outlined the latest revised structure of the deal, which took on new prospects for success, he said, when FPL proposed alternatives that may be more acceptable, if not enticing to the Florida Municipal Power Agency. According to Igoe, FPL asked the FMPA to make a decision by Sept. 20 on whether it can at least agree in concept to the latest offer.
Indian River Guardian 
$250,000 – a nice round figure, seems a little odd. I hope council received an itemized invoice for the previous amounts, as well as substantiation for the new costs.
Ms. Turner wanted to hire yet another attorney to predict what a judge would rule in the Carroll fiasco. She is certainly eager to simply throw money into the wind . . . as long as it is taxpayer money. She seems pretty anxious to take advantage of any windfall that might come her way as a “public servant”.
The attorney not only asked for more money and told us how complicated things are….he also suggested the city needs to hire yet another professional to get them through this sale,..a “financial adviser”. I think they might need a financial adviser to figure out the Attorney firms billing hours.