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Highlands Today

City Attorney Drops Southern Oaks As Client

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By JOE SEELIG

Highlands Today

Published: December 20, 2008

SEBRING - Sebring City Attorney Mike Swaine said as of Friday his firm Swaine and Harris P.A., had dropped Southern Oaks as a client to avoid a conflict of interest with his other client, the city of Sebring, in a possible deal by Southern Oaks to sell its Hammock Road property to a hospice.
Swaine said that he just got back from Chicago and when he learned that someone had raised a concern about a possible conflict he acted immediately to stop representing Southern Oaks.

Southern Oaks entered into a contract with HPC Healthcare Inc., for the sale of its property at 1110 Hammock Road, for the purpose of constructing an in-patient hospice facility. HPC is represented by Fowler White Boggs P.A., in Tampa.
Swaine said his firm represented Southern Oaks in amending that contract.

"Hospice's attorneys drew up the contract," said Swaine. "I looked it over for Southern Oaks and we modified it somewhat."

The city's Zoning Supervisor Gary Lower gave his opinion that while there was no specific hospice use listed in R-3, the city's R-3 allows any permitted uses in R-2 and the city's R-2 allows for "elderly, group, foster care and other special needs housing."

"If you look up the definition of hospice, it is special needs - usually for the elderly and it fits in there," Lower said Friday. "But that's only my opinion."

The deal hit a bit of a snag on Oct. 7, when City Attorney Bob Swaine, at Swaine and Harris PA, issued his opinion that a hospice was not an allowed use in the city's R-3 zoning and that the property should be rezoned and an existing development agreement with the city would also need to be amended.

The original development agreement was drafted by Mike Swaine on behalf of the city of Sebring, and signed by Southern Oaks' co-owner Daniel F. Dorrell, on July 11, 2005, for the development - laying out what they intended to put on the land.

The agreement was signed by City Council President Jeff Carlson and City Clerk Kathy Haley on Aug. 2, 2005.
City Attorney Mike Swaine's name is also on a copy of an amended development agreement, executed on Dec. 1, 2008 and received by the city from Fowler White Boggs.

"The second one we drafted for hospice to submit," Swaine explained.

But that draft was not on behalf of the city, but rather on behalf of Southern Oaks, whichwas his client, but as of Friday his firm no longer represents.

Fowler had a copy of the first development agreement, but did not have experience on how a new development agreement might be worded.

"We submitted a rough draft to hospice's legal team," said Swaine, who added he left parts blank for them to fill in the sizes of buildings, how many beds, etc. "Their attorney did a final draft of it. They put in what they wanted to have and they submitted it to the city."

He seemed surprised that his name was still on the final draft document executed by HPC's Executive Vice President of Finance and Operations George H. Wallace, and submitted by Fowler.

"I should have taken it off before I e-mailed it to them," Swaine said Friday. "I didn't even see it as a potential conflict. When it was presented to me, I could see it as of today."
Swaine said hospice's need approval from the state before a residential facility can be built, much like a hospital, including a "certificate of need."

"And they've got one on a short timeframe before that expires," said Swaine.

Joe Seelig can be reached at (863) 386-5834 or jseelig@highlandstoday.com .

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