The JEA board of directors struggled to produce a quorum Tuesday at its regular board meeting — an issue that has not gone unnoticed by board members nor City Council, which is reviewing two board appointees.
A full JEA board is seven members, but a full board has yet to be seated during regular meetings this year because of unfilled positions. Four present members are required for a quorum.
Board Chair Ashton Hudson, Secretary Cynthia Austin and member Lisa Strange Weatherby were present Tuesday at a regularly scheduled meeting and Vice Chair Mike Hightower attended the pre-meeting and part of the regular meeting via telephone.
Member Ron Townsend was out of the country and could not attend.
"We, as a board, need to recommit ourselves," Hudson said, after the three present members decided to cancel a post-meeting workshop because not enough members were present.
Along with difficulties of its members coordinating work schedules with board meetings, the board also has been hindered by the appointment process.
Board member Karen Bowling resigned from the board after she was appointed City deputy chief administrative officer in July 2011.
Bowling's replacement, Charlie Appleby, was appointed by the mayor Dec. 12. He was confirmed by Council on Feb. 17, but resigned in September, citing a conflict of interest.
Mayor Alvin Brown appointed Peter Bower Oct. 23 as Appleby's replacement. Bower is awaiting Council approval.
Jay Fant resigned from the board Feb. 28. and the mayor appointed former JEA CEO Walt Bussells as his replacement that same day. Bussells, though, was appointed to the Police and Fire Pension Fund board in late June, so a replacement for Fant was still needed.
Helen Albee is the latest mayoral appointee chosen to replace Fant. She was appointed Oct. 23 and, like Bower, also is in the Council review process.
She appeared before the Council Rules Committee on Tuesday and was questioned about her availability to serve by committee member John Crescimbeni, who said he was not satisfied with the attendance records of some of the current board members.
"I've reviewed the attendance schedule of the other currently sitting JEA board members and we've got a couple of board members that are, in my opinion, missing way, way too many meetings," he said at the meeting.
He asked the mayor's office to look into those attendance records.
"I would ask the mayor's office to review that same attendance record and fix the problem or remove those board members. It is not fair," he said.
Council member Matt Schellenberg attended the committee meeting and also commented on the situation.
"Attending on the phone is not acceptable. You can phone in and be a part of the meeting at JEA, but I don't think that is the same thing as being there," said Schellenberg.
A review of board members' attendance shows board Secretary Austin, a partner at the Austin & Austin Law Firm, has been absent six of the past 17 meetings and late to four meetings.
Vice Chair Mike Hightower has missed four meetings in that span, was once late and attended four meetings by phone.
Hudson has not missed a meeting in that time span. Lisa Strange Weatherby, the newest member and confirmed in April, also has not missed a meeting.
Townsend was absent from Tuesday's meeting, and has missed three meetings in the past four years.
"I have a corporate responsibility, and once I have achieved my corporate responsibility (Florida Blue) will allow me to do whatever I want from a civic perspective," Hightower said at the Tuesday pre-board meeting.
Hightower is director of governmental and legislative relations for Florida Blue.
"This has been an understanding, from my perspective, for the last 14 years that I have been on this board. If any of my colleagues have a problem with that I think it needs to be addressed openly and maturely and I'm tired of the shots fired across the bow," he said, without identifying who he was referencing.
Hightower said he has been busy the past few weeks meeting with new and returning legislators in Tallahassee, but was able to make time to attend Tuesday via telephone.
Without him, the board would not have been able to vote on eliminating the $2 JEA branch office transaction fee charged to customers who pay their bills at the branch offices.
During the post-board meeting, Weatherby agreed the board had an attendance problem.
"We really need to address the issue of attendance at board meetings," she said.
The attendance at meetings also has not gone unnoticed by board members.
Each member has filled out written evaluations of the meetings since Oct. 18, 2011. Townsend, the former board chair, and Hudson, the current board chair, have written on four evaluations about a need to improve attendance.
An Aug. 21 board meeting evaluation, which was a collection of the board's comments instead of normal individual forms, showed another issue.
"Personal attacks on fellow board members continue to be an issue and appear to be an attempt to stifle discussions, especially that of differing opinions. This is unprofessional and counterproductive," an unidentified board member comment on the evaluation stated.
The board agreed to switch to an oral review of meetings at the Tuesday pre-board meeting.
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