Two Fort Pierce Utility Board members accused of misconduct will not be investigated following a vote by city commissioners.
Fort Pierce city commissioner rejected claims that two board members, Glynda Cavalcanti and Darryl Bey, violated certain city rules.
Commissioners said concerned residents could instead file complaints with an ethics board, saying commissioners are not qualified to conduct an investigation.
Commissioners opted not to hire an outside investigator.
City leaders held a special meeting Wednesday night to discuss more than 100 pages of documents that were filed under the agenda for the special meeting.
The documents included public records for board members Glynda Cavalcanti and Darryl Bey.
In the documents, confusion surfaced over Bey’s voter’s registration status, as board members are required to be registered voters in the county.
Other documents in the file included work history for Bey.
For Cavalcanti, public records were compiled showing emails she wrote to city employees about various properties she manages as a property manager.
Commissioner Thomas Perona took issue that the public records were not certified as complete and accurate, and did not want to accept the documents as proof of any wrongdoing.
An attorney for Cavalcanti and Bey spoke out at the meeting.
“I don’t see how you can proceed on this witch hunt tonight,” said Buck Vocelle. “I went through the stack of documents this morning. There’s nothing in there.”
Vocelle praised the commission’s handling of the allegations.
“I thought they were completely unfounded and the commission made the right decision.”
Commissioner Rufus Alexander voted against dropping the allegations.
“If there’s smoke, there’s fire. And I’m not afraid to even say it,” Alexander said.
While the two board members will keep their jobs, the Director of Utilities is the next under fire.
Director Clay Lindstrom’s employment contract is up for discussion in another special meeting Thursday morning.
FPUA spokesperson Jason Hoffman says concerns about commercial deposits could be brought up.
Hoffman says Lindstrom discovered dozens of businesses had not paid deposits over the years, with no explanation.
Residents, in public meetings, raised concerns over special treatment. Lindstrom said he did not know how the businesses slipped through the cracks.
Hoffman says if a businesses fails, and does not have a deposit to cover any possible missing payments, all other customers could end up footing the bill.
Lindstrom’s employment will be determined in the special meeting at 8:30 a.m. Thursday in the commission chambers.
