Project Peet and Ave Maria University Fact-Finding | James Pat Guerréro

John Lundin had sued Collier County, Florida, for some of its County leaders violating the Florida Sunshine Law about making fact-finding trips without informing the public. John Lundin has dropped his suit on February 4, 2011. But he wants to claim his legal expenses of $8,738. Lundin said:

“I performed a civic duty in the public interest by exposing the Sunshine violation by filing the lawsuit,” he said in his petition.

Today the Collier County Commission allows Lundin to voice his claim in the public petitions part of the Collier County Commission agenda.

Collier County Commissioners Jim Coletta, Donna Fiala and Fred Coyle, County Attorney Jeff Klatzkow, and Ave Maria University President Nicholas J. Healy had separately taken trips to Bal Harbor, Maine, to do fact-finding on Project Peet (Jackson Laboratory project).

It is clear by the photograph enclosed, that Nicholas J. Healy, who represents the interests of Ave Maria University, made the fact-finding trip as well as the County leaders. From the moral perspective, it is immoral, and conduct unbecoming, for the President of Ave Maria University to have pursued Project Peet on two instances. The first instance is on potentially using taxpayer funds to pay for Project Peet (equating to the potential for theft) without taxpayer approval. The second instance is on considering the immoral potential of embryonic stem cell (human embryo and other destructive life science) research by Jackson Laboratory. Sunshine Law is law in Florida for County leaders, too, until it’s changed or repealed.

Read More: Man to ask Collier commissioners for legal fees in dropped lawsuit » Naples Daily News.

Collier County Attorney Katzkow Lost Opportunity Cost in Project Peet | James Pat Guerréro

To continue the Project Peet (Jackson Laboratory project) story, Collier County Manager Leo Ochs left out the Collier County Attorney Jeff Klatzkow’s expenditures and said as follows:

“I didn’t mean to omit anything intentionally,” Ochs said.

Thank goodness a double negative still means a positive. Hmm. Looking at Klatzkow’s time for a moment, he spent “a total of 264 hours on litigation, arbitration, public records requests, a bond validation proceeding, project negotiations and matters relating to the Productivity Committee.” The market rate for attorneys’ fee is give or take $300 per hour for a good attorney. For 264 hours of time the total cost estimate is 264 hours times $300 per hour: $79,200. But one may argue that the County Attorney is giving his time to the County taxpayer. Really? Accepting that assertion, then what could he have done better with that 264 hours of time? There is an argument that the County Attorney could have done different and better work for the County taxpayer with that time: that he lost an opportunity cost for the time he spent on Project Peet.

Read More:  Collier Commission puts a stop to all action on Jackson Lab » Naples Daily News.