Commissioners voted 4-0 to deny a lease agreement which would house the County’s Information Technology (IT) department at 18 South Main Street. The matter first came before the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) at the February 25, regular meeting, however was tabled when Commissioners expressed concerns about more spending to expand the County government, in a political climate focused on cutting expenses, and the potential appearance of conflict of interest between a County government and local business.
Hawks Nest Ventures LLC, owned by Commission Chairman Brian Hawkins, purchased the commercial building at 18 South Main St in May 2023 for $600,000. When asked by Commissioner Steve Champion if Hawkins would recuse himself to avoid public perception of conflict of interest, Hawkins explained the series of events that led to the sale of the building. “I was contacted by a realtor in Brooksville who said that they had someone interested in my building. I asked who it was, (the realtor said that the buyer) was under an NDA (non-disclosure agreement), and they couldn’t tell us who it was … an LOI (letter of intent) was prepared, that LOI was then sent to the County Attorney’s office, because it was the County that was looking at the building.”
Hawkins continued, “Because it’s an ethics violation of State statute to actually lease or sell real property to a board that you sit on.” Hawkins said that at the time, he thought he would only need to recuse himself from the vote approving the sale or lease. After learning he would be unable to do business with the County, he received an offer from Robert A. Buckner to purchase the building. After the offer came from Buckner, Hawkins again conferred with the County Attorney to ensure the resulting sale was free of legal entanglement.
Hawkins said that he had been in contact with a potential tenant for over a year, and asked them to sign a lease in December 2024. “They weren’t able to do it. Then I had this opportunity arise.”
“It looks bad,” Champion said of the timeline of events that Hawkins reported. However, Champion emphasized several times that the transaction could be perfectly legitimate, but public sentiment is different.
Hawkins, who reports he lost money on the building between renovations and closing costs, said, “I’ve been very transparent about that. So if you look at it from that perspective, I do not believe that I have any ethics issues at this point, from the perception that you may have.”
Hawkins sold the building to Robert Buckner for $875,000 in January 2025.
Champion also mentioned that Hawkins has a personal relationship with Buckner. During Citizens’ Comments, Cheryl Kelly showed photos alleged to be of Hawkins socializing with members of the Buckner family. Kelly agreed with Champion, and said, “Perception is everything when it comes to residents of this community.”
“All of that on the surface looks really bad,” Champion said, and added, “What’s really concerning is this expansion of government and the fact that the lease is about 40 percent higher than what you were going to lease it for – to the private sector.” Champion was reportedly in contact with an individual considering leasing with Hawkins, but did not give further information because Hawkins had recused himself.
Buckner’s lease agreement with the county was for a seven-year term, with monthly base rent increasing from $6,750 in year 1 to $8,060 in year 7.
Buckner later recounted Hawkins’ timeline, giving additional information. Buckner said the County Property Manager had contacted his office, inquiring about the IT space needs. Buckner stated that he showed the manager and staff three other spaces. “After all that, it was determined that the IT department preferred 18 South Main.” It was after this that Buckner contacted Hawkins. “We found out we couldn’t do it because of his position.” In a separate discussion, he and Hawkins began discussing the sale of the building.
Buckner said he offered to purchase the building because the County wanted it. “My preference was to purchase the building under contract with the contingency that this lease would be approved. However, after discussing it with County staff, they were a little bit uncomfortable … I spoke with the County attorney, it’s not the preferential way to do it.”
According to Buckner, such conditions in contracts are common in the private sector.
Receiving positive feedback about the building from the IT department and staff, Buckner decided to proceed with the purchase. “There was nothing inappropriate. In my discussions with Mr. Jouben and Mr. Hawkins, we didn’t want to do anything that would be deemed inappropriate or tarnish our reputations. It’s just not worth it.”
