Bryan Cave attorney Joey Burby was asked an important question in the Board of Trustees meeting Friday about the investigation into the money that was used for the construction of Trevor Colbourn Hall.
William Yeargin, a member of the board, asked Burby if he had come across anything “incidentally” while he was reviewing documents and interviews outside the scope of what they were looking for that the board should know about.
During the special meeting on the #ColbournHallControversy, this trustee asked an important question: Whether @BCLPlaw attorney Joey Burby came across "anything" outside the scope of the investigation the BOT would want to know about. Listen to his careful answer. pic.twitter.com/o3tYgJ7sEA
— UCF Knight News (@UCFKnightNews) January 19, 2019
Burby appeared very reserved and careful with his answer.
“Nothing is coming to mind as I sit here but I’ll certainly give it some more thought and maybe there is a way for me to communicate that to the board after today in writing or in some other form,” said Burby.
Burby’s firm was hired to investigate after a state audit exposed UCF’s misuse of funds that were used to build the new Trevor Colbourn Hall. The funding was said to be used as a last resort because Colbourn presented an imminent health and safety risk requiring emergency action.
The investigation soon showed that the building was actually indeed in need of repair but was still safe and habitable. However, using the E&G carry forward funds for the renovations was still illegal.
The investigation involved reviewing tens and thousands of documents and also conducting over 56 interviews with 43 different witnesses. Knight News will continue working to find out if attorney Burby follows up with the question asked by the board.
The board will meet again this Thursday January 24 at Rosen to continue further talks on the matter.
