Manatee Commissioner Smith Completes 18-Month Course in Urban Redevelopment

BRADENTON -- Manatee County Commissioner Charles Smith recently completed an 18 month course to become a redevelopment professional by the not-for-profit Florida Redevelopment Association, the county advised on Thursday.

The training course is designed to enhance knowledge of urban redevelopment issues, which Smith says will help him become a better commissioner. He represents District Two, which covers much of Bradenton and Palmetto's impoverished areas.

The certification means that Smith has been trained in FRA subjects related to policy issues that Community Redevelopment Agencies (CRAs) focus on. Those courses included economic incentives, housing, rehabilitating communities, development of commercial properties, and procurement procedures.

Speaking about his 18-month course, Commissioner called it "well worth gaining the understanding of development and project management and learning why people don’t develop in your community so you can address those challenges head on," per a county press release, which also quoted Smith as saying that his District will eventually be able to create "more partnerships with local developers, and more incentives that encourage people to remove slum and blight. With the right public-private partnerships, good things can happen."

Smith was elected to the BOCC in 2014. During his time on the board, he has served on various boards and agencies, including the Affordable Housing Committee (2015), the Enterprise Zone Development Agency (2015), and the Manatee Port Authority. He also served as a Palmetto City Commissioner prior to his election to the Manatee BOCC.