BOCC to Consider Restoring Call-In Public Comments

BRADENTON – Manatee County Commissioners may consider returning the meeting feature which allowed for call-in public comments during BOCC meetings. At a meeting Tuesday, the board voted 5-2 to direct the county attorney to explore possible procedural rules to allow for call-in public comment with some restrictions.

During a land use meeting last December, the board’s chair unexpectedly ended the feature which provided citizens the ability to participate in public hearings by phone from home, work, or other locations. At the time, Commission Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge stated that he had recently become aware that the call-in feature was a "leftover" pandemic restriction, and since the board had previously voted to end all COVID-19-related restrictions, he felt it was time to do away with the feature.

Having used his authority as chair to make the change, Van Ostenbridge also made the change effective immediately for the very land use meeting during which he took action. That Dec. 15 meeting included an item that had gained national attention for its potential impacts on the nearby Freedom Factory race track and Bradenton Motor Speedway drag strip.

Garrett Mitchell, a popular Youtuber who goes by the name "Cleetus McFarland," purchased the Freedom Factory in 2020 and shared with his more than three million Youtube followers the risk he believed the proposed development would have on the future of the race track. Countless race fans sent emails to commissioners and appeared in person to address the board about the agenda item.

However, because Van Ostenbridge ended call-in public comments the same morning of the meeting, an unknown number of additional citizens who wished to address the board, but who could not attend the meeting in person, were denied the ability to do so.

Several members of the public reached out to TBT about the chair's decision, questioning whether it was appropriate procedure and fair to citizens' first amendment rights for the chair to have removed the feature without prior notice. In fact, the Dec. 15 meeting agenda originally included instructions on how to participate by phone prior to the morning of the meeting, and prior to Van Ostenbridge's independent decision to eliminate the feature.

At least two citizens who shared their concerns with TBT provided time-stamped photos or "screenshots" showing the agenda as it appeared at 6:21 pm and 10:51 pm, the night before the meeting. In both photos, the instructions for citizen comment by phone appeared at the top of the posted agenda.

Sometime between the evening of Dec. 14 and the morning of the meeting on Dec. 15, the agenda was updated, and a new version was posted which removed the instructions for public comment by phone.

Since that time, numerous members of the public have addressed the board during meetings with in-person public comments, requesting the call-in feature be returned to the commission's public hearings. On Tuesday, the topic was raised again during public comments.

Commissioner Amanda Ballard responded to the citizens' comments on Tuesday by proposing the board should consider returning the feature, but with an added restriction for the amount of total time the board would allow for call-in comments.

"I do want to give people who work, or who can’t come out here in person, the ability to participate," Ballard told her colleagues.

Commissioners James Satcher and Jason Bearden felt there needed to be more restrictions, including a requirement that anyone calling to give public comment must be a resident of Manatee County. The county attorney, however, cautioned the commissioners that there could be legal problems with such a requirement, as restricting who could and could not comment during a public forum–even by phone–may violate citizens' first amendment rights.

Commissioner George Kruse made a motion for the board to reinstate call-in public comments, adding a 30-minute limit for the calls, per agenda item. Kruse added that if the motion passed, it should take effect during the next BOCC meeting. Ballard readily seconded the motion.

As the motion moved to board deliberation, it appeared it was not widely supported. Some commissioners wanted greater restrictions on who could utilize the call-in feature, while Van Ostenbridge suggested that call-in only be allowed during future agenda items, rather than all items. When Ballard attempted to defend the motion as proposed by Kruse–permitting call-in for any non-quasi-judicial agenda item as had been done in the past–Van Ostenbridge cut Ballard off before she was able to finish her argument.

Van Ostenbridge suggested that the county attorney should meet with each commissioner individually and gather suggestions for possible procedures to be put into place should the board return the call-in feature. The county attorney clarified for Van Ostenbridge that a directive to his office did not procedurally require a motion from the board.

Kruse stood firm in his position that a 30-minute restriction on each agenda item was reasonable, adding that items that are more "contentious" and added to an agenda "last minute" might draw more calls, but overall, Kruse was unconcerned that the call-in feature would be a hindrance to the board's meetings.

"We did call in comments for years. I am not over here trying to recreate the wheel, I am just saying to bring it back with an added stipulation to cap it at 30 minutes," stressed Kruse. "I think it was a reasonable feature before, and I think it is a reasonable thing now."

Commissioners Vanessa Baugh and Van Ostenbridge questioned whether there were four votes to support Kruse’s motion–or even a motion to direct the county attorney to draft procedures for potential adoption by the board. Baugh offered to support Kruse’s motion if he would amend it to instead be a directive to the county attorney’s office to research and draft procedures for the return of the call-in feature.

Kruse then requested the attorney state a potential motion as requested by Baugh. "Will you word a motion please, County Attorney, that you said you don’t need so that I can make it so we can tell you to do something,“ he asked.

Displeased by what she perceived as condescension by Kruse, Baugh "took back" her offer to support Kruse’s motion citing her reason as his "attitude."

"You’re on your own, George," she scolded.

But after hearing from members of the public who requested the commissioners to support any motion toward returning the call-in option for public comments, Baugh changed her position again to be in support of the motion.

In the end, the board voted 5-2–with Van Ostenbridge and Satcher dissenting–to direct the county attorney to "research the possibility of procedural rules to allow limited public comment via phones, and bring that back to the board."

The county attorney will return to the board with drafted procedures at a future meeting that will allow for limited call-in public comment. The board will then vote on whether to adopt the written procedures. If adopted, the measure will potentially restore the added point of access to members of the public to participate in commission matters of importance to them–a feature that was popular among residents.