BRADENTON – The League of Women Voters of Manatee County Government Committee observes the Manatee County Commission meetings for items of interest to the League and notes adherence, or lack of adherence, to good governance procedures and the Sunshine Law. The following are the major points from the BOCC regular meeting on 10/11/2022, observed by Coleen Friedman.
WWII Navy veteran Rusty Russell of Bradenton, 98 years old, was a " very special guest“. He also gave the invocation and then led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Presentations/Awards and Proclamations
October 9-15 was designated as Case Management week, recognizing the work of case managers in the Safe Children Coalition, their value providing safe environments for foster children and helping train in parenting skills. A case manager stated it was the first time the program had been recognized.
Operation Greenlight recognizes veterans who transition to civilian life (200,000 annually) by asking businesses and homeowners to display a green light until Veterans Day. The green light signifies having made the transition rather than a yellow ribbon which indicates active duty.
Agenda Items
FEMA -Two representatives from FEMA, Manny Portilla, external affairs, and Kirk Uve, operations, gave a brief presentation. They will be in the county for the long term and stated, "our driving force is compassion.“ Several commissioners thanked them and praised FEMA for their efforts before, during, and after Hurricane Ian.
Citizen Comments for Future Agenda Items
A citizen expressed his concern that there are increasing concessions to builders without expecting anything in return, such as workforce housing or affordable housing.
Chris Johnson of Suncoast Housing Collaborative shared information about a program initiated in September to offer landlords incentives to lower barriers (e.g., disregard previous evictions or damages) and receive a $2,000 bonus for the first 5 renters allowed to rent in their property as well as a guaranteed additional safety deposit.
Kruse was skeptical about the Suncoast housing initiative. Servia said that she thinks it is a viable idea because, in her conversations with landlords, they usually complain that damage and bureaucracy are the main issues for them.
# 28, Tuition Reimbursement(Pulled from the Consent Agenda by Bellamy.)
The HR director clarified that the current one-year probation period will be reduced to 6 months and employees will be eligible for tuition assistance after 6 months. An employee who said that he had in the past been denied reimbursement expressed appreciation for the new proposed guidelines and the encouragement he receives to further his education and licensure from Manatee County.Passed 7-0.
Community and Veterans Services.
Four citizens were appointed to the Children’s Services Advisory Board. The physician position remains open as no physician applied. The county attorney will determine if it is acceptable to appoint a registered nurse that did apply.
Removing Race from citizen Board Applications
Satcher moved to remove race from the application for citizen application to county boards. Attorney Clague said that there is nothing that he is aware of that would prevent the Board from doing so. Motion passed 7-0.
#53 and #54 funding the work on Moccasin Wallow Road.
Financial Officer McLean described the work as three segments: US 41 to Gateway; I75 to 117thSt. E; and 301 to 115thSt. E. The overall cost is $49 million with an expected $7.2 million of state funding. Impact fees are expected to meet their revenue projections. The first segment’s work, to widen the road to 4 lanes, will likely begin during the first quarter of 2023. Motions 53 and 54 passed 7-0.
Commissioner Agenda
Whitmore requested a future discussion of the landfill to determine whether it will stay in Manatee County or be transported out of the county, as she is hearing. She also expressed interest in discussing plans for homeless housing as well as a director for Extension Services. Chair VanOstenbridge told her those issues will be addressed with the new board, post-election.
Agenda Posting The agenda was not posted until the Friday immediately preceding the meeting and the date for public comment was unchanged (Friday at 2 pm). Every agenda since the July recess has been posted less than a week in advance of the meeting. The LWVMC has previously pointed out that good governance requires posting the agenda at least a week in advance. Information is needed for Commissioners, the public and other interested parties to review prior to discussion and decisions. A response by Manatee County to our concern is that it will be this way long term. This violates guidelines for adequate notice to the Commissioners and the public and will lead to decisions without proper notice to the public.
Invocations
Even though accidental, it was refreshing for the Veteran to give an invocation and pledge, versus a Christian minister.
Race Eliminating race from county citizen board applications deserves more discussion.
Video Addition The YouTube video of the meeting posted in the agenda link is a good addition, making it easier for citizens to access a video of the meeting. รก Toemail the commissionersClick Here
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