TEMSOF INTERESTClick Here for the agenda and meeting video

• Employee of the Month awarded to Susan Hunt, Sr. Permitting Specialist, Development Services Department.
• Adoption of Proclamation for the 50th Anniversary of Meals on Wheels Plus of Manatee
• Adoption of Resolution naming Pavilion 1 at the County's Emerson Point Preserve the "John "JP" McDonald Pavilion" due to his advocacy of the establishment of Emerson Point Preserve.
• Mitchell Teitelbaum was appointed as a 4^thDeputy County Administrator, 7-0. Teitelbaum will have oversight of Human Resources, Economic Development, Magistrate Hearings for Code Enforcement, Public Records and Information Outreach, as well as Transit and Fleet Operations.
  • Hopes commented later that despite the addition of 2 deputy county administrators (prior administration had 2) they are still under budget due to staff departures.
  • Kruse noted that although Teitelbaum is a licensed attorney he should not be involved with issues handled by the county attorney’s office.
• Sheila McLean was confirmed as CFO after serving as interim CFO since May, 7-0.

Citizen Comments - Future Agenda Items.
More than 10 citizens commented opposing the project widening 59^thStreet. They felt blindsided by the lack of specific notice from the County until the project was far into the planning process, and notice was by an attorney.

• VanOstenbridge, Rahn & Baugh said they’d like to see better communication with residents when road projects might include taking property via eminent domain.
• Kruse pointed out the 59^thSt widening project had been discussed at BOCC meetings multiple times in the last year and was identified numerous times via multiple channels as 1 of the Top 6 Capital Improvement Projects for the county, though no letters were mailed directly to affected property owners,
• VanOstenbridge said that there would be public meetings at GT Bray Park in January and nothing is final.

Three commenters asked for the adoption of a written and stringent Code of Ethics for Commissioners.

A citizen commented on the ban on the sale of puppies by pet stores in the County and stated that the new commissioners had received campaign contributions from Petland, which has suedto overturn the ordinance.

Citizen Comment – Consent Agenda
Items #34 & 35. Glen Gibellina commented that two Palmetto properties being declared as surplus should be restricted to sale or gift to nonprofits or developers focused on building affordable housing priority only.

Item #50-adoption of Ordinance 22-109 to amend the County Code of Ordinances to establish criteria for private use of the County’s Class I deep injection wells, and Item #54 authorization to execute the license and brine disposal agreement, discussed together.
Background:

• The Ordinance change is necessary because the County is entering into an agreement with Allied New Technologies 2, Inc. ("Allied“) to take their "brine reject“ described as a byproduct of their manufacture of sodium hypochlorite (bleach) into the county’s Industrial Deep Injection well at the Buffalo Creek wastewater treatment plant site.The agreement allows Allied to dispose of a maximum of 40,000 gallons per day of brine reject waste, in addition to constructing holding tanks and other equipment to be able to use the County well located adjacent to a County Park and school.
• Currently, Allied is trucking their brine waste from their existing operations to their facility located in Port St.Lucie. Allied came before the Commission in 2017 to obtain financial assistance via tax abatement in order to build their plant in Manatee County, they stated that they would not dispose of their estimated 20,000 gallons per day brine reject in Manatee County, and specifically would not dispose of the waste in a deep well. At that meeting, Commissioner Baugh made a point of this assurance in her approval of the tax abatement for the company.
• The County constructed the well under discussion for the disposal of reverse osmosis concentrate (or brine) that will be generated when a planned potable water reverse osmosis facility comes online nearby in the year 2031, but it has also been used to dispose of excess reclaimed water. It is unclear what will become of the existing project if it is used by Allied to dispose of their brine.

Bill Galvano, representing Allied, along with Jim Palmer, Allied President, spoke in favor of allowing Allied to put their brine in Manatee County’s Deep Injection wells contending that brine or salt water is a byproduct of the bleach Allied makes in large quantities to treat water. Manatee County would be paid $7.66 per 1000 gallons for this, a price that was determined by working with County rate setters. The County would be able to sample the well and get reports about the "water“ composition.

A public commenter asked if an independent study had been completed and said she had spoken with an independent expert, who could not make the meeting, who did not think this was a good idea.

Commissioner comments:

• Satcher expressed concerns about changing the existing agreement with Allied, saying the well to be used is too close to a school and private homes in his district, and alternative use of the well does not represent a pressing need, like Piney Point.
• Baughresponded to a citizen who asked her why she said no to this idea in 2017 but was in favor of it now.Baugh pointed to the leak at Piney Point and that millions of gallons of bleach would be needed from Allied to treat the material at Piney Point, so Allied should be kept as good community partner and they had been very helpful during Hurricane Ian.
• Kruse expressed the need to support Allied because they helped Manatee County by supplying bleach to the wells in Myakka City after Hurricane Ian.

Administrator Hopes made the following points:

• The bleach product currently produced by Allied in Manatee County is one of significant importance to Manatee County, used in the county’s treatment of wastewater, drinking water, and swimming pools.
• Allied is providing bleach for the Piney Point cleanup/closure work, vital to the pretreatment needed before the wastewater can be disposed into the deep well.
• Allied will be paying Manatee County for the usage of the well.
• The well was designed for this type of material.

Item 50, the change in ordinance, passed, 7-0; Item 54, the contract with Allied, passed 6-1 Satcher voting no.

Planning Commission appointments
Three vacancies were filled. Ray Turner (new) for Seat 1 (Baugh nominated), Bill Smock and John Delisline (Rahn nominated) for reappointment to Seats 2 and 3. All nominations passed 7-0

Citizen Comments - Continuation of Consideration for Future Agenda Items
A citizen had questions about the 161 acre Lena Road property which was to be an operations center but is now to be sold as surplus: why sell the property off in piecemeal fashion, what are the plans to increase the landfill, has an independent study been done to determine the value of this property?
Commissioner responses:

• Kruse- there will be a financial analysis for the best, highest use for this property and the land will be sold through a bidding process.
• Hopes- there is a competitive procurement process going on for this land, which is following state and county guidelines. The information is on the county website.

GOVERNANCE/SUNSHINE
Link to Good Governance Guidelines

• While the agenda was posted well in advance, it was pulled from the County website after 5:00 pm on Monday, Nov 28, and reappeared later in the evening with numerous updates, changes, and additions tothe agenda for the meeting the next morning.
  
• In the past, decisions such as changing the county ordinance to allow private use of the county’s deep injection wells for industrial waste and to specifically authorize a company to use the county well to dispose of their waste would have been accompanied by a study done by staff. It would be shown to thecommissioners and public at a BoCC meeting, discussed, and subsequently voted on. These decisions, to change long-standing policies to protect the Manatee environment, were made without any independent or expert study or presentation on the pros and cons that the public or, it appears, the commissioners, have seen.