LWV Manatee County Commission Notes: 12/10/24

The League of Women Voters of Manatee County Government Committee observes Manatee County Commission meetings for items of interest to citizens and 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 board’s regular meeting on 12/10/24

Link to Agenda and Meeting Video

Invocation – Pastor Luke Stockeland, First Baptist Church of Bradenton

Pledge of Allegiance – Air Force Veteran Lee dePalo, Director of Community and Veterans Services

Proclamations

Adoption and Presentation of Proclamation Designating January 2025 as Cervical Cancer Awareness Month in Manatee County 

Kelly Marriott, who is currently undergoing treatment for cervical cancer, accepted the proclamation.

Citizen Comments on future agenda items

Four people spoke against the removal of the Confederate monument by a previous Board and asked that the monument be displayed to the public again.

Martha, a biologist, requested the Board focus on water quality and providing more green space, especially trees.

Mike had chart of county surplus dollars in recent years and requested the surplus be returned to taxpayers via tax credits. He also listed things he wanted done by the county such as more sidewalks.

John said the county needs an advisory board for the youth voice.

Chris, whose home was damaged by Hurricane Debbie, noted homes built more recently to higher building standards survived the multiple hurricanes. He asked the county address building/rebuilding standards such as raised homes and roadways.

Joyce stated conditions in the animal shelter are awful. There is no manager and nothing is getting done.

Dalton complained about clearly visible blockages in canals, drainage ditches, and creeks that are not being dealt with by the county and called for a moratorium on development in District 1.

Dana spoke about maintenance needed so the dogs can use the shelter yard and the need for heat. She requested they move forward quickly on new construction.

Commissioner comments

Kruse asked people to set up time to meet with the new Commissioners about their concerns because 3 minutes is not sufficient time. He noted that Commissioners will be setting county priorities in the January 7^th meeting. 

Bearden brought up two major proposals not on the agenda – traffic problems and impact fees. 

Bearden felt the problem of traffic congestion stems from “traffic concurrency” and lack of action by previous Boards. Traffic concurrency requires the capacity of a transportation system match the demand for traffic. In Florida, it was a state requirement that new development can't proceed until the infrastructure and services needed to support it are in place but concurrency was made optional in a 2011 Florida Bill. Bearden made a motion to direct staff to provide a report within 60 days of recommendations on ways to relieve traffic congestion and on Impact Fees. 

Commissioner comments

• Many noted that these are huge items and should have been on the agenda.
• McCann stated that development has been outstripping infrastructure and addressing that issue is long overdue.
• Staff commented that by the 2011 state law, the county cannot slow development down.

Motion to direct staff to provide a report on traffic in 60 days approved 7-0. 

Commissioner Bearden made a motion to contract a new Impact Fee Study

Kruse was concerned about developers suing the Board if they raised fees based on the previous Impact Fee Study.

Citizen Comments

• Glen and Andrea both felt developers should pay their fair share and the public was “short sheeted” on impact fees.

Motion to determine the feasibility and implications of restoring impact fees to 100% of the present day calculated value.

Approved 7-0.

Approval of Consent Agenda

Citizen Comments on consent agenda items

Pat advocated for adaptive sports.

Motion to approve passed 7-0.

Advertised Public Hearings

Item #66 - Authorization to submit the 2023/24 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 

• Staff provided a presentation on required reporting on Federal HUD grants.
• Ballard applauded use of federal funds for the foster children shelter.
• Siddique commented positively on the use of funds after Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Approved 7-0.

Regular Agenda Items

Item #67 – Value Adjustment Board Appointments

Appointments were Commissioner Mike Rahn as Chairman, Commissioner George Kruse as Board Representative, and Commissioner Carol Felts as Board Alternate. Approved 7-0.

Item #68 - Approval of the Revised 2025 Board of County Commissioners Meeting Schedule  

Staff presented 3 options revised meeting schedule options. The BoCC chose

Option C with 2 Regular, 1 Work Session, and 1 Land Use meetings per month.

Citizen Comment

Glen asked the Board to allow call-in comments from the public on quasi-judicial matters, such as Land Use Meetings.

Option C approved 7-0

Item #70 - Execution of Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) Addendum No. 1 to Agreement No. 22-TA004235CD for Premier Campus Racquet & Aquatic Center; and Adoption of Budget Amendment Resolution B-25-024 

Cary Knight, Director of the Department of Property Management, showed a visual of the competition pool, therapy pool, pickle ball courts, etc. and presented a timeline for the construction project. Other employees spoke about the ability to attract and use the facilities by residents and national and international tournaments.

Approved 7-0.

Item #80 - Execution of Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) Addendum No. 1 to Agreement No. 24-TA005502SAM for Manatee County Dog Kennels and Sandbag Building 

Staff presented a plan for modular prefab construction that will provide 32 kennels on the county jail property and 100 kennels at the Bishop facility. 

Citizen comment

Joyce was concerned that the specs for the modular kennel units did not include sound proofing. The racket from dogs and the disturbance to the dogs by the sound of the nearby gun range concerned her.

Approved 7-0.

Reports

Item # 71.  2025 State and Federal Legislative Priorities and Appropriations Requests Preparation

In preparation for the Commissioners’ January 21 to 23 trip to Tallahassee, and a later trip to DC, Crosley Jones, Legislative Aid for Manatee County,  presented a recommended list of Federal and State legislative and appropriations priorities for 2025.

The projects that were suggested that the Commissioners request funding for 2026 from the State are:

• Veteran Connections Hub - $5,000,000
• Reservoir Expansion - $10,000,000 for design of the project, Total Project Cost: $185,195,000
• Watershed Management Plans - $4,500,000, Total Project Cost $4,500,000
• 51^st Street West Expansion - $10,000,000 for design of the project, Total Project Cost: $35,100,000
• Gateway Greenway Multi-Purpose Non-Motorized Trails - $3,000,000, Total Project Cost: $4,100,000

Some of the legislative Federal and State priorities the staff proposed the Board support are affordable housing, affordable childcare, broadband access, increased funding for public safety, and economic development initiatives. Legislation priorities that were suggested that the county oppose are local government preemption, regulatory burdens, increased taxes and fees, and cuts to local services.

There was discussion about elimination of the Fort Hamer Bridge project from the priority list since it was vetoed last year by the Governor and replace it with other projects that might have a better chance of approval.

Commissioner Comments

Ballard, Kruse, Siddique, and Bearden all spoke on their suggested priorities. Among other items, there were multiple mentions of watershed/storm water studies, trails, Washington Park and Veterans Park. On legislative priorities, Ballard and Siddique would like repeal of 1970’s state statute on library boards and Kruse’s priority is removal of anything that preempts local decisions such as state regulations on wetland buffers, impact fees, etc.

Item #72 Approval of the Infrastructure Sales Tax Oversight Committee (ISTOC) FY24 Annual Report

Financial Management staff presented the report that was approved by the ISTOC on November 13, 2024

Approved 7-0

Commissioner Agenda Items

Item # 73 Ballard - Discussion of Future Land Purchase

Ballard noted a portion of the Mixon Farms property, which has the buildings on the property, is still for sale and stated she was in favor of purchase to preserve green spaces and for multiple other uses. Ballard made a motion to direct staff to review all sources of funding to possibly purchase. Comments were made by Bearden and Siddique of possible value of the purchase and wanted more information. Charlie Hunsicker, Director of Manatee County Natural Resources Department, noted that the previous evaluation found the property has limited environmental value. Bradenton Mayor Brown stated that Bradenton does not have need of the property.

Citizen Comments:

Glen felt that may be a good purchase.

Charlene felt they need to clean up their process and more information should have been included for the public in the agenda postings.

The motion to direct staff to review all possible funding sources was approved 7-0 

Item # 74 Rahn - Discussion on One-Stop Housing Redevelopment and Revitalization at 1478 45^th Avenue Circle West

Mark Vengroff, Managing Partner of One Stop Housing, presented a proposal for work-force housing. Apartments would be rented at 30% of the salary of the tenant. Example given using the average Manatee wage of $55,068 salary would set the rent at $1376/month.

There will be 155 workforce housing units and a manager suite with a mix of studio 1 and 2 bedrooms. There will be adequate parking, on-site day care and telehealth services.

One Stop is investing $6.6 million and is seeking a $5.6 million "catalytic loan" (located within the Southwest Tax Increment Financing District (SWTIF) which will help revitalize the area).

Significant and lengthy discussion ensued on the value to local employers, which employers could use the housing, about the location, the support services, the equity stake of the county, the lack of information brought forward, the fact that WETIF funds can only be used in one area and if there are sufficient funds, the terms of the loan and that the previous board had voted to suspend GAP financing.

Motion made to bring back GAP funding. Approved 6-0 (Felts absent)

Motion made for the County Administrator prepare a Catalytic Loan for review. Approved 7-0.

Item # 75 Siddique - Discussion on Surplus of Old City Hall Property

The BOCC previously agreed to sell the property to a developer but there was no provision for what to do with the spoil/dredge materials when Ware’s Creek needs to be dredged again. County staff stated that Manatee County has the responsibility to maintain Ware’s Creek in perpetuity.

Motion to authorize staff to investigate alternative opportunities for the Ware’s Creek dredge material and to start the conversation with Army Corps of Engineers for feasibility study that will be funded by ACOE.

Approved 7-0

Item # 75 - Election of Officers

Board of County Commissioners

• Chairman - Commissioner George Kruse 
• First Vice - Chairman- Commissioner Bob McCann
• Second Vice - Chairman- Commissioner Tal Siddique
• Third Vice - Chairman- Commissioner Carol Ann Felts

Manatee County Port Authority

• Chairman - Commissioner Mike Rahn 
• First Vice - Chairman- Commissioner Bob McCann 
• Second Vice - Chairman- Commissioner Amanda Ballard 
• Third Vice - Chairman- Commissioner Tal Siddique

Tourist Development Council (TDC)

• Chairman - Commissioner Amanda Ballard 
• Alternate Chair - Commissioner Tal Siddique

County Administrator Comments

Bishop proposed hiring Commissioner aids as 2-year contract employees with a salary of $55-65,000. They would possibly be located at a public library in the district of the commissioner so they are more accessible to the public.

Commissioner Comments

Rahn made a motion to direct county staff to bring back any monument that was removed and put back as it was before; motion died for a lack of a second.

Siddique does not like that issues get raised but then there is no follow-through to make sure that the issue is addressed.

GOVERNANCE

Link to Good Governance Guidelines

Agenda was posted timely.  Updates were added after public commenting period was closed. 

There were glaring problems with process and transparency in this meeting. Commissioners noted this, citizen comments noted this, and yet the offenders get their items voted on and approved.

• Bearden brought up two major items, a traffic study and impact fees, that were not on the agenda. Although some commissioners noted it should have been an agenda item, they continued discussion and voted on his two proposals. These will take significant staff time. The Commissioners do not know what other projects will fall behind and the public had no notice.
• Significant items, such as One Stop and the legislative priorities, were brought before the Board with Powerpoint presentations but the presentations were not posted with the agenda. These items clearly had much forethought and planning, but citizens could not review the details before or after the presentations.
• The granting of loans and workforce affordable housing should have a process. One Stop's request for a $5.6 million loan would not have created confusion, long discussions and complaints about not having enough information if there was a process where it is reviewed prior to presentation based on available funds and how to best use them. Just last meeting CASL Redevelopment and Revitalization moved forward with a $3.2 million loan with the same lack of process and information for review, but still was voted to move forward.

Hopefully with the change in Board of County Commissioners, the new chair will bring significantly more order back to the meeting.

Commissioners should pay attention to speak into the microphone to ensure their comments are heard clearly