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 7/30/24.
Link to Agenda
Link to Meeting Video
Quorum of 5 - Commissioner Beardon absent, District 1 Commissioner position vacant.
Invocation – Commissioner Ballard
Pledge of Allegiance – led by three members of the Kersey family, all of whom are veterans
Items pulled from Consent Agenda – Chair Rahn did not call for items to be pulled. Commissioner Kruse later asked to pull Item #50 when the call to approve the Consent agenda was made.
Port Authority Meeting
Carlos Buqueros, Executive Director, reported that the Port continues to “hit on all cylinders,” highlighting that the number of jobs has increased with the expansion of business.
Presentations/Awards/
Selected Citizen Comments - Future Agenda Items
Commissioner Responding Comments: none
Citizen Comments – Consent Agenda Items: None
Approval of Consent Agenda
Kruse asked to pull Item #50 as he’d received many emails and texts about it. Motion to approve Consent Agenda minus #50 approved 5-0.
Item # 50 -
Kruse was concerned about the full cost and the timing of the project. Carmine Demilio, Deputy Director of Property Management, said that the beautification will cost $6-8,000 per median with a total cost of $37,000 for all five medians. The county decided not to proceed with well systems due to cost and instead installed irrigation systems to be maintained by truck. Kruse said that it felt that the county was still in a rush to do this. Administrator Bishop defended the process and added the tree installation would be reimbursed by the City of Bradenton.
Citizen Comments:
Ingrid M, Vice Chair of the Palma Sola Scenic Highway Corridor Management, wrote to the Board to oppose the interlocal agreement for the following reasons: If approved, many mature native live oaks and sabal palms would be lost, which are considered significant in the City's Land Use Regulations - Tree Protection. The group unanimously opposes this agreement and requested it to be tabled until after the next Bradenton Tree and Land Preservation Board meeting and until the preservation group could meet with the Mayor of Bradenton.
Motion to approve the interlocal agreement passed 4-1, Kruse voting no.
SELECTED ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARINGS
Item #74 -
Acceptance of the determination of the Children's Services Advisory Board to NOT fund the Rubonia Youth Program emergency funding request submitted by Genesis Health Services, Inc., for FY24 youth programming at the Rubonia Community Center
James McCloud, CEO of Genesis Health Services, provided background on what led to the request for emergency funding, stating he only became aware of the gap in youth programming in March and made the emergency application. The application was denied for the first time in 30 years. The organization used its reserves to start programming in June for 42 kids. They need additional funds to continue for the summer.
Van Ostenbridge described Rubonia as a historic community of color that has existed for many generations and has strong family connections. He noted that hurricane Idalia hit the Rubonia community the hardest, and some families may have moved out of the area but want to send their children to summer camp there to be close to relatives. The request was for $68,420. Kruse supported the request as well.
A motion was made to provide fiscal year 2024 funding in the amount of $68,420 through the Children’s Services dedicated millage to Genesis Health Services for youth program services at the Rubonia Community Center from July 8, 2024, through September 30, 2024. Motion to approve passed 5-0.
Item # 75 -
This meeting and adoption of the plan is the final requirement of the US Housing and Urban Development grant process before submission by August 16. The 2024-25 action plan projects were approved by the Board on June 11. The substantial amendments are projects that focus on emergency and affordable housing with funding approved in previous plans and now being redirected. The motion to adopt the resolution passed 5-0.
Item #76 - Adoption of an ordinance calling for a referendum on the Nov 5 ballot for an additional one percent tourist development tax
Elliott Falcione, Tourism Director, said that Manatee County met the State Department of Revenue criteria as a high-impact tourism county and thus qualified to add to the tourism tax (levied on visitors staying in short-term stays such as hotels, motels, apartment hotels, etc.) with the approval of voters. The county is qualified to levy an additional 1% tax, which would potentially amount to $7,800,000 in tax proceeds. The Tourist Development Council recommended that this ordinance be brought to the Board.
Citizen comment - One citizen questioned if the tax would be levied on residents for emergency or short-term housing. The answer was yes.
The motion to approve the ordinance was passed 4-1, with Van Ostenbridge voting no.
Regular Agenda Items of Interest
Item #79 - Approval of FY24-25 Nonprofit agency investment recommendations for adult human services FY2024-25 ADULT HUMAN SERVICES INVESTMENT RECOMMENDATIONS.PDF.pdf (mymanatee.org)
No presentation was requested; commissioners said that they had been briefed.
Citizen comments:
Kendra, Director of Operation Warrior Resolution based in Sarasota but serving Manatee County veterans, said that she wanted the Board to be aware that her organization had been recommended for $0 funding in the recommendations. She talked about the impact of their mental health services for a suicidal veteran and others like him and was concerned about not having continued funding.
Commissioner comments:
Staff clarified that the recommendation regarding funding was not in this item but in Item 56 in the Consent Agenda, and the request for $81,420 was not recommended. There was discussion about whether the Board could amend an item approved in the Consent Agenda. Kruse asked for this to be brought back at a future meeting. Administrator Bishop said he would follow up on this item.
Staff noted that the $595,000 investment in various social service organizations for the current fiscal year served 19,360 clients of whom 97% reached their performance goals.
Motion passed 5-0.
Item #80 - Approval of Children’s Services Advisory Board (CSAB) nonprofit agency millage investment recommendations
FY25 CHILDRENS SERVICES DEDICATED MILLAGE RECOMMENDATIONS SPREADSHEET.PDF.pdf (mymanatee.org)
Ballard is the liaison to the CSAB and said she knows that they spend hours reviewing applications but nevertheless had a couple of recommendations for organizations not included on the list. She thinks that these organizations provide good services but may need help with reporting requirements. The two organizations are:
Kruse supported Ballard’s requests and recommended funding another organization, Isaiah 117 House. After brief discussion, and confusion about how to amend the motion, a motion was made to approve the 2024-25 CSAB recommendation, adding funding to the three agencies mentioned above.
Citizens comments were from 2 people associated with Prodigal Daughters Journey Home thanking the Board for their support.
Motion passed 5-0.
Item #81 - Appointment of two elected municipal officers to the Tourist Development Council (TDC)
A motion to appoint Mayors Brown and Bryant to the TDC was approved 5-0.
Item #82 - Approval for the execution of a contract for sale and purchase of Triple Oaks Preserve and execution of Escrow agreement. PRESENTATION_
Debra Woithe, Environmental Lands Program Manager, described the Environmental Lands Management & Acquisition Committee (ELMAC) approved the acquisition of the 105-acre property from the Oberlander family, previously known as the Myakka conservation stewardship area. Over the course of their ownership, the Oberlander family planted 35,000 trees, and the property has been well maintained.
The property contributes quality wildlife habitat to a natural connection between the Myakka River State Park and privately owned land with conservation easements to the north and west of Flatford Swamp. The land is within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
No comments or questions. Motion passed 5-0.
Link to Good Governance Guidelines
The agenda was published timely, but significant updates were made after hours on July 29, less than 24 hours before the meeting. Citizens would have no time to provide imput on those agenda items.
Rahn continues to have challenges with the order of motions, comments, and votes. Chair Rahn did not call for items to be pulled from Consent at the beginning of the meeting, but Item E was on the agenda. Item #50 was pulled by Kruse later. There was confusion on handling the matter. There was also confusion twice regarding how to make amendments to motions on the floor when commissioners wanted to change the motion (either to approve funding for items not approved, as in #80, or to disagree with a recommendation, as in #74.)
In Item #80, the decision to fund three additional groups outside of the analysis/criteria of the Children Services Advisory Board circumvents the due diligence and evaluation criteria specified by the ordinance created for that advisory board. For example, Isaiah 717 House, recommended for funding by Kruse, was ranked by the CSAB the lowest of the applications with a score of 38.9 out of 100. The funding request was for $96,000.
Online County resources have changed, making it more difficult for Citizens to find information.
The Commission continues to disregard rules and regulations, ignore public input, and examine issues in detail, such as the interlocal agreement/medians, citizen feedback, and the Land Use Regulations regarding trees.
Commission meetings are not the place for partisan comments and inferences.
