What is going on with Manatee County Commissioners?

As a fifth-generation Manatee County resident, I’m disappointed in how our commissioners have handled, or more accurately, not handled, the devastation of Lake Trevesta in Palmetto.

For over a year, I’ve been trying to get Manatee County Commissioners to answer why the Trevesta subdivision can pull almost all the water from a 35-foot lake to use for their own benefit. A lake that had been there and full until the Trevesta subdivision was developed. A lake that was once a flourishing home to a variety of native Florida fish, birds, and reptiles. Now, I watch birds walk across without getting their bellies wet.

I’ve spent way too long trying to talk, meet, and get support from commissioners, staff, or anyone who could help me get this lake back. I even have suggested resolutions. After months, I was able to sit with Commissioner Ballard for 45 minutes without any results. 

Finally, I was scheduled to present my issue at a County Commissioner meeting on July 30, 2024. I spent hours preparing a presentation that I was told I could share. Once I arrived, I found out that I was not allowed to show my PowerPoint, even in the 3-minute allotted time. Without the pictures, trying to explain the issue to the commissioners would have been a waste of time, so I declined to speak.

As I was leaving the chamber, I felt angered and defeated. After everything I had done to finally get my voice heard, after not being allowed to show my PowerPoint, I was back at square one.

County Commissioners should be the voice of the people. But they can’t be our voice if they don’t want to even hear us out. It seems that instead of listening to the people who live in this county, they’re favoring contractors and developers, putting greed over green space and good common sense. Shame on them.

Robert Moon, my uncle and Manatee County Right-of-Way Agent for years, once told me, “You cannot stop progress, but you can surely control it.” I’m afraid the contractors and developers are now in control, and the county commissioners are happy to allow it.

Ann Langford Reynolds
Manatee County