Maybe the county attorney should have a meeting with Commissioner Felts on procedure. She had already deliberated for almost 15 minutes on this project. When it came up for the vote on denial, she got on board to deliberate again which lead to Commissioner Ballard dropping off which know ahead of time she would at 6:30 and because the applicant wanted the full board to vote for denial, it failed. A continuance was granted so now we have to go through this ll over again. Felts added nothing new and got belligerent when Kruse tried to stop her from repeating herself. I admire her passion but she needs to know when to deliberate and when not to. She gave new life to the Neal project that was almost denied before she started her second rant.
Your piece was held out to address environmental concerns and quickly devolved into another bash Israel piece and furthering antisemitism. Jews have been exiled from various homelands for 5000 years and when they finally have one country that they can have self-determination and that is one country too many. In 5000 years there has not been a single century where there has not been genocide of Jews for the "crime" of being Jewish. It is unfathomable that you support a government, Hamas, that wants to oppress it's people as the Taliban does in Afghanistan. Hamas openly states they would commit acctual genocide and thankfully they do not have the wherewithall to do it. In fact with all of the purported genocide in Gaza, since 10/7/23 the population has grown. Another fact you ignore. All of the outrage is directed at ending Israel with no talk of the future oppression that the Palistinians will endure under Hamas. Hamas kills LGBTQ and supports honor killings. That oppression has never been widely reported and never will be. Do not pretend for a second that you care about the people of Gaza.
First and foremost, Manatee County would not be in this position except for the fact that Jason Bearden, Mike Rahn and Amanda Ballard basically gave the middle finger to their constituents in voting for the “county initiated” policy to remove the buffers in Oct. 2023. That decision has already resulted in the loss of pristine wetlands in SW Manatee County along Sarasota Bay in Carlos Beruff’s 529 acre Aqua development. Now, that decision has allowed developers to block reversing the policy. And most costly, if the BoCC follows up their words today with actions, that 2023 “county initiated” policy will cost taxpayers $10’s of thousands, perhaps $100’s of thousands in legal fees.
What does the term “county initiated” mean? It means that the County Administration requested the policy change and argued that wetland buffers were unnecessary, unimportant. The Administration hired Carlos Beruff’s consultant to present their “facts.” They lied through their teeth. We, the taxpayers, pay the Administrator well over $200K, plus a deferred salary, COLA increases, retirement benefits, paid sick and vacation time, top notch health insurance, expense accounts, a new vehicle, travel and hotel etc… In return, the Administrator and all of his top management are supposed to work for us.
But the Administration was working for developers, secretly. This is the definition of corruption. The Administration was actively working against the public. This cannot continue to be swept under the rug. There must be accountability. There must be consequences for what this has already cost us and will soon cost us. Commissioners, stop burying your heads in the sand. This Administration’s fraud and deceit has done great damage to this entire county. We deserve the truth of what happened. Taxpayers deserve an investigation.
Also, isn’t it ironic that what Commissioner McCann was proposing in taking legal action against the Board’s process in removing wetland buffers is the same legal strategy that Joe McClash was pursuing - namely that the BoCC didn’t follow the legal process by stating a public benefit to removing the buffers. So instead of hiring 7 outside attorneys to go after Joe for $250K, the BoCC is now considering filing the same lawsuit to void the 2023 vote by Bearden, Rahn and Ballard. I think that may be the best move. Maybe we could hire Joe to advise our county attorney. He’s probably already done the research.
We need to remember that our local Tallahassee "representatives" Robinson, Boyd, and Conerly voted to remove any chance that a ballot initiative will succeed. What are they afraid of? Meanwhile, they we have been promised that something will be done to address skyrocketing insurance rates - but nothing was done. There was an amendment to a bill that would have reinstated that insurance companies pay attorney fees if they are found to illegally deny a homeowner's claim,(which is how it used to be until 2022, when DeSantis and the legislature gave immunity to insurance companies) but that was voted down because insurance companies have so much power over the people that are supposed to represent us. I am just so fed up with politicians. From the City of Bradenton, Manatee County, and the State of Florida. Carol Felts is the only one that actually cares to represent what is best for the public. There used to be many that I looked up to.
Excellent conversation! Those were our thoughts exactly. We expected to have this conversation at yesterday’s meeting but unfortunately that did not happen.
Everyone on this commission needs to be replaced. Never trust a rushed deal,someone is getting a sweet payoff thanks to the taxpayers. This is just another reason it cost so much to live in this area and why our taxes keep going up. Why put this in the far end of the county?
Once again, much appreciation for an excellent article on the real history of Florida, and the unique and innovative people who envisioned and executed that vision that complimented the unique environment in a sustainable manner, versus destroying it or conforming it to standards that cannot be supported in the future.
Why exactly would citizens want a new administration building that is not centrally located, smaller in size, and near the worst part of I-75 and UTC traffic? How does this benefit citizens? If you add the line items on the agenda it will cost almost 50 million dollars. Common sense says you don’t buy a smaller building when the county and staff are growing at such an alarming pace. Clearly there are plans in place for our current building. It feels like there are still secret and corrupt forces working in the background and not for the good of the citizens. Citizens speak out and submit your comments.
Considering how at-ease this states leaders are with violating civil rights, I doubt first responders were the whole focus. They want to do what they want without anyone saying "boo."
What a flimsy excuse if you terminate someone it takes longer, who cares it’s the right thing to do. Because on his future applications, I’m sure there’s a job question that says have you ever been terminated from an educational position under this release he can say no. In addition if he resign, he’s probably entitled to employee benefits, including unemployment so at the end we have to pay for as bad behavior as well. Thank you, Cindy for standing up to your moral decision and shame on the rest of the board. If it was their daughter, I’m sure they would’ve voted a different way… let that sink in
difficult hearing Michael Barfield and Dawn — and, all lost when more than one speaking at the same time — please be sure the mics are being used correctly, only can hear Mitch clearly
Homan fits in well with Trump as he lies also. For that matter so does Pam Bondi (and she’s the Attorney General). So does Steven Miller and on and on and on. It would appear that Trump stocked his cabinet with fellow liars. Jim Tierney
Great article, Brice, it gives me hope for the younger generation. We all need to speak out against this administration. The damage done by Citizens United has negatively impacted all levels of government.
Just curious, why wasn't the overtime payment request for overtime payment denied at the time of request. If overtime is only for persons below the director level, one would think the payment requests should have been denied.
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