Thanks, Sari, for your honest story about the needs of one important Manatee County responsibility, the dogs in our shelter. Yes, our shelter. This means that we citizens should have a say about what we see with our own eyes about the precious caged animals having too much hot temps while being housed there. Years ago, I gave a substantial donation to the building of the shelter, which I was very excited about seeing come to fruition, and I've never found out the reason why it took so long and why it was designed so poorly for the health of our dogs. We were made promises of how "state of the art" the new shelter would be. The debacle makes me feel that these county commissioners are not good stewards of our tax monies they spend, nor good stewards of the donations citizens provided for the shelter project. Very sad situation. I'm always reminded that how we treat our animals is indicative of how we are as humans.
Mr. Bailey is a young man that speaks thoughtfully and with a maturity much greater than his age. In the interview, he answered directly, so we know he is in tune with the overwhelming majority of voters on the key issue of overdevelopment. Amanda Ballard, on the other hand, has spent 4 years as a developer puppet and is now trying to downplay her record. TBT's endorsement mentions her vote to eliminate wetland buffers, but I think it is important to remind voters of the context of that vote. It wasn't just that there was broad opposition. At that meeting, the BoCC chambers was packed with citizens. Dozens of public speakers, one after another, spoke passionately against this obvious gift to developers. Biologists and environmental scientists spoke of study after study that conclusively found that wetland buffers reduced flooding and filtered pollutants out of our precious creeks and rivers. Not only was the chambers packed, and speakers were lined up - but there were some 500 pages of public comments submitted against the proposal. And yet, in the face of all that, Amanda Ballard (and Mike Rahn) chose Pat Neal, Anthony Pedicini and Carlos Beruff over the interest of Manatee County. As someone commented about Tony Barrett smashing his ex's head on the floor, Ballard's choice was not an "oops." That vote tells us all we need to know about Ballard's character. That vote does define what she stands for. She voted to eliminate the buffers because she wanted to stay in power and believed developer money was her ticket, just like it had got her elected in the first place. Well something happened to her calculations, citizens became informed. And unlike Charlie Bishop, voters are in charge here. We have the power to hold Ballard (and Mike Rahn) accountable. Actions have consequences. Amanda Ballard made her choice in that vote (and plenty of others) about what she really cares about.
"This will not define me"
Yes it will. Repeatedly smashing someone's face on a floor is not an "oops" sort of behavior. There is no accidental way to do that, you meant to do it.
Arnold needs to be voted into office to take some of the STINK and ROT out of these positions. its been stinking and rotting for years from mismangement, ignorance, over spending , boondoggleing for MEDIA DEPARTMENTS with multiple unneeded staff, taking wink wink nod nod kickbacks from developers and mumbling about "it was a campaign contribution" no it was a BRIBE , KRUSE and the rest of you shills. Lets get some new intelligent people in office to clean up this dung heap they created and stop the insane development that is DROWNING our county and our ROADS with nightmarish out of control growth. Vote these clowns out , KRUSE first. He can get a job selling neckties at his beloved University Mall.
I agree with everything said, except Jim Boyd’s contributions. He continues to lead the destruction of local control.
When Boyd’s plan to eliminate major parts of the local property tax and shift decision making to Tallahassee will be end of projects like this.
"He has worked as a real estate broker for the past 21 years and has been actively involved in local and state real estate organizations" dont have to worry about that one anymore.....
This is nothing but an attempt at election interference by the Trump administration. In actuality if this is not stopped by the courts it could hurt the Republicans more than the Democrats. Rural voters rely heavily on vote by mail and they vote overwhelmingly Republican as do the elderly in Florida. The suburbs are fairly balanced in their voting, while city voters are strongly Democratic. Getting out the in person voting is logistically easier in the cities and suburbs. By our constitution the voting process is governed by the States not the Federal government,. The Supreme courts main dictate is to uphold the Constitution. We will see if they really accept their legal responsibility and quash this election interference attempt.
Oh well! You have taxed and spent poorly. You lost me support when you had your heads in the sand when all of the renovations were being done and not scrutinized to the top floor of the County building with zero permits or inspections. When my local gov't does this along with everything else we now know about you cannot be trusted.
SO prepare for the sky is falling and all of the doom and gloom that they can put out there. When it passes lets see how good these supposed managers are with dealing appropriately versus vindictively with the reduction in funds. What will happen like all communities do when there are less funds they hit the programs that are out front and noticeable. Take the schools what do they all and I mean always say. There will be no sports, after school programs, no band, no music programs, longer bus rides and so on.
The local Gov'ts say reduced public safety, fewer ambulances with people dying, potholes, street lights that's a big one they all use. Lets see no island trolleys, less busses, parks & libraries part time or closed.
The two largest parts of budget are wages & benefits then debt. Debt well we now have to pay the piper. So we are left with wages & benefits. Cut starting at the top and work the way down versus from the bottom up. Why because they will cut from the bottom to show us what will hurt versus missing administration that we will never miss.
After all of the scare tactics and the sky does not fall, the sun comes the next day, the response times don't change and the death statistics don't change you will see the real end truth like Pres Ronald Reagan said all Gov't does is Tax & Spend.
Very well written and researched Mr. Pittman!
Let's do our best to vote out, or keep from getting elected, ANY politician that denies climate change and supports the burning of fossil fuels, particularly coal.
I am retired after over 30 years in healthcare as a rehab professional. The abuse, greed and inequities of care due to the profit seeking U.S. medical care system is staggering at the patient care level. Great article-Thank you
All voters, including unaffiliated voters, will be able to vote for Manatee County School Board candidates on Primary Election Day, August 18. To see the full list of primary candidate forums by the League of Women Voters and register, go to https://lwvmanatee.org/voting-videos/.
District 2 Candidate Forum
• Wednesday, June 24, at Noon – 1:00 pm
• Candidates: James T Golden, Sharon Jefferson, Margi Nanney, Cindy Spray, JT White
District 5 Candidate Forum
• Tuesday, June 30, at 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
• Candidates: Camden T Bedinghaus, Jonathan Mullis, Chantal Wilford
Thanks for this. I would imagine that most citizens are surprised by the separate line item on the tax bill for these services. And we're even more clueless about the administrators on the ballot. WMFRD continues to grow at a exponential rate, while actual structure fires continue to become fewer and fewer due to newer building codes. Ten vehicles from various departments showed up at the site of a single elderly death recently. Cops, fire and emergency services love to go call to call and then have a big get together sharing stories and goodwill. This could be controlled, but it seems impossible for the average citizen to change it.
Very disappointed you didn't post candidates for school board or even mention that race. Clearly that is a key contest affecting all citizens and taxpayers. The quality of our democracy is rotten in the quality of our educational system.
Submission Details:
Full Name
First Name
Glen
Last Name
Gibellina
Email
Glengibellina@gmail.com
Which meeting is this public comment for? (Please select date of meeting)
June 16, 2026
Topic/Agenda Item
Execution of Amendment 1 to Agreement No. 24-R083613CD with Chemical Injection Partners for Services at the Piney Point / Buckeye Road Pretreatment & Industrial UIC Well Facilities, Patrick Shea, Utilities Director
Comment
This contract (Agreement No. 24-R083613CD) completely subverts the boardʼs directives regarding Piney Point. It locks taxpayers into a potential 10-year drain, hands over control of county-owned infrastructure to a private firm, and sets up a massive monthly payout that is completely unnecessary given our current staff capabilities and existing equipment. Here is a highly aggressive, formal protest letter you can submit to the Board of County Commissioners, the County Administrator, and the Procurement Division before this agreement is signed. DATE: June 14, 2026 The Board of County Commissioners, Manatee County, Florida County Administrator, Manatee County Procurement Official, Manatee County 1112 Manatee Avenue West Bradenton, FL 34205 SUBJECT:
FORMAL OBJECTION AND DEMAND FOR REJECTION OF AGREEMENT NO. 24-R083613CD (OPERATIONAL SUPPORT SERVICES FOR PINEY POINT – CHEMICAL INJECTION PARTNERS FLORIDA, LLC)
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY & DEMAND The undersigned formally objects to the approval of Agreement No. 24-R083613CD currently drafted between Manatee County and Chemical Injection Partners Florida, LLC. During the last official meeting of the Board of County Commissioners (BCC), it was explicitly stated, understood, and agreed upon by the Board that Manatee County possesses sufficient funding only until the end of the current calendar year (2026) to manage operations at Piney Point. This draft agreement directly violates that fiscal boundary by locking the county into a two-year initial term with extensions reaching up to ten (10) years, at an astronomical estimated cost of $400,000 per month. We demand that the BCC reject this contract in its entirety and direct county staff to operate the facility internally using existing public infrastructure.
II. MAJOR CONTRACTUAL DEFICIENCIES & VIOLATIONS 1. Severe Fiscal Overreach & Violation of Board Mandate (Article 3) The Contract Clause: Article 3(A) establishes an absolute initial term of two (2) years, and Article 3(B) grants the county the right to extend this for an additional eight (8) years, creating a 10-year contractual liability. The Violation: The Board explicitly agreed that funding is only secured until the end of this year. Signing a contract that extends two to ten years into the future without certified, long-term dedicated funding is fiscally irresponsible and misleads the public about the remaining lifespan and financial requirements of the Piney Point remediation project.
2. Redundant Outsourcing of County-Owned Infrastructure (Article 9) The Reality: Manatee County taxpayers already own the physical treatment plant building, the deep injection well, the wellhead infrastructure, and the extensive environmental monitoring equipment at Piney Point. The Violation: There is zero operational justification to pay a private, outside firm an estimated $400,000 a month to operate equipment that is already bought and paid for by the public. Manatee County Utilities has qualified, licensed, and capable staff who can and should run this facility internally. Outsourcing basic operational support services to an outside LLC represents an unnecessary corporate handout.
3. Unchecked "Firm Fixed Price" Blank Check (Article 6, Paragraph J) The Contract Clause: Article 6(J) dictates that this is a "firm fixed price contract" and that the contractor will fulfill its obligations regardless of cost based on "Exhibit B" (the hidden fee schedule). The Violation: Setting a massive, unyielding fixed price for an unpredictable environmental remediation site like Piney Point protects the contractor, not the taxpayer. If operations scale down as the site is successfully capped, the county remains legally locked into paying an exorbitant flat rate to an outside firm for services no longer required.
4. Out-of-State Corporate Shell Concerns (Article 26) The Reality: While the contractor is listed as "Chemical Injection Partners Florida, LLC" with a local Bradenton P.O. Box/Suite address, Article 26 reveals that notices and corporate control are actually directed out-of-state to bsvoboda@cippermian.com with a (678) Georgia area code. The Violation: Local funds meant to safely close a local environmental hazard are being funneled out of Manatee County to an entity deeply tied to out-of-state oil and gas injection operations (the Permian Basin), rather than investing in our own local county workforce.
III. FORMAL DEMAND FOR RECOURSE We urge the Board of County Commissioners to protect Manatee County taxpayers by taking the following immediate actions: Veto/Reject Agreement No. 24-R083613CD: Refuse to sign or authorize this contract as currently drafted. Enforce the Short-Term Funding Mandate: Restrict any contractual obligations strictly to the end of the current fiscal/calendar year, in alignment with the Boardʼs explicit funding findings. Utilize County Staff: Direct the Manatee County Utilities Department to assume full operational command of the county-owned building, well, and monitoring equipment, eliminating the need for a $400,000 monthly outside vendor. Demand a Public Presentation of Exhibit B: Force the Procurement Division to publicly disclose the exact fee rate schedule before any vote, ensuring total transparency regarding where every dime of Piney Point mitigation money is going. The residents of Manatee County expect accountability, adherence to Board decisions, and fiscal responsibility.
This agreement fails all three tests. Respectfully submitted,
The Taxpayers and Citizens of Manatee County
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