BRADENTON — Manatee County’s Lakewood Ranch administration building, located at 9000 Town Center Parkway, will soon be receiving a backup generator system through a 20-year Supplemental Power Services Agreement with Florida Power & Light. The upgraded equipment and service package will cost $52,744 per month, plus taxes, and will be added to the building’s regular monthly power bill.
Commissioners approved the agreement on Tuesday in a 5-1 vote, after Commissioner Bob McCann—who was the lone dissenter—pulled the item from the consent agenda for discussion.
“This is a 20-year agreement,” McCann said while questioning property management staff about the need for the contract. “That comes to $12.48 million,” he added, calculating the total cost of the monthly payments over the life of the agreement.
Manatee County Director of Property Management Cary Knight addressed commissioners about the terms of the service agreement during the May 5 BOCC meeting and answered McCann’s questions regarding the 9000 Town Center building’s budget, including the timing of the expenditure and the justifications for it.
Manatee County purchased the 101,312-square-foot office building off of University Parkway near the Manatee/Sarasota County line in May of 2026, after commissioners approved a $23.5 million price. The purchase approval included a roughly $11 million additional renovation budget for the building, which was constructed in 1998.
Knight explained that the building’s two existing diesel generators are nearing the end of their service life—a condition the county’s property management team was aware of when the building was purchased. However, after taking ownership, staff discovered that the fuel tank for the backup generators was damaged beyond repair.
According to Knight, the fuel tank for the generators has an intact inner lining, but the second outer lining is ruptured. He further explained that it would be cost-prohibitive for the county to replace the tank without replacing the entire system—the generators and the tank.
Responding to an inquiry by TBT, a communications official confirmed Knight’s explanation that the existing diesel generators are original to the building’s construction and that “the discovery of the ruptured tank did accelerate the need to replace them.”
In its current state, Knight told commissioners, the 9000 Town Center Building is operating without any backup power capabilities. By entering the Supplemental Power Services Agreement with FPL, the county would have an immediate solution without the significant upfront expenditure.
The agreement provides the county with two new natural gas generators, their installation, and other necessary upgrades, including an electrical service feed and a gas line, as well as ongoing maintenance of the system. All equipment would belong to FPL, not the county, and would be serviced and maintained by FPL through the $52,744 monthly service bill, for a total of $632,928 annually. Billing begins after the permanent backup system is installed, in fiscal year 2028.
The agreement also provides the county with a temporary generator as a stand-in during the construction phase, while FPL’s crews install and bring the two permanent gas generators online at the site.
As attached to the meeting’s agenda, the item’s coversheet noted that, beyond simply providing electricity to the building in the event of a power failure, including from storms or other interruptions in service, the generator service agreement with FPL would also “safeguard public safety, security, and operational integrity.”
“This takes all of the design, the purchasing of the generators, all of the rework of the automatic transfer switches inside the electrical room inside the building and brings them outside where they can be more easily serviced, swaps us out, brings in the other one, and pays for the temporary generator for this year so that we have backup power there during this hurricane season, plus pays for all of the maintenance for twenty years hands-free,” Knight told commissioners.
Alternatively, should the county opt to go it alone, said Knight, and not do the service agreement through FPL, it would require the county to hire an architect and design team, then purchase the generators and related equipment itself, and install the system, which would result in a high and immediate upfront expense. “Probably about $9 million right off the bat,” he said.
County Administrator Charlie Bishop added that the building could also serve as a pre- and post-storm gathering center for select county staff. Knight elaborated, saying, “For anybody who is not assigned to the EOC (Emergency Operations Center), this would be a rally point for public works, property management, possibly even parts of utilities, working with risk management as well. This could become a future rally point for assessing the county’s infrastructure and buildings after a storm.”
Wrapping up his comments, Knight highlighted that earlier this year, commissioners approved a similar agreement with FPL, with similar terms and arrangements, for supplemental power services at the county water treatment plant, and, in addition to the 9000 Town Center building, he said the property management team would also be bringing forward in the near future a Supplemental Power Services Agreement with FPL for the county jail.
Besides the 20-year Supplemental Power Services Agreement approved this week, which will be funded through the county’s operating expenses budget, not the approved renovation budget for the building, the 9000 Town Center location has received various upgrades, with more ongoing.
According to the coversheet attached to a $1,198,224 furniture purchase agenda item in March, as of mid-February, the building's total approved $12 million renovation project had about $1.1 million remaining.
Since closing on the deal, the county has invested $1,985,508 of renovation budget in IT Fiber installation and first-floor furniture, $3,889,272 for improvements to the first and second floor, and the building’s exterior, $3,008,808 on the second floor remodel (ongoing), $6,800 for elevator repairs, and approximately $196,000 on power modules for battery backup systems.
Responding to TBT’s questions by email, a county spokesperson confirmed that staff is also evaluating the cost of modernizing the entire elevator system, with plans not yet finalized.
In recent months, several county staff who've relocated to the new administration building have shared their concerns with TBT about the building's air conditioning and the number of restrooms.
We asked officials for a response to these concerns and were told that workers are actually working to improve automation of the HVAC system, which currently requires manual adjustments. Officials say that the project is nearing completion, and once finished, there will be improved control and stability over the building’s climate. Final costs for HVAC improvements were not immediately available as the project is ongoing.
For county employees hoping additional restrooms might be on the budgeted list of improvements for the building, officials told TBT that 9000 Town Center complies with the Florida Building Code as is. The facility includes four men’s and four women’s restrooms, with two of each located on each floor.
So far, only a limited number of county staff have been relocated to the 9000 Town Center building, with roughly 300 employees currently split across the two floors. Once all renovations are complete, the newest administration building will accommodate 600 employees, 300 on each of its two floors.
Despite the answers he received during Tuesday’s meeting, Commissioner McCann appeared to remain skeptical of the progress and expense of the new Lakewood Ranch administration building. “This is just a lot of expense,” McCann said, closing his comments by suggesting the building may be becoming a “money pit.”
County staff contends that even if the new building’s total expense and budget were to grow to $450 a square foot over the next two decades, it would still come in well under the expense of having constructed a brand new build facility from the ground up.
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David Daniels
How in the heck can they approve a $12 million operational expense (there is zero capital investment, this is pure rental) without any comparison? The Observer article reported that taxes are also added -I assume that means sales tax. All they gave us is "probably $9 millio." Probably? Are you kidding me? That's how we are making $12 million decisions? With Probably? So I asked Gemini to estimate a cost for buying and installing a generator for a 100K sq ft building. The cost in 2026 dollars is $450-700 per kw including both the unit and professional installation. I'll split the difference and use a cost of $600 per kw. Next, we look at level of power needed in an outage. Full Building power (All HVAC, all lighting, elevators, servers and all computers) would require 550kw - 800kw. x $600 per kw = Total cost $330K - $480K. Even at the highest level estimate of $700 per KW and the highest level of full power - 800kw, the total estimated cost for the unit and professional installation is $560K.- LESS THAN HALF THE COST TO RENT!!! Plus, buying the generator would be a capital expense that can be depreciated over time. Owning the generator is important because there is a high chance that it will never ever be used, FPL is almost fully underground in this area. No trees to take out power lines. It would take a catastrophic storm to cause an outage. The only overhead poles are part of the main feeders - which FPL has spent $billions hardening over the last decade. These feeders are the first priority of FPL in a catastrophic storm. This bldg did not lose power in the 2024 storms Milton and Debby. I can almost guarantee this bldg did not lose power in the stronger storms Ian and Michael. FPL can provide the history (if the county asks) but I bet this building hasn't had an outage in 20 years. (I worked for FPL for 37 years)..This deal SMELLS so bad on the face of it. Without any bids, without any comparisons This deal stinks of incompetent management - which should surprise nobody.
Friday, May 8 Report this
Dianna
The stupidity is criminal.
Friday, May 8 Report this
mcems1986
Once again great reporting and providing the full picture Dawn. We have a Manatee County EMS station that was built in 2023-24. The station did NOT have a generator during our 2024 Hurricanes. There is a temporary one on site now, with a permanent one in the works. Station locate in Ellenton only has hook up capabilities for generator but nothing permanently there. Also we have some EMS stations with Ambulances outside not under cover or garaged.
Finnaly our EMS Station located on Dam Rd late last year and within the CIP had plans to rebuild or relocate. The crews are still in that 50+ year old structure servicing the residents and visitors. Sure be nice to use rhe $$$ that we seem to have to upgrade our MCEMS division needs.
Friday, May 8 Report this
GLEN GADFLY GIBELLINA
The Core Issue
"We are being told that a new partnership with FPL is a 'saving,' yet we have no clear answer on the whereabouts or the salvage value of the existing industrial generator. These units are built to last for thousands of hours. If the county is moving on, where is that asset going? Does it have a trade-in value, or is it just disappearing from the books?"
Questioning the Necessity
"Director Knight admitted that the fuel leak was contained because only the inner lining of the tank ruptured. If the structure of the system is intact, why are we not looking at a tank replacement or a lining repair? In any private business, you don't replace the entire engine just because the gas tank has a leak. This feels like an expensive solution in search of a problem."
The Lack of Data
"Most concerning was the admission that the original budget figures for this work couldn’t be recalled 'off the top of the head.' We are talking about a building that will house 550 employees and serve as a critical storm rallying point. 'I don’t know' shouldn't be the standard for managing taxpayer-funded infrastructure."
The Financial Delay
"Finally, let’s talk about the 'savings.' Pushing the first payment to fiscal year 2028 doesn’t save money—it just hides the cost from the current budget cycle. We are committing future boards and future taxpayers to a contract based on vague estimates."
"We need to stop treating 9000 Town Center as a blank check. I am calling for a full, written accounting of the existing generator’s status and a line-item comparison between repairing the current tank versus this FPL contract. Let’s get the facts on the record, not 'off the top of a head.
Tuesday, May 12 Report this
GLEN GADFLY GIBELLINA
The recent 5-1 vote to approve a 20-year "Supplemental Power Services Agreement" with Florida Power & Light (FPL) for the Lakewood Ranch administration building is a textbook example of fiscal irresponsibility and a failure of due diligence that the taxpayers of Manatee County can no longer afford to ignore.
The facts of this agreement are staggering, and they point to a systemic issue in how our county manages its assets and our money.
1. The Cost of "Renting" Power
Commissioner Bob McCann was correct to pull this item from the consent agenda and shine a light on the math. At $52,744 per month over a 20-year term, this agreement will cost the taxpayers $12.48 million.
What is most egregious is that at the end of this $12.5 million expenditure, the county will own nothing. The generators, the gas lines, and the electrical feed will remain the property of FPL. We are essentially entering into a high-priced lease for a basic utility requirement that should have been handled through a one-time capital investment.
2. A Failure of Due Diligence
The county purchased 9000 Town Center Parkway in May 2026 for $23.5 million, with an additional $11 million allocated for renovations. We are now being told that the "discovery" of a ruptured fuel tank—discovered after the purchase—has "accelerated" the need for this $12.5 million contract.
This raises a vital question: How was a $23.5 million property purchased without a thorough inspection of the critical backup power systems? If Property Management knew the generators were near their end of life, the condition of the fuel tank should have been a primary concern during the acquisition phase. Instead, the taxpayers are now paying a "surprise" premium because the county bought a building with a failing heart.
3. The Consent Agenda Trap
This item was originally placed on the consent agenda—a place usually reserved for routine, non-controversial business. Had it not been for a single dissenting voice, a $12.5 million commitment would have been passed without a second of public discussion. This is not how transparent government operates.
4. Better Use of Funds
To put this in perspective, the $632,928 we will be paying annually to FPL could be used for attainable housing initiatives, veteran services, or infrastructure improvements that actually benefit the residents directly. Instead, we are funneling it into a service contract for a building that is already costing us tens of millions in acquisition and renovation fees.
Conclusion
We are told this is an "immediate solution," but the billing doesn't even begin until 2028. This suggests there was time to find a more cost-effective, ownership-based solution rather than signing away $12.5 million of the public’s money.
Manatee County deserves a commission that treats taxpayer dollars with the same care they would their own. This deal is not a "solution"—it is a $12.5 million monument to poor planning.
Wednesday, May 13 Report this