BRADENTON — The Manatee County Commission and the City of Holmes Beach Commission covered multiple subjects during a joint meeting of the local governments this week. The last time the two local governments convened for a joint public discussion was in 2022.
The meeting agenda covered several topics, including storm recovery, water ferry expansion, beach patrol funding, pop-up commerce on the Manatee Avenue Causeway, TDC needs, the expiring water and sewer franchise agreement, and consideration of paid parking for beach access, among other vital topics.
At the conclusion of the three and a half hour meeting, Holmes Beach City Commissioners Steve Oelfke and Carol Soustek thanked county commissioners for hosting the meeting.
Turning toward Manatee Commission Chair George Kruse, Oelfke said, “I want to thank you for having this meeting. I think it’s very productive, and I think it helps build a bond between the city and the county.
“I can speak for myself, but I think I can speak for others on our commission, that we have been very excited and I think very positive of this current board of the county, and we appreciate the work you’re doing, and we want to support that.”
Oelfke expanded his comments by drawing parallels between the two local governments as they face the challenges of development and growth while maintaining the quality of life for residents and businesses.
He added, “For me, and I feel like for some of my other commissioners, we want to be good partners with you (the county government) in searching for ways, moving forward in handling this growth.”
Commissioner Soustek followed her colleague’s comments, adding, “I just want to thank you all for opening the dialogue. We haven’t had that in a long time, and the cities make up the county. The county has to listen to its cities to understand where they’re coming from, to meet their needs, and the county has to be more open with the cities in their dialogue, so the cities understand what the county is facing.”
“The dialogue is so important,” Soustek added. “So, I applaud you (holding this meeting), and I hope to have some more so that we can continue to build the relationship… and get to a more united approach to the problems (we’re facing).”
In his closing comments, Manatee County District 3 Commissioner Tal Siddique acknowledged some of the damage that had been done to the relationship between the two governments under the prior board—specifically by his predecessor, former District 3 commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge—through the public debate and discord on the topic of beach parking.
“You have a board that’s willing to work with you and be collaborative,” offered Siddique.
As he adjourned the meeting, Chairman Kruse thanked the city officials for attending, saying, “We love having these joint meetings; it’s good when we are all in one setting to be able to have a more meaningful conversation.”
To review the meeting agenda from the September 3, 2025, joint meeting of the BOCC and City of Holmes Beach, click here.
To replay the meeting presentations and in-depth board discussions on multiple agenda items, click the video below.
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mcmplm
The horses on the Causeway, the pop-up sign boards and the ski watercraft vendors are all under City of Bradenton jurisdiction. If you want to address these issues, have a joint meeting with them.
Mike Meehan
Monday, September 8 Report this