A Look Back at 2023...
Can 2024 Actually Be Productive?
Happy New Year Manatee County!
As we head into 2024, the question on my mind (and I’m sure yours as well) is whether next year will be a productive year for our County. We’ve already seen that the “campaign season” has started from the dais. Those members that prize grandstanding and performance over actual, productive public policy have seemingly given up on the public and the policy.
Let’s look back at 2023.
We saw the trail plan approved, the LWR Library completed, the final phase of 44th started, the neighborhood park in Parrish break ground and our transit system experience 50%+ ridership increases. We’ve also expanded our workforce housing and moved forward with new homeless solutions.
Along those lines, a big positive from 2023 was the eventual approval of a land transfer for Tunnel 2 Towers to bring a much needed Veteran Village to our community. That was started back in 2022 and finally received approval in October, but not without it’s own hiccups.
Why wasn’t 2023 more productive? For starters, we went through three (and almost four) County Administrators. We spent the first part of the year systematically unwinding prior policy direction from rescinding a Ban on Retail Pet Sales in January to ending a promising workforce housing gap financing program as it was hitting its stride. We also ended call-in citizen comments in an attempt to further erode accessibility and involvement of county residents.
It was also a year of distractions. Lots of distractions.
These distractions allowed for the supermajority of the Board to push through major, community-changing policy decisions that were far from community-approved.
In August, we had a work session on parking garages…
In October, it was the decision to gut our wetland buffers while other counties are increasing theirs with Orange County increasing their buffers to 100 feet in 2024.
As 2023 came to a close, the discussion on our outdated impact fees, which had been danced around ALL year, finally came to its inevitable conclusion of once again kicking the can down the road to the detriment of our infrastructure and your taxes. But not without a little gamesmanship…
As we enter 2024, there are a lot of critical items that are carrying over from 2023.
What will happen with the “new” impact fee study?
What will the updated Comprehensive Plan look like and who will have a say in it?
Where will the FDAB be located for future development?
Will we ever re-visit Policy 2.1.2.8 as promised?
Will the new City of Bradenton upzoning allow for less sprawl?
What will come of the wetlands decision in appeal?
What will come of the Facility Investment Fee study? Will it provide for adequate utility and water capacity for our future?
Will we fix our broken clear-cutting regulations?
Will our MCAT Fare Free program become permanent in light of its success?
Will we see shovels in the ground for a trail system, Veteran housing, a parking garage (or four) or future infrastructure improvements?
I am personally pushing for a Citizens Academy, expanded advisory boards and, once again, call-in comments. Some of which have already been submitted for the first agenda on January 9.
There are many important items coming in front of the Board in 2024. Some may be before the elections. Some may be after your votes determine the new make-up of the Board.
Hopefully, for the good of the residents of Manatee County, the current Board will return its focus to the public and to good policy.
If they won’t, hopefully a future Board will refocus attention before these critical decisions need to be made for the future of Manatee County.
While I do not believe we are past the distractions or the campaigning on the dais, I’m just hoping your Board (whomever may be on it) can return to putting the public interest first for 2024 and beyond.
See you in 2024!
Thank you for actuality listening to the citizens of Manatee County and for the consistence town hall meetings you provide unlike the other gang of 6. The redirection of the last 1.5 million dollars of Federal monies that were to provide immediate housing for our VETERANS is unforgivable that Amanda Ballard stole the last of the federal monies for our homeless VETERANS TODAY not 2 years from now for her pet project of "office design" KVO, Satcher and Turner are in the One & Done club and must be voted out of office. I'll be back with a vengeance on the HOMELESS VETERANS issue. The gang of 6 are DIC's aka Deflection Instead Correction on these Federal funds they weren't even good stewards of concerning our Veterans. The T2T you were the only one that wanted to move it forward and when motion was made.. magically 2 of our Veterans Bearden and Rahn along with God fearing Satcher were no where to be found for this Veterans vote that failed "For lack of a second" I speak at the Dec 12th meeting at the 56 minute mark to address those very concerns https://youtu.be/OGN8LJ0hu8k?si=zA8sQronjLd70Thk
Thanks for the recap, as painful as it is. I do believe you answered your own question in the very beginning. We shall see. Good luck with your own campaign.