Dear state Rep. Will Robinson Jr.

Thanks for all you do in keeping Manatee County a great place to live and play.

I’m trying to keep an open mind on the raging debate and unhealthy posturing by all parties on the AMI consolidation and parking garage.

I ask you to step back, look at the same issues and ask some different questions.

Why has resident population on AMI decreased by 50%? Why have taxes risen so much in the past five years? Why is there so much traffic on the roads to AMI and on the island? Why have revenues from the bed tax increased so much? Why has the county’s funding for AMI cities infrastructure not kept up with the increased tax revenues from the island? Why have Manatee taxes for AMI residents and landowners gone up so much in last five years? Why has the cost of home insurance increased on the island?

When I ask those kind of questions, I come up with different answers than building a parking garage, consolidating services or eliminating home rule.

I see the quality of life declining on the island, causing long-term residents to flee. I see the cost of living on the island increasing beyond the budgets of retirees living on a fixed income or young families. I see traffic so bad that going shopping, going to doctor’s appointments, going to and from the airport, that the residents say, enough already, I’m leaving.

I see residents leaving, banks closing and the next closures will be the churches and the school. I see a vibrant community destroyed and replaced by a rental and tourist economy. I see Manatee County lacking control on taxes and spending year after year. I see three cities under assault from increased tourist volumes, declining population, increased traffic, increased costs with little help offered by the county.

If I was asked about parking from my constituents, before saying a garage is the solution, I would point out all the free parking at Coquina Beach, the free island trolley and the free Manatee bus to and from the island. I’d give hints not to travel to the island on high-volume weekends, avoid going during the turnover days on rentals and leaving early to get a spot near the beach. A parking garage is not a long-term fix.

Maybe this is all the plan. Drive the resident and homesteaders out. Increase tax revenues. Destroy the towns where people lived and prayed.

I really hope not. But if I was in your position, I would be spending my efforts trying to reverse the tide that’s destroying the legacy our ancestors and your family gave us to preserve.

        Paul Carrano, Holmes Beach