Manatee County commissioners May 14 approved a budget amendment designating $2.925 million toward preliminary design services for three proposed parking garages, including one at Manatee Public Beach.
The measure appeared on the commission’s consent agenda as part of a broader budget amendment resolution.
Employees from the county’s property management department and procurement division stepped to the podium at the administration building in Bradenton to answer commissioner questions about the budget amendment’s purpose after a commissioner requested the item be “pulled” from the consent agenda.
Cary Knight, director of property management, told commissioners, “We will be bringing on an architectural firm to complete a pre-design criteria package.”
Knight said the completed criteria packages will be included in requests for quotes the county will advertise as it seeks opportunities for public-private partnerships that might help fund the projects.
Three garage projects were included in the budget amendment:
- The Bradenton Area Convention Center in Palmetto;
- Premier Sports Complex and Library in Lakewood Ranch;
- Manatee Public Beach in Holmes Beach.
The garages were last discussed at a commission meeting in August 2023.
In April, the board approved the execution of an agreement with Sweet Sparkman Architects Inc. for a design criteria package on the county’s downtown administrative building parking garage. The cost is not to exceed $1,876,448.52.
The budget amendment resolution adopted May 14 approved just over $2.9 million for the three additional parking garage design packages, with $625,000 for the convention center garage, $1.175 million for the Premier Sports Campus garage and $1.125 million for the beach garage.
The board’s approval of the amendment also adjusted the fiscal 2024-28 capital improvements plan.
Explaining why he pulled the item from consent, Commissioner George Kruse, R-District 7, said, “I found it odd that this was coming up for discussion now, and two, that it was placed on consent. The parking garages were important enough that we previously had a full work session on it but not enough to put it on an actual agenda now?”
Kruse said he requested the item be pulled to help provide clarity to the public, which has expressed interest in the future of the proposed parking garage projects, particularly the one proposed for Manatee Public Beach, which the city has opposed.
Kruse expressed concern that the board was being asked to approve a large amount of taxpayer funds toward preliminary design work without having held any additional public discussion since its work session last year.
The commissioner questioned whether the measure was “fiscally conservative.”
Jake Erickson, the county’s purchasing official, said Florida statutes require the county to have a completed design criteria package for each garage project to solicit a public-private partnership.
“We have to have a design criteria packet,” Erickson said. “That’s the basis for the solicitation itself. So this was the decision after the public-private partnership was identified as the way to go.”
County administrator Charlie Bishop said the design criteria packet would provide “conceptual designs” for proposals and possibly negotiations with business entities.
Bishop shared that Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, believes in the county’s ability to enter a public-private partnership for the garage projects.
“We have two very viable economic development drivers coming to Premier,” Bishop told commissioners. “We feel those are going to drive this parking garage. This gives us the ability to conceptually design it and get the design-build criteria package out on the street, so we can speak to those experts that build garages and see if there is a need, or a want, for somebody to public-private partnership with us.”
Kruse said approval of funding for preliminary designs was putting the “cart before the horse,” as staff had not researched the viability of any of the three garages being designed as pay-for-parking garages and that the county was unsure where the funding for the garages would come from if it were unable to secure private support for the projects.
“This is $3 million of taxpayer money and we have a lot of infrastructure needs in Manatee County,” Kruse added. “We’re trying to take good stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”
The measure passed 6-0. The District 1 commission seat is vacant.
Editor’s note: The report, published with permission, appeared first at thebradentontimes.com. The Bradenton Times is a digital publication. Former County Commissioner Joe McClash founded TBT in 2008.