MANATEE COUNTY – Commissioners have unanimously approved the county’s 2021-22 fiscal year budget, which will take effect when the new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.
When adopting the budget on Tuesday, Aug. 14, commissioners also approved a plan set forth by County Administrator Scott Hopes that will reduce by .2 mills the ad valorem property tax rate assessed by the county next year. According to a press release issued by the county last week, this will be Manatee County’s first property tax cut since 2008.
The millage rate decrease will result in many owners seeing an approximate $50 decrease in their next property tax bill, according to another release.
“The millage reduction is made possible largely by another year of significant increases in local property values. Under the current tax rate, rising values would have resulted in a $21 million increase in revenues over the current fiscal year. Instead, commissioners unanimously approved the .2 mill reduction, which returns $8.3 million to taxpayers,” the press release states.
“The board of county commissioners also approved the largest five-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) in Manatee County’s history, totaling more than $997 million dollars of investments in infrastructure, public safety, parks and our environment. The county commission is investing $350.3 million in transportation projects, $80.3 million in parks, and $39.1 million in public safety projects,” the press release notes.
“Even with the millage reduction, the budget invests heavily in local infrastructure improvements. Nearly $350.3 million in transportation and road projects, plus significant investments in public safety and law enforcement highlight the $923 million budget. The adopted budget includes new investments in the county’s workforce to respond to increased capital projects workloads and service levels,” according to the press release.
The anticipated workforce increases include:
14 new sheriff’s office deputies, one resource assistance program deputy to focus on homeless issues, one body-worn camera deputy to lead the education and training for new technology and one school resource officer.
14 new positions in the Building and Development Services Department.
12 new paramedics.
One new 911 telecommunicator, two 911 customer services representatives and one customer services representative for 311 data entry.
The list of county roads to be widened from two lanes to four lanes as part of the five-year CIP plan includes:
59th Street West from Cortez Road to Manatee Avenue ($23.4 million).
63rd Avenue East from U.S. 301 to Tuttle Avenue ($16.2 million).
75th Street West from 20th Avenue West to Manatee Avenue ($11.1 million).
Commissioners’ comments
In one of the press releases, County Commission Chair Vanessa Baugh stated, “I think Dr. Hopes and (Chief Financial Officer Jan) Brewer have done a fabulous job in this budget. It is wonderful to be working on such a large infrastructure program to help the traffic congestion in our county because of the population growth and to give the citizens a reduction in millage for the first time since 2008.”
“We have embarked on an aggressive road improvement campaign while simultaneously cutting taxes. Major road improvements have been budgeted for District 3,” District 3 Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge stated in the release.
“With the increase in property values, we were fortunate to have $100 million more than we did last year. With the values on the rise and all the new construction, we were able to lower taxes and leverage a line of credit to get these roads and critical transportation needs going,” Holmes Beach resident and At-Large Commissioner Carol Whitmore stated in the release.
“You are seeing things move in the county at a rate in the county that you haven’t seen in some time. We are going to get a lot of things done,” Hopes stated in the release.
Law enforcement
According to the press release, “The largest one-year investment in the budget remains in the areas of law enforcement and public safety. Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells’ annual budget will increase by $12.6 million to cover funding for 14 new deputies, an additional patrol boat to expand marine responses, one resource assistance program deputy to focus on homeless issues, one body-worn camera deputy to lead the education and training for new technology, one school resource officer and one Domestic Violence Unit Detective.”
“In partnership with Sheriff Wells, we have identified an increased investment to meet the safety needs of our rapidly growing population,” Hopes stated in the press release.
MANATEE COUNTY – The battle between some Manatee County commissioners and city leadership in Holmes Beach continues to rage on after hopes of a cease-fire were diminished earlier in the week.
At the forefront of the disagreement are Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge and Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth, with backup from Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer. Van Ostenbridge has County Administrator Scott Hopes in his corner for reinforcement.
At the crux of the issues between the county and city are struggles over providing public parking on residential streets near beach access points. Van Ostenbridge is continuing his crusade to force the city’s leaders to open residential roads for beachgoer parking. Titsworth isn’t backing down from her commitment to balancing the needs of residents with the needs of visitors to the Island community.
Monday meeting
The two sides met on June 7 at Holmes Beach City Hall for a sit-down discussion about parking. During the meeting, both sides aired some of their grievances and agreed to work to find solutions.
Titsworth said she’s concerned about the lack of communication between the county and city and some of the inaccurate information being shared as fact at county commission meetings and with the media concerning parking in Holmes Beach.
The city has 1,261 non-permit public parking spaces, including some on residential streets and at beach ends in residential neighborhoods. There also are 642 permit-only spots open to residents of the Island city until 5 p.m. daily. All of these parking spaces are located a quarter-mile or less from the beach. When Holmes Beach leaders created the permit-only spaces on residential streets following COVID-19 closures in 2020, it was the implementation of a city plan that had been in the works for several years. It also eliminated 497 parking spaces citywide. The city needs 476 public parking spaces to qualify for beach renourishment funds.
Titsworth said the parking changes were implemented to help residents who were having a difficult time with beachgoers parking on residential streets. Some of the issues include noise, trespassing, trash and people using residential properties as restrooms and using outdoor hoses for showers, noting that no facilities are available outside of Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach. She said it also creates a safety problem as there are no lifeguards present outside of the public beach boundaries.
Sticking to her guns, Titsworth said the city would provide no additional public parking and that it’s up to the county to do so. She added that she’s provided Hopes with the name of a commercial property owner seeking to sell the former Bank of America location on Manatee Avenue, with the suggestion that the county could purchase the property and use it for beach parking. Currently, the city’s codes have no provision for a parking garage to be built.
Van Ostenbridge responded that if additional lifeguards are needed outside of the public beach, it would be up to the city to provide them.
To combat parking issues, he said he would contact Holmes Beach churches to see if they would be willing to provide public parking on their properties. It would require a change in city codes and two public hearings to allow for public parking at local churches for non-church functions.
During a June 8 city commission meeting, Father Matthew Grunfeld, of the Episcopal Church of the Annunciation, said his congregation has no interest in being put in the middle of the county and city fight over parking.
At Anna Maria Elementary School, Van Ostenbridge agreed the county would look into supplying a restroom trailer on the property and would contact the Florida Department of Transportation about providing flashing crosswalk signage for the crosswalk at Gulf Drive. Titsworth pointed out that vehicles stopping for pedestrians could cause vehicular traffic delays.
The county representatives also agreed to reach out to FDOT concerning the traffic patterns on stoplights leading down Manatee Avenue to the public beach. Holmes Beach Commissioner Jayne Christenson maintains that part of the problem on the Island isn’t lack of parking but an issue with the timing of the traffic light at Manatee Avenue and East Bay Drive, something the city’s been trying to work with the county and FDOT to have remedied for months.
Tuesday tangle
The stalemate between the two sides was short-lived.
During a June 8 Manatee County Commission meeting, the city of Holmes Beach was under consideration for potential tourist development funding. While one smaller project was approved by commissioners, a second larger one was not. Van Ostenbridge took a moment before voting to say that city leaders need to consider the consequences of their actions before voting against providing funding to the city.
Mayor Judy Titsworth was not at the county meeting due to a prior obligation.
During a Holmes Beach commission meeting held the same day, commissioners and the mayor all expressed their displeasure with the decision.
Commissioners Terry Schaefer and Christenson both said they’d agreed to meet with Van Ostenbridge to listen to what he has to say but that they wouldn’t be attempting to broker a deal on the city’s behalf. Christenson also said she would be meeting with Hopes and County Commissioner Carol Whitmore.
“We finally poked the bear hard enough that they’re finally listening to us,” Christenson said. Prior to being a commissioner, Christenson worked with two committees to address parking and traffic in Holmes Beach. She noted that the first presentation of the parking committee concerning residential street parking took place in 2014.
Commissioner Jim Kihm said he feels the county should be more proactive in planning for future growth rather than putting pressure on the city to make up for a lack of planning. Even if city leaders added back the lost 497 spaces, with more than 10,000 people moving to Manatee County every year and an average of 30,000 vehicles coming on to the Island every weekend day looking for parking, adding a few hundred spaces won’t solve the problem, he said.
Kihm said city and county leaders need to have more dialogue and come up with real solutions and the financing to pay for them to address parking and traffic concerns.
MANATEE COUNTY – Holmes Beach city leaders weren’t very surprised but they were disappointed when Manatee County commissioners shot down a funding request recently.
During a June 8 county commission meeting, Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, submitted a request on behalf of all three Anna Maria Island cities for funding from the tourist development tax, also known as the bed tax, collected by hoteliers and vacation rental owners from renters.
The projects proposed by the cities of Anna Maria and Bradenton Beach were approved. One project from the city of Holmes Beach, $41,200 for improvements including boardwalks to be added to an extension of Grassy Point Preserve on land gifted to the city by the Hames family, was approved by county commissioners. However, $282,910 for reimbursement on construction done at a seawall on Marina Drive was not.
County commissioners did vote unanimously to consider a future funding request from Holmes Beach city leaders for bicycle paths and pedestrian walkways leading to a city park if one was presented to them.
Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore said she didn’t support the seawall funding request despite it being approved unanimously for funding by the Manatee County Tourist Development Council because she doesn’t believe it’s tourism-related, which is what the tourist development tax dollars are required by state law to be spent on.
Commissioner Vanessa Baugh said it was disrespectful for Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth to not show up to the county meeting where funding was being requested and to not send a representative in her place.
Titsworth said prior to the meeting that she would be unable to attend due to a conflicting meeting. Holmes Beach Commissioner Jim Kihm was asked to step in for her but was unable to do so due to a conflicting medical appointment and no other suitable replacement could be found in time for the meeting.
Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge said city leaders should consider the consequences of their actions before asking for help from the county. Van Ostenbridge and Titsworth are currently embroiled in a disagreement over public parking for beachgoers in the Island city.
Falcione said the seawall project had been discussed at length with Holmes Beach city leaders and that the TDC had given the funding its full support, a statement echoed by Commissioner Misty Servia who serves on the TDC.
Holmes Beach leaders argue that the seawall is important to tourism because it’s an erosion control seawall that holds up a section of Marina Drive in the city’s commercial center and provides a pedestrian path and access to numerous tour boats and rentals in the adjacent marina. If the funds had been released, city leaders would have used the money to build additional sidewalks and bicycle paths, which also would be used by tourists. Whitmore suggested city leaders come back to the commission for funding of that idea, which was approved by county commissioners unanimously. However, Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said that project was previously shot down for funding by Falcione.
Another concern was that the seawall request to county commissioners didn’t explicitly say there was a city match to the funding. So far, Tokajer said the city is spending $1,581,433 on the city center project including the seawall, pedestrian paths, bicycle lanes, lights and landscaping.
During a June 8 Holmes Beach commission meeting, city commissioners discussed the refusal of their funding request, noting that rentals in Holmes Beach have contributed $30,187,388.29 of the total $42,170,953.57 collected in tourist development tax in Manatee County over the past 10 years. That equals about 70% of the total collected bed tax coming from Holmes Beach while the city has received $100,000 of those dollars in funding for Grassy Point Preserve in the past decade.
“They’ve made us into the largest tourist attraction in Manatee County,” Tokajer said. “They should have to pay for enforcement and infrastructure.”
The county gave $50,000 in the current fiscal year to the city for police patrol and response at the county-owned Manatee Beach. More than 30,000 cars a day come to Holmes Beach on weekends during the summer, Tokajer said.
While Titsworth said she felt “the writing was on the wall” with Van Ostenbridge and his lack of support for city funding due to the ongoing parking issues, Commissioner Carol Soustek said that with all the people coming to Holmes Beach the county should have been better prepared to help deal with the resulting issues after advertising the city as a vacation destination.
“There’s nothing being done by the state or county to address the growth they’re encouraging,” she said, adding that she’s tired of issues getting pushed down the line to the next elected official. Rather than worrying about parking, she suggested county and state leaders be concerned about whether the area’s infrastructure, including pipes, clean water supply and seawalls, can handle the extra strain put on it by inviting so many additional people to one place.
One thing Holmes Beach commissioners agreed on though is that they all support Titsworth as the city’s leader in discussions with the county.
“Thanks, you guys,” Titsworth said. “It’s been a hard week and I really appreciate your support.”
BRADENTON BEACH – The Manatee County Commission is providing up to $850,000 in matching funds for Bradenton Beach’s dock expansion project.
The county commission approved the city’s funding request on Tuesday, June 8. The county funds will be provided using county tourist tax revenues generated by the 5% tourist tax levied on hotel, motel and vacation rental stays in Manatee County. The Bradenton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) will pay the city’s share of the dock expansion project costs.
In anticipation of the county’s support, the CRA members recently selected Duncan Seawall, Dock and Boat Lift to install the fingers docks to be purchased from Golden Marine Systems.
The finger docks will extend perpendicular to the existing floating dock that will be extended to the east. – City of Bradenton Beach | Submitted
The finger docks will extend perpendicular to the floating dock installed in 2019, and the floating dock will be extended to the east to accommodate additional finger docks. Duncan will also construct the new dinghy dock that will replace the aging dinghy dock near the entrance to the Bridge Street Pier.
Duncan’s bid came in at approximately $616,000 to $624,000, depending on some additional piling options included in the proposal. Duncan’s bid does not include any additional work on the showers or restrooms.
The aging dinghy dock used by liveaboard and transient boaters will be replaced with a new dock. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
When presenting the funding request to county commissioners, Mayor John Chappie said the finger docks would increase public dockage near the Bridge Street Pier from seven spaces to 26 or 27 spaces. The existing and soon-to-be-expanded docking facilities are free to the public on a first-come, first-served basis and overnight docking is not allowed.
Chappie said the matching funds would also be used to renovate the existing public shower facilities and increase the size of the public restrooms, and to create a terminal-like area at the entrance to the pier for the Old Town Tram parking shuttles that service the CRA district.
Chappie also mentioned the possibility of a water taxi service one day running from downtown Bradenton to Bradenton Beach.
“There’s been a lot of discussion over the years with regards to a water taxi. Bradenton Beach could be a stop for the water taxi. There will be a space available for that as well,” he said.
County support
“This project is exactly what the county needs because it’s beneficial to all residents of the county,” District 3 County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge said. “You’re inviting day trippers to come by boat to dock at Bridge Street. They can patronize the businesses on Bridge Street, and the Island is thin there, so people will easily be able to access the beach from that point. It’s a great way to bring additional visitors into your city without having a major impact on your residents. I’m very pleased with the relationship we have with Bradenton Beach and their efforts to try and be as inclusive as they can, knowing they’re a destination city.”
County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge emphatically supports the dock expansion project. – YouTube/Manatee County | Submitted
Commissioner George Kruse then said, “I love this. This is such a great idea and I’m 100% in support of this. This is needed and I appreciate it.”
Commissioner Carol Whitmore noted the county also provided matching funds for the installation of the floating dock.
“This all ties in, we’re just adding more capacity. This is what the tourist tax is about. If we do a water taxi and people are staying in Bradenton they can hop on the (water) taxi at Pier 22 and come on out,” Whitmore said.
“The water taxi would start in downtown Bradenton, utilizing the parking garage,” Chappie said, expressing hope that this might help reduce the number of cars coming to Anna Maria Island.
Regarding the long-desired water taxi service, Commission Chairwoman Vanessa Baugh said, “That should have been done years ago.”
Regarding the dock expansion project, Baugh said, “It’s a great project – and what makes it so great is that the county and the city are working together to make this happen.”
Commissioner Misty Servia chairs the TDC board that serves as a recommending body to the county commission. She noted the TDC board supports the project and the funding request, as does she.
Commissioner James Satcher liked the project so much that he proposed increasing the county funding.
“We should increase it by $282,000. He’s got other things he’s planning on doing, plus he’s got the water taxi,” Satcher said.
Satcher did not provide any documentation to support his proposed $282,000 funding increase.
“That’s not how this works,” Kruse emphatically said of Satcher’s suggestion.
County Attorney Bill Clague advised the commission to simply approve or reject each funding request cited in the proposed county ordinance that also included separate funding requests from the cities of Anna Maria and Holmes Beach.
“I have to advise you against trying to move dollars around. I would ask that you just vote each of these up or down,” Clague said.
Van Ostenbridge made a motion to approve the Bradenton Beach funding request as presented and he rejected Satcher’s efforts to amend the motion to increase it by $282,000. The commission unanimously supported Van Ostenbridge’s motion.
UPDATED Monday, May 24, 2021 at 11:40 a.m. – MANATEE COUNTY – County commissioners Kevin Van Ostenbridge and James Satcher will be reimbursed for the attorney fees and legal expenses they incurred as defendants in a Public Records Act lawsuit filed by paralegal Michael Barfield in December.
On May 11, the county commission voted 7-0 in favor of reimbursing Van Ostenbridge and Satcher up to $60,000. The commission approved the reimbursements without being provided with itemized attorney bills that supported the reimbursement requests.
Citing standard operating procedure, Clerk of the Court and Comptroller Angel Colonneso said the commission-approved reimbursements would not be paid until her office received and reviewed itemized invoices from Van Ostenbridge and Satcher’s attorneys.
According to the non-itemized attorney fee summaries County Attorney Bill Clague provided The Sun on May 12, Van Ostenbridge incurred $26,368 in attorney bills and $281 in additional legal costs for legal services provided by attorney Morgan Bentley and his office, for a total of $26,650. According to detailed invoices provided later by the Clerk of the Court’s Office, Van Ostenbridge received 97.2 hours of attorney services from Bentley’s office.
Van Ostenbridge incurred an additional $7,500 in expenses for legal services provided by attorney Sean Flynn and his office. According to the itemized invoice provided by the Clerk of the Circuit Court office, Van Ostenbridge received 22 hours of legal services from the Flynn Law firm. Van Ostenbridge’s attorney fees and legal expenses totaled $34,150.
According to the non-itemized invoice received from Clague, Satcher incurred $15,750 in attorney fees for 70 hours of service at $225 per hour. According to the itemized invoice later provided by the Clerk of the Court’s Office, Satcher’s total bill was $15,785.
Van Ostenbridge and Satcher’s combined attorney fees and legal costs totaled $49,935. The commission-approved reimbursement also included the $6,000 settlement payment Van Ostenbridge and Satcher agreed to pay Barfield to settle the lawsuit without an admission of liability regarding Public Records Act compliance. The settlement agreement with Barfield was executed in late April.
According to the invoices and settlement agreement, the total reimbursement sought is $55,935.
Commission Chair Vanessa Baugh is now the lone remaining defendant named in Barfield’s lawsuit he filed in December. On May 14, Barfield deposed Baugh under oath. An in-person court hearing before Judge Charles Sniffen is pending.
According to Barfield the purpose of the hearing is to seek a ruling from Sniffen as to whether Baugh fully complied with the Public Records Act and provided all the records he requested.
Commission discussion
During the May 11 commission discussion, Clague referenced a legal memorandum he included in the agenda packet.
“Florida law allows the county to pay the legal expenses incurred by commissioners in this case, subject to the board finding that the commissioners were performing their official duties for a public purpose,” the memo stated.
When addressing the commission, Clague said, “The purpose of the law is to prevent what the courts refer to as a ‘chilling effect’ on the performance of official duties by public officials, particularly elected officials. The idea is that if officials are afraid that they will be forced to pay legal expenses, personally, for doing their jobs, they will be afraid to do their jobs. People will not always agree with the decisions elected officials make and the law recognizes that the place to deal with that is the ballot box.”
Commissioner Carol Whitmore asked Clague if Van Ostenbridge and Satcher could recuse themselves from the vote if they wished to not give the appearance of personal gain or loss. Clague said they could, but they’d have to leave the room. Neither commissioner recused themselves, nor were they asked to.
Satcher said he was surprised when the lawsuit was filed and originally named him as the first and only defendant, with Baugh and Van Ostenbridge later named as co-defendants. Satcher said it was never his desire or intent to hold back any records Barfield requested.
Regarding the pending vote on the requested reimbursements, Satcher said, “People shouldn’t be bankrupted for being elected.”
Public input
County residents Matt Bower and Glen Gibellina expressed opposition to the reimbursement requests as presented, in part because the public had not yet been provided with copies of the attorney bills.
“This bill is excessive,” Bower said of the total reimbursements sought.
Bower said he and more than a dozen other county residents he communicated with were unhappy about the taxpayers being asked to pay the commissioners’ legal bills.
Gibellina said, “Any time there’s a settlement, it’s a red flag. We make deals to save time and money, but at the cost of transparency to the citizens.
Gibellina said the reimbursement request should have been delayed until the public was provided with copies of the attorney bills.
“If we’re paying the bill, we deserve to see what the bill is,” he said.
MANATEE COUNTY – County Commissioners James Satcher and Kevin Van Ostenbridge have reached a $6,000 settlement with paralegal Michael Barfield in the lawsuit he filed regarding Public Records Act compliance.
According to the settlement agreement, “Van Ostenbridge and Satcher shall pay Barfield the sum of $6,000 within 30 days of full execution of this agreement. Barfield agreed to file notice of voluntary dismissal.”
County Commission Chair Vanessa Baugh is now the lone remaining defendant in the civil lawsuit Barfield filed and then amended in December alleging the defendants’ failure to fully comply with the public records requests he submitted on Nov. 20.
Barfield sought from Baugh, Satcher, Van Ostenbridge and Commissioner George Kruse all emails, text messages, social media and other digital messages sent or received from Nov. 3 (election night) through Nov. 20. He also requested detailed phone logs of all calls made or received during that period. Because he promptly complied with Barfield’s requests, Kruse was not named in the lawsuit.
Barfield’s records requests were preceded by the Nov. 19 special county commission meeting requested by Van Ostenbridge during which he proposed putting County Administrator Cheri Coryea on notice that her potential termination would be discussed at a future meeting. Van Ostenbridge made that motion with no advance notice given to the public or the commission as a whole.
When opposing the motion, Commissioner Reggie Bellamy said the efforts to oust Coryea appeared to be “premeditated.” Commissioner Carol Whitmore said they appeared to be “orchestrated.”
It was also learned that Van Ostenbridge requested and received a private meeting with Coryea earlier that morning, during which he asked Coryea to resign without first consulting with the commission as a whole. Coryea told Van Ostenbridge she would not resign.
District 3 Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge has agreed to settle the lawsuit and now seeks reimbursement from the county. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
On Feb. 23, Coryea and the county commission mutually agreed to a separation agreement that ended her tenure as county administrator and called for her to receive approximately $204,000 in compensation from the county.
Settlement reached
When contacted May 4, Barfield said, “They are reimbursing not all, but a significant portion of my costs. There were no attorney fees because I didn’t hire an attorney. That probably saved them another $10,000 or $15,000 in legal fees. Vanessa Baugh hasn’t settled yet.”
On Tuesday, May 11, the county commission will discuss Satcher and Van Ostenbridge’s request to collectively be reimbursed $60,000 for the attorney fees and costs they incurred as defendants. Attorney Morgan Bentley represented Van Ostenbridge and attorney Robert Robinson represented Satcher.
As of Sunday, the meeting packet for Tuesday’s meeting did not include any documents that detail how the $60,000 reimbursement figure was determined. The reimbursement request requires the support of at least four commissioners.
The meeting packet includes a memo from County Attorney Bill Clague that states, “Florida law allows the county to pay the legal expenses incurred by commissioners in this case, subject to the board finding that the commissioners were performing their official duties for a public purpose in the matters covered by the litigation.”
On Thursday, May 6, The Sun requested from the Manatee County Records Division, acting County Administrator Scott Hopes and others any documents Satcher and Van Ostenbridge provided in support of their $60,000 request. The only response received was from Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller Angelina Colonneso, who also requested those records.
“We are requesting the itemized receipts which would be needed prior to any reimbursement. The request will be made of the commissioners themselves, not via the county,” Colonneso stated in her response, adding that she will provide copies of those documents when received.
“We had one very brief hearing in this case and one all-day deposition (for Van Ostenbridge). I can’t figure out how they could cumulatively run up legal bills for $54,000. They’re only paying me $6,000,” Barfield said.
“We’re entitled to see the back-up material: the amount of fees, the billing hours incurred and the rates they’re paying their attorneys. It has to be a reasonable number. You can’t determine reasonable costs until you know what the $54,000 is based on. In my view, all of this should come out of their own pockets because they failed to comply with the law, and they didn’t turn over any records until after a judge issued an order for them to do so. They are now asking the county taxpayers to support their violations of the Public Records Act,” he added.
In response to a criminal complaint also filed by Barfield, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) conducted a criminal investigation of Baugh, Kruse, Satcher and Van Ostenbridge.
On March 19, FDLE spokesperson Jeremy Burns provided a case summary that stated, “In December, the state attorney for the 12th Judicial Circuit requested FDLE’s assistance with reviewing a citizen complaint concerning allegations of Sunshine Law violations and possibly other law violations by several Manatee County commissioners. FDLE Agents met with the complainant who alleged that James Satcher, George Kruse, Vanessa Baugh and Kevin Van Ostenbridge conspired to reverse a controversial land purchase (the Lena Road property) and to fire the Manatee County administrator. There was no information obtained to substantiate that a criminal violation occurred.”
By settling the lawsuit, the defendants are neither admitting or denying the allegations made by Barfield in his civil suit, but are, in part, “entering into this agreement for the purpose of avoiding greater future costs.”
Bower memo
In response to the reimbursement request, District 3 resident and former commission candidate Matt Bower submitted to the county a four-page memorandum in opposition to the award of attorney fees.
“At this time, no documentation has been presented to the board or to the public giving rise that these two commissioners actually paid for the legal services they are requesting reimbursement. Considering the asset and income disclosure by each of these two commissioners at the time of their filing for county commissioner, it is difficult to believe either commissioner personally paid for such legal services. To even consider whether such legal fees should be reimbursed, the burden of proof is upon these two commissioners to submit proof – copies of checks, wiring of funds or otherwise – that such fees were paid and incurred,” Bower’s memo states.
According to the disclosure form Satcher filed when seeking office, Satcher Ministries earned $28,932 and Satcher earned $16,714 as a business consultant per his 2019 federal tax returns. According to his disclosure form, Van Ostenbridge earned $20,000 from Boyd Realty and $58,791 as the owner-operator of Be Easy Tours. Manatee County Commissioners currently earn approximately $90,000 per year.
District 1 Commissioner James Satcher seeks county reimbursement after settling a Public Records Act-related lawsuit. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
“If an award of attorney’s fees is granted, those fees must be considered reasonable. Thus, without a billing ledger from the commissioners’ attorney, no board member, nor the public, is in a position to grant this request. I find it disingenuous that a billing ledger has not been provided,” Bower’s memo stated.
Baugh deposition and hearing
“I’ve said I wouldn’t end the case until I have comfort that I received all the records I requested. I’m not there yet with Commissioner Baugh,” Barfield said.
Baugh
On May 5, 12th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Charles Sniffen approved Barfield’s request to depose Baugh under oath on Friday, May 14. A subsequent hearing before Sniffen has been scheduled on Friday, May 26 at 9 a.m.
On April 27, Tallahassee-based attorney George Levesque sent Sniffen a letter on behalf of his client, Baugh.
“In light of the allegations made in Mr. Barfield’s petition, the undisputed sworn evidence and the procedural history in this case, we believe there is just cause for this court to dismiss or deny the petition. Commissioner Baugh would like for this court to conduct a non-evidentiary hearing to afford her the opportunity to advance these arguments,” Levesque’s letter stated.
Barfield said he hopes the May 26 hearing produces a ruling as to whether Baugh has fully complied with the Public Records Act.
HOLMES BEACH – Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth declined Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge’s request to meet and discuss the city’s past elimination of street-side parking spaces.
Titsworth rejected Van Ostenbridge’s request to meet in part because Van Ostenbridge’s invitation did not extend to Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer.
As the District 3 county commissioner, Van Ostenbridge represents all three Anna Maria Island cities. Van Ostenbridge was sworn into office on Nov. 17. During the county commission work meeting held later that day, Van Ostenbridge threatened to withhold future beach renourishment funding from the city of Holmes Beach because of the city’s parking reductions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Mayor Titsworth and the Holmes Beach City Commission have jeopardized future beach renourishment projects in their city. I will not support county participation in beach renourishment projects in Holmes Beach until on-street parking levels are returned to pre-COVID-19 levels. I am drawing a line in the sand,” Van Ostenbridge said, during his first county meeting.
Meeting sought
Vida Gordon is the executive administrative assistant to the county commission. On Tuesday, March 23, Gordon sent Titsworth an email on behalf of Van Ostenbridge which said, “Commissioner Van Ostenbridge would like to meet with you and staff regarding: Public parking on city streets in the city of Holmes Beach. Manatee County participation in future beach renourishment projects.”
Within 30 minutes, Titsworth sent Gordon her response.
“Please ask the commissioner to take the time to witness the high traffic in our city on our many sunny weekends prior to scheduling this meeting. I see no reason to have a meeting until he takes the time to see it for himself. Saturdays would be a great time, as our rather large resort housing industry turns over each Saturday and traffic is at a standstill. If we are going to have real discussions with real solutions, I find it important that he witness this first-hand,” Titsworth stated in her email.
Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth will not meet to discuss parking concerns without the police chief present. – Kristin Swain | Sun
“I would also ask that he drive through the residential neighborhoods to take note of the beach access parking we currently provide so that he can more easily understand the issues. This may allow him a better perspective to see the limits the city is facing in accommodating all our county residents and tourists who want to arrive by car,” Titsworth wrote.
“As for the Manatee County participation in beach nourishment, I am well advised as to the interlocal agreement we have with the county and the city’s continued participation to provide beach access public parking. If he would like to discuss any proposed changes to this agreement at this meeting, please advise prior, as I would ask that Charlie Hunsicker be present to inform us of any changes in requirements at the state level. The chief and I are available on April 12. Please ask him to come to city hall,” Titsworth wrote.
A short time later, Gordon sent Titsworth Van Ostenbridge’s response.
“I have seen first-hand the traffic challenges on AMI at peak hours. I look forward to hearing from the mayor in our meeting. I am hoping for a constructive meeting that will enable the mayor and myself to lay out our respective positions. The end goal I have in mind is to create a more welcoming environment on AMI and increase accessibility to our public beaches. My hope is that this meeting will be a productive first step,” Van Ostenbridge wrote.
“Mr. Hunsicker has been invited to the meeting as well as county attorney (Bill) Clague. If she would like to remove either of those invitees from the meeting, I will oblige her request. That said, my invitation does not extend to the Holmes Beach Police Chief,” Van Ostenbridge wrote.
Upon receipt of that message, Titsworth informed Gordan that she would not be meeting with Van Ostenbridge.
“If the meeting does not extend to the police chief who has first-hand knowledge on why parking was eliminated on certain streets, then I see no reason to have the meeting. Per the commissioner’s email, he feels he has all the experience he needs on the traffic, congestion and parking constraints. Unfortunately, he does not have the credentials to determine where parking works and where it does not. If I am to accept a meeting with the commissioner to discuss parking in the neighborhoods, I will expect the chief to attend. As for the county attorney, I see no reason why his services would be needed at this time,” Titsworth wrote.
“With all due respect, any comments made by the commissioner up to this point have been threatening in nature. I understand his position, as he does mine. There is no reason to take up any additional time in laying out our positions. Any proposed additional parking in Holmes Beach will require a traffic study by FDOT, including a viable plan for bringing additional cars on and off the Island. Any additional parking will need to include restroom facilities,” Titsworth wrote.
“If a meeting cannot be agreed to, I would suggest the commissioner attend a city meeting so he can express his concerns regarding the ‘unwelcoming environment’ and the accessibility to the beaches. I am certain the board would welcome hearing his suggestions, being that he is our new district representative,” Titsworth wrote.
Titsworth then received an email from Gordon that stated Van Ostenbridge would be happy to meet with the mayor in the county commissioners’ conference room or in his office in downtown Bradenton.
In response, Titsworth wrote, “If he is unwilling to come visit the city he represents, I will have to decline to attend the meeting. I can already see where it is heading. Commissioner Kruse was happy to meet me and the chief at our city. My door is always open.”
Chief’s comments
When contacted Friday, Tokajer said, “For Commissioner Van Ostenbridge to invite the mayor to a meeting that dictates which staff is allowed to attend is another example of his abuse of the perceived power of his position. I do not see our mayor and commission being bullied by empty threats about future beach renourishment.”
Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer played a significant role in the development of the city’s current parking plan. – Kristin Swain | Sun
“As a city, we’ve more than upheld our requirements set forth in the interlocal agreement with Manatee County on parking. Do you really think the county is going to stop receiving federal funds for beach renourishment for the largest tourist destination in Manatee County? Are they going to stop advertising Anna Maria Island as a tourist destination? If the county is not going to do beach renourishment, they can give the city back the millions of dollars in the tourist tax revenues they collect from the Holmes Beach community,” Tokajer said.
“The city’s residential areas should not be made into a parking lot. The county needs to come up with some other ideas as to where people can park – and the places they come up with need to have facilities such as bathrooms, changing stations and lifeguards. We need to do something to balance the amount of people coming into our residential areas,” Tokajer said.
“Right now, there are 1,264 parking spaces that are open to the public, and 500 of those are dedicated to meeting beach renourishment parking requirements. We have an additional 645 spaces for residential parking by permit. The city’s parking plan is truly working in the manner in which we thought it would,” he added.
Tokajer doesn’t anticipate the city restoring its parking capacity to pre-pandemic levels.
“The commission has already voted numerous times on this parking plan and they unanimously support the plan we have now. No matter what this commissioner does, I don’t see them going back to that,” he said.
Citing data collected by license plate readers positioned along the city’s main thoroughfares, Tokajer said, “From March 1 through noon today, March 26, we had 621,569 vehicles that came on and off Island in Holmes Beach during that 26-day period. That’s an average of 24,675 vehicles per day. Even if we opened up the 2,400 parking spaces we had before COVID, that’s still leaves another 22,000 cars a day that have nowhere to park.
“Commissioner Kruse was willing to come here to Holmes Beach and sit down with the mayor and I to discuss things and learn why we did what we did. If Commissioner Van Ostenbridge wants to dictate who the mayor’s going to bring to a meeting, then I guess we’re not going to have it,” Tokajer said.
Updated March 22, 2021 at 5:22 p.m. – MANATEE COUNTY – A Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) investigation found no evidence that four Manatee County commissioners committed crimes or violated the Sunshine Law.
“In December, the state attorney for the 12th Judicial Circuit requested FDLE’s assistance with reviewing a citizen complaint concerning allegations of Sunshine Law violations and possibly other law violations by several Manatee County commissioners. FDLE agents met with the complainant who alleged that Manatee County Commissioners James Satcher, George Kruse, Vanessa Baugh and Kevin Van Ostenbridge conspired to reverse a controversial land purchase and to fire the Manatee County administrator,” according to the case summary that FDLE spokesperson Jeremy Burns provided on Friday, March 19.
“FDLE initiated a preliminary inquiry to determine if any criminal violations occurred. After the review of records provided by the complainant and conducting several interviews, there was no information obtained to substantiate that a criminal violation occurred,” according to the FDLE case summary.
According to Burns, FDLE considers the investigation closed.
The investigation was conducted in response to a complaint filed by paralegal Michael Barfield.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed. It seems the standard in this jurisdiction requires a confession before a Sunshine Law violation is charged,” Barfield said when contacted Friday afternoon. “We will look at the preliminary investigation FDLE conducted. I don’t believe they conducted a full investigation. My understanding is they didn’t even interview Mr. Van Ostenbridge.”
Van Ostenbridge, Satcher and Baugh are still named as defendants in a related civil lawsuit that Barfield filed in early December regarding the commissioners’ compliance with the Public Records Act and the public records he requested of them and Kruse in late November.
Barfield said the FDLE findings have no impact on the civil case.
“In a criminal investigation, you have to prove that there was a criminal intent to violate the law and the burden of proof is ‘beyond a reasonable doubt.’ Fortunately, a civil process does not require any intent. The standard of proof is much lower, and the judge makes that determination,” Barfield said.
Van Ostenbridge deposed
As part of the ongoing civil proceedings, Barfield deposed Van Ostenbridge under oath on March 12. Barfield said Van Ostenbridge did not invoke his Fifth Amendment rights or refuse to answer the questions posed to him – as was previously suggested in a motion that attorney Morgan Bentley filed on Van Ostenbridge’s behalf.
County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge has been deposed under oath regarding the still pending civil case. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
“We took Commissioner Van Ostenbridge’s deposition, and I am still waiting for additional records to be produced that I’ve been promised. There wasn’t anything terribly new in the deposition in terms of what we didn’t already know, but Mr. Van Ostenbridge did say he made the decision to terminate Cheri Coryea before he was sworn in on Nov. 17. He said he made that decision sometime between the 11th and the 13th of November,” Barfield said.
At the request of Bentley, the media was excluded from attending Van Ostenbridge’s deposition. Barfield said he will order and later place in the court records a copy of the verbatim transcript being prepared by the court reporter tasked with producing the official record of the deposition.
Barfield said he previously obtained email records that show Baugh, on Oct. 28, sent Van Ostenbridge, Kruse and Satcher a copy of then-County Administrator Cheri Coryea’s employment contract. Barfield said the emails containing Coryea’s contract included no additional comments from Baugh. The commissioners were subject to the Government in the Sunshine Law after being elected Nov. 3.
Barfield said he’s also still waiting on additional records to be produced by Baugh and Satcher.
“After I reach the point in time when I feel confident there’s no other records to recover, we’ll have time to review everything,” he said.
Additional investigations
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office has not yet released any findings in a separate criminal investigation conducted in response to a criminal complaint Barfield filed regarding Baugh’s involvement in the pop-up vaccine distribution site she helped establish in her Lakewood Ranch district in February.
Baugh is also the subject of an unresolved ethics complaint that attorney Jennifer Hamey filed regarding the Lakewood Ranch vaccination site.
MANATEE COUNTY – While the Manatee County Commission continues its search for an acting county administrator, former County Administrator Cheri Coryea has had a few weeks to decompress and evaluate her next professional pursuit.
Coryea’s two-year tenure as Manatee County’s administrator ended on Feb. 23 when the county commission approved a $204,000 separation agreement.
Serving as neither termination nor resignation, the separation agreement ended the termination efforts previously pursued by Commissioners Kevin Van Ostenbridge, George Kruse, Vanessa Baugh and James Satcher. The agreement also ended Coryea’s 30-year career as a county employee.
“I’m doing well. It still just feels like I am on vacation since I hadn’t had any time off for the last several years. After committing 30-plus years of my life to public service and being on the ready 24/7, it just doesn’t go away in an instant. I have the most amazing family and they have always been so supportive of the work and the time I have spent working on behalf of the citizens of Manatee County. I am extremely thankful to be spending some quality time with them,” Coryea said.
“I miss not seeing the staff each day. I could not have worked for, worked with, or led a more dedicated group of individuals. I know the county is in great hands and will be successful because of them. The programs and services put into motion will continue to serve the health, safety and welfare of the citizens well into the future,” Coryea said.
As for what comes next for her, Coryea said, “I am taking time to reflect and explore both public and private sector opportunities. I have experience in both areas. Most people know my public sector experience, but I worked in my early career in the private sector and have spent a great deal of my county government years focused on elevating the local economic position in Manatee County.”
During her 30 years with the county, Coryea also formed professional relationships with several chambers of commerce and business organizations.
“I have an enormous amount of respect for the private sector commitment businesses make in the success of their community and I always felt that I had the ability to bridge the works of both the public and private sector in a successful and positive way,” Coryea said.
“The extent of my work has created a lot of collaborative opportunities within the region, the state of Florida and across the country. As much as I’d love to continue working in Manatee County, I have no boundaries on where my future takes me and I am eager to continue to consider all of the options that come forward,” she said.
Lena Road controversy
When first proposing Coryea’s termination on Nov. 19, Van Ostenbridge mentioned the recent Lena Road property purchase that Coryea brought to a close before he, Kruse and Satcher were sworn in as new commissioners on Nov. 17.
After expressing his opinion that the $32.5 million the county paid for 161 acres of land, an access road and some utilities infrastructure was excessive, Van Ostenbridge alleged the Lena Road property purchase was grounds to terminate Coryea.
Kruse, Baugh and Satcher supported Van Ostenbridge’s motion to put Coryea on notice that her termination would be discussed and determined in early December, but Kruse later changed his mind and successfully brought those initial termination efforts to an end.
When interviewed last week, Coryea shared her perspective on the Lena Road purchase.
“On Oct. 13, the board of county commissioners culminated a two-year process of reviewing over 23 potential sites for relocating and expanding multiple efficiency of public service projects that would be able to address the expanding growth of population in Manatee County. The Manatee Sheriff’s Office fleet services complex was one of the main projects. Currently located on a 1-acre parcel in the southern part of the county, the Sheriff’s Office has long since outgrown this location and needed 10-20 acres for a new fleet facility that would last 50-75 years,” Coryea said.
“Additionally, the public works department, the utilities department and emergency management need facilities located closer to the expanding growth in east Manatee County to reduce response times, wear and tear on equipment, mileage costs and access to thoroughfares.
“Finding up to 20 additional acres for the landfill transfer station alone is a $75 million savings and adds six additional years of life to the current landfill for a total of 22 years.
“After multiple briefings with commissioners throughout the two-year process, the Musgrave property became the best available site. The board approved the purchase of the 161-acre site for $187,000 per acre and just over $30 million. This cost, when compared to comparable sites recently sold within the vicinity of the location, was in line with the per-acre cost. Staff followed the directive of the board and brought this request forward for approval,” Coryea said.
Kruse-Whitmore meeting
During the commission’s Jan. 26 meeting, Kruse made a motion to again put Coryea on notice that her termination would be discussed and determined at a forthcoming meeting. Before making his motion, Kruse referenced a one-on-one meeting he had with Commissioner Carol Whitmore, which Coryea helped facilitate at Whitmore’s request. During that same discussion, Kruse also acknowledged his own extra-marital affair and mentioned a photograph of himself and another woman that was sent to Whitmore, whom he suggested might try to use the photograph to influence his votes. Whitmore later denied any such intentions. Without stating that Coryea also had access to that photograph, Kruse said the overall culture of the county administration was toxic and needed a change of leadership.
When asked about the Jan. 22 meeting of the county’s two at-large commissioners, Coryea said, “Requests from commissioners to assist with meeting scheduling is commonplace for the county administrator’s office. In this instance, one commissioner (Whitmore) asked for a meeting with another to discuss current topics of affordable housing and to share at-large commissioners’ observations. The other commissioner (Kruse) agreed. The scheduling, posting, recording and accessibility of the meeting all followed the existing guidelines, as confirmed by the county attorney’s office. For any citizen that may want to know what was discussed during that meeting, they can either read the minutes from the meeting or even listen to an audiotape of what the participants discussed,” Coryea said.
When asked if she ever saw the photograph of Kruse and another woman that was sent to Whitmore in late 2020, Coryea said, “No. I have not, nor have I had possession of the said photo or ever mentioned anything about it to Commissioner Kruse.”
Accomplishments
When asked, Coryea mentioned some of her proudest accomplishments during her time with the county.
“It was an honor to work with those dedicated heroes of Manatee County that have been on the front line fighting the global COVID-19 pandemic. I would have never thought 365 days later we would still be under a state of emergency. My full respect goes to our public safety and emergency management team, all of the medical providers, doctors, nurses, law enforcement and county department teams that have contributed to the current success of an ever-changing situation. Additionally, the community did a wonderful job in a difficult time,” Coryea said.
She also takes pride in being the first female appointed to serve as Manatee County’s county administrator.
She mentioned the completion of several community projects, including the Rubonia Community Center, breaking ground for the Lincoln Park pool, which has been promised for 40 years, completing the first phase of the Coquina Beach stormwater improvements and implementing the county’s new 311 system.
Regarding the challenges of serving as the county administrator, Coryea said, “It has of late seemed like there was never enough time to get everything you needed to accomplish done for the citizens. Making large-scale upgrades to a project, finding the funds, designing and constructing a project can take anywhere from three to 10 years. It is hard to explain that to a citizen or neighborhood that has been waiting for a long time. Many times the stakeholders that initiated the need for the project and won approval by the commission have come and gone by the time the project is finally completed.”
Coryea began working for Manatee County in 1989 as a contract manager in the Human Services Division. She then became the first children’s services coordinator when the ad valorem tax for children’s services was passed by a voter referendum in 1990. After seven years in that capacity, she became the Human Services Division manager.
In 2007, she was asked to develop a new department: Neighborhood Services. In 2017, she became a deputy county administrator and in 2019 the county commission appointed her to serve as the acting and then the permanent county administrator.
“My career at the county has spanned over 30 years and each new position had its challenges,” Coryea said, noting that she worked with 31 different county commissioners, seven different county administrators and responded to 23 different emergency activations.
Advice for successor
Coryea was asked if she had any advice for her yet-to-be-named successor.
“Each of your county commissioners is unique in their own right. Take time to get to know them and what is important to their constituents. Soak up as much government leadership, operations management and government financing training as possible. Rules, regulations and guidelines matter in government. You do not want to make decisions or use funds that have special uses only in categories that will require them to be paid back. Rely on the outstanding deputy county administrators and senior management – the department directors who are subject matter experts in their field and do all of the county operations’ heavy lifting. They know what they are doing,” she said.
“Get acquainted with the real people and businesses of Manatee County and you’ll learn quickly why this is a special place. Lastly, when it comes to county operations, your decision is usually the very last one. Use your very best judgment with the trusted sources listed above and you will succeed in making this community the best it can be,” she said.
MANATEE COUNTY – County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge intends to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights when deposed under oath by Michael Barfield on Friday, March 12, according to court filings.
Barfield, a paralegal, is representing himself in a civil case he filed in 12th Judicial Circuit Court on Dec. 7, 2020, against Van Ostenbridge and commissioners Vanessa Baugh and James Satcher, claiming they violated Florida’s public records law.
During a hearing Friday afternoon conducted via Zoom, Judge Charles Sniffen denied Van Ostenbridge’s March 1 motion for an order protecting him from being deposed.
During the deposition, Van Ostenbridge will invoke his Fifth Amendment right to refuse to answer questions that could incriminate him, according to Van Ostenbridge’s attorney, Morgan Bentley.
Attorney Morgan Bentley is representing Kevin Van Ostenbridge. – Bentley Law Firm | Submitted
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is conducting an independent criminal investigation of the case. The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides, “No person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.”
Barfield began making public records requests of Van Ostenbridge and fellow commissioners Baugh, Satcher and George Kruse on Nov. 20. That was one day after Van Ostenbridge made a motion at a county commission meeting to put then-County Administrator Cheri Coryea on notice that her proposed termination would be discussed and decided in early December.
Van Ostenbridge made that motion two days after he, Satcher and Kruse took office, and with no advance notice given to the public or the commission as a whole. Baugh, Satcher and Kruse supported the motion, which was later rescinded at the request of Kruse, who is not named as a co-defendant in the case.
Coryea and the county commission agreed to a $204,000 separation settlement on Feb. 23, which ended by mutual agreement her tenure as county administrator.
Motion for protective order argued
In the motion denied by the court, Bentley wrote, “Van Ostenbridge has produced all items requested by plaintiff. Nonetheless, on Feb. 19, plaintiff filed his notice of taking deposition. Such deposition is improper in the context of the current litigation, the purpose of which was to obtain documents. As such documents have been produced, there is no ongoing purpose and no need to take the deposition of Van Ostenbridge other than to annoy and harass.
“Moreover, there exists a pending Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation. The FDLE investigation centers on the same issues as those involved in this case. As such, during the pendency of that investigation, Van Ostenbridge will necessarily invoke his Fifth Amendment rights in response to questions related to any matters subject to the investigation,” Bentley stated in his written motion.
In his response to Bentley’s motion, Barfield wrote: “Van Ostenbridge claims he has produced all records responsive to the records request but wants to avoid questions about his production by invoking his Fifth Amendment rights due to a pending criminal investigation. As set forth below, there is a factual dispute about whether Van Ostenbridge has produced all records. Moreover, a blanket assertion of Fifth Amendment rights is not permitted under Florida law.
“The contention that Van Ostenbridge produced all records responsive to the records request prior to the amended complaint is disputed by the parties. As one example, Van Ostenbridge’s response to the amended order to show cause, filed on Dec. 23 claimed ‘all items’ sought in the records request had been produced. However, as recently as Jan. 26, Van Ostenbridge produced records responsive to the request that had not previously been produced.
“Two days later, Van Ostenbridge produced another version of the same record but with a different filename. An evidentiary hearing is required to resolve the dispute about whether all records have been produced. It is inconsistent for Van Ostenbridge to claim he has produced everything while seeking shelter under the Fifth Amendment to prevent any adversarial inquiry to test his claim of full compliance,” Barfield stated in his response.
Paralegal Michael Barfield wants to question Kevin Van Ostenbridge under oath. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
“The litigation is related to the commissioners’ compliance with Florida’s open-government laws, which includes the Public Records Act and the Government in the Sunshine law. The purpose of the pending litigation is to ensure that all records responsive to the initial request have been produced. I have many questions about the production of records and whether it was a full and complete production. That is why I scheduled Kevin Van Ostenbridge’s deposition,” Barfield stated after the motion was denied.
When being deposed, the subject is questioned under oath, usually in a non-courtroom setting, with a court reporter present. The court reporter then produces a verbatim transcript that serves as sworn preliminary testimony to be provided to the judge and others before a case goes to trial.
As the county’s District 3 commissioner, Van Ostenbridge represents Anna Maria, Bradenton Beach, Holmes Beach, Cortez, the northern portion of Longboat Key and portions of Bradenton.
BRADENTON – Cheri Coryea’s two-year tenure as county administrator ended Tuesday evening after the Manatee County Commission approved a $204,000 separation agreement earlier that day.
Deputy County Administrator Karen Stewart will serve as acting county administrator until no later than March 23. By then, or before then, the commission expects to appoint someone else to serve as acting county administrator while the search for a permanent county administrator is conducted.
During Tuesday’s meeting, county commissioners voted 6-1 to accept the separation agreement negotiated by Coryea’s attorney and County Attorney Bill Clague. Clague noted the separation agreement is not a termination and is not a resignation. The agreement also ended Coryea’s 30-year tenure as a county employee.
The separation agreement calls for the county to pay Coryea a lump sum payment of approximately $204,000, minus taxes. Per the agreement, Coryea will receive 20 weeks of regular pay as established by her $192,000 annual salary. She will also receive 400 hours of paid leave (vacation time), 500 hours of sick leave pay and 197 hours of compensatory time pay.
Commissioner Carol Whitmore supported the separation agreement after she unsuccessfully proposed Coryea’s vacation pay be increased to 1,000 hours. Bellamy voted against the separation agreement as originally proposed. He said he could not support any motion that resulted in Coryea vacating her administrator’s position.
Before the 6-1 vote occurred, the commission rejected by a 4-3 vote Bellamy’s motion to discontinue the separation discussion and give Coryea one year to prove that she can move the county forward in a manner that satisfied the current commission.
Commissioners Vanessa Baugh, Kevin Van Ostenbridge, George Kruse and James Satcher opposed Bellamy’s motion. Bellamy and commissioners Misty Servia and Carol Whitmore supported Bellamy’s motion. Van Ostenbridge then made the motion to accept the separation agreement that now ends the commission majority’s previous efforts to terminate Coryea.
Previous termination efforts
In November, Van Ostenbridge proposed terminating Coryea for carrying out the previous commission’s directive to purchase a 161-acre property referred to as the Lena Road property for slightly more than $30 million. Van Ostenbridge, Kruse and Satcher – who were not in office when the property was purchased last fall – believe the county overpaid for that property. Coryea was then put on notice that her termination would be discussed and voted on in December.
Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge proposed Coryea’s termination two days after he took office in November. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Before that December discussion occurred, Kruse had a change of heart and asked the commission to rescind the termination notice and give Coryea a chance to prove herself to the newly-reconfigured commission.
On Jan. 26, Kruse had another change of heart and he made a motion to again put Coryea on termination notice. Kruse made said he was making that motion in part because Coryea, at Commissioner Carol Whitmore’s request, arranged a one-on-one meeting between he and Whitmore to discuss affordable housing. That one-on-one meeting took place in a conference room on Jan. 22 and was also attended by Coryea and two other staff members and was recorded. During the Jan. 26 meeting, Clague said the Kruse-Whitmore meeting was conducted in compliance with the Florida Government in the Sunshine Law.
Although he willingly participated in the Jan. 22 meeting with Whitmore, Kruse then expressed remorse for doing so in response to the public backlash that followed in regard to how that meeting was publicly noticed and conducted.
Before making his motion to again put Coryea on termination notice, Kruse also acknowledged his own extramarital affair and suggested Whitmore might “blackmail” him due to her knowledge of his affair and her reported receipt of a photograph of Kruse and the other woman. Whitmore and her attorney, Brett McIntosh, vehemently denied Kruse’s unproven accusation of blackmail.
Baugh, Satcher and Van Ostenbridge supported Kruse’s motion to put Coryea on termination notice, which then resulted in the mutually-agreed-upon separation agreement instead.
Hines rejected
After approving the separation agreement, the commission engaged in another lengthy discussion regarding the appointment of an acting county administrator.
The commission ultimately voted 4-3 in opposition to hiring Venice-based attorney and former Sarasota County Commissioner Charles Hines to serve as acting county administrator.
Baugh, Kruse, Satcher and Van Ostenbridge expressed their respect for Hines, but voted not to appoint him as acting county administrator.
The commission rejected Charles Hines’ offer to serve as acting county administrator. Joe Hendricks | Sun
To varying degrees, Baugh, Kruse, Satcher and Van Ostenbridge expressed concerns about the contract terms Clague negotiated with Hines. The proposed contract offered the same $192,000 salary Coryea received, called for a minimum contract length of eight months and included a housing allowance that Clague said was necessary because state statute requires county administrators to live in the county they serve.
Bellamy, Servia and Whitmore voted in favor of Hines serving as the acting county administrator.
Before the commission voted on hiring Hines, school board member Dr. Scott Hopes made his own pitch for the acting county administrator’s position, which at one point he said he would do for free and without a contract.
School board member Dr. Scott Hopes offered to serve as acting county administrator. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Van Ostenbridge and Satcher mentioned Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance President and CEO Dom DiMaio as another potential candidate. Satcher also mentioned Rick Mills as a possible candidate. Mills is the former superintendent of the School District of Manatee County.
Van Ostenbridge said he prefers Hopes, but then said, “Dom DiMaio’s beating down my door. I’ve talked to Dom a couple times as well. DiMaio’s not here, but he seems pretty interested the way he blows my phone up.”
During public comment, Carol Felts expressed concerns about DiMaio’s connections with developer Carlos Beruff. She also opposed Hopes serving as acting county administrator.
As the commission struggled to appoint Coryea’s temporary successor, Clague stressed the need to have someone in that position that day because there are certain duties only the county administrator or acting county administrator can perform. Those duties include presenting the annual county budget and presenting for commission approval a candidate to replace Deputy County Administrator John Osborne.
Osborne left his county position on Feb. 16 – one day before Coryea’s termination was originally scheduled to be discussed and voted on. At the request of Clague and Coryea’s attorney, that meeting was then delayed until Feb. 23 to allow for time for the attorneys to negotiate the separation agreement.
Stewart appointed
After another short recess, the commission voted 6-1 in favor of appointing Stewart to serve as acting county administrator until no later than March 23. Whitmore cast the lone opposition vote to that motion.
Whitmore and Servia expressed concerns about Stewart being too busy with her current responsibilities to take on the additional duties of acting county administrator, even on a short-term basis.
One of Stewart’s current responsibilities as deputy county administrator is to oversee the distribution of the federal CARES Act funds that provide financial assistance to individuals and businesses who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Deputy County Administrator Karen Stewart will serve as acting county administrator until no later than March 23. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
It was noted that Stewart is not interested in serving as acting county administrator for an extended period of time or in serving as the next county administrator. Clague noted that Stewart would not be vacating her deputy county administrator’s position and will continue in that role once a new acting county administrator is appointed.
As a final action, the commission voted 7-0 to direct Clague to draft a proposed contract and an accompanying resolution for the appointment and hiring of an acting county administrator. Clague will present the proposed contract no later than the commission’s March 4 land use meeting, at which the commission expects to vote on whether to approve the proposed contract terms.
Van Ostenbridge said if the contract terms are approved on March 4, he anticipates a new acting county administrator to be appointed and hired according to those non-negotiable contract terms as early as the commission’s regular meeting on March 9.
The meeting ended a short time later with Coryea performing her final public act as county administrator. Surrounded by several department directors, and choked with emotion at times, Coryea presented the annual county administrator’s report for 2020. While doing so, she praised and thanked those staff members for all the assistance and support they provided her.
Coryea then returned to her office and worked until 9:30 p.m. before leaving the county administration building for the final time.
MANATEE COUNTY – County Commissioner George Kruse last week called for County Administrator Cheri Coryea’s termination.
During the discussion, Kruse admitted having an extramarital affair, saying that Commissioner Carol Whitmore’s knowledge of the affair factored into his decision to publicly acknowledge it, and he used the word “blackmail” when doing so.
These events transpired during the Tuesday, Jan. 26 Manatee County Commission meeting. In response to Kruse’s public comments, Whitmore retained Sarasota attorney Brett McIntosh.
During Tuesday’s meeting, the commission voted 4-3 in support of Kruse’s motion to put Coryea on notice that her termination would be discussed at a future meeting.
Commissioners Vanessa Baugh, Kevin Van Ostenbridge and James Satcher supported Kruse’s motion. Whitmore and commissioners Reggie Bellamy and Misty Servia opposed it.
Coryea’s termination will be discussed and likely acted upon during a special county commission meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 17. The meeting will take place at the Bradenton Area Convention Center in Palmetto and will start at 1:30 p.m.
County Administrator Cheri Coryea is facing termination once again. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
In November, Kruse, Baugh and Satcher supported Van Ostenbridge’s motion to put Coryea on notice that her termination would be discussed and potentially acted upon in January. In December, the commission unanimously supported Kruse’s motion to reconsider that November decision and they rescinded the termination efforts.
Meeting fallout
Tuesday’s revelations and actions were partially inspired by the public fallout that followed the Friday, Jan. 22 meeting that Whitmore and Kruse had at Whitmore’s request. That meeting took place in a conference room on the fifth floor of the Manatee County administration building in downtown Bradenton. Whitmore requested the one-on-one meeting with Kruse so he could share with her his knowledge about affordable housing and how to fund it.
Coryea, Director of Financial Management Jan Brewer and Vickie Tessmer, from the Clerk of the Court’s office, were asked to attend the 8 a.m. meeting. Tessmer took minutes and recorded the meeting. After learning of the meeting that morning, Van Ostenbridge arrived at 8:18, according to Tessmer.
The meeting was noticed at the county’s online calendar and on the county bulletin board. The meeting agenda was not posted at the county website where agendas are typically posted and Baugh, Bellamy, Satcher, Servia and Van Ostenbridge were not directly notified.
Commission Chair Vanessa Baugh believes county staff will continue to carry out their duties despite the disruption. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
In response to how that meeting was noticed and conducted, Baugh placed a discussion item on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting. The discussion began with Van Ostenbridge expressing concerns that his appearance may have constituted a Sunshine Law violation because his name was not included in the notices. Satcher also voiced displeasure about not being notified.
Regarding compliance with the Florida Government in the Sunshine Law, County Attorney Bill Clague said, “I am comfortable that all of the participants have complied with the Sunshine Law with respect to this meeting. The fact that a meeting satisfies a Sunshine Law doesn’t necessarily mean it follows all of our practices for transparency or public participation. These kinds of meetings are very rare in the county. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve dealt with this in 24 years of practice.”
Clague said he was consulted in advance regarding the meeting format but was surprised he and his office were not notified of the exact time and date.
Regarding future meetings of this nature, Clague said, “There is no protocol in place right now for how they should be handled. If the board wants to direct the county attorney’s office to put one together, we are certainly prepared to do that.”
After further discussion, the commission unanimously supported the following motion recommended by Clague: “I move to direct the county attorney’s office to draft a resolution establishing protocols for meetings between commissioners to discuss business of the county outside of meetings of the full board or other established boards on which they serve, to include a requirement for other commissioners to be invited to attend, and for attendance by an attorney from the county attorney’s office.”
Kruse speaks
Kruse then spoke at length and began by saying, “First and foremost, I do want to sincerely apologize to the people of Manatee County and my fellow commissioners for the nature of how the meeting on Friday went down. I was told by the county administrator that everything was going to be properly noticed and handled appropriately. While I do believe it was legally and statutorily compliant, I realized the optics were terrible and that was certainly not the intent.
County Commissioner George Kruse discussed his own affair when seeking the termination of the county administrator. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
“I realized this was incredibly poorly handled. My first thought was honestly one of surprise that a 30-year public sector employee and a four-term commissioner could so carelessly structure this meeting to result in now rightfully deserved backlash. I chalked it up as carelessness until I was passed troubling information this weekend which leads me to believe there may be more to it than sheer ignorance,” he said.
After pausing for a deep breath, Kruse said, “I would never bring my family situation up on this dais, but in this case I will for the good of Manatee County. Late last year, I did the absolute worst thing a person can do to someone they love – and she’s in the audience right here. I had a short but nonetheless real affair. I’m not going to make excuses for it, nor am I going to ask any of you for forgiveness. Fortunately, because my wife has patience and the heart of a saint, we’re doing fine and we’re working through this together.”
“Why do I come up here and tell you this private and seemingly unrelated information? Well, because while it was going on, one commissioner, Carol Whitmore, knew about it. Rather than ignore something that didn’t pertain to her, I’ve learned that she actively acquired pictures from while we were out in public. I’ve now learned from people I trust that she’s actively spreading this information, even though she knows it’s over. I believe her intention for obtaining the pictures was to use them to manipulate votes on this board.
“As my wife knows about it, and it is in fact over, the only blackmail she hoped to achieve would be a public embarrassment that would inevitably trickle down to my 11-year-old daughter and my 14-year-old son. What I did to my family is inexcusable, but it doesn’t affect the county or you the citizens. I felt it necessary to get this out there now ahead of time, before there’s even a shadow of a doubt regarding my stance on anything,” he said.
Kruse, who took office on Nov. 17, said, “These past two months have shown me exactly how this county has run in the past – and unfortunately, in the present. It’s run by people wanting for absolute power at any cost.”
He then referenced the previously rescinded efforts to terminate Coryea and her two-year tenure as county administrator.
“Seven weeks ago, I gave this administration the benefit of the doubt to achieve the agenda the majority of Manatee County wants and deserves. I still think we would get a good portion of that work accomplished. What I do not think will change, however, is the toxic culture that doesn’t put the people first. It has now been two years with this administration, so at this point what we see is what we’ll get.”
After noting that his request for the audio recording of the Jan. 22 meeting be posted in the county’s online archives had not yet been fulfilled, Kruse proposed Coryea be put on termination notice for a second time.
“This needs to change now, even if it leads to short-term disruptions I was previously hoping to avoid. I no longer believe that meeting quantitative benchmarks can ever give me assurance or comfort in the continuation of a fundamentally flawed system. I am, therefore, once again bringing up the motion to notice the termination of the county administrator pursuant to the contract and I will leave it up to the will of this board to determine whether recent actions deem this with or without cause,” Kruse said.
Commission Chair Vanessa Baugh then called for a five-minute recess, which then turned into the commission’s lunch break.
During the break, Whitmore was asked about Kruse’s allegations. She said the picture was sent to her unsolicited and that she deleted it and did not pass it around. Whitmore would not divulge the name of the woman in the photograph.
Whitmore responds
When the meeting resumed, Whitmore spoke first.
County Commissioner Carol Whitmore disputes the allegations made by George Kruse. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
“First of all I want to be very clear, Carol doesn’t break laws and I’m ethical,” she said. “I was sent a picture maybe two or three months ago. Mr. Kruse was somewhere with another party. It was really very benign, but everybody’s making a big deal out of it. To me it was nothing. It was just two people sitting there talking.
“When he came by my office one day, I said I want you to know that there’s some people in town that are sending pictures around about you. I said I could care less what you do with your personal life. I said you do have the most powerful job in Manatee County and you’ve got a family.
“So, time passed. I saw the picture and I never did anything with it. So then, I get somehow involved with the other party and I hear it’s all over. Then I see him again and I said I heard everything’s all over and that’s good. He said yep, he’s going to work it out. I said that’s good and that was more or less it,” Whitmore said.
“Mr. Kruse mentioned that I was passing it around the community. Those pictures have gotten around the community. I have had close friends that I said something to and I said it’s over,” Whitmore said.
Regarding Kruse’s use of the word blackmail, Whitmore said, “What you said is a terrible accusation and it’s not true.”
Regarding Coryea’s proposed termination, “To pull Cheri into this? First of all, it’s not related. I asked her, as one of her seven bosses, to pull a meeting together. She passed it on to our clerk and our agenda coordinator. I asked for her and Jan to be at the meeting and that was it,” Whitmore said.
When contacted Wednesday regarding Kruse’s public statements, McIntosh said, “Carol Whitmore would never engage in blackmail. The allegation is false and, frankly, is slanderous. One hopes that Commissioner Kruse’s comments were an emotionally-charged mistake and it’s too early in the process to make any further determination on whether any next steps will be needed.”
Termination discussion
Commissioner Reggie Bellamy said the commission’s focus should be on providing COVID-19 vaccinations to county residents, including those in his district.
Commissioner Reggie Bellamy wants the county and the county commission to stay focused on COVID-19 vaccinations. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
“Whatever direction we go, with or without the county administrator, what are we going to do about getting these people vaccinated?” he said.
“If we move forward with this, this will be a disruption of business at the highest level,” Servia said. “I’m not just talking about Cheri. We’re talking about the whole structure underneath Cheri. I do understand everybody having an opinion about county leadership, I just ask you to think about the timing of this.”
Sharing a differing opinion, Baugh said, “I don’t believe this affects COVID. I don’t believe this county will not continue to move forward. If that’s the case, we have a bigger problem than we thought. Your county does not run just because of your county administrator. It runs because of all the people, including this board.”
Van Ostenbridge then said, “This board, under this administration, I think is hopelessly divided. I don’t see another path forward other than to part ways with the administrator. When I met with her before (in November), I asked for her resignation and said I would make a motion to honor her severance package if she would resign. I’m still good for my word. If you will offer your resignation, I will immediately make a motion to honor your 20-week severance package in your contract. You’ve been a longtime employee in this county, 30 years, and I think you’re entitled to that.”
Post-meeting comments
After the meeting, Kruse was asked why he acknowledged his affair when addressing his concerns about Coryea and the Jan. 22 meeting.
“There’s two reasons. One, I was looking for a real example of how toxic this culture is. And somebody who literally is sitting on pictures of a sitting commissioner and making veiled threats with these pictures is a toxic culture. The second thing is, she (Whitmore) was starting to spread it around.
“I couldn’t wait three months or six months or a year and be voting on things like Animal Services and vote the same way as Carol. Or I vote something down and so does Carol. I’d never live down that sneaking thought in the back of peoples’ heads that those votes were because of something that was hanging over my head. It’s something I needed to get out anyway. She had information and I don’t know what she was going to do with it.”
Kruse said his female companion and Whitmore communicated during the holidays: “I had the other party to this situation sending me text messages worried that we were being blackmailed or were going to be. That was based on conversations she had with Carol.”
Kruse said Whitmore never showed him the photograph and he had not yet seen it.
“Today was the first time I found out it was in a bar. She had it and never sent me the picture and never told me what it was. In my mind, that’s something she was holding for herself at some point in time.
The Sun later spoke with several people who’ve seen the photograph of Kruse and his companion. Some said they were shown the photograph and others said they received it and deleted it. One person familiar with the photograph said it was taken in late November at Peggy’s Corral, a bar in Palmetto. Another person said additional photos of the couple were taken that day. To date, The Sun has not seen or obtained any of those photos.
MANATEE COUNTY – County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge has provided paralegal Michael Barfield with a call log that details calls made and received on his personal phone.
As the District 3 county commissioner, Van Ostenbridge represents Anna Maria Island, Cortez, the Manatee County portion of Longboat Key and west Bradenton.
Van Ostenbridge provided Barfield his phone records last week in response to the public records request Barfield made on Nov. 20.
As of Monday afternoon, Barfield said he had identified most of the calls listed in Van Ostenbridge’s call log, but he was still reviewing those records.
Van Ostenbridge’s phone log reveals who he talked to, when he talked to them and for how long, but it does not provide any details on the content of those phone conversations.
The Florida Sunshine Law prohibits members of the same county or city commission from discussing official or foreseeably official county business in any setting other than a properly noticed public meeting. The Sunshine Law does not prohibit members of the same elected body from discussing matters unrelated to their official government business.
Van Ostenbridge and Baugh calls
Van Ostenbridge was elected on Nov 3.
According to the call log he provided to Barfield, Van Ostenbridge and Baugh communicated by phone 15 times between Nov. 4 and Dec. 1. Their calls totaled 129 minutes and ranged in length from one minute to 23 minutes.
Van Ostenbridge and Baugh spoke for 17 minutes on Nov. 5, 23 minutes on Nov. 12, 14 minutes on Nov. 13, 10 minutes on Nov. 16 and for six minutes and 11 minutes on Nov. 18.
One day later, during the special county commission meeting Van Ostenbridge requested, Van Ostenbridge made a motion to put County Administrator Cheri Coryea on notice that her termination would be discussed on Jan. 6.
Baugh, Satcher and Commissioner George Kruse supported the motion made by Van Ostenbridge with no advance notice given to the public. But on Dec. 10, Kruse withdrew his support for further discussion on Coryea’s termination and those efforts have now ceased.
During the Nov. 19 meeting, Baugh also introduced a county resolution pertaining to commission meeting procedures, which was adopted by the same 4-3 vote with no advance notice given to the public.
When contacted Monday, Van Ostenbridge provided the following response via text message: “Vanessa Baugh is a very good friend and we speak regularly. I turned over all my calls with the other commissioners in the spirit of transparency. I did not discuss county business on any of those calls.”
County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh has provided paralegal Michael Barfield with a copy of her personal call log. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
When contacted Monday, Baugh provided a similar response: “Just personal conversations between two people who became friends on the campaign trail. We campaigned very closely together and forged a friendship.”
Calls with other commissioners
According to Van Ostenbridge’s call log, he engaged in five phone conversations with Satcher between Nov. 7 and Nov. Nov. 24. Those calls totaled 39 minutes and included a 21-minute call on Nov. 7 and a 13-minute call on Nov. 24.
According to his call log, Van Ostenbridge initiated two phone conversations with Commissioner Misty Servia: a nine-minute call on Nov. 8 and a 13-minute call on Nov. 17 – the same day Van Ostenbridge, Satcher and Kruse were sworn in as commissioners.
Regarding her phone conversations with Van Ostenbridge, Servia said, “I endorsed Kevin and we had a friendly relationship, with messages of ‘Congratulations on being sworn in,’ and, ‘Are you getting settled into your new office?’ I wanted to see him grow and succeed. It goes without saying that I was extremely disappointed when he suggested firing our county administrator, and I had no idea that he planned to do that just hours after being sworn in.”
According to his call log, Van Ostenbridge engaged in three phone conversations with Kruse between Nov. 4 and Dec. 1, for a total of 15 minutes.
According to his call log, Van Ostenbridge initiated a one-minute call to Commissioner Carol Whitmore on Nov. 16 and Whitmore initiated consecutive one-minute and five-minute calls to Van Ostenbridge on Nov. 18.
Additional calls
Private citizens who do not hold public office or work for a local governmental agency are not subject to the Sunshine Law, but Van Ostenbridge’s call log provides additional insight into those he’s in frequent contact with.
According to his call log, Van Ostenbridge and developer Carlos Beruff had nine phone communications for a total of 67 minutes between Nov. 11 and Nov. 21.
The pair spoke for 15 minutes on Nov. 11, for 17 minutes at 7:25 p.m. on Nov. 17, for seven minutes at 1:24 p.m. on Nov. 19 and for a total of 14 minutes on Nov. 20 during three consecutive calls that occurred between 6:39 a.m. and 7:17 a.m.
According to Van Ostenbridge’s call log, he spoke to developer Michael Neal six times for a total of 91 minutes between Nov. 12 and Nov. 20; and to developer Pat Neal three times for a total of 21 minutes.
According to his call log, Van Ostenbridge and Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown engaged in 10 phone conversations for a total of 80 minutes between Nov. 16 and Nov. 20.
According to his call log, Van Ostenbridge and campaign supporter Bob Spencer, from West Coast Tomato, spoke nine times for a total of 55 minutes.
Barfield comments
When contacted Monday, Barfield commented on the calls made between commissioners.
“They would have you believe that all these calls were completely about friendship, but it appears they were taking steps behind the scenes to terminate Cheri Coryea, and to bring forth Commissioner Baugh’s resolution,” Barfield said.
“There’s still pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that are missing. Unfortunately, the picture coming into focus raises very troubling concerns about commissioners routinely chatting with each other on key dates surrounding the efforts to terminate the county administrator,” Barfield said.
Paralegal and Sunshine Law expert Michael Barfield continues to investigate the private communications of four Manatee County commissioners. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Barfield also commented on some of the other phone calls that took place.
“When you start piecing everything together, it tells me there are some key people acting as conduits between the commission, as well as the commissioners talking among themselves,” Barfield said.
Barfield said he was still reviewing the call log he received from Baugh on Christmas Eve. His partial review of Baugh’s calls between Nov. 3 and Nov. 11 indicate Baugh engaged in four calls with Van Ostenbridge and 12 calls with Kruse during that period.
According to Barfield, attorney George Levesque, from the GrayRobinson law firm in Tallahassee, is representing Baugh, and attorney Morgan Bentley is representing Van Ostenbridge.
MANATEE COUNTY – Private meeting notes and text messages disclosed in a public records request reveal more about County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge’s failed efforts to terminate County Administrator Cheri Coryea.
As the newly-elected District 3 commissioner, Van Ostenbridge represents Anna Maria Island, Cortez, west Bradenton and Longboat Key.
During the Manatee County Commission’s Tuesday, Nov. 17 work session, Van Ostenbridge requested a special commission meeting on Thursday, Nov. 19. He said the purpose of that meeting was to discuss the county’s response to a potential COVID-related federal shutdown. When requesting the special meeting, Van Ostenbridge gave no indication that he also intended to propose Coryea’s termination.
With no advance notice given to the public, Van Ostenbridge then made a motion during the Nov. 19 meeting to put Coryea on notice that her termination would be discussed and voted upon on Jan. 6. Commissioners Vanessa Baugh, George Kruse and James Satcher supported the motion.
Text message records obtained as part of a public records request made by paralegal Michael Barfield reveal that Van Ostenbridge discussed the Coryea termination efforts with developer Carlos Beruff and others in advance of the special meeting at which he intended to call for Coryea’s termination.
Van Ostenbridge’s efforts to terminate Coryea came to an unexpected end on Thursday, Dec. 10, when Kruse made a motion to reconsider the Nov. 19 motion and end the Coryea termination efforts. The commission supported Kruse’s motion with a 7-0 vote.
Private meeting notes
Before the Nov. 19 special meeting took place, Van Ostenbridge requested and received a private meeting with Coryea at 7:30 a.m. that morning in Coryea’s office.
Coryea’s notes include a transcript of a voicemail message Van Ostenbridge left her and a printout of the text message exchange they had regarding the requested private meeting.
“I just wanna talk about how things are going so far and a little bit about the (special) meeting before we get there,” Van Ostenbridge said when requesting the private meeting.
According to Coryea’s handwritten notes, Van Ostenbridge began their meeting by saying, “I liked you before, when I met with you during the campaign, but when you closed on that property (Lena Road) I changed my mind. You should have waited for this new board because I had already spoke out against it and you should have stopped it.”
On Oct. 13, the previous county commission approved the $32.5 million purchase of a 161-acre property in east Manatee County at S.R. 64 and Lena Road. The closing for that sale took place on Friday, Nov. 13, four days before Van Ostenbridge, Kruse and Satcher took office.
The Lena Road property was purchased with the intent of creating a Central County Complex that provides a district office for the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office and additional facilities for the county’s Public Works Department and Utilities Department.
According to her notes, Coryea responded to Van Ostenbridge’s comment by saying, “The board (of county commissioners) took two votes on this property, both passing. I’m responsible for carrying out the directives of the board.”
Van Ostenbridge then asked about the closing date.
“Based on the decision of the board, the closing was to occur anytime between 10/4/20 and 12/16/20 – when the due diligence had been successfully completed. It was completed around Nov. 2 or 3. Property Management Department proceeded with scheduling closing,” Coryea said, according to her notes.
Van Ostenbridge asked who approved the Nov. 13 closing date.
“I did. The previous board approved this action two times and the closing occurred during their terms,” Coryea said, according to her notes.
According to Coryea’s notes, Van Ostenbridge then said, “I am here to ask you for your resignation.”
County Administrator Cheri Coryea took this note during her private meeting with Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge. – Manatee County | Submitted
In response, Coryea said, “You will be disappointed to hear I will not be submitting my resignation. I won’t be resigning.”
According to Coryea’s notes, Van Ostenbridge then shared his intentions for the Lena Road property.
“I intend to parcel out the property into small parcels and will sell them off at a loss and that will embarrass the previous board and you. I might keep a sliver for something. I have the votes,” he said, according to Coryea’s notes.
County Administrator Cheri Coryea took this note during her Nov. 19 meeting with Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge. – Manatee County | Submitted
The Florida Sunshine Law prevents city and county commissioners from privately discussing any matter that could foreseeably come before them for official action or vote.
At that time of his meeting with Coryea, Van Ostenbridge, a Realtor with Boyd Realty, had been in office for less than 48 hours and had participated in one county meeting.
According to her notes, Coryea responded to Van Ostenbridge’s Lena Road comments by saying, “I had offered to provide a full briefing to the new commission on this project and many others that the board wanted. We were instructed in Jan. 2018 by the previous board to begin looking for a large parcel to co-locate needed services closer to population growth. We briefed each board member five times since then.”
In June, the commission received a third-party appraisal that valued the Lena Road property at $18.4 million.
“The board was aware of the appraisal price that was a market appraisal targeted at housing, not public use, ” Coryea wrote in her notes.
After further discussion about the Lena Road purchase, Van Ostenbridge said, “I intend to make a motion at the meeting today to ask for you to be terminated,” according to Coryea’s notes.
County Administrator Cheri Coryea rejected Kevin Van Ostenbridge’s request for her resignation. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
According to her notes, Coryea then questioned the true intent of the private meeting.
“When you asked me for this meeting this morning you said it was about the special meeting agenda item (a federal shutdown). I prepared a motion for it. Did you need it?” Coryea said, according to her notes.
“No, I don’t believe I need anything,” Van Ostenbridge said, according to Coryea’s notes.
“So, this meeting this morning was not to talk about that?” Coryea said, according to her notes.
“I’m all set for the meeting,” Van Ostenbridge said, according to Coryea’s notes, which indicate the meeting ended at 7:48 a.m.
Van Ostenbridge responds
When contacted Friday afternoon, Van Ostenbridge was asked about his meeting with Coryea.
Regarding Coryea’s notes that state he asked her to resign, Van Ostenbridge said, “That captures the spirit of what I was saying. I told her that she knew the incoming board was adamantly against the purchase. We felt that it was a drastic waste of taxpayer money and each of us made that clear during the campaign, including in public comments during meetings.
“I told her I had lost trust and confidence in her and I asked her for her resignation. I then said I scheduled the meeting with her as a courtesy, to alert her of my intention to make the motion to terminate. I was attempting to give her an opportunity to resign and spare her and the county the indignity of the debate which was sure to follow my motion,” Van Ostenbridge said.
Van Ostenbridge was asked if he felt a new commissioner, who had been in office less than 48 hours, had the authority to ask the county administrator to resign without first discussing it with the commission as a whole during a public meeting.
“When I put my hand on the Bible, I became a full commissioner. There’s no orientation period. I was doing it as a courtesy because I had made up my mind I was going to make the motion to terminate. I officially made up my mind on Friday (Nov. 13), when the deal was closed. I had sought the counsel of many business leaders in town, as well as friends of mine, even my parents, leading up to that time. When she closed the deal on Friday, I started letting some people know that I had made up my mind,” Van Ostenbridge said.
Van Ostenbridge was asked if any of those he sought counsel from were sitting county commissioners or future county commissioners who had not yet been sworn in.
“Absolutely not. I have not committed a Sunshine violation,” he said.
When asked about his alleged intentions to sell the Lena Road property at a loss, Van Ostenbridge said, “I said that I felt there was value in the property that abutted the landfill. I told her that was the most valuable to the county and the least valuable to the open market. I wanted to keep that, but I wanted to sell off the rest because I didn’t want to be saddled with the unnecessary improvements that would be needed on the rest of the property. The county overpaid for the property, so obviously when I go to sell it I’m not going to get market value. I told her that if we sold that off it would be at a loss, and the responsibility of that loss would fall on the previous board,” Van Ostenbridge said.
Van Ostenbridge denied telling Coryea he had the votes to sell the Lena Road property, which Coryea wrote in her notes.
“I never said that. At the end of the conversation, I said maybe you have the votes, maybe I have the votes and we’ll see in a couple hours,” Van Ostenbridge said, referring to his intent to pursue Coryea’s termination.
Van Ostenbridge’s statement contrasts with Coryea’s notes, in which the alleged comment about having the votes appears in conjunction with the discussion about selling the Lena Road property.
Van Ostenbridge confirmed that he told Coryea he would seek her termination.
“I said I’d be giving her notice of a hearing for termination at the special meeting,” he said.
Van Ostenbridge texts
Late Friday afternoon, in response to his public records request, Barfield received copies of Van Ostenbridge’s text message exchanges from Nov. 3 to Nov. 20.
Barfield confirmed that developer Carlos Beruff is the “Carlos” and “CB” that appears in some of the text message exchanges Van Ostenbridge produced.
Paralegal Michael Barfield, who serves as the president of the Florida chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, is independently investigating the actions of county commissioners Kevin Van Ostenbridge, Vanessa Baugh, George Kruse and James Satcher. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
According to those records, Beruff sent Van Ostenbridge a text message at 6:51 a.m., less than an hour before his Nov. 19 private meeting with Coryea.
“Good morning you all set,” Beruff wrote.
“All set. Meeting with Cheri at 7:30,” Van Ostenbridge replied.
This is one of several text message exchanges Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge had with developer Carlos Beruff. – Michael Barfield | Submitted
On Sunday, Nov. 15, Beruff sent Van Ostenbridge a link to a Bradenton Times story that included the headline: “Are special interests gunning for County Administrator?”
That story notes Beruff and other members of the development community pushed for Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance President Dom Dimaio to succeed retiring County Administrator Ed Hunzeker in 2019, rather than Coryea.
“We have a leaker,” Van Ostenbridge wrote in response to Beruff’s text about that story.
On Tuesday, Nov. 17, as part of the same text message exchange with Beruff, Van Ostenbridge wrote, “We have a special meeting on Thursday, after the port meeting. Carol took the bait.”
That message appears to refer to acting Commission Chair Carol Whitmore supporting Van Ostenbridge’s request for a special meeting discussion about a potential federal shutdown.
On Saturday, Nov. 14, Beruff initiated a text message exchange with Van Ostenbridge that began with a link to an East County Observer story about the county’s plans to build a solid waste transfer station on the Lena Road property.
“You may have missed this last week, but it basically says that they bought something they don’t need for 17-20 years,” Beruff wrote.
“They did all they could to saddle us with this (expletive) we don’t want. At least they’re done. Nothing left for them to do,” Van Ostenbridge replied.
On Thursday, Nov. 5, Beruff sent Van Ostenbridge a text message that said, “Good morning, take a look at this and see what you think. Call me when you get a chance.”
Attached to Beruff’s message was a Microsoft Word document titled “ManCo BOCC (Board of County Commissioners).docx.” The contents of that document are not known and Barfield said he has not received it.
“That looks good. I only want to drop the mention of masks. That is too much of a 50/50 issue. Call you in a few,” Van Ostenbridge wrote in his response to Beruff.
Van Ostenbridge’s text records also include an exchange he had with someone named Bob, whose initials are BS.
“We have a special meeting on Thursday after the port meeting. Carol took the bait,” Van Ostenbridge wrote.
“I watched you. Smooth baby,” Bob replied.
“Acted like I was stumbling through it, ha-ha,” Van Ostenbridge wrote.
Barfield said he did not yet know Bob’s identity.
On the evening of Nov. 19, Van Ostenbridge received a group text message from Chad Choate, a financial advisor at the Edward Jones office in Bradenton. Choate is Facebook friends with Van Ostenbridge and has posted county commission-related comments at Van Ostenbridge’s Facebook page.
“How long has she been county admin,” Choate wrote in his text message to Van Ostenbridge.
“2 years. She’s been a county employee for over 30 years. A 30-year bureaucrat. It’s time to put a private sector person in charge,” Van Ostenbridge replied.
“Yeah, who replaces her,” Choate wrote.
“Put your name in when the spot opens up,” Van Ostenbridge replied.
MANATEE COUNTY – Led by County Commissioner George Kruse, the Manatee County Commission has ended its efforts to potentially terminate County Administrator Cheri Coryea.
On Nov. 19, Kruse joined commissioners Vanessa Baugh and James Satcher in supporting Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge’s motion to put Coryea on notice that her termination would be discussed and voted upon on Wednesday, Jan. 6.
Toward the end of Thursday’s land use meeting, Kruse delivered an unexpected speech that concluded with him making a motion to reconsider that Nov. 19 action.
“I don’t think it’s a secret that I wasn’t a huge fan of it, but at the time I voted for it to allow for dialogue, and for myself to do my proper diligence and get it to a finality,” Kruse said.
“I promised everybody at that meeting that I would talk to everybody. In these last three weeks, I’ve canceled a trip out of town. I’ve talked to five mayors. I’ve talked to literally every single department head. I’ve talked to business leaders, associations and I’ve spent probably four to five hours one-on-one with Cheri going over everything I want in Manatee County, how she envisions Manatee County and if we could work together.
“But I also promised on my campaign that there’s certain things I would do as a commissioner for the citizens of Manatee County. I promised I would work on lowering taxes and fixing our quality of life with some of the reserves we’re sitting on. I promised that we would push for less regulations and more efficiencies in government. And I said that I would work on cleaning up the departments and how we handle hiring, because in some cases it looks like there’s a bit of cronyism in the seniority versus merit. I also wanted to add a sense of private sector conservatism to our county,” Kruse said.
“I didn’t campaign on the promise of firing one person. I campaigned on a promise of improving the lives of 410,000 people in Manatee County, but I did not promise to come in here as an agent of chaos. I promised to come here as an agent of change. In my opinion, the best interest of Manatee County – both for my supporters and the people who didn’t support me – is to get these changes moving quickly and efficiently. I do not inherently believe that delaying these important items 12, 18, 24 months while we rebuild our government makes sense for anyone. It was not a fundamentally sound reason to do so. It would burn half my term and eliminate half my agenda just to get back to a perceived better square one,” Kruse said.
“I’ve taken over and I’ve run businesses in the past. I’ve worked with and molded many people without similar ideologies as me into successful teams. If I felt, after all of my meetings these past three weeks, that would not be the case here, I would whole-heartedly push towards January 6 and terminate our county administrator.
“However, I believe I can achieve the actual results that I promised without this unnecessary disruption. And if 12 months from now the changes I promise you are not made for the benefit of Manatee County, then I will personally be the one to make the next motion for termination. But I’m hopeful that will not be the case,” Kruse said.
Cheri Coryea will continue serving as the county administrator. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
“I’m well aware of trading one opposing group for another, and I’m sure my Facebook is already starting to light up, but many of you who supported me and elected me did so because you trusted my judgment and my experience. If I can accomplish our overriding goals with our current administration, then I’ve kept my promise and I made Manatee County a better and more conservative place to live. All I ask is that you trust my judgment. That goes for the citizens of Manatee County and the members of this board. We would be better as a community with the full support, even if begrudgingly given, to allow this board and this administration the opportunity to achieve all that you elected us to do,” Kruse said.
“I’d like to formally make a motion to reconsider the Nov. 19 decision to start the termination process of County Administrator Cheri Coryea,” Kruse said when concluding his speech.
With no hesitation, Commissioner Reggie Bellamy seconded Kruse’s motion.
Commissioner’s comments
“I’m tongue-tied,” Commissioner Carol Whitmore said.
Commissioner Misty Servia then said, “I want to say to the new board: You guys have us on our toes because there is a surprise at every meeting.”
She then said, “Thank you, George. I think your motion today was a responsible one. I think that it was the right thing to do. I think that it was the most business-oriented decision to bring forward. I have been so concerned about what’s going to happen to our county government with the chaos that’s been created, and it was created unnecessarily because things were moving perfectly. I’ve never worked with a such an efficient county administrator.
“I thank you so much for listening and representing the entire county. It was very wise of you. You have helped this county to move forward in a positive direction. And I think what you’ve just done is brought this board together. We have to be together in unity to move forward and get the business of our county done. And for anyone who has a concern about anything our county administrator is doing in terms of management style, I am open to hearing that, and I am open to any changes that are meaningful and well described,” Servia said.
Speaking next, Van Ostenbridge said, “I thank Commissioner Kruse for the diligence he put into this and the seriousness with which everyone has taken this. I did run as an agent of change, but I did not run as an agent of chaos. If we don’t have the votes, we don’t have the votes. You’re going to win some and you’re going to lose some. If the board is not as conservative as I thought it was, then that’s OK. I don’t enjoy the turmoil that it’s created within the county. Whichever way the vote is going to go, I’d like to put the turmoil to an end so that we can move on.”
Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge initiated the efforts to terminate Cheri Coryea. Joe Hendricks | Sun
Baugh said she seconded Van Ostenbridge’s Nov. 19 motion because she believed further discussion about the county administrator was needed.
“Misty, I appreciate your comments, but not everything in this county is run properly. There’s many changes we need to look at and I’m hoping with Cheri maybe we can do it. If not, then I will not be happy,” Baugh said.
“Does that mean make a major change? No, maybe it means that the county administrator is willing to change how things have been done here in the county. We’ll have to see,” she added.
Baugh addressed a rumor regarding the Nov. 10 farewell ceremony for departing commissioners Betsy Benac, Steve Jonsson and Priscilla Trace. The rumor alleged Baugh suggested to ceremony attendee and DeSoto County Economic Development Director Tara Poulton that there might soon be a job opening in the county administration.
“It is a silly rumor and whoever started that really should be ashamed, because it’s not true,” Baugh said.
When contacted Wednesday afternoon, Poulton was asked about Baugh’s alleged comments at the ceremony.
“It was such a casual conversation. She said something to the effect of, ‘You never know, we might have a position open.’ There was no mention of any specific position opening up,” Poulton said.
When asked if she’s had any contact with Baugh since then, Poulton said, “No, none whatsoever. And I have no intention of applying for the county administrator’s position if it opens up.”
During Thursday’s discussion, Satcher addressed speculation that there was a coordinated effort to terminate Coryea – speculation that prompted paralegal Michael Barfield to submit individual public records requests to Satcher, Baugh, Kruse, Van Ostenbridge and Jonsson.
“I pastored a church when I was 25 years old. When I was witness to someone, I’d tell them about the Lord and I’d invite them to church. They’d say I’m not into organized religion, and I’d say well this is the place for you because we ain’t organized around here. I think it’s kind of humorous that people might be accused of planning when I don’t know if anyone knows what’s coming,” Satcher said.
Commissioner Reggie Bellamy praised Kruse for his insight and willingness to listen to everybody.
“As commissioners, we all have that ability to set upon a county administrator our expectations as far as what we want and how we want our county to be ran,” Bellamy said.
He also said he’s concerned about public sparring that’s taken place and the negative impact that’s had on the community.
Misty Servia expressed praise for George Kruse and Cheri Coryea. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Servia noted that when she was first elected in 2018, she wanted to conduct a national search for retiring County Administrator Ed Hunzeker.
“I did not support Cheri Coryea. I said we need to make sure we’re getting the best county administrator, instead of just promoting from within. What I have learned since that time is that Cheri Coryea is the best county administrator I’ve ever worked with. I’ve been in county government for 30 years. I have worked in county government for 18 and with county government in the private sector for 13, and I’ve never worked with anyone who is as effective and as hardworking as Cheri Coryea,” Servia said
At the end of the discussion, Kruse said, “I’m making a motion to reconsider the previously approved motion from Nov. 19.”
The commission unanimously approved Kruse’s motion.
Coryea did not attend the land use meeting. When contacted Thursday evening, she politely declined comment on the commission’s decision.
Barfield investigation
When contacted Thursday evening, Barfield was asked what impact the commission’s decision might have on his public records request and his investigation of the records produced.
“I’m going to take 24 hours at least and think about it. My records requests stand and I expect full compliance. I’m not willing to compromise on that,” Barfield said.
