Manatee County plans priorities

At 10 a.m., it already was 87 degrees, and East County resident Cenya Moreno wiped sweat from her brow before helping her 1-year-old daughter, Venus Gonzalez, onto a seesaw at Tom Bennett Park.

“We almost went to Nathan Benderson Park because there’s a shade structure, but this one was closer,” she said.

Over the coming year, that shaded relief should come to Bennett Park, according to Manatee County’s Capital Improvement Plan. About $30,000 of Infrastructure Sales Tax dollars have been allocated for a playground shade.

As Manatee County officials forge ahead toward their final budget adoption Sept. 17, county staff members are providing a road map for improvements.

In East County, that includes some significant items in fiscal year 2020, which runs Oct. 1, 2019, through Sept. 30, 2020. Among them are:

LIBRARIES

Braden River Library Expansion

Address: 4915 53rd Ave. E., Bradenton

Scope: Expand facility by 4,250 square feet to include handicap-accessible restrooms, extra seating capacity, study rooms, tutoring rooms, a second meeting room and more staff work space.

FY 2020: $1.08 million

Total funding: $1.93 million ($850,000 previously funded)

Timeline: Under design; Construction from December 2019 to June 2020.

East County library

Address: To be determined

Scope: Secure site for new library facility to be 25,000-30,000 square feet. Amenities will include study and conference rooms available for public access.

FY 2020: $3.35 million

Total funding: $10 million ($200,000 already funded; $3.8 million in FY 2021; and $2.64 million in FY 2020)

Timeline: In design and land acquisition. Construction between January 2020 to December 2023.

PARKS

Tom Bennett Park Master Plan update

Address: 400 Cypress Creek Blvd., Bradenton

Scope: Design and construct multipurpose sports fields, concession stands, tennis/pickleball courts, restrooms, parking, picnic pavilion and lighting to the existing sand volleyball courts. Operating costs include two-and-a-half employees, utilities and operating costs.

FY 2020: $2.5 million

Total funding: $2.5 million

Timeline: Construction between April 2019 and September 2021

Premier Sports and County Service Center Master Plan

Address: 5895 Post Blvd., Bradenton

Scope: Create an overall site plan for the entire 200-acre county property, which will include enhancements to the existing Premier Sports Campus, a new East County district park, library and county services center. The site plan will include a rendering to illustrate the proposed uses.

FY 2020: $5 million

Total funding: $7.26 million ($560,000 from prior year; $1.7 million in FY 2021)

Timeline: Construction starts between July 2019 and September 2023.

TRANSPORTATION: INTERSECTIONS

Lockwood Ridge Road at shopping center entrance (Publix/Walmart)

Requested: Traffic signal at Lockwood Ridge Road at the entrance into Publix and Walmart shopping centers, just south of State Road 70. Currently, the intersection functions as a two-way stop for the shopping center driveways.

FY 2020: $770,000

Total funding: $770,000

Timeline: Construction between April 2020 and December 2021.

Lorraine Road at 44th Avenue East

Requested: Traffic signal

FY 2020: $1.27 million

Total funding: $1.7 million (previously $424,250 appropriated)

Timeline: Construction between October 2019 and December 2022.

Lorraine Road and Rangeland Parkway

Requested: Traffic signal

FY 2020: $1.27 million

Total funding: $1.7 million (previously $424,250 appropriated)

Timeline: Construction between October 2019 and December 2024.

Upper Manatee River Road at Greenfield Plantation/Copperlefe entrances

Requested: Traffic signal

FY 2020: $770,000

Total funding: $770,000

Timeline: Construction starts between January 2020 and December 2020.

TRANSPORTATION: ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS

Port Harbour Parkway Extension

Requested: Construct Port Harbour Parkway from its current terminus to Upper Manatee River Road.

FY 2020: $478,454

Total funding: $2.78 million (Previously allocated $2.3 million)

Timeline: Construction between October 2019 through September 2021.

S.R. 64 and GreyHawk Boulevard/Pope Road intersection

Requested: Modern roundabout

FY 2020: $2.68 million

Total funding: $2.68 million

Timeline: Construction between October 2019 and December 2021.

Editor’s note: Manatee County is working with the Florida Department of Transportation to advance this project to FY 2020. FDOT has committed to signalizing the intersection of State Road 64 at 117th Street East in coordination.

TRANSPORTATION: SIDEWALKS

Town Center Parkway from University Parkway to endpoint

Requested: Remove and replace sidewalks along both sides of Town Center Parkway

FY 2020: $336,000

Total funding: $336,000

Timeline: Construction between January 2020 and December 2020.

University Parkway from U.S. 301 to Cooper Creek Boulevard

Requested: Remove and replace sidewalk along University Parkway

FY 2020: $332,676

Total funding: $332,676

Timeline: Construction starts between January 2020 and December 2020.

WASTEWATER

Braden Woods Lift Station Rehabilitation and New Force Main

Requested: Convert Braden Woods Lift Station (RTU 326) to a master lift station and install a new forcemain from the River Club 2 Lift Station (RTU 495) directly to the RTU 326 wetwell to bypass the upstream gravity main, among other improvements.

FY 2020: $1.89 million

Total funding: $1.89 million

Timeline: Not available.