Commissioners spar over University Parkway roundabout

While a 4-3 vote by Manatee County commissioners decided the fate of the intersection on University Parkway where Legacy Boulevard meets Deer Drive — it will become a roundabout — some stakeholders in the matter say they’re not done with the fight because the issue is about more than roadwork.

A group of residents in the Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club, along with Commissioners Bob McCann and Jason Bearden, have said the bigger issue is that the contract for the roundabout was brokered without the public’s input. 

McCann wants to know if the deal violated the Sunshine Law, which allows citizens access to public records and requires governing bodies to conduct meetings that are open to the public. 

The most recent vote to proceed with a roundabout, instead of canceling the contract with Lakewood Ranch and upgrading the existing signalized intersection, took place at the Aug. 19 commission meeting. 

The original reimbursement agreement between Manatee County and Lakewood Ranch Corporate Park LLC was approved by the prior commission Nov. 12, 2024.

Photo by Lesley Dwyer

The agreement states that Lakewood Ranch will design and construct a roundabout, and Manatee County will reimburse Lakewood Ranch for 50% of its costs, which equals just over $3.2 million. 

The roundabout was one Item on a 45-item consent agenda that was approved. No commissioner at the time asked to discuss the roundabout.

Bearden called the way in which the agreement was handled “deceptive,” and he was on the board when the contract was approved. 

He said he didn’t object then because he didn’t receive even one email about the intersection prior to November 2024. He said he’s received hundreds of emails since residents were made aware of the changes.

The county’s own Capital Improvement Plan includes a project sheet for the intersection that shows added turn lanes and signal improvements, not a roundabout.

Country Club resident Carol Cooper led the charge to stop the roundabout. She said her next move is to file a Motion to Compel, which is a legal request for documents. In this case, the motion includes any and all documents pertaining to the planning of the roundabout and the reimbursement agreement.

Cooper said her second step is to “change the commissioners.” Commissioners Mike Rahn and Amanda Ballard are up for reelection in 2026. They, along with Commission Chair George Kruse and Commissioner Tal Siddique, voted to honor the signed contract with Lakewood Ranch.

Photo by Lesley Dwyer

“If you feel that you suffered damage or harm as a result of a traffic circle, then sell your house,” Siddique told residents. “If there was a clear termination clause, then I’d be happy to support it.”

The four commissioners in favor of moving forward with the agreement didn’t see a way out of the contract that would avoid litigation with Lakewood Ranch because Rex Jensen, CEO and president of Lakewood Ranch's parent company Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, was unwilling to negotiate.. 

Through his attorney, Jensen said he would seek “substantial” damages if the county terminated the contract.

McCann motioned for a postponement so he could get a formal legal opinion on possible Sunshine violations, but that motion was also voted down 4-3 after County Attorney Pamela D’Agostino gave her legal opinion that there was no violation.

Her argument was that only commissioners are subject to the Sunshine Law, not county staff members. The county staff member in question is Chad Butzow, director of Public Works.

During a prior discussion of the contract at the Aug. 7 land use meeting, Butzow said that because “what is roughly seen as the same group of people” wanted a roundabout at Players Drive and Lorraine Road that he did not anticipate “this type of reaction.”

Butzow referred to it as an “error in judgement.”

McCann called D'Agostino's opinion a "loose interpretation" of the law and said he will seek an official opinion from the Attorney General's Office.

Due process denied?

McCann argued that citizens could have had their right to due process violated.

“Depending on the nature of the project and the potential impact on the property owners, a lack of public engagement could be seen as a violation of procedural due process,” McCann said. “People in Lakewood Ranch are not without means. They have legal means, too, where they can be just as devastating as developers.”

Photo by Lesley Dwyer

After the vote was taken and negotiations to cancel the contract were terminated, Rahn stated that he and District 4 residents were also denied due process because his right to vote as an elected official was denied by McCann at the Aug. 7 meeting.

McCann was acting as chair because Kruse was out of town. Both Kruse and Rahn attended the meeting virtually on Zoom. When it came time to vote, Rahn’s microphone was muted.

McCann held the vote anyway because there was a quorum, which is all that’s required to vote on any matter.

Rahn noted that anytime another commissioner has attended a meeting by Zoom, their votes were counted. Kruse, as acting chair, called a five minute recess before a vote when Ballard dropped off a call in May.

“The chair (McCann) knew where my vote was headed,” Rahn said. “The vote would’ve carried 4-3, and we wouldn’t be here today.”