Jason Bearden

This Transit Development Plan (TDP) major update for Manatee County Area Transit (MCAT) serves as a strategic guide for public transportation, articulating the community's vision over a 10-year planning horizon from FY 2024 to FY 2033. The plan aims to provide a comprehensive roadmap for transit and mobility needs, including cost and revenue projections, and community transit goals, objectives, and policies, while identifying service improvements to address present and future demands.

This annual report for Manatee County's Children's Services outlines a strategic direction focused on ensuring the well-being of children and families. Key priorities include safeguarding children from abuse and neglect, fostering literacy skills for school success, developing appropriate functioning skills in various environments, and equipping parents and caregivers to prevent child deaths. The report reviews past data (FY2023-FY2025) and provides investment recommendations for Fiscal Year 2026 to support these goals and build a community where every child can thrive.

This document outlines the Manatee Board of County Commissioners' legislative priorities. It details five specific appropriation requests for projects, including a Veterans Resource Hub, Fresh Start Phase 2 for addressing homelessness, a North/South Gateway Greenway Trail, Gamble Creek Flood Mitigation Area, and a SUNTrail segment. Additionally, it specifies support for several congressional acts, such as the Thin Blue Line Act, Manatee Protection Act, Harmful Algal Blooms Act, Goldie's Act, and Myakka Wild and Scenic River Act, along with various policies from the Florida Association of Counties (FAC) and the National Association of Counties (NACo).

The primary focus of this regular meeting was the consideration and potential adoption of Resolution R-25-098, which updates and amends the Phosphate Mining Fee Schedule. This amendment revises fees for processing phosphate mining applications and annual reports, and introduces four new fees for out-of-county mining-related activities, as authorized by the Manatee County Code of Ordinances. The need for the update stems from a recent fee study conducted by an outside firm, which indicated that the existing fees (Resolution R-17-93) only recovered 24% of the full costs associated with regulatory oversight of phosphate mining, leading to a significant subsidy requirement. The proposed changes aim to increase cost recovery to 100% for these services.

This Annual Action Plan for Manatee County, Florida, is the second year of the 2023-2028 Consolidated Plan. It outlines goals, objectives, and strategies to address housing and community development needs, including those of homeless and special needs populations, aligning with five major focus areas: Housing, Public/Social Services, Community Development/Public Improvements, Economic Development, and Emergency/Disaster Response. The plan details the use of federal funding for programs aimed at increasing access to affordable housing, reducing homelessness, supporting healthcare and wellbeing, providing access to supportive services and economic development opportunities, and expanding community development strategies.