REAL ESTATE 2

Thursday’s dis-

cussion about terminating the county administrator took place with no advance public notice.

BY JOE HENDRICKS

SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com

BRADENTON – Manatee County District 3 Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge is leading the efforts to terminate County Administrator Cheri Coryea.

As a result of these efforts, the Manatee County Commission will meet on Wednesday, Jan. 6 to debate and vote on the potential termination of Coryea, who has been on the county's staff for more than 30 years.

As newly-elected commissioners, Van Ostenbridge, James Satcher and George Kruse were sworn in on Tuesday. They participated in a work session that day during which Van Ostenbridge requested a special commission meeting on Thursday to discuss the county’s legal rights in the event of a federally-ordered eco-

JOE HENDRICKS | SUN County Administrator Cheri Coryea is under fire from at least three county commissioners.

nomic shutdown.

There was nothing on Thursday’s special meeting agenda about terminating the county administrator. Van Ostenbridge initiated the discussion without any advance notice given to the public, commissioners, Coryea, or county staff.

Commissioners Vanessa Baugh, Thatcher and Kruse ultimately supported Van Ostenbridge’s motion to put Coryea on at least 15 days’ notice that a discussion on her potential termination is now pending. Commissioners Reggie Bellamy, Misty Servia and Carol Whitmore opposed that action. The 15-day time frame was later extended until after the holidays.

With about 1,900 employees under her supervision, Coryea carries out the directives of the county commission and oversees the operations of the county. She was named acting county administrator on Feb. 26, 2019. On May 21, 2019, the county commission approved removed “acting” from her job title and made her Manatee County’s first female county administrator.

SURPRISE DISCUSSION

As Thursday’s special commission neared what was thought to be its conclusion, Van Ostenbridge said, “There is something else I’d like to bring forward. It’s a serious matter. I want to bring up the matter of our county administrator. I like Cheri very much as a person. I think she’s a great individual. However, I have a different vision for the administrator position. I admire her dedication to the county and her many years of service, but I’m a private sector person and she’s more of a public sector person.

“My vision is that government should, whenever possible, mirror the private sector. I think we need a shift of culture within the county. I saw the direction that she was leading the county and the direction she was steering the committee at times and I disagree with it fundamentally,” Van Ostenbridge said.

Van Ostenbridge then referenced the county’s recent purchase of a 161-acre property in east Manatee County, at 8520 State Road 64. The newly acquired property is across the street and slightly north of the county’s Lena Road Landfill.

The decision to purchase that property was finalized by a 5-2 commission vote in October, with Baugh and then-Commissioner Steve Jonsson voting in opposition. According to the sale and purchase contract dated Oct. 13, and signed by then-Commission Chair Betsy Benac, the county purchased the mostly vacant property from Musgrave Real Estate Holdings for $30,185,625.

The warranty deed transferred ownership of the property from Musgrave Real Estate Holdings to Manatee County on Nov. 13. The property was purchased with the intent of creating the Central County Complex that would provide a district office for the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office and additional facilities for the county’s Public Works Department and Utilities Department.

“I, and some colleagues of mine, value that property at $6 million. The previous commission voted twice to go through with that purchase. I was pretty vocal against it. Commissioner Kruse was incoming at the time – he was pretty vocal against it. Mr. Satcher made public comments that he didn’t agree with it as well. It was pretty obvious that the incoming commission did not want this,” said Van Ostenbridge, a Realtor with Boyd Realty.

“The closing date of that property was hurried to last Friday. Funds have changed hands and it’s a done deal. I feel very saddled now with that cost and that property, as well as the burdens of the improvements that have to be made,” he said.

SEE PROPOSAL, PAGE 28