Transparency wins the day in Bradenton City Council battle

Transparency won the day at a sometimes heated Bradenton City Council meeting Wednesday when an attempt was made to vote on who to negotiate with on the multimillion dollar contract to build a new city parking garage in downtown Bradenton across from city hall.

The problem is that the vote wasn’t on Wednesday’s agenda. The suggestion to take a vote launched a battle between council members as to the appropriateness of moving forward with the vote to select a construction manager for the project. Council members are meeting with two architectural firms at 9 a.m. Thursday to also select a design team that will work with the construction manager.

Five developers made presentations on Tuesday to the council. Vice Mayor Patrick Roff was quick to oppose the vote request.

“It’s not on the agenda,” Roff said. “This is a big decision to make for it not being on the agenda.”

Councilman Gene Gallo argued that it’s not a decision that requires public input and that anyone interested in the project would have been at Tuesday’s meeting. Gallo said he was ready to take a vote.

“It’s a matter of what’s best for Bradenton,” he said.

Councilman Harold Byrd Jr. said he would be uncomfortable taking a vote, even though he, too, had made a decision.

“I’m prepared to discuss it, but I’ve always been a stickler about the agenda,” Byrd said. “It’s a transparency thing.”

Councilman Bemis Smith agreed, noting prior concerns the community has taken with council when moving on items either not on the agenda or last-minute items being placed on the agenda.

“I’m concerned about the decision-making process and the perception that comes along with it,” Smith said. “I understand where my colleagues are coming from, but that’s pretty much my thoughts on this.”

Mayor Wayne Poston said he brought up the opportunity to vote because those same council members have been critical of the lengthy process to get things moving forward.

“At the last seven council meetings, you all said we were moving too slowly and that we needed to make some decisions, so this is your opportunity,” Poston said.

City attorney Bill Lisch said since the action didn’t require public input and the council wasn’t awarding a contract, rather than selecting a developer to negotiate a contract with, “You are probably OK. It’s probably not illegal.”

Roff’s motion to schedule a special meeting at 9 a.m. on March 1 to vote on a construction manager and an architect passed.

This story was originally published February 22, 2017 at 8:17 PM with the headline "Transparency wins the day in Bradenton City Council battle."