Sale of Lakewood Ranch park to county expected by end of year

The buzz surrounding Manatee County purchasing a Lakewood Ranch sports complex for a fraction of what it’s worth was palpable Tuesday, as commissioners unanimously voted to inch closer to an agreement slated to be finalized by the end of the year.

Schroeder-Manatee Ranch has expressed interest in selling its 127-acre Premier Sports Campus, 5895 Post Blvd., with CEO Rex Jensen detailing the offer in a letter to County Adminstrator Ed Hunzeker in June.

Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, described the complex’s impact to the Lakewood Ranch area and county as a whole, and said he will request $4 million in tourist taxes to help with the purchase.

In the 2016-17 season, the complex brought about $14.1 million in economic impact, with 18,816 hotel night stays recorded and 15 tournaments held. Falcione said the projected economic impact would increase to $18.5 million in the 2017-18 season.

Staff who currently work at the facility would be absorbed into the county, with property management running the maintenance aspect and the parks department curating a master plan for the 36 acres to the north of the facility.

“Schroeder-Manatee is ready to get out of that business,” Falcione said, adding that the deal is expected to close by year’s end.

The price tag associated with the property is $5.2 million, but Falcione said the property with all of its assets is worth $21 million. Yet, Premier was expected to run deficits of about $200,000 in 2018 and 2019.

Most of the commissioners voiced their support of the deal.

“When you look at this facility and you look at the potential and you look at the business aspect of it, it’s a game changer,” Commissioner Charles Smith said.

Commissioner Vanessa Baugh, who represents the Lakewood Ranch area, had high praise for the facility and said that although Lakewood Ranch is “at a new level” compared to before, the park is still needed for the community.

“Everyone thinks we have everything out east. We don’t,” she said, adding that she wanted to make sure that an aquatic center would be included in the agreement.

Baugh also talked about how the turf on the soccer fields at Premier Sports Campus is “not like most soccer fields in the state.” With that regard, Commissioner Priscilla Whisenant Trace was supportive, albeit apprehensively, of the agreement. She noted it was difficult to keep turf healthy and she felt the county had difficulty maintaining the parks they currently have.

Although it would be owned and run by the county, with the visitors bureau running venue programming, Chairwoman Betsy Benac said it would still operate similarly to how the private Schroeder-Manatee organization has handled the property.

“They trust us to do this the right way,” she said. “That’s pretty unique.”

The agreement will be brought back before commissioners during the Dec. 7 land use meeting. Before then, Falcione will ask the Tourist Development Council for permission to use $4 million in tourist taxes for part of the acquisition cost, as well as building a permanent bathroom facility and multipurpose room.

Other business

Commissioners also:

▪ Directed staff to look into the possibility of turning a small parcel of county-owned property on Honore Avenue near Ward Lake into a park. Commissioners could not discuss the matter further because it’s adjacent to a proposed 200-acre development on property currently owned by the city of Bradenton.

▪ Unanimously approved a 3 percent increase to a sixth contract with Armor Correction Health Services for the county jail. Commissioners, particularly Carol Whitmore, did not like that inmates are not able to bill commercial insurance for health services while in custody, putting the cost on the county. Within 60 days, commissioners will have a work session on what solutions can be made to relieve the issue.

▪ Approved by a vote of 6-1 the reaffirmation the county’s Equal Employment Opportunity Policy statement, which states that the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners will provide equal opportunity in employment without discrimination of “race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, political affiliation or a disability that does not preclude the performance of the essential functions of a job.” Commissioner Smith took issue, saying he was not told after many requests of what the minority makeup of county employees is. Out of 1,701 employees under the board, 629 are women, and 299 are minorities (138 are black, 125 are Hispanic, 29 are Asian and 7 are American Indian, according to human resources director Rodney Barnes.) “I certainly haven’t accused anyone of discrimination ... yet,” he said. Smith was the dissenting vote.

▪ Heard about a grant proposal submitted to Enterprise Florida for infrastructure work at the intersection of U.S. 301 and Ellenton-Gillette Road. The grant ask is about $1.7 million.

This story was originally published November 28, 2017 at 12:59 PM with the headline "Sale of Lakewood Ranch park to county expected by end of year."