Manatee County approves Charlie Kirk memorial road. Will it be a vandalism target?
Manatee County commissioners took a final vote Tuesday to name a road after controversial political activist Charlie Kirk following his assassination in September.
After debating a proposal by Commissioner Jason Bearden last month to rename a major Manatee County road after Kirk, the board settled on the far less costly option of designating a memorial highway in his name.
Memorial highways recognize an individual with large rectangular signs posted along a portion of a road. The road keeps its original name for addresses, street signs and official purposes.
Commissioners approved initial plans for the memorial in a unanimous October vote despite a mixed reaction from residents, some of whom strongly opposed naming a local road after Kirk. One county leader expressed concern that the move could lead to vandalism attempts in the area from disgruntled residents.
The memorial, to be named “Charlie Kirk Memorial Boulevard,” is planned for an unbuilt section of 51st Street West that will run north-south between 53rd Avenue West and El Conquistador Parkway in the Bradenton area.
How much will Manatee’s Kirk memorial cost taxpayers?
Ahead of the vote, county staff shared a cost estimate of around $1,165 to establish the memorial highway, plus annual maintenance:
- $962 for two memorial highway signs, plus an estimated $96 per year for maintenance.
- $202 for six commemorative signs at $33 each. The county will give the commemorative signs to “designated dignitaries in memoriam of the dedication,” the cost estimate said.
The estimate said no other costs are anticipated.
Commissioner raises vandalism concerns
Before the vote, Commissioner Tal Siddique raised concerns about possible vandalism.
“Given the public outcry, there are quite a few bad actors that are going to want to steal the sign, deface it,” Siddique said. “Not to make it too expensive, but what can we do to protect the sign?”
Aaron Burkett, the county’s traffic operations manager, said the signs will be difficult to remove or damage.
“The actual memorial sign that we’re going to have out there is going to be a very large, multi-column sign. It will be challenging to remove it,” Burkett said. “Obviously, they might be able to throw something at it.”
“We have the ability to clean these things if they get defaced with graffiti or whatever,” Burkett added. “Our signs have protective coating in there that paint and things like that don’t stick to it. The street marker blades, we have the ability to put in depth-resistant hardware to ensure that they’re not removed. We have a pretty good reactive system through (Manatee) 311 if there’s an issue.”
What happens next?
Unlike last month’s vote that brought passionate comments for and against naming a road after Kirk, there were no public comments on Tuesday.
The board approved the plans for the memorial highway in a 5-0 vote, with Commissioners Carol Ann Felts and Bob McCann absent.
Temporary blue signs will be placed near the site of the future road until it’s constructed, county staff said Tuesday.
