On Tuesday, the Manatee County Commission will vote on an estimated $34 million proposal to purchase and renovate a Lakewood Ranch office complex where the county would move the bulk of its administrative operations, including nearly all those currently housed in the downtown Bradenton administrative building. If you’re surprised and even confused by the fact that you had not previously heard about any of this, join the club.
Despite the enormous complexity of such a decision, virtually no public discussion has contemplated its wisdom or feasibility. The location of the complex is far from ideal. Located at 9000 Town Center Pkwy, it is in the most southeastern corner of the county. Given the heavy traffic that area is known for and the ever-increasing gridlock choking off much of the rest of the county, the location would pose a significant challenge to many of the people who need to conduct business there.
While the county has given no indication of which departments would be relocated, the size of the complex suggests that, at a minimum, hundreds of employees would begin working approximately 40 minutes away from the current administration building. Has an employee survey been conducted to assess how such a radical change might impact county staff? If so, it has not been attached to the agenda, which did not even include a copy of the sale contract until the county began receiving public records requests for it, and it was attached in an updated agenda sent out Thursday afternoon…