School Board charges Manatee County $120,000 over Hurricane Ian storm debris ballyhoo

The School Board of Manatee County has sent a $120,000 bill to Manatee County for using a future high school site in Lakewood Ranch to dispose of Hurricane Ian storm debris without permission.

County officials refuse to pay it.

The property is not scheduled to be used in the next several years, and county commissioners say they had verbal agreements with school district leadership during rapid response actions taken during Hurricane Ian to use the school property as a temporary disposal site for storm debris.

Previously: Manatee County begins Hurricane Ian storm debris pickup. Here's what you need to know

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School board members who were not pleased with the arrangement included a $120,000 charge to use the property in a proposed facility use agreement drafted after the fact, plus $10,000 for every month that it is used.

Outgoing School Board Member Charlie Kennedy blamed the error on Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes at a public board meeting on Oct. 25, and took glee in seeing him caught at the center of the controversy.

"So everyone understands, the county administrator took it upon himself to give approval to one of his contractors to dump hurricane debris on one of our properties, without anyone's permission at the school district," Kennedy said. "There's trespassing, there's illegal dumping, there's the conspiracy of whoever was involved in this whole process, which at least two statutes have been violated here."

Political rivalries cloud debris fiasco

Kennedy had no qualms in making his political rivalry with Hopes, who previously served on the school board, known during his comments at the meeting.

"I appreciate everybody letting me enjoy this moment for a second because after however many years it's been, this one, not much of his shenanigans affects me directly but this one did," Kennedy said.

"I would say let's use our leverage and let's get more for the taxpayers, school district's taxpayers, and our bottom line, than $10,000 a month because the property is worth way more than that," he said.

Hopes disputes Kennedy's claims

Hopes refutes the school board's characterization of the situation and said county staff worked closely with school district staff to identify a location that could be temporarily used as a transition site for storm debris that will eventually be chipped and disposed of at the county landfill.

"Our staffs ... did discuss this, they did give verbal agreement to our staff that we could use it and that we would follow up with an agreement," Hopes said. "The contractor had already gotten everything permitted, prepared the site, and began picking up debris in the Lakewood Ranch area."

County officials noted that they did not charge the school district for prioritized efforts to remove debris from school sites in an effort to return students to session quickly after the storm.

Administrators also indicated the site will likely only be used until Nov. 22, when Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursement deadlines for storm debris removal reimbursements end.

"The one hauler that is in the area needed an additional location," Deputy County Administrator Courtney De Pol said during the meeting. "An alternate location that was discussed was Premiere Park, and what an impact that would have had on our kids."

"This was one of those areas that we discussed with the school district administration, and we were in agreement when we discussed this to use that site, so then all of a sudden this became a big problem when there were many verbal discussions between staff and the school district on this topic, and it was fine," she said.

Commissioners deny school board's $120,000 fee

Manatee County commissioners voted unanimously during a land use meeting last week to approve the school district's proposed agreement, but not until after amending it to remove the monetary compensation.

Chairman Kevin Van Ostenbridge was the first to address the issue.

He and other officials said one of the district's deputy superintendent's verbally agreed to let the county use the site on a temporary basis, then unfairly surprised the county with unexpected fees after-the-fact.

"It's disappointing that the school board would send us a $120,000 bill," Van Ostenbridge said. "I'm going to be a no on this, I'm a pretty firm no, actually."

Commissioner Vanessa Baugh made the motion to amend the agreement and remove the $120,000 fee at County Attorney Bill Clague's suggestion.

"I am really put out by the way Charlie Kennedy responded verbally to this publicly, I don't think that was right," Baugh said. "If he knew about the agreement, I don't think he would have done that ... not a dime is going to them."

Saunders responds, claiming permission had not been granted

It remains to be seen how the school board responds, but on Friday, Superintendent Cynthia Saunders sent a letter in an email to county commissioners, clarifying the district's position.

She stated the agreement was entered into after she had been made aware that private contractors hired by the county were already using the district property without her consent, nor that of the school board.

Saunders said that any agreement must include the name of the private agency utilizing district facilities, monetary compensation for the length of time utilized, and proof of insurance.

She added that the county provided proof of insurance for one of its private contractors; however, that insurance expired in 2021, and requested an updated proof of insurance and the name of any vendors that will use the property by Monday.

"The county and school board have a history of mutual cooperation, and I know we all want that to continue," Saunders said.

"My understanding is that terms of the agreement above may be different now than first determined," she said. "Therefore, I will work with Dr. Hopes on changing the monetary amount and the timeline of the agreement based on input provided by the county commission and school board."

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Manatee School Board bills county $120,000 over Ian storm debris