Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Manatee County honors Commissioner Carol Ann Felts; board advances renaming and rural advisory board
Loading...
Summary
At a packed March 3 meeting, the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners held tributes for the late Commissioner Carol Ann Felts, accepted proclamations from local cities, voted to rename a park section in her honor and directed staff to create a Rural Citizens and Lands Advisory Board to continue her work on rural-land issues.
The Manatee County Board of County Commissioners opened its March 3 meeting with a tribute to Commissioner Carol Ann Felts, who died Feb. 24, 2026. Chair Tal Siddiq presided over an invocation, musical tributes and two videos honoring Felts’s advocacy for rural lands and county government transparency.
Representatives from the cities of Palmetto and Bradenton presented proclamations recognizing March 3 as a day in Felts’s honor. Mayor Dan West of Palmetto read his city’s proclamation praising Felts’s conservation work and community advocacy. The board then read and adopted its own proclamation acknowledging Felts’s service to District 1 and the county.
The board moved several agenda items forward in Felts’s memory. Commissioner Ballard proposed naming a new section of Crane Park the “Carol Ann Felts Preserve at Crane Park,” directing staff to prepare the required fiscal-impact statement and asking the county attorney to review legal considerations. Commissioners amended the motion to include the park’s full donor name, David J. Crane Park, and approved the directive unanimously.
Ballard also introduced a long‑planned proposal to create a Rural Citizens and Lands Advisory Board meant to amplify input from rural residents, large and small landowners, agritourism interests and technical experts. “She’d been pushing for this for seven years,” Ballard said, urging the board to continue Felts’s work. Commissioners voted unanimously to direct staff and the county attorney to draft a resolution establishing the board, with membership, meeting and reporting details to be developed and returned to the board.
Public commenters—many from Myakka City and rural neighborhoods Felts represented—urged the commission to ensure the advisory board’s recommendations are heard and explained when the board chooses to depart from them. “Respect your advisory boards, and don’t marginalize them,” one resident said.
The board approved the proclamations and the two items honoring Felts without dissent. Chair Siddiq also announced staff would combine a future ribbon‑cutting for the preserve with a general memorial event and that the county will transmit formal vacancy notice to the governor to initiate an appointment process for Felts’s seat.
What’s next: staff will prepare the park‑renaming resolution, draft the rural advisory board charter and return both items to the board for formal adoption and implementation details.
