bserver O EAST COUNTY FREE • Thursday, JUNE 20, 2013
You. Your neighbors. Your neighborhood.
HEALTH MATTERS
CAMERA READY
Mission Cataract gives patients a chance to have vision restored.
Tragic East County intersection to get red-light cameras. PAGE 5
OUR TOWN + Pirates honored for sportsmanship Braden River High was named the Class 7A overall winner of the Florida High School Athletic Association’s Fred E. Rozelle Sportsmanship Award. The award, which was presented to 20 high schools and three middle schools statewide, honors schools whose athletic teams demonstrated exemplary sportsmanship during the 2012-13 regular season and FHSSA state series. The Pirates won the award for Section 3, and then were named the Class 7A overall winner. Section winners will receive $500 and a commemorative plaque. Each overall winner will receive an additional $2,500 and a larger plaque.
referendum
ACTION!
Karl and Rhonda Wilson had to face real life before pursuing a dream. PAGE 19
special section by Pam Eubanks | Managing Editor
Voters split on referendum votes Voters approved a tax exemption for new and expanding businesses, but voted against a sales surtax to fund indigent care. MANATEE COUNTY — Manatee County soon may have another way to attract new businesses and encourage existing ones to expand. Manatee County residents voted June 18 to allow the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners to grant property-tax exemptions to new or existing businesses that are expected be high-impact and high-paid, with 60% of their revenue coming from outside the region.
The measure allows companies to receive tax beaks in an amount up to 100% of property taxes owed, for up to 10 years. County staff and the EDC will work together to recommend which businesses should qualify for the tax relief. More than 52% of constituents voted in favor of the measure. Constituents, however, voted against a half-percent sales tax proposal intended to fund indigent health care, with 60.81% of
voters opposing the measure. Manatee County Administrator Ed Hunzeker had touted the sales surtax as a way to diversify the county’s tax base, while continuing to fund health care for indigent Manatee County residents. The county spends about $23 million annually to fund indigent care, of which $9 million comes from a health trust fund provided for by the 1984 sale of
2013 SPECIAL ELECTION
Voting
at a glance Sales Surtax Referendum
39.18% 60.81%
Yes No (%)
Tax Exemption Referendum
52.53% 47.46%
Yes (%) No (%)
SEE REFERENDUM / PAGE 8
SUMMER SCRIMMAGE
rising costs by Pam Eubanks | Managing Editor
Ranch CDDs see increased budgets Increases stem largely from costs associated with the new maintenance facility and irrigation water.
+ East County kids tackle roadways Children in the K-Kids and Builders Club at Imagine School at Lakewood Ranch have been busy. The groups celebrated the installment of their AdoptA-Road sign May 23, along Lakewood Ranch Boulevard. Children have adopted the section of roadway, from the corner of State Road 64 south to 44th Avenue East, for regular cleaning. Children also held their first official road cleanup June 8. In total, they collected 58 pounds of trash and a Firestone tire.
SEE OUR TOWN / PAGE 4
Jen Blanco
Eight-year-old Matt Depalma plays running back for the Lakewood Ranch YMCA Colts. Depalma participated in Lakewood Ranch High’s annual football camp. For more photos, see pages 14-15.
LAKEWOOD RANCH — The numbers are going up. Lakewood Ranch residents will see increases in assessments in the next fiscal year for their respective community development districts. Lakewood Ranch CDDs 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 will see assessment increases ranging from 4.9% to 26%, primarily as a result of costs associated with the construction of a new maintenance facility and for irrigation water. Supervisors approved their tentative budgets during their regular meetings June 13. Budgets, which still can be reduced, will be adopted formally in the fall. Construction for the new maintenance facility, which will replace existing offices for the Inter-District Authority Board’s operations department, began in March.
SEE LWR CDD / PAGE 2
INDEX Briefs......................7 Classifieds ...........28
Cops Corner..........11 Crossword.............27
Neighborhood.......19 Real Estate...........24
Sports...................13 Weather................27
Vol. 14, No. 25 | Two sections YourObserver.com