City Council Members Fuming Over Handling Of Ezra Incentives

Bradenton City Council members took issue Wednesday with the handling of a $250,000 incentive package awarded to to relocate downtown.

Ward 2 Councilwoman Marianne Barnebey and Ward 5 Councilman Harold Byrd Jr. said they weren't sufficiently informed before last Thursday's Downtown Development Authority meeting, in which the DDA board meant to lure the West Bradenton restaurant to a new home in the SunTrust Building, 1001 3rd Ave. W.

Barnebey took city staff to task Wednesday over their handling of the process and said she's received angry phone calls and comments from residents and restaurateurs who were outraged by the move.

"I heard from several business owners that said, 'If I thought the DDA was going to be throwing that kind of money around, I'd have come down and talked to them,' " Barnebey said.

"Is the DDA going to give a quarter of a million dollars to every business owner that comes down and presents them a business plan?" Barneby said. "I don't know."

The DDA agreed to cover $150,000 in construction costs for Ezra owner Donna Eason to expand a first-floor spot in the SunTrust Building that had previously been occupied by JD's Cafe, plus another $100,000 in rent subsidies to be paid over four years.

Mayor Wayne Poston, who spoke in favor of the deal, said he prides himself on transparency but that the process could have been handled better.

"This was a fumble," Poston said, "and we'll make it right."

City Clerk Carl Callahan and DDA board chair Will Robinson said a council workshop had been scheduled on the topic prior to last Thursday's DDA meeting, but outgoing DDA executive director Mike Kennedy was sick that day and could not brief council members on the proposal.

"There was no ill intent," said Callahan, who helped inform DDA board members of the issue prior to last week's vote. "We were not trying to keep this out of the public eye."

Councilman Gene Gallo said he and the rest of the council members received an agenda for the DDA's meeting, and that he had no issue with the deal or how it unfolded.

"There's nothing in my mind that this was a very secretive mission," Gallo said.

Byrd said he is in favor of incentives to bring new businesses downtown but called for a review of procedures in how council members are notified about such issues.

"I disagree in the way this particular situation went down, given the amount of money that we're talking about -- taxpayer dollars," Byrd said. "We believe in transparency, and I don't think that was present."

Council members have 30 days to veto any action taken by the DDA. Byrd stopped short of saying he would veto the Ezra Cafe deal at the council's next meeting, scheduled for Feb. 23, but that "it wouldn't surprise me if it came back up for a vote."

Also Wednesday, council members narrowly approved a request by the owners of the , 108 44th Ave. E., to move to Old Main Street and operate a lounge that will also serve late-night food.

Poston cast the deciding vote to break a 2-2 tie, with Ward 1 Councilman Gene Gallo and Ward 4 Councilman Bemis Smith in favor and Byrd and Barnebey opposed. Ward 3 Councilman Patrick Roff was attending a Florida League of Cities gathering in Washington and was absent from the meeting.

It was the first time Poston had to break a tie vote since 2007, according to city records.