“Ocala Gazette” Q&A with candidates for County Commission

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Posted April 7, 2026 | Staff report

There are three candidates running for the District 2 County Commission seat (Matthew Cretul, Mike Crimi and Brien Weidemiller) and six for the District 4 seat (Randall Alvord, Jeff Bairstow, Clint Barkley, Anthony Barriner-Massa, Wanda Wimberly Lasher and Sherri Meadows).

The “Gazette” will email a different question each week to all of the candidates, for a total of nine questions over nine weeks. The candidates are given a week to respond in writing and we do not edit their answers. The answers from those who chose to participate are presented below in the order in which they were received.

QUESTION TWO: County residents often raise concerns about infrastructure keeping pace with growth, including roads, emergency services and schools. What steps should the county take over the next four years to ensure infrastructure keeps up with development, and how should those improvements be funded?

Growth should be paying for itself. We need higher impact fees so the new developments are paying for the roads and our public safety.

We need to update our comprehensive plan and make zoning changes to guide growth into appropriate areas while slowing down in places that are already overburdened. This is about managing growth responsibly, not stopping it.

Public input is critical. Residents need to stay engaged and continue to raise concerns about traffic, flooding, school capacity, environmental impacts and overall quality of life. So set up a meeting with your district commissioner on the phone or in person, register to speak at the meetings and start a petition for the direction our county is going, we’re not going to make a change sitting around talking about it on social media.

—Anthony Barriner-Massa

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Growth should pay its way. Over the next four years, Marion County must make sure roads, emergency services, schools and utilities are considered before major development is approved, not after residents are already feeling the strain. That means better long-range planning, stronger coordination with public safety and the school district, and clear benchmarks to measure whether infrastructure is keeping up.

Funding should come from a fair combination of lawful impact fees, developer contributions and responsible capital planning. Existing taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize unchecked growth. We need growth that is responsible, transparent and sustainable, with infrastructure that keeps pace and protects quality of life.

—Jeff Bairstow

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Infrastructure must keep pace with growth not lag behind it. Over the next four years, the County needs to shift from reactive planning to proactive, data-driven infrastructure management.

First, we must require growth to pay for growth. That means updating and enforcing impact fees so new development contributes its fair share toward roads, public safety and schools. We should also expand proportionate share agreements so developers directly fund needed road improvements tied to their projects.

Second, we need a coordinated infrastructure plan across all agencies. Roads, fire rescue, EMS, schools and utilities cannot operate independently. The county should implement a unified 5–10 year capital plan tied to actual population projections, with concurrency requirements that prevent approvals where infrastructure is already at capacity.

Third, we must invest in targeted road and traffic improvements. This includes synchronizing signals on major corridors, accelerating intersection upgrades and prioritizing congestion points like CR 484 and other high-growth areas. Small operational fixes can deliver faster relief than waiting years for major expansions.

Fourth, public safety must scale with population. That means adding fire stations, EMS units and staffing based on response-time standards not after delays occur. We should also explore public-private partnerships and innovative models like telehealth integration in EMS to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

Fifth, we need to leverage existing assets more effectively. For example, optimizing the County’s employee health clinic and reducing outside contractor costs can free up funds that can be reinvested into infrastructure and public safety.

Funding should come from a balanced approach: Updated impact fees and developer contributions; strategic use of sales tax and infrastructure surtaxes (if approved by voters); state and federal grants; public-private partnerships where appropriate; and reprioritizing existing spending to eliminate inefficiencies

Bottom line: If we plan ahead, hold development accountable and spend smarter and not just more, we can protect quality of life while still allowing responsible growth.

—Mike Crimi

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Marion County’s infrastructure must keep pace with growth — not lag behind it. That requires planning ahead, not reacting after congestion and service gaps occur.

First, I will require infrastructure capacity reviews before major development approvals, ensuring roads, emergency services, school capacity and essential services like waste management are evaluated upfront. Growth should only occur where infrastructure can support it or where a clear plan is in place to deliver it.

Second, I will implement corridor-based infrastructure planning, focusing investment along high-growth areas. This allows us to prioritize road improvements, emergency service coverage and utilities where demand is greatest — while coordinating road construction to minimize impacts on emergency response times.

Third, we must strengthen public safety planning, using response-time data to guide the placement of fire stations, EMS and law enforcement across our 1,600-square-mile county, while working with school partners to ensure capacity keeps pace with residential growth.

We must also address aging infrastructure systems, including long-term planning for solid waste capacity and modernization of county facilities.

Funding must be fair and responsible. I support ensuring that new development pays its proportionate share through impact fees and infrastructure contributions, while maintaining fiscal discipline and leveraging state and regional funding.

Infrastructure is not optional — it is essential. With planning and leadership, Marion County’s growth can strengthen our community instead of straining it.

—Sherri Meadows

***

Over the next four years, Marion County needs to ensure that impact fees keep pace with the planned growth. We are already behind in critical infrastructure needs.

Marion County is experiencing unprecedented growth. The influx of new residents will warrant careful attention. The need for new schools, emergency services and roads will inevitably be a requirement. Today is the time to start their planning. When you must sit through two or three cycles at a traffic light or we have 30+ students per class in our K through 12 schools, something needs to be done.

Balancing impact fees along with the planned growth is a major part of my campaign. It is our duty to make Marion County functional. It is a daunting task that will be manageable only with foresight, planning and input from all of our citizens.

• Wanda Wimberly Lasher

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The only way Marion County is going to keep pace with the rapid growth is by allowing the Board of County Commissioners the ability to use the availability of emergency services, school capacity and infrastructure availability and capacity to be allowed in approving or denying future development. 

The state in 2011 stripped away the ability for local municipalities to use school concurrency/capacity as a factor in denying any new development, which is absolutely absurd. With the signing of SB180, and most recently HB399, the state is rapidly stripping away “local rule” and our ability to work for our citizens and maintain home rule needs to be fought for vigorously. 

Funding can be done in a combination of asking for developer paid improvements to existing and new infrastructure needs and of course with Marion County’s excellent credit rating bonding is an available option. 

Government has to tighten the belt on expenditures and quit paying $650 per square foot for new construction projects would certainly be a good starting point.

—Randall Alvord

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Marion County does not have a funding issue, we have a spending issue. The infrastructure is not keeping pace with the growth.

The county can implement measures to slow development by collecting impact fees on the front end, which would slow developers and developments. We have the funding, but infrastructure needs to remain a priority and occur at a quicker pace than it currently is. Spend any amount of time on Highway 200 and you can feel the impact of infrastructure backlog.

We can utilize grants for projects as well, such as constructing sidewalks for our kids to get to school safely. We need to allocate funds for emergency services and schools due to the explosion of growth.

We need to cut waste and unproductive spending, which frees up money to be used on desperately needed infrastructure. We can create partnerships between local businesses and the schools in our community to help subsidize needs in our schools.

We should stop treating taxpayer money like its daddy’s credit card.

—Brien Weidemiller

***

Infrastructure improvements lag behind growth when 1) growth exceeds anticipated levels and 2) when it is not properly prepared for or fundedI believe we suffer from both, and I believe certain steps can be taken to put us in a place where we’re not as overwhelmed as we are today.

Regarding roads, as previously stated, the “Penny Sales Tax” (PST) should be leveraged. Specifically, it should be used to bond road projects that will bring the most traffic relief to the most drivers. This allows us to build roads with today’s costs, which saves money (because we know costs aren’t going down anytime soon). Although we must be cautious not to over-leverage the PST with too many bonds. Working in partnership with the TPO and the Office of the County Engineer, reexamining our county’s Transportation Improvement Program is necessary to ensure the traffic relief is felt by all residents of the county. 

Emergency services also benefit from the PST, but only for non-recurring items such as vehicles & gear, and not for salaries or operational expenses. That’s great, but the vehicles need someone to drive them! The county needs to ensure that our wages are competitive with those of similar organizations, and the culture of our department is attracting new employees while retaining experienced staff. 

Schools fall outside the purview of the BCC, but I believe working with MCPS is vital to ensure we have an educated and available workforce that will fill the jobs that the growth brings.

—Matthew Cretul

Candidate Clint Barkley did not respond.