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

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Posted May 5, 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 SIX: What is one decision the Marion County Commission has made in the past two years that you believe was wrong or could have been handled better, and what would you have done differently?

One area where decisions could have been handled better is how growth and development have been communicated and coordinated with infrastructure and long-term budget planning.

Marion County has been experiencing growth for years, but many residents felt caught by surprise as projects began to take shape across different parts of the county. While required notices were provided, they did not always come across as part of a larger, long-term plan. As a result, many citizens felt disconnected from the process and frustrated by changes happening around them.

At the same time, in some cases development moved forward before the necessary infrastructure and financial planning were fully in place. When growth outpaces road capacity, public safety services and water resources — without a clear, phased budget strategy to support it — it creates real, day-to-day challenges for residents as they commute to work, school and home.

I believe the issue is not growth itself, but how it is planned, communicated and funded over time. I believe more strategic, long-term budgeting would have better positioned the county to manage the pace of growth we are experiencing today.

What I would have done differently is ensure clearer, more proactive communication about long-term development plans, while requiring a comprehensive, upfront evaluation of infrastructure capacity and associated costs before approvals are finalized — so growth does not outpace our ability to support it or lead to unnecessary costs for taxpayers.

Good governance is not about stopping growth — it’s about managing it responsibly, planning ahead and making sure our community is informed, prepared and protected every step of the way.

—Sherri Meadows

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One decision I believe could have been handled better is how the county has continued approving growth without ensuring infrastructure keeps pace, particularly roads and traffic flow in high-growth corridors like State Road 200 and County Road 484.

Growth itself isn’t the problem. Marion County is an attractive place to live and do business, but the sequencing has been off. Too often, development approvals come first and infrastructure improvements come later, after residents are already dealing with congestion and safety concerns.

What I would have done differently is require a stricter “infrastructure-first” approach. That means tying development approvals directly to funded, scheduled road improvements not just planned ones and using tools like proportionate share agreements and impact fees more aggressively to ensure growth pays for growth in real time.

I also would have pushed for clearer communication with the public, showing exactly when and how infrastructure improvements will happen before approving major projects so residents aren’t left guessing.

At the end of the day, it’s about balance. We can support growth and protect quality of life but only if we plan ahead and hold ourselves accountable.

—Mike Crimi

***

I’m not going to accuse anyone of doing something wrong. Marion County is growing fast and I believe we need a stronger focus on planning, infrastructure, fiscal responsibility and protecting the character of our communities. Good people can disagree on policy.

My goal is to bring a fresh perspective, ask the right questions, listen to residents, and make sure growth works for the taxpayers, not against them.

—Jeff Bairstow

***

While it may seem paradoxical to call the reinstatement of impact fees a wrong move, it was a move too late. Marion County welcomes scores and scores of new residents every week, yet for nearly a decade, the commission allowed critical impact fee programs to remain suspended or repealed rather than requiring development to pay its fair share.

The fire rescue impact fee was suspended in 2010 and repealed entirely in 2015. It was not reinstated until May 2025. That is a 10-year gap during one of the county’s most explosive periods of growth. Transportation impact fees remained well below full assessed value until this year, when the commission finally approved a phased schedule reaching 100% in 2028.

The consequences are undeniable. Marion County faces an estimated $1.4 to $1.5 billion in transportation and infrastructure needs over the next 20 years, with only $900 million projected in available revenue. The county operates 32 fire stations and is struggling to keep pace.

Impact fees are not a tax on residents. They are a one-time charge on new development, ensuring growth pays for the infrastructure it creates. Had the commission acted sooner, reinstating fire rescue fees by 2020 and moving transportation fees to full rates years earlier, the county would be in a far stronger fiscal position today.

Compounding the problem, the commission cut the millage rate to 4.02 mils by redirecting $7.8 million in one-time ARPA interest funds, despite the known risks of doing so.

It’s great that the fees have returned, but it’s a decision that should’ve been made sooner. 

—Matthew Cretul

***

Currently, both the county and the city fund the Ocala/Marion CEP (Chamber and Economic Partnership) at significant levels, which has produced several high quantity and high quality jobs here in Marion County with businesses like, FedEx, Chewy, Amazon and several others. 

Obviously, AI data centers are a hot topic when it comes to those entities expanding into the Florida market because of our water supply needed for cooling these facilities, but myself and so many others would definitely not want to see our natural resources ravaged by the AI industry.

—Randall Alvord

These candidates did not respond by the stated deadline of 5 p.m. May 5: Brien Weidemiller, Clint Barkley, Anthony Barriner-Massa and Wanda Wimberly Lasher.