By Terry Witt- -Spotlight Senior Reporter

            A Levy County Planning Commissioner who attracted attention for his role as a high-profile executive in All-In Removal, a company involved in hauling horse manure from equestrian facilities in Ocala, resigned from his position on the board Friday.

            Michael Earnest, president, and COO of the Ocala-based trucking facility didn’t list a specific reason for tendering his resignation, which was effective immediately, but said he enjoyed working with commissioners, Levy County staff, and serving the public.

            Earnest, who was nominated to the position by Levy County Commissioner Matt Brooks, was subjected to close scrutiny due to his position on the planning board and the fact he could potentially have influenced whether the board recommends legalizing manure composting in Levy County.

            The planning commission makes recommendations to the county commission. Earnest spoke favorably about manure composting during planning commission discussions. His favorable comments angered some in the community who considered him biased due to his position at the trucking company.

            The resignation comes three days after a four-hour county commission workshop concerning manure composting. Residents spoke against manure composting saying they didn’t want the manure piles near their homes. Many in the Levy County community consider manure composting sites to be manure dumps that would pose health threats, visual blight and degrade property values.

            County commissioners haven’t indicated whether they will continue to discuss establishing a land use designation for manure composting or where the dumps might be located, but the fact that land has been purchased in Levy County for undisclosed purposes by the owner of All-In Removal, billionaire Reid Nagle, raised the hackles and suspicions of many residents.

            Many fear that Nagle’s intent is to use the purchased land for horse manure dumps. Nagle hasn’t disclosed his intentions for the properties but two major online petition drives erupted after neighbors saw what was happening and decided to try to do something about it.

            Currently, the Levy County Commission’s Land Development Code has no land use category for manure composting. Nagle would have to wait for a favorable county commission decision creating a manure composting land use designation before he could use his properties for that purpose. The county commission has also discussed using an approval procedure known as a special exception to take public input before a permit is issued for a manure composting site, but they also are considering giving planning staff the right to approve the manure dumps using a simple checklist.

            Some of the current language being proposed by county planning staff in the Land Development Code talks about composting in general and lists various types of composting uses including manure, as well as commercial and industrial composting, but leaves open the question of where manure composting would go. That decision would be left to the county commission.

            There are manure composting facilities in Levy County, one dating back 14 years. County Attorney Nicolle Shalley has noted repeatedly there is nothing in the Levy County Land Development Code for composting. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection regulates manure composting as solid waste but doesn’t have the authority to govern the county’s Land Development Code or the county’s land uses.  The sole authority in that arena rests with the county commission.

——————–

Enterprise Reporting by Terry Witt May 12, 2023; Posted May 12, 2023