Commission Chairman Brooks: All-In Removal Post on His Facebook Page Isn’t What It Seems

By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

A banner advertisement for All-In Removal, the manure hauling company owned by billionaire Reid Nagle, was seen across the top of the business Facebook page of County Commission Chairman Matt Brooks on June 18 and stirred public interest.

Brooks, co-partner in B4 Signs and Advertising, also raised eyebrows when he nominated All-In Removal President and CEO Michael Earnest to the Levy County Planning Commission. People wondered if Brooks might have ties to Nagle. Earnest later resigned from the planning commission.

Nagle has applied to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for permits to dump bulk manure compost on two pieces of property, one near Williston and the other in Morriston. Neighbors of both properties are fiercely opposed to any manure compost being dumped near their homes or the church. Concerns remain high.

Given that backdrop, and the fact that Brooks is chairman of the Levy County Commission and county staff members are writing an ordinance that would govern manure composting, he was asked by text Saturday if the All-In Removal advertising sign across the top of his business Facebook page was an indication that he supported Nagle’s plan to dump horse stall waste in Levy County. Brooks responded a short time later that he never puts profits over the people of Levy County.

The text question to Brooks read: “I saw your banner advertisement for All-In Removal at the top of your Facebook page for B4 Signs. It comes at a time when Reid Nagle, owner of All-In Removal has applied for DEP permits to dump horse stall waste on 80 acres near Williston and 50 acres near Morriston Baptist Church. Does the All-In Removal sign on your business Facebook page mean you’re supporting Reid Nagle’s plan to dump horse stall waste in Levy County? I didn’t want to make any assumptions about the advertisement for All-In Removal. It looks like a paid advertisement. I understand your Facebook page is for a private business you own but it is a red flag to some in the community given that you are the county commission chairman. Would you mind giving me a written comment today?”

Brooks texted a response: “You’re referring to an image from March of 2021 of mesh banners our company produced. It was a rotating image but Facebook appears to have stopped rotating it. It’s not a “paid ad” though as you may have assumed. Yes, B4 Signs is my private business that I am a 50-50 partner of. I’ve never put profits over the people of Levy County. My public service is for the greater good and to benefit the most people of our county possible. I’ll always strive to represent those desires and our community values. I’ve done that over my tenure and I’ll continue to do so. Just FYI for greater context…All-In has been a customer to B4 Signs since August of 2014.”

The All-In Removal sign was gone from the B4 signs Facebook page Saturday.

Interest in the manure composting issue remains high. Spotlight was sent game camera videos of dump trucks coming and going from the property of Allen Fant on June 21. The trucks were transporting and unloading sawdust-like material onto windrows of manure composting waste. Fant operates a manure composting facility in the Morriston area. The composting material consists of horse manure and urine mixed with pine chips. It looks like sawdust. The videos were emailed to County Coordinator Wilbur Dean this week.

The Levy County Commission adopted a resolution in February of 2022 placing a moratorium on manure composting in Levy County. Is the video evidence of violations of the composting resolution? Levy County Coordinator Wilbur Dean was asked by text Saturday if the county would take any action against Fant if there were violations of the moratorium.

“Terry, while I’m aware of what code enforcement in on this issue, I don’t micromanage them. You will need to check with them,” Dean texted.