Everyone’s heard the story of David and Goliath, the little guy up against an unstoppable force. In Englewood, Kelly Bauman has stepped into David’s shoes. Her Goliath isn’t just one man: it’s the Economic Stimulus Working Group and Pat Neal of Neal Communities, backed by Sarasota County’s approval and a hefty $15 million. Their battle: the controversial Manasota Beach Rd. extension.
The County Commission green-lit the road project in August 2025, giving local developer Pat Neal of Neal Communities the contract to build the half-mile extension. On paper, unanimous support, big dollars, a straightforward plan. The reality is residents have fought back every step of the way. Protesters, yard signs, packed meetings; noisy, visible resistance.
Kelly didn’t settle for noise. She took a legal swing, filing a petition for an administrative hearing. She went head-to-head with Sarasota County Transportation and the Southwest Florida Water Management District, demanding an evidentiary hearing under Florida statutes. If there’s a box to check, she’s checking it and calling out what doesn’t add up.
On June 10, 2026, Commissioner Smith came down for a firsthand look at the land, not just lines on a map. Instead of sterile boardrooms, Smith saw locals in their protest shirts lined up on East Manasota Beach Rd., around 35 or 40 people from BeachWalk, Pennington Place, Englewood, Wellen Park, voicing genuine concern.
Kelly drove Commissioner Smith around, showing him where the proposed road would cut through. She explained this isn’t about opposing progress or resort development for the sake of it. It’s about community survival, serious environmental concerns and the rural zoning (OUE-1) that built their way of life. They live on large-lot rural estate, raising livestock. A four-lane extension and 21,000 cars a day (the developers’ estimates, not her own), would blow apart that quiet, upend that zoning, and dump traffic and water runoff into a place that used to see approximately ten cars a day.
Community members have seen what happens when developments pop up without proper planning. After BeachWalk by Manasota Key went in, neighbors saw unprecedented flooding. Kelly described her land: “After BeachWalk was built, it looked like the Everglades. We had to use an excavator to leave our property.”
Impervious surfaces: that’s the technical phrase that haunts them. Pavement doesn’t absorb water, so when heavy rain comes, it runs off into once-dry properties.
No one needed flood insurance before, Kelly points out. Now? She’s certain, based on what’s happened, that might change soon.
Kelly wasn’t content to just trust that “the developer will work it out.” The county asked the developer to address flooding, and Pat Neal agreed, on paper. But the real ‘how’ remains missing. She asks, “How can you guarantee we won’t be flooded? Or that we won’t need flood insurance?” They have yet to receive an answer.
It’s clear the county handed enormous responsibilities over to the developer and left residents grasping at vague reassurances. Kelly spent hours reviewing public records and government contracts (she used to do technical sales with Sarasota County), and she found too many contradictions to ignore. During the county’s push for public outreach, there were clear memos inviting some communities to the table while quietly skating past others. Kelly’s part of Englewood? Left out.
Memos from Pat Neal show little patience for residents’ concerns, joking about “having plenty of fun with the citizens” and brushing off wetlands and permitting complications. The developer’s attitude, Kelly argues, reflects a disconnect between officials and ordinary residents.
Video: Check out this Facebook video link where Kelly confronted Pat Neal with the facts.
Commissioner Smith’s visit meant something to the community. Kelly and her group, Oppose Manasota Beach Rd., want county leaders to see the real-world consequences, not just study maps or spreadsheets. She says, “You can’t undo a road once it’s there.” The effect won’t just be cars and noise. There’s safety at stake. That intersection at 776 is already dangerous. Ramping up daily traffic will make it worse, as children use that stretch, and there have already been wrecks.
Traffic studies? Not required, according to FDOT, because the road doesn’t go directly into Wellen Park. Kelly shakes her head at that logic.
Kelly is digging into the details. Reviewing deeds, hunting for missed steps in property transfers. “Expert surveyors will look at the language,” Kelly says. She’s not content to take “no” for an answer, and she wants neighbors to feel the same.
Meetings with commissioners continue, and so does fundraising. The group doesn’t operate as a nonprofit, just concerned citizens trying to pay for legal help with whatever money they can raise through a GoFundMe. They announce every event and commission meeting on their Facebook page, Oppose Manasota Beach Rd. They show up; they speak up, no matter if people tell them it’s a done deal.
Kelly makes a simple plea to those who want to help fight this development: Don’t sit quietly. You don’t need to be an expert or give a flawless speech to be heard. Development decisions affect real lives, and that’s not something to shy away from. “Don’t let anyone tell you nothing can be done; your voice matters.”
She’s blunt about what’s ahead if the project moves forward. “Englewood,” she says, “isn’t supposed to be another busy, disconnected corner of Sarasota. People moved here for quiet, for open space, for a break from the traffic and the noise. Now that peace hangs in the balance. They tell us it’s already decided. I can’t accept that.”
The “David vs. Goliath” story gets tossed around a lot. Kelly laughs, “Maybe it’s more like the tortoise and the hare.” Slow and steady, relentless, not giving up. That, she says, is the only way to succeed.
Click here to check out the Facebook page Oppose Manasota Beach Rd.
Click here for the video of Pat Neal speaking with Kelly Bauman.
