Two New Marion County Commissioners Take Their Seats Nov. 17, and the First Agenda Is Full of Roads

On Tuesday morning, Nov. 17, 2026, the Marion County Commission will start its meeting with a swearing-in, and the board that finishes it will not be the one that started the year. Mike Crimi is listed in District 2, which the county's commissioners page showed as Kathy Bryant's seat as of Oct. 10, and Jeff Bairstow is listed in District 4, which that page showed as Carl Zalak III's seat, with Zalak as chairman. The county's agenda lists Matt McClain as chairman and Craig Curry as vice-chair. And before the new members have settled into their chairs, they will be asked to approve a long list of decisions that residents will feel on the road, on the radio and, possibly, at the county jail.

The meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the Auditorium at the McPherson Governmental Campus, 601 SE 25th Ave., Ocala. It is open to the public.

AI-generated illustration. Not a photo of the Marion County commissioners.

Who is taking the seats

Both men led their Republican primary fields, according to the Supervisor of Elections' Aug. 18 results. In District 2, Crimi collected 19,231 of the 42,822 votes cast, or 44.91 percent, ahead of Matt Cretul at 29.40 percent and Brien Weidemiller at 25.69 percent. District 4 was a four-way race: Bairstow led with 16,478 votes, or 39.02 percent, ahead of Sherri Meadows, Randall Alvord and Wanda Wimberly Lasher.

The county's Nov. 3 results page lists a single County Commission contest, District 4, where Bairstow was the only named candidate and received 91.85 percent against the write-in line. It lists no District 2 commission contest. We covered the full ballot in our Nov. 3 election results report.

The county's own commissioners page, as we verified it on Oct. 10, listed Curry in District 1, Bryant in District 2, McClain in District 3 as vice chairman, Zalak in District 4 as chairman and Michelle Stone in District 5. The Nov. 17 agenda roster instead shows Curry, Crimi, McClain, Bairstow and Stone, with McClain as chairman and Curry as vice-chair. The agenda does not say how the leadership change was decided. Our guide to the Marion County commissioners explains how the board works and how to reach each member.

One agenda item is a small piece of housekeeping that marks the handover. The county is asking the board to renew the surety bonds of Curry, McClain and Stone and to pay the premiums for the bonds of what the item calls "incoming Commissioners Jeff Bairstow and Mike Crimi." Each of the two new bonds carries $2,000 in coverage and a $100 annual premium, so the total for the pair is $200.

The first road decision: land for the 80th Avenue extension

The biggest block of business on the consent agenda is a run of eleven purchase agreements for land along the SW/NW 80th/70th Avenue Segment 3 road project. The county describes the segment as running from about 900 feet north of State Road 40 to about 600 feet south of U.S. 27, and its November roadway highlights call it a project to add two lanes between West Highway 40 and North U.S. 27.

Each agreement buys a portion of a different parcel, and the prices vary widely: from $6,100 for the smallest to $374,300 for the largest. Add them up and the board is being asked to spend $1,336,100 in all. For the one agreement we opened in full, a $320,000 purchase for roughly 0.181 acres, the county's item says the negotiated price covers all costs associated with the transaction and cites cost savings from avoiding condemnation proceedings. The county's write-up describes the agreement as saving costs by avoiding condemnation proceedings.

The timing matters because the county's Office of the County Engineer says the project is nearing construction. Its November highlights report that the construction bid was awarded to Art Walker Construction, Inc. on Aug. 4, 2026, that staff are finishing right-of-way acquisition and utility coordination, and that the notice to proceed for construction is expected on Nov. 17, 2026, the same day the new board meets, according to those highlights. The same document says the county is also working on the SR 40 and 80th Avenue intersection, where construction is paused because of ongoing utility relocation issues, and on the southern segments of 80th Avenue, which are further along in design and construction.

The county engineer, Steven Cohoon, is scheduled to give the board a full roadway projects update at the meeting. It is for information only, and the county has posted a map of its top ten projects with it. One of them, the Marion Oaks Manor Extension, which the county's highlights describe as running to South Highway 475 with a new overpass at Interstate 75, has a contract amendment on the consent agenda. A third contract amendment with Tillman and Associates Engineering would add $108,962.50, raising the purchase order to $1,853,260.50, for public meetings, a third concept alternative meant to reduce property impacts and relocation planning for about 80 parcels. The county's highlights say a board workshop on the extension is scheduled for Dec. 9, 2026, at 2 p.m.

What the radios will do

The other large dollar figure is a $2,456,861.18 amendment to the county's contract with Motorola Solutions for the ASTRO radio system, the 800 MHz network that the county says supports law enforcement, fire rescue, emergency medical services and other departments. The board first approved the support and upgrade contract on Sept. 3, 2025. The new amendment adds software services over a seven-year term, at $350,980.17 a year through fiscal year 2032-33.

According to the county's description, the additions include cloud-based radio programming, remote delivery of software and security updates, frequent GPS location updates to help dispatch monitor personnel, and maps that show responders' positions on compatible radios. The item lists its budget impact as neutral, with funding from the General Fund. The county says remote updates are meant to reduce manual maintenance and radio downtime and that the services are meant to improve responder safety and situational awareness.

The jail request waits on the same agenda

The new commissioners will also hear Sheriff Billy Woods's letter asking the board to put $596,582 of the Sheriff's Office's unspent 2025-26 funds toward the Marion County Jail expansion. We reported on the letter, the project's 2023 design history and what it does not say in our earlier story on the sheriff's request.

The rest of the morning

The agenda also carries a Farm City Week proclamation from UF/IFAS Extension and a presentation honoring a new inductee to the Marion County Agricultural Hall of Fame. Under consent, the Tourist Development Council recommends $10,000 for each of 12 Winter Series weeks, up to $120,000 in all, through its room-night event funding program. The board is also asked to approve its 2027 schedule of regular meetings, which the county says was prepared with the Clerk's office and accounts for holidays and dates the board has traditionally canceled or moved. The attached calendar has the specific dates.

How to watch or speak

The county's agenda says residents can sign up to speak online at marionfl.org/comment or by calling 352-438-2300 by 5 p.m. on the Friday before the meeting, and will be allotted five minutes. Those who sign up at the desk in the auditorium foyer on the day get two minutes. The meeting is streamed live on the county's website. Our November 2026 public meetings calendar lists other local meetings this month.

Sources: Marion County Board of County Commissioners agenda and meeting page for Nov. 17, 2026, including the items on surety bonds, an 80th/70th Avenue land purchase, the roadway projects update (including the Office of the County Engineer's November 2026 project highlights attachment), the Motorola radio amendment, the Marion Oaks Manor Extension amendment, the Tourist Development Council recommendation and the 2027 meeting schedule; Marion County Supervisor of Elections Aug. 18, 2026 primary results and Nov. 3, 2026 results; Marion County commissioners page (marionfl.org/my-commissioners), checked Oct. 10, 2026. All agenda items were read Nov. 12, 2026 and are listed as agenda items, not decisions.