When the Sarasota County Commission narrowly approved a $7.5 million federal disaster recovery grant to a startup nonprofit last fall, it was sold as a cornerstone of workforce recovery for trade apprenticeship programs after Hurricane Ian.
Just days after the vote, Jon Mast — CEO of the Building Industry Institute (BII) which received the grant — was photographed at a party, cigar in mouth, beer in hand, donning a custom T-shirt that read: “$7.5 Million.”
The optics of the photo did not sit well with many Sarasota residents, including Cathy Antunes. “A picture is worth a thousand words,” said Antunes. “Mr. Mast is celebrating his ability to wrangle millions from the county but has yet to deliver on the grant conditions.”
A local trade association, the Manasota Air Conditioning Contractors Association (MACCA), echoed those concerns in a blistering letter to County Commissioners criticizing the grant to Mast’s organization.
In the letter signed by MACCA President Curtis Miccichi and Executive Director Robin Parsons, the trade association urged commissioners to reject the proposed $7.5 million grant agreement with Mast’s nonprofit, citing serious concerns over transparency, governance, and financial accountability.
MACCA, which did not apply for the grant, criticized the BII’s shared leadership with the Suncoast Builders Association, lack of financial documentation, and failure to demonstrate independent operations or a track record in workforce training.
“This situation could potentially create legal, ethical, and financial conflicts which may affect public perception. There are already issues with transparency and conflict of interest which exist with the CEO being the same for both organizations and his wife being a member of the county commission,” according to the Manasota Air Conditioning Contractors Association
Lowest-Ranked Proposal
The federal grant is part of a $15 million pool of federal money earmarked for workforce training in Sarasota. The goal was to incentivize much-needed vocational training for trades necessary to rebuild after Hurricane Ian. In the summer of 2024, three organizations vied for funding: Suncoast Technical College, Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay, and Mast’s Building Industry Institute.
County staff ranked Mast’s proposal last, with a score of 41.7, compared to 71.7 for Rebuilding Together and 86.3 for Suncoast Technical—the only accredited program among the three.
The cost-per-student figures tell a story of their own. Suncoast Technical estimated $6,818 per trainee. Mast’s program, by contrast, would cost over $31,000 per student, according to its own projections.
The application submitted by Mast’s organization indicated the CEO would be paid $224,000 annually. Mast currently receives a salary as the CEO of Suncoast Builders Association, another nonprofit organization tied to the building industry.
A familiar pattern?
For Mast, this isn’t the first time his role in the accountability of public expenditures has drawn fire.
As previously reported by the Florida Trident, Mast also serves on the board of the Florida PACE Funding Agency—a body that remained silent even after revelations surfaced that former Sarasota County Commissioner Mike Moran spent $36,000 in taxpayer funds on steak dinners, top-shelf alcohol, and luxury travel to destinations including Las Vegas, New York, and California.
Mast and his fellow PACE board members took no public action. Mast and his wife Teresa— elected as a County Commissioner last November — were photographed alongside Moran during one of those trips for a builder’s conference in Las Vegas.
Just months after the Trident reported on the luxury travel, Moran, who served as chair of the county board at the time, received clearance to vote on Mast’s $7.5 million bid after seeking an opinion from the county attorney regarding whether his ties to Mast constituted a conflict of interest.
Commission pauses
In February, after the Mast photo surfaced online, newly elected Commissioner Tom Knight raised questions about the $7.5 million grant. Commissioner Ron Cutsinger, who opposed the funding last fall, also said he wanted the matter brought back for a “full discussion” before anything was finalized.
Commission Chair Joe Neunder also voted against the initial award and indicated he, too, had questions about the deal.
Commissioner Teresa Mast—Jon Mast’s wife, elected after the grant award—recused herself after filing a conflict of interest disclosure.
Knight made a motion to reconsider the grant award which was seconded by Commissioner Mark Smith.
In a unanimous 4-0 vote, commissioners instructed County Administrator Jonathan Lewis not to sign any agreement with BII until Mast appeared publicly to provide an update and answer questions.
Now, with a commission meeting scheduled for Tuesday (April 22), Mast is expected to face pointed questions — not just about construction timelines, but about trust, optics, and stewardship of public dollars.
Funding shortfalls, property questions
More than six months after the commission approved the conditions for the grant, not a single dollar has been disbursed.
The reason: CEO Jon Mast has yet to raise the required millions in matching funds or secure a property for the facility — fundamental conditions of the award.
Despite assurances to commissioners in October 2024 that property for Mast’s nonprofit would be acquired by November, he has failed to close on any site. Adding to the confusion, the grant application lists 5921 Fruitville Road as the target acquisition, while the proposal narrative and architectural renderings reference a different address: 1751 Cattlemen Road.
A review of the Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s website confirms the Building Industry Institute owns neither property. The Fruitville location was purchased last November by Medallion Homes, the development firm owned by developer Carlos Beruff.
Commissioners are expected to raise these issues when Mast appears before them. Any movement on executing the agreement hinges on clearing up the confusion and securing the financial backing the proposal promised.
State bailout?
Mast’s nonprofit, which won the grant based in part on its pledge to attract private-sector investment, has yet to report a single confirmed private donation. Calls and emails to Mast and his nonprofit were unanswered.
In recent months, the organization pivoted instead toward the Florida Legislature, seeking an additional $4 million in taxpayer funds to bridge the gap.
Appropriations requests for the $4 million were filed in mid-February by Sen. Jim Boyd (R-Bradenton) whose district covers parts of Manatee and Hillsborough counties, and later by Rep. James Buchanan (R-Sarasota). Both lawmakers were contacted by the Florida Trident regarding the now-circulated photo of Mast celebrating the grant in the custom “$7.5 Million” T-shirt while smoking a cigar and holding a drink.
In early April, Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Lee County, pushed through an amendment to the appropriations bill in the Senate—$350,000 to Mast’s institute—but did so by cutting that same amount from funding a storm shelter and support facility in Sarasota County.
Boyd’s office, in an email, said: “Senator Boyd was asked by Jon Mast to sponsor a Local Funding Initiative Request (LFIR) for the Building Industry Institute. This initiative is currently allocated $350,000 in the Senate budget. Senator Boyd is not aware of any incidents involving Mr. Mast wearing a t-shirt.”
Budget appropriations will not be finalized until conferencing occurs next week. Buchanan’s office did not return email and telephone inquiries.
Sarasota County was unaware of Mast’s legislative funding request that would reduce the allocation of funds for a storm shelter facility. “We’ve been supportive of the appropriation requests that we know will benefit our community, but this particular request we were not involved with in any way, shape, or form,” said Jamie Carson, communications director for Sarasota County.
Commission sentiment
Last fall, Commissioner Cutsinger said: “I’m all for vocational training, but it gave me a little heartburn to think that we’re going to be spending $32,000 per student on this when other programs are doing it for a lot less.”
Commission Chair Joe Neunder also opposed the award to Mast’s BII, citing the track record of Suncoast Technical, which has operated for 50 years, has accreditation, an existing campus and instructors, and a plan to graduate nearly three times as many students as BII over the same period.
Neunder toured Suncoast’s facility in North Port. “It’s a beautiful academic environment,” he said. “Students are going to be recognized with industry credentials that are actually valued by employers. They also have access to federal, state, and local financial aid to eliminate barriers for low-income students.”
At the time of his vote last fall, Moran said he was impressed with the fact that Mast’s proposal not only involved “state and federal money, but this is the home builders institute related to the National Association of Home Builders nationwide.” The national entity is the same one both Moran and Mast attended in Las Vegas that was the subject of the controversial PACE spending.
Community concerns
As the celebratory image of Mast surfaces, critics say it underscores a deeper issue: a gap between the promise of the program and the reality of its leadership.
Jane Goodwin, the former chair of the Sarasota County School Board who also served as the executive vice president of the Sarasota Home Builders Association, was critical of Mast’s nonprofit and Moran’s involvement in approving it last year.
“This is a bad idea. It’s clearly a Moran and Mast show. It’s incestuous. They travel together,” Goodwin told the Florida Trident, referring to the lavish Vegas trip.
“Suncoast Technical has been a priority for me since I was on the school board. This money should go to the North Port area. People are still not in their homes. They’ve had plenty of time to get their ducks in a row,” Goodwin said.
The critical letter from MACCA noted inconsistencies in public filings by the Mast-led organization, the absence of student cost clarity, and the grant proposal’s failure to include standard HVAC certifications, concluding that awarding millions in public funds to a fledgling, unproven nonprofit would be fiscally irresponsible.
MACCA also expressed concern about the proposed salaries totaling more than $3.3 million over three years, stating “we believe this to be excessive.”
While noting its longstanding support for and management of workforce apprenticeship programs in the community, MACCA told commissioners it would not be “fiscally responsible” to award the grant “to a newly established non-profit with no proven track record in training in the trades or funding in place to cover their project costs over and above the proposed grant.”
Paul Stehle has sat on numerous trade boards, including Suncoast Technical. Stehle said he’d rather see the county “put that money into existing trade schools and pump them up,” he said. “The [Mast] application is not as transparent as I’d like it to be. The salary of $224,000 didn’t sit well with me and I don’t think that’s what hurricane recovery money was intended for,” Stehle said.
Cathy Antunes suggested that the county end support for Mast’s nonprofit. “It sounds like the county should take the money back. This is another instance of developer welfare,” said Antunes.
About the Author: Michael Barfield focuses on the enforcement of open government laws. He serves as an investigative reporter for the Florida Trident and Director of Public Access at the Florida Center for Government Accountability. He regularly assists journalists across the country with collecting information and publishing news reports obtained from public records and other sources.