major checkpoint

manage.py

@@ -1,11 +1,12 @@
 """Management script for Flask application."""
 import os
-from flask.cli import FlaskGroup
-from app import create_app
 from dotenv import load_dotenv
 
-# Load environment variables
-load_dotenv()
+# Load environment variables FIRST, before any app imports
+load_dotenv(dotenv_path=os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)), '.env'))
+
+from flask.cli import FlaskGroup
+from app import create_app
 
 # Create application
 app = create_app(os.getenv("FLASK_ENV", "development"))