20160909-9 Sep 2016

Resolution of city/county dispute over last CRA Trust Fund payment could come next month

City Commission to decide whether to send county one final bill and/or to pursue State Statute remedy of issue

Next month, the Sarasota city commissioners will make a decision: Drop their contention that Sarasota County owes the one more payment into the Downtown Sarasota Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) Trust Fund, or pursue conflict resolution proceedings outlined by the Florida Statutes. (Read more »)


Parking in 12 Beach Road spaces to be restricted as of Sept. 23, following commission vote

Spots next to picnic shelters at the public beach will be off limits from midnight to 5 a.m.

As of Sept. 23, Sarasota County staff says, signs should be posted at 12 parking spaces on Beach Road — adjacent to Siesta Public Beach Park picnic shelters — prohibiting the use of those spaces between midnight and 5 a.m. daily. That restriction was the 4-1 decision of the Sarasota County Commission this week in response to complaints from Sunset Royale and Crescent Royale condominium owners. (Read more »)


Stressing that the equipment chosen will be the key to success, the City Commission votes to proceed with a paid-parking plan

Vice mayor casts only dissenting vote; chair of downtown merchants group indicates a legal challenge may be coming

With only Vice Mayor Shelli Freeland Eddie voting “No,” the Sarasota City Commission this week directed Parking General Manager Mark Lyons and his staff to begin vetting equipment for another round of metered parking in downtown Sarasota. (Read more »)


Dutchman Hospitality Group wins County Commission approval for hotel

Development team hopes the facility will open in late 2017

With a unanimous vote on Sept. 7, the Sarasota County Commission endorsed a proposal for a four-story hotel in Pinecraft behind the Der Dutchman restaurant. “This is definitely something that’s needed for this community,” Commissioner Christine Robinson said in making the motion to approve the rezoning request that will enable the project to proceed. (Read more »)


North Beach Road property owners seeking injunction against Siesta resident over use of ‘false information’ promoting charter amendments

Judge rules against request for an emergency hearing but calls for the regular scheduling of arguments in the matter

On Aug. 24 — one day after he appeared before the Sarasota County Commission to try to set the record straight about the board’s vacation of part of North Beach Road — Sarasota attorney Charles Bailey III asked the 12th Judicial Circuit Court for an emergency temporary injunction to stop a Siesta Key resident from using “false information and deceptive advertising” in an effort to overturn that commission decision. (Read more »)


City Commission agrees that it should continue to defend Chapman in Sunshine case appeal

Filing of briefs with Second District Court of Appeal in Lakeland expected to be completed in November; oral arguments schedule uncertain

Although Sarasota Vice Mayor Shelli Freeland Eddie asked several questions about the potential expense, the City Commission by consensus this week agreed to allow attorneys to fight a nonprofit group’s appeal of a 12th Judicial Circuit Court ruling in a Sunshine Law case against Commissioner Susan Chapman. (Read more »)


Siesta Seen

Issues with homelessness on the Key appear to have diminished greatly; trolley initiative takes steps forward; Hermine fosters a quiet Labor Day weekend at the beach and leads to cancellation of SKA meeting; county staff tries to resolve a vibration issue with laying of new sewer and water force mains to the Key; and Maintenance Corp. liaison has all sorts of issues to handle

A month after the Village gazebo was the focal point for homelessness issues on Siesta Key, the situation has improved significantly, Michael Shay, the liaison between the Siesta Key Village Association (SKVA) and the Siesta Key Village Maintenance Corp., told Lt. Donny Kennard and Sgt. Jason Mruczek of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office this week. (Read more »)


Temporary Venice Public Library expected to open in mid-October in Hamilton Building

Work continuing to choose exact site of new facility on Venice Cultural Campus, county’s director of libraries and historical resources reports

The renovated Hamilton Building is anticipated to open as a temporary Venice Public Library in mid-October, Sarabeth Kalajian, director of libraries and historical resources for Sarasota County, told the County Commission on Sept. 6. (Read more »)


County structures sustain about $691,000 in damages from Hermine

FDOT crew working around the clock to repair washout near Myakka River State Park

Sarasota County staff inspected approximately 2,400 properties in the aftermath of Hurricane Hermine’s passage along Florida’s west coast last week and found none having suffered major damage, county spokesman Drew Winchester told The Sarasota News Leader on Sept. 7. (Read more »)


Sheriff’s Office purchases 350 ballistic vests with support from Clerk of Court and County Comptroller’s Office

Equipment would be used in active shooter situations, Sheriff Tom Knight says

Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight has accepted $135,000 in support from Karen E. Rushing, Sarasota County clerk of the circuit court and county comptroller, for the purchase of 350 ballistic vests, the Sheriff’s Office has announced. (Read more »)


Five Points Park to be closed Sept. 9-30

New sod to be installed

Selby Five Points Park in downtown Sarasota will be closed from Sept. 9 through Sept. 30, so a landscape vendor can remove dead turf prior to the installation of new sod, the city has announced. (Read more »)


Lifeguard hours reduced on Sarasota County’s protected beaches

End of Labor Day weekend marks transition time

Sarasota County’s beach lifeguard operational hours have changed as of Sept. 6, with Labor Day weekend having marked the traditional end of summer, the county has announced. (Read more »)


Katz to work with Salvation Army in a focus on initiative to help the homeless

Rabbi formerly served Temple Beth Israel on Longboat Key

Working as a fellow with The Salvation Army of Sarasota, Rabbi Jonathan R. Katz will focus on the agency’s “innovative homeless behavioral choice model program, Quality of Life (QLife),” The Salvation Army has announced. (Read more »)


Canaday joins Miracle Swimming team as director of instructor development

He will provide support to about 60 instructors worldwide and help train more

Chris Canaday of Columbus, Ohio, founder of Discovery Swim School, has joined Miracle Swimming for Adults of Sarasota as its first director of instructor development, the nonprofit organization has announced. (Read more »)