Each invited group to have up to 10 minutes for representatives to make remarks before board members’ exchanges with them and discussion
During a discussion that was part of their regular meeting in Venice on Jan. 27, the Sarasota County commissioners agreed that they wanted each of the Siesta Key groups invited to their Feb. 11 workshop on the need for improvements to the Key to have 10 minutes to make a presentation to the board.
Following the commissioners’ discussions, then other members of the public would have the standard 3 minutes each to address the board.
The workshop has been scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon within the Commission Chambers of the Robert L. Anderson Administration Center in Venice, which stands at 4000 S. Tamiami Trail.
Commissioner Teresa Mast brought up the issue during the Reports section of the Jan. 27 meeting, asking about County Administrator Jonthan Lewis’ plans for the session, which the board members scheduled as the first step in addressing Siesta’s needs as part of their 2026 Strategic Plan.
Lewis responded that he had planned on public comments first. “People would have 3 minutes [apiece],” he said, and then the commissioners would conduct their discussion, and any other public comments would follow.
However, Lewis continued, if the board members wished to follow a different procedure, “I would need to know that today,” he began, and then said, “fairly soon.”
“How about now?” Commissioner Mark Smith asked Lewis.
His thinking, Smith said, was that each of the invited groups could have a spokesperson who would be accorded “no more than 10 minutes, to give us their thoughts as a group, and then have board discussion.”
As The Sarasota News Leader has reported, those groups are the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce; the Siesta Key Beautification Alliance; the Siesta Key Association; the nonprofit Protect Siesta Key, and the Siesta Key Condominium Council, which represents about 7,000 households in 100 associations on the island.
That was what he thought would work best, Smith added, “instead of [the organizations] having to orchestrate the 3 minutes between speakers.” Nonetheless, he said, “It’s up to the board.
“I don’t have a problem with that,” Mast told him. Yet, she suggested, perhaps the board could give each of the groups 5 minutes each, “back to back to back … But I think it’s important that they are all heard, and that we are listening really intently on this,” she pointed out, given the importance of the issues.
Commissioner Joe Neunder said, “Just having that ability to kind of interact with the different group members, too, as we go through the process, I think will be vital …” Neunder added, “We want to get as much input from that community as possible …”
Chair Ron Cutsinger asked Lewis whether he wanted a motion on the procedure the board wished to see pursued — or perhaps some clarification first.
Lewis replied that it appeared that he should schedule 5 to 10 minutes for each group, and then anyone else who wished to speak would have 3 minutes. He did ask for clarification about whether the commissioners wanted a 5-minute limit or a 10-minute limit.
Commissioner Smith ended up making a motion that called for each of the invited groups to get 10 minutes each, “so we have time to interact [with them after their comments].” Then, the board will allow any other members of the public to speak for 3 minutes each.
Mast seconded the motion, and it passed 5-0.
In 2025, a representative of a new organization, the Siesta Key Beautification Alliance, requested a $30-million county investment in the 2026 fiscal year budget — which went into effect on Oct. 1, 2025 — to make the island’s gateways more attractive, to update infrastructure and to refresh the overall appearance of the barrier island in an effort to help Siesta recover from the major damage that it suffered from Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the fall of 2024.
Because of concerns about budget gaps in upcoming fiscal years, the board members did not set aside any funding for such an initiative. However, they agreed as part of their Strategic Plan this year to work on initiatives to improve the look of Siesta Key, especially given the importance of the island as one of the county’s top tourism attractions because of its beaches.
One of the organizations invited to the workshop, the Siesta Key Condominium Council, has sent out advisories to its members about the upcoming session.
A newsletter that it sent out on Jan. 22, said, “Sarasota County has planned a workshop on February 11, 2026. The subject is beautification of Siesta Key addressing after-effects of the recent hurricanes.”