Mast fails to win support for Lieberman
The Sarasota County Planning Commission will have two new members, thanks to split votes that the County Commission took on Aug. 27.
Commissioner Tom Knight nominated both the persons who won seats: Shaun Libou of Sarasota, who works in real estate and investment banking with Raymond James & Associates of St. Petersburg; and Ryan Murphy of Sarasota, a consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton.
Their terms will be in effect until Aug. 31, 2029, Todd Dary, manager of the county’s Planning and Development Services Department, told the commissioners. A county staff memo included in the Aug. 27 agenda packet said the new members will take their seats on Sept. 4.
The terms of two Planning Commission members — Donna Carter, a Venice CPA, and Cullen Morgan of Venice, a site acquisition consultant with Centerline Communications — were set to expire on Aug. 31, the staff memo noted; neither Carter nor Morgan had applied for reappointment.
The Planning Commission generally meets two Thursdays a month at 5 p.m. at the County Administration Center in Venice or in downtown Sarasota.
Altogether, Dary noted on Aug. 27, eight persons applied for the open seats.
Commissioner Teresa Mast nominated Ryan Lieberman of Sarasota, who works with the Barrington Group of Sarasota, a multifamily housing real estate firm.
Lieberman is a member of the Suncoast Builders Association, for which Mast’s husband, Jon, serves as CEO.
Before he put forth Libou’s and Murphy’s names, Knight said, “Fortunately we have a lot of applicants now.” He added that he did not know either of the men but had been impressed with their applications.
However, after she made her nomination, Mast pointed out to her colleagues that some of the applicants already are serving on other county advisory boards. (The Planning Commission long has been seen as the most influential of those boards, as its members review land-use applications and proposals for amendments to the county’s Comprehensive Plan, which guides growth in the community. The members vote to provide a recommendation to the County Commission on how to proceed with the proposals after they have conducted their hearings on them.)
Mast asked that the county commissioners try to achieve a bigger “toss of the net” for Planning Commission applicants, instead of filling both seats on Aug. 27.
Chair Joe Neunder responded that he believed that the commissioners should fill the two seats that day.
When Neunder called for a vote on Libou, Mast was the only county commissioner to say, “No.” Yet, when Neunder asked for a vote on Murphy, Commissioner Ron Cutsinger joined Mast in opposition to that nomination. Neunder and Commissioners Knight and Mark Smith voted “Yes.”
Responding to the application question about his interest in an appointment, Murphy wrote, “I have lived in Sarasota County since 1996, aside from a few years in Orlando for college, and I want to support this community. With a strong background in local government, including experience with land development regulations, I feel that my
experience would be an asset on the Planning Commission.”
Libou wrote in his application that, “[b]ased on my comprehensive real estate education at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, current role as a real estate investment banker at Raymond James, prior role as a principal real estate investment officer for GIC (the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund) and general reputable standing across the real estate industry,” he believes he is “a highly qualified” candidate for a seat.
Lieberman had responded thus to the question about his interest in serving on the Planning Commission: “As a resident and second-generation business owner in Sarasota County, I have a deep-rooted commitment to the thoughtful planning and growth of this vibrant community. My extensive knowledge and experience with land use, zoning, and the Sarasota County development code uniquely position me to contribute meaningfully to the Planning Commission.”
The other five applicants
Along with the three nominations that the County Commission voted on this week, the other applicants for the open seats were as follows:
- Becky Ayech, who long has been president of the Miakka Community Club, which represents residents in the historic Old Miakka area in the easternmost part of the county. She listed her occupation as “retired/farmer.” In response to the question about why she wanted to serve on the Planning Commission, Ayech wrote, “I serve on 2 other advisory committees and believe this is a way to give back to the community. I live in the rural part of Sarasota and will bring this perspective to the Planning Commission and I am very interested in the planning of Sarasota County.”
- Randy D. Boyd of Sarasota, who is self-employed with the Boyd Investigative Group/Boyd Security Group. “As a fourth generation resident of Sarasota,” he wrote in his application, “I believe it is my responsibility to help Sarasota move forward with planning and development in a productive, common sense manner.”
- David Stershic of Sarasota, a retired member of the Sarasota County Fire Department who is a part-time superintendent for the Willis Smith Construction firm in Sarasota. He is interested in serving on the Planning Commission, he wrote in his application, so he can “participate in and hopefully affect the processes, procedures, codes, etc to ensure Sarasota has and is adhering to prudent, comprehensive practices.”
- Thomas Arthur of Sarasota, a real estate agent with Michael Saunders & Co. in Lakewood Ranch. In his application, he explained the following in regard to his desire to serve on the Planning Commission: “As a property rights advocate, and someone who is in the real estate business, I see both the importance of community service and understand the value in both residential and commercial presence within a thriving community.”
- Rick Eaton of Venice, a retiree. He noted in his application that he is interested in holding a Planning Commission seat “[t]o help prevent future floods and to help make Sarasota County a model for others to follow on the topics of clean water, nature, wildlife and quality of life. Our current development culture is a trainwreck and [it’s] been proven deadly. A serious [re-evaluation] has to occur with serious concern by all parties involved.”