Companies ask county staff numerous questions about aspects of process
At 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, Sarasota County Procurement Department staff opened the bids from companies interested in conducting the new Siesta Key community master planning process that the County Commission authorized in early February, The Sarasota News Leader learned.
The first county meeting to evaluate the bids is set for June 30, a Procurement document notes. Presentations and a second evaluation session are planned for July 14, the Procurement Department says.
As the News Leader reported in late April, the Scope of Work included in the bid was as follows:
Under the heading Services Required, the solicitation explained that the preparation of a Siesta Key Community Master Plan — referenced later in the document as just the “Plan” — was to include the following:
“Conduct a review of the entirety of Siesta Key’s existing conditions, opportunities and challenges relating to Siesta Key Beautification, Funding and Maintenance, utilizing baseline information, including but not limited to,
- “The February 11, 2026, Siesta Key Workshop.
- “The 1999 Siesta Key Community Plan.
- “The Sarasota County Comprehensive Plan.
- “The County Code of Ordinances.
- “The District.
- “Any other previous relevant work.”
Lourdes Ramirez, president of the nonprofit organization Protect Siesta Key, has protested to the commissioners that the planning process should not focus on any changes to the Comprehensive Plan, which guides growth in the community, or the Siesta Key Overlay District regulations regarding zoning and other land-use issues related to the island.
In fact, the News Leader learned, a question posed anonymously to the county Procurement Department, as part of the solicitation process, read, “What is the anticipated volume and complexity of amendments to the Sarasota County Comprehensive Plan and County Code of Ordinances that the selected firm will draft, and will the firm be expected to support those amendments through Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners adoption hearings?”
Staff replied, “The purpose of this initiative is Siesta Key beautification, funding and maintenance. To identify opportunities to enhance the appearance and character of Siesta Key; to evaluate specific focus areas, including, but not limited to: streetscapes and corridors, landscaping and vegetation, signage and wayfinding, public spaces and beach access areas, and cleanliness and maintenance. Amendments are not anticipated, but could result if directed by the County Commission. If there are any amendments, the firm would be expected to provide support.”
Another answer that the Procurement Department staff provided in recent weeks to questions about the bid was that the county does not “have an estimated budget for this project.”
A related anonymous question asked, “What specific outcomes — measurable, time-bound, and tied to the Board’s ‘Siesta Key Beautification, Funding and Maintenance’ Policy Agenda Item in the 2026 Strategic Plan — will the Board use to judge the success of this Plan at 12, 24, and 60 months following adoption?”
Staff responded, “This will be at the [commission’s] policy direction.”
Yet another question — whose source was not identified — read, “In the County’s own assessment, which recommendations of the 1999 Siesta Key Community Plan were not implemented, did not achieve intended outcomes, or remain unresolved — and what does the County attribute that to?”
Staff replied, “The County is not prepared to provide a complete response at this time but can discuss this topic with the firm recommended for award. The prior Siesta Key Community Plan serves as background information. The current focus is Siesta Key beautification, funding and maintenance.”
Yet another anonymous firm inquired about getting a copy of the 1999 Siesta Key Community Plan. Following the Feb. 11 workshop about issues that need to be addressed on the barrier island, Commissioner Mark Smith proposed that the new plan should be an update of that 1999 document.
The 1999 plan was provided to the inquirer, the News Leader read.
One more anonymous firm pointed out, “The scope of work provided is very broad, with no specific issues identified beyond the review of the existing plan. Could you please provide a list of key priorities or topic areas that the County and stakeholders would like this plan to address?”
County staff responded, “The County encourages proposers to watch the Siesta Key Workshop that the County Commission held on February 11, 2026 with presentations from various stakeholders.” That can be found on the Meetings on Demand webpage on the county website: https://sarasotacounty.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=52
Another question read, “What is the County’s expected volume of community engagement activities — including total counts and estimated participants for public workshops, surveys, interviews, Task Force meetings, and Advisory Board meetings — over the engagement period?”
The answer: “This is undetermined at this time. This information will be discussed during negotiations with the firm selected for negotiations.”
The term “Task Force” refers to the group of seven people whom the County Commission is expected to appoint later this year to serve in an advisory capacity during the planning process.
A May 19 staff memo provided to the board members says the task force’s scope of work will include “reviewing existing conditions, identifying priorities, and evaluating opportunities related to streetscapes and corridors, landscaping and vegetation, signage and wayfinding, public spaces and beach access areas, cleanliness and maintenance, and pedestrian safety. The Task Force will provide recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners and will not have decision-making authority or authority to commit County resources.”
Each commissioner will appoint one person to the task force, and two at-large members will be selected by the board members as a group.
During the commission’s regular meeting on May 19, Eileen Dutka, office manager of County Administration, said that the notice of the open application period for those at-large task force seats would be advertised before the end of that day. (The News Leader confirmed that that action took place.) Dutka added that advisory board seats typically are advertised for three weeks.
The next regular board meeting has been scheduled for July 7, the County Commission schedule shows. After its regular meeting on July 8, the commission will be on summer recess until Aug. 16.
In response to a question about whether “a dedicated County project manager [will] be assigned to this engagement],” staff wrote, “The Director of the Planning and Development Services Department will serve as the County project manager.” That person is Matt Osterhoudt, who has held the position for a number of years.
The ‘Followers List’
In reviewing information available online in regard to the solicitation, the News Leader found that numerous companies — principally those with Florida offices — had been following updates on the project. Among them was the Kimley-Horn consulting firm; in its Sarasota office, former two-term county Commissioner Alan Maio serves as a senior consultant.
Altogether, the News Leader counted 83 different companies as followers; some had double listings reflecting personnel in separate locations.
Among the others were ADEAS-Q of Tampa, which was hired as a county consultant a number of years ago to study transportation issues on Siesta Key and provide suggestions about how to address them; Fawley Bryant Architecture of Sarasota; Hoyt Architects of Sarasota; RVi Planning + Landscape Architecture, which the nonprofit Siesta Key Beautification Alliance hired last year to conduct a study of the barrier island in the aftermath of the 2024 hurricane season and offer ideas about how best to improve conditions on the Key; Stantec Consulting Services of Clearwater; and Sweet Sparkman Architects of Sarasota.