Both the Siesta Key Village Association and Siesta Key Association meetings scheduled this week have updates on the north Siesta bridge rehabilitation and the Siesta Village crosswalk lighting projects on their agendas.
The bridge project officially begins the night of June 5. Jennifer Stafford, a consultant working with the Florida Department of Transportation on the project, told The Sarasota News Leader today, June 4, that the contractor is not expected to begin closing one lane until Monday, June 11. However, she added, the contractor does have the right to start closing a single lane between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. as of June 5.
One lane of the bridge will remain open at all times, Stafford has assured residents and business owners.
Among other items on the SKVA agenda are discussions of the request for proposals for Siesta Village upkeep, which the Sarasota County Procurement Department released just after midnight May 31, and the expected reimbursement from the county to the SKVA for expenses the SKVA paid in setting up the Siesta Key Village Maintenance Corp.
The Maintenance Corp. was established by a county ordinance to oversee the upkeep, as Siesta Village property owners are paying a special annual assessment to cover the cost of the work.
In a unanimous vote on April 11, the Sarasota County Commission agreed the SKVA could be reimbursed $2,832.50. However, the SKVA agenda indicates that payment has not been made yet.
The SKA agenda also includes a discussion of fireworks safety and state laws governing fireworks.
Siesta representatives last month asked the County Commission for assistance in warning residents and visitors in advance of the July Fourth holiday that private fireworks are illegal on the beach.
Additionally, the SKA meeting will feature an update on the six pedestrian crosswalks FDOT plans to construct on Midnight Pass Road between the Stickney Point Road and Beach Road intersections. That work is expected to get under way this summer and be completed in the fall, FDOT consultant Brian Bollas told the News Leader on May 22.
The Village Association meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 5, at the Daiquiri Deck Raw Bar, 5250 Ocean Blvd., Siesta Key.
The SKA will meet at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, June 7, in Room F at St. Boniface Episcopal Church, 5615 Midnight Pass Road, Siesta Key.