During annual retreat, board members agree to put much of their focus on stormwater issues in next calendar year
During their annual retreat — conducted on Dec. 13 this year, at Nathan Benderson Park near University Parkway — the Sarasota County commissioners agreed on their 2025 priorities and named new officers for the calendar year that will begin Jan. 1.
Commissioner Joe Neunder of Nokomis, who represents District 4, will serve as chair, a position he has been holding on an interim basis since Commissioner Mike Moran had to step down from the board in November because of term limits. Neunder was elected vice chair for the 2024 meeting year.
Commissioner Ron Cutsinger of Englewood, who won his second term this year as the District 5 representative — with no election opposition — was selected to serve as vice chair. Commissioner Mark Smith of Siesta Key, who holds the District 2 seat, was chosen pro tem.
Neunder and Smith both joined the board in November 2022.
In regard to their priorities for 2025, much of the emphasis will be placed on stormwater initiatives, the commissioners agreed.
The board members concurred on a complete review of the county’s stormwater system. In the wake of Tropical Storm Debby’s inundation of parts of the county in early August, the commissioners agreed to hold a workshop that will be focused on the county’s stormwater model, as well as research into the reasons behind unexpected flooding in areas in the eastern part of the county, including the Laurel Meadows community.
As The Sarasota News Leader has reported, the workshop has been planned for Jan. 21.
The other two priorities regarding stormwater will entail an examination of “stormwater facilities opportunities,” a county news release said, along with considering the potential impacts of acquiring the former Gulf Gate golf course for stormwater purposes.
In late October 2023, the commissioners discussed the 49-acre golf course property, with Commissioner Neunder having worked with Gulf Gate residents about the possibility that the county could purchase the site.
The residents had cited the need for — and the benefits of — a major stormwater initiative on the property, instead of construction of a new residential development.
Spencer Anderson, director of the county’s Public Works Department, noted during the Oct. 24, 2023 meeting that he had talked with the owner of the land as recently as Oct. 19, 2023. “They expressed to me that they are a willing seller,” Anderson told the commissioners. However, he cautioned, “They said the word ‘multipliers’ ” in regard to the price at which they would be willing to sell, based on the county’s appraisals of the land in January 2023.
A News Leader check of the Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s website on Dec. 16 found that the property remains under the ownership of Gulf Gate Holdings LLC, which bought the land on Nov. 29, 2022 for $3 million. The limited liability company, which is based in Miami, is an affiliate of 13th Floor Homes.
Although the News Leader read information in early November 2023 on the 13th Floor Homes website regarding its plans for a residential development on the former golf course, the News Leader no longer could find mention of that project during a Dec. 16 check of the website.
Yet another County Commission priority for 2025 is keeping Midnight Pass open on south Siesta Key as a channel between the Gulf of Mexico and Little Sarasota Bay. That also has been one of the top priorities of Neunder from the time he joined the board. (See the related article in this issue.)
In late September, the storm surge produced on Siesta Key from Hurricane Helene, during its passage along the Southwest Florida coastline, reopened the pass, which was manually closed in 1983. However, the channel closed a couple of days later. Then, when Hurricane Milton came ashore on Siesta Key on Oct. 9, it reopened the pass, which has remained open since then, according to reports on the Restore Midnight Pass Now!! Facebook page.
Yet other priorities for 2025 are affordable housing initiatives; development of a long-range funding plan for transforming Wellfield Park in Venice into a regional park; and the widening of Fruitville Road to Verna Road and making Lorraine Road four lanes from Fruitville to Palmer Boulevard.
County staff already is at work on plans for transforming Fruitville Road from two lanes to four between Debrecen Road and Lorraine.
The board members seated in mid-May discussed their road priorities with Anderson, director of the Public Works Department.
The County Commission will finalize its strategic priorities during its regular meeting on Jan. 15, 2025, the county news release said.