Please don’t change the GMD name
To: Longboat Key Town Commission
This may all be pre-mature. A new Executive order may be signed, renaming the body of water back to Gulf of Mexico – what happens then? It is a very expensive proposition – changing ALL of these names based on the current President/Governor.
Please don’t change the Gulf of Mexico Drive (GMD) name. I love my GMD address, plus we shouldn’t waste money on renaming everything when we’ve got important matters to address, ie. repairing beach erosion, combatting red tide, building infrastructure to avoid flooding, mitigating the effects of sea level rise, roadway congestion, etc.
Kim Parris
Longboat Key
Gulf of Mexico road signs are being removed by FDOT
To: Longboat Key Commission
We strongly object to this incredible waste of taxpayer dollars! Is there anything we can do to stop this travesty? Are the men in power so insecure and their egos so fragile that they have to stoop to something like this? Do we absolutely have no say in this matter??
Patricia DeChiara
Longboat Key
Meeting
To: Longboat Key Commissioner Penny Gold
Penny, I have the a few notes from the last EDC meeting. I can pass them to you at our next Commissioner meeting or faster if you need them.
Gary Coffin
Commissioner
Town of Longboat Key
Gulf of Mexico Dr Name Change
To: Longboat Key Commission
I’m writing to communicate my desire to keep the local name of State Road 789 as Gulf of Mexico Drive. There is a history and tradition associated with the current name that has been in place for generations. The next administration could just as easily change the name of the body of water back to the Gulf of Mexico and there is no practical reason for the township and its residents to incur the expense and complication of changing driver’s licenses, vehicle registrations, post office mailing addresses, etc.
Please leave the name of Gulf of Mexico Drive as is for our local community.
Greg Parris
Longboat Key
I object changing the name of Gulf of Mexico Drive
To: Longboat Key Commission
Please consider retaining the original name of our island main road. The cost to the town and the residents will be exorbitant. This is another way for the federal administration to cost taxpayers money; and not save us money. The next President might unilaterally decide to change the name of the Gulf back to its original and traditional name. Names cannot be changed on a whim. Please consider this for the long term and for the inconvenience of your taxpayers. Thank you,
Audrey Bear
Longboat Key
Gulf of Mexico road signs are being removed by FDOT
To: Patricia DeChiara
The signs came down before we knew FDOT was doing this. Town is having a workshop on October 20. Please come.
BJ Bishop
Commissioner
Town of Longboat Key
Gulf of Mexico road signs are being removed by FDOT
To: Longboat Key Commission
We strongly object to this incredible waste of taxpayer dollars! Is there anything we can do to stop this travesty? Are the men in power so insecure and their egos so fragile that they have to stoop to something like this? Do we absolutely have no say in this matter??
Patricia DeChiara
Longboat Key
Gulf of Mexico road signs are being removed by FDOT
To: Town Commission
I am writing to express my strong objection to the proposal to change the name of Gulf of Mexico Dr. At a time when our community is still recovering from the devastating effects of last year’s hurricanes, this suggestion is not only ill-timed but also deeply inconsiderate.
Local businesses and residents have already been burdened with significant recovery expenses. Adding the unnecessary cost and logistical challenges of a street name change (updating signage, records, marketing materials, stationery and countless legal documents) would only deepen the financial strain. Furthermore, with the impending increased costs of goods due to new tariffs this additional burden is unreasonable and unnecessary.
Our community’s priority must remain focused on rebuilding, restoring stability, and hardening our infrastructure in anticipation of future storms. A street name change serves no such purpose and instead diverts resources and attention from where they are truly needed.
I urge you to consider this as you discuss this on October 20. The people of this community deserve relief and support, not the imposition of further avoidable expenses
Carol Hochman
Longboat Key
Preserving Gulf of Mexico Drive Name
To: Longboat Key Commission
I am writing to urge you to preserve the rightful name of our road. Two generations of my family have lived on Longboat Key since 1976. We have weathered so many storms together as a community, although nothing as politically motivated as what is before you. To alter for reasons so arbitrary and autocratic are unacceptable. The practical reasons have been laid out before you and will cause unnecessary disturbances and headaches for residents.
But the impact will be greater.
The Fl government can change the name on maps but it will always be referred to as the Gulf of Mexico for years to come. I hope the commission will have the strength to stand strong and preserve its rightful name.
Connie Howard Schwartz
Longboat Key
LBK Code Enforcement
To: Longboat Key Town Manager Howard Tipton
So, I read the email to Town of Longboat Key Commissioner Karon from Katherine Girle in the Longboat Key News 8/15/25 (re: code enforcement about short-term rentals in a residential neighborhood… short-term rentals not allowed).
I am very interested to learn about the current structure and persons currently working for Code Enforcement on Longboat Key.
From a personal and volunteer perspective, I feel that we do not have enough Code Enforcement Officers available to deal with lighting/furniture compliance during Turtle season, as well as the many other duties including (e.g.,) building issues, lawn overgrown height, and rental enforcement.
I don’t want to interfere in Town organization matters, but I do know that the budget final planning meetings (public to attend at 5:01pm) are coming up soon.
So my ask is… Should the Town consider two full time (and consistent) Code Enforcement Officers with a third part-time person during Turtle Season (April 15 – October 31)? I feel confident that Longboat Key turtle patrol persons could provide some great experiences for the third Code Enforcement person to focus on lighting and furniture issues. Thanks for your enlightenment and help.
Terri Driver
Rotary of LBK Public Image Chair / President 2025-2026
Sign change
To: George Reenstra
I must tell you I had no idea that was going to happen. I continue to work the road project.
BJ Bishop
Commissioner
Town of Longboat Key
Sign change
To: Longboat Key Commissioner BJ Bishop
I assume the meeting on October 20 is a public meeting?
Around until Monday morning, if anyone wishes to speak to me.
George Reenstra
Longboat Key
Bay Isles/Seaplace Underpass
To: Jack Fuchs
You are correct, Bay Isles will be terminating their management of the tunnel beginning in January. The Town Commission learned of this at a recent meeting and have asked the Town Manager and Town Public Works Director to do more research about the involvement of FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation), or any other entity that might be involved. It is important that we also hear from citizens that might be impacted by any changes to the operation of the tunnel. Thank you for reaching out.
Penny Gold
Commissioner
Town of Longboat Key
Bay Isles underpass
To: Longboat Key Commissioner Penny Gold
What is the issue with the underpass? My spouse, Jill, and I use the underpass regularly when cycling. When I was at Seaplace this past weekend, the underpass was clear and usable. Losing it would result in a serious risk to pedestrians and cyclists whose alternative would be to play “Frogger” or to lobby the town for another crossing.
As I understand from calls to the Town of Longboat Key, Bay Isles has the easement for the underpass and maintains it. Does Bay Isles, which obtains beach access via the underpass, want to terminate the underpass or its easement?
Jack Fuchs
Longboat Key
Sarasota Bay Estuary Executive Director Applications Enclosed
To: Board Members
Good morning, Policy Board members. I have attached four folders. The first folder contains four applications for the ED candidates who were screened by the ED Screening Committee and will be interviewed at the September 12, 2025, Policy Board meeting.
The second folder contains two applications of those who meet basic requirements, but received little or no X’s on the ranking sheets and were not selected to be interviewed.
The third folder contains the remaining applications of those who did not meet basic requirements.
The fourth link is a proposed guideline to help streamline the interview process, based on the 2020 interview process and with input from our legal counsel, Attorney Jan McLean.
The meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m., and we are hoping to get through the regular agenda by 11:30 a.m., have a catered working lunch to review the questions that everyone wants to ask, and then kick off interviews at 12 noon. We could schedule interviews every hour on the hour or provide a brief break between interviews. Also, I will be scheduling PB briefings next week and the following week.
Thank you!
Cheryl Dexter
Executive Assistant
Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
Applicants for ED Position
To: Longboat Key Commissioner Gary Coffin
Thanks Gary – we’ll make sure that happens then.
Dave Tomasko
Executive Director
Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
Applicants for ED Position
To: Sarasota Bay Estuary Program Executive Director Dave Tomasko
Sounds good, I would like to have you in there for fact checking.
Gary Coffin
Commissioner
Town of Longboat Key
Applicants for ED Position
To: Longboat Key Commissioner Gary Coffin
That sounds like a good idea. When we reach out to them, we can let them know that they should remain “in the area” in case they are asked to come back for more questions. I think it might be awkward to have them in the same room/building, but we could ask them to remain in the vicinity, in case a need for follow up happens is something reasonable to expect from them.
Likewise, I can remain in the room if the Policy Board wishes me to be, so that I could answer any questions you may have. I do not think it appropriate for me to chime in on them, that’s your role as a Policy Board. But if, for example, someone answers a question in an entirely incorrect manner, then I think I could be helpful by being around for such.
For example, if anyone doesn’t know that we have to abide by Sunshine Law, that is something that you can ask, and they might not know. But if someone says we’re not, for example, then I would have to respond to an inaccurate answer. Similarly, if someone doesn’t know that there’s a link between humans and making red tides worse, that’s not “wrong” – but if they say there’s no link, then that would be incorrect.
Dave Tomasko
Executive Director
Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
Applicants for ED Position
To: Sarasota Bay Estuary Program Executive Director Dave Tomasko
This sounds like a reasonable process, I might suggest that the final 4 or 6 applicants remain at the office for the duration of the interviews. If additional questions arise, and to observe their dedication, they will be available.
Gary Coffin
Commissioner
Town of Longboat Key
Applicants for ED Position
To: Longboat Key Commission, Sarasota City Commission
As you know, our next Policy Board meeting, to be held September 12th, will include not only an agenda with various items that need to be acted upon, but also will include the process for selecting the next Director of the SBEP. The process has been very transparent, and we’ve advertised the opening on social media, on job site postings, and put this out for our CAC and TAC to disseminate as well. Literally thousands of people have seen social media posts where the job opening was highlighted.
All in all, we received 13 applications. Of those 13, 7 of them did not meet the basic requirements and were not considered further. That left 6 applicants who met the basic requirements. Those 6 were forwarded to our Screening Committee, which was comprised of members of our Management Board, plus one member of the Policy Board. We asked the screening committee to put an “X” by each of the qualified applications that they believed should advance to the next round, the actual interview process, to be conducted by the Policy Board. We set up this process so that the Policy Board would not have to wade through 10 (or more, potentially) different applicants, but would select from a smaller, more manageable number of applicants. The Screening Committee did not rank applicants, just noted those that they felt should proceed to the next stage of the process.
Why did we want to cull that number down a bit? Because the last time the position was advertised, each interview lasted about an hour, from 48’ to 68’ in length. That would be a very long day, on top of a regular two-hour meeting.
We received totals from six members of the Screening Committee, based on a deadline that passed at 5 pm today.
Of the six qualified applicants, one of them did not receive a single “X” suggesting a lack of comfort with that individual’s chances of being able to perform the required duties. Another individual received only one “X”. In contrast, there were four applicants who received multiple “X” marks, indicating the Screening Committee members felt that the applicant should proceed to the final stage of the review. Of those four, two received 6 “X” marks and two received 5 “X” marks.
There is a clear separation of four of the applicants from the other two. And since the interview process might take an hour per person, my recommendation is that the Policy Board restrict its interviews to the four applicants who received multiple marks from the Screening Committee.
If this path is chosen, then you’d have – hopefully – a two-hour (or less) meeting that starts at 9:30 on September 12th, 2025, when we go over normal business needs. Then, at approximately 11:30, we could cater a working lunch, allowing the Policy Board members to work out who would ask which of the suggested questions that we provided in an earlier email. Some of the proposed questions are required and straightforward housekeeping ones; others might take more time. If you start the interviews at noon, and keep to a schedule of one each hour, then you’d have all the interviews done by 4 pm, and that would leave an hour or so – until 5 pm – for discussions and votes.
My recommendation would be to follow the process from last time – pick an overall first place and then see if that person can attract enough votes to make the choice unanimous. Also, you should have a clear second-place applicant, should anything keep the first-place choice from being able to take the position.
If you have concerns or do not want to follow this process, please let me know – not via reply all. Otherwise, we’ll move forward, likely after this Friday’s Management Board meeting, with four applicants given notice of their upcoming interviews, and we will also forward their application packages to the Policy Board.
Dave Tomasko
Executive Director, Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
Invitation to Participate in Leadership Manatee Local Government Day Lunch Panel
To: Longboat Key Mayor Ken Schneier
I am helping to plan Local Government Day for this year’s Leadership Manatee Class, and we will be holding a lunch panel with local leadership again this year.
We would like to welcome you to join us for the panel which will have some preplanned questions as well as audience questions. Government Day is Wednesday, October 22 and the lunch will be held at the Manatee Chamber’s Bradenton Office (222 10th St W) from 11:15 a.m. – 1 p.m. for lunch, an introduction to advocacy and the panel.
Please let me know if you are available to join us. Additionally, if there are any items you would like to address in the pre-planned questions, please let me know and we will do our best to accommodate you, time-permitting.
Debbie McDermott
Member Programs Director, Manatee Chamber of Commerce
St. Armand’s Meeting Update
To: Chris Goglia
Thanks for sharing this dialogue with us. Longboat Key will certainly plan to participate in discussions regarding the future of St. Armand’s, as we always have, and to play a constructive role in their outcome. Although your commercial district has unique issues to resolve, we share many of the concerns involving flood control, traffic and growth.
Ken Schneier
Mayor, Town of Longboat Key
St. Armand’s Meeting Update
To: Sarasota Deputy City Manager Pat Robinson
Thank you for including the St. Armands Residents Association on these emails. We (SARA) would very much like to be included in this long series of discussions about the future of St. Armands Circle, which happens to be located smack-dab in the middle of our residential neighborhood. Contrary to what some developers have put out there in the past, residents would very much like to see St. Armands Circle revitalized and successful.
However, I don’t feel that the discussion of an issue of this magnitude–the future of St. Armands Circle–should be done in haste (or in a closed-door meeting). Residents who are away will start returning in October, with most having returned after the holidays. When people are away, they are less engaged. To maximize resident participation, in-person community workshops should be scheduled in the January-through-April timeframe. However, several members of the SARA Board of Directors are in town year-round and available to participate at any location, at any time. Tell me how many landowner and merchant representatives will be at a meeting, and I’ll send a corresponding number of neighborhood representatives.
Suggested talking points:
Current problems: traffic, parking, infrastructure, and the need for revitalization.
How will these problems be impacted by loosening regulations to allow increased size, density, and intensity of use?
How else can these problems be addressed? Even if loosening regulations were the only way, will the public agree that the trade-offs are worth it?
As a reminder, the city already hosted TWO community workshops about bigger buildings on St. Armands Circle within the last four years (August 5, 2021, and January 11, 2022). Why were there two community workshops about the same topic within six months of each other? I think it was because the developers didn’t like the community feedback they got in the first one. And they didn’t fare any better in the second. The City Commission voted 5-0 to reject bigger buildings on St. Armands Circle on November 21, 2022. Apparently the developers are trying again less than three years later.
For the future of St. Armands Circle, which we agree we want to see revitalized and successful, we look forward to participating in this conversation, and I encourage you to involve all stakeholders: St. Armands Key residents and Lido Key residents, St. Armands Circle businesses and commercial property owners, and the Town of Longboat Key… all of whom have a vested interest in the city getting this right.
Chris Goglia
President
St. Armands Residents Association
St. Armand’s Meeting Update
To: Chris Goglia
After receiving many inquiries from all of you and other interested parties we will be canceling the meeting that was previously scheduled by the Planning Department for September 8th.
Instead of that small group meeting we will be having a community conversation kickoff meeting that will be open to all interested parties to discuss ideas for short and long-term improvements to St. Armand’s to ensure it remains a viable and successful asset to our community. Additional smaller charettes will then be scheduled based on feedback from that first kickoff meeting, those will also be open to the public.
We would like to make haste in scheduling the initial meeting however it was brought up that many of the residents on the islands are at their other homes for the summer. Staff thought an online option might be appropriate however I know a lot of people like to be there in person. Thoughts? We can schedule additional meetings once the season starts back up obviously.
We will be working on dates and locations next week. I will ensure the schedule and location are disseminated to the business community and resident associations with ample time to get the word out to all that are interested.
Thanks again and we look forward to working with all of you to make improvements to our policies, processes, and response to make (and keep) St. Armands an amazing asset to Sarasota. Pat Robinson
Deputy City Manager
City of Sarasota
Questions regarding “future of St. Armands” meeting
To: Rachel Burns
If there is another group, or groups, that would like to set up a meeting we are happy to accommodate in the future. This is going to be a long series of discussions between interested parties and City Staff as we try and address many of the current and future issues facing St. Armands.
Pat Robinson
Deputy City Manager
City of Sarasota
Questions regarding “future of St. Armands” meeting
To: Rachel Burns
Thanks for reaching out with your email, and I’ll explain the purpose of this meeting and many meetings that are planned to be held in the future.
After the hurricane damage last year and observing the devastating impact they had on the commercial area of St. Armands, the City recognized that maybe we should take a look at the commercial area and how it could be more resilient to severe flooding in the future, rebound from severe damage, and investigate how maybe our regulations inhibit restoring St. Armands.
The meeting on September 8 is with many of the largest property owners. Future meetings with businesses, the residential community (who performed a very interesting and informative survey recently) and tourism-focused entities will take place.
At each of these meetings, City staff will be looking for ideas and recommendations on how to improve St. Armands and make it more resilient to storms like we experienced. I think we all recognize that what occurred last year will probably not be a once in a lifetime experience.
The September 8 meeting is just for those who are invited. Like I said, staff will be looking to hold other meetings in the future. Once, again, thank you for reaching out.
Steve Cover
Director of Planning
City of Sarasota
Questions regarding “future of St. Armands” meeting
To: Sarasota City Commission
It has come to the attention of the St. Armands Circle Association Board of Directors that there is a meeting regarding “the future of St. Armands Circle” scheduled at City hall on September 8, 2025 with Planning Director, Steve Cover.
Could you please clarify if this meeting is open to any resident, landowner, merchant, or the public? Or just those who received a special invitation?
If it is a closed meeting, will it be recorded under Sunshine?
Is there a reason why representatives from the district were not invited?
Thank you for your clarification on this matter.
As a reminder, I am also one of the 61 St. Armands Commercial District landowners (parcels 2014050144 & 2014050147), and was not invited in that capacity either.
Rachel Burns
Executive Director
St. Armands Circle Association
