Country Club Shores Turn Lane Project
To: Editor
I’m wondering when Polymarket or one of the other prediction/betting websites will post an over/under date on the first vehicle to launch into one of the newly established flower beds or worse, veer off GMD all together after contact. There are already tire marks on some of the fresh curbs. Given the primary demographic of the Key, I cannot understand why they didn’t simply establish a middle lane with lined guidance to aid turning. Like all residents, I have been looking forward to the town reestablishing the historic cutoffs for the 35mph to 45mph transition going north. When that does occur, I’m sure it will be short lived. After the first incident I’m sure it will be reduced to back to 35mph or even lower. Hopefully there are no serious injuries when the first incident occurs.
Mike Donnelly
Longboat Key
Responsibility
To: Editor
Readers may remember that President Jimmy Carter appeared on nationwide TV to take full responsibility for a failed attempt to rescue American hostages in Iran on in April 6,1980. Carter did this because, as a former Naval Officer, he understood that leaders can delegate authority but not responsibility and that he, as President of the United States, therefore bore full responsibility for the catastrophic disaster in the Iranian desert the previous night.
Now, however, we have a president who refuses to accept responsibility for the fact that our military forces shot and killed Venezuelan drug runners in the Gulf of Mexico when they were in the water and posed no further threat to anyone after a previous American missile strike blew up their boat. Although Trump and Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, had authorized a Navy admiral to make the attack, the President and the Secretary are responsible for violating international law because responsibility cannot be delegated.
Allan Gehring
Bradenton
Tree in the canal between 3131 and 3121 Bayou Sound
To: Scott Seabaugh
Thanks so much for the update and I’ll check it out tomorrow.
Scott Tonnesen
Longboat Key
Tree in the canal between 3131 and 3121 Bayou Sound
To: Scott Tonnesen
I wanted to provide you with a follow-up regarding the tree in the canal between 3131 and 3121 Bayou Sound. Our mangrove and waterway maintenance provider has advised that their crew was on site yesterday and trimmed the tree back into alignment with the surrounding mangroves, reducing it by approximately ten feet. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any remaining concerns or observe any further issues in this area.
Scott Seabaugh
General Manager Bay Isles Association, Inc.
Longboat Key
Tree in the canal between 3131 and 3121 Bayou Sound
To: Scott Tonnesen
Thank you for your email. I have contacted the Bay Isles Association’s service provider responsible for mangrove and waterway maintenance. They confirmed that once they complete their current mangrove project, they will proceed with removing the downed tree referenced in your message. I will continue to follow up with them to ensure the work is scheduled promptly.
I will provide an update to everyone on this thread once the tree has been removed. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Scott Seabaugh
General Manager Bay Isles Association, Inc.
Longboat Key
Tree in the canal between 3131 and 3121 Bayou Sound
To: Scott Seabaugh
Just letting everyone know that the tree is still in the canal. Hopefully they’ll get to it soon and no accidents occur.
Scott Tonnesen
Longboat Key
Tree in the canal between 3131 and 3121 Bayou Sound
To: Longboat Key Commissioner BJ Bishop
I have contacted the Bay Isles Association service provider responsible for the mangrove and waterway maintenance. They confirmed that, upon completing their current mangrove project, they will address the downed tree referenced in this email thread. I will follow up with them to ensure the work is scheduled promptly once they finish their active assignment. If there are any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Scott Seabaugh
General Manager Bay Isles Association, Inc.
Longboat Key
Tree in the canal between 3131 and 3121 Bayou Sound
To: Longboat Key Commissioner BJ Bishop, Public Works Director Charlie Mopps
I think we can work through these disconnects. I’d like to correct one statement though: the Perimeter Channel and the Private Waterways are the domain of Bay Isles Master Association with the exception of the Key Club owned sections as denoted on the Property Appraisers map. This is clearly documented in the governing documents of Bayou and Bay Isles but had been ignored until five years ago. Since that time, Bay Isles has been trimming the mangroves on both sides of the waterways. Bay Isles is also responsible for the shoreline up to the property line of the Bayou homeowner. One exception: Bayou owners who construct docks in the channel must maintain the areas of their docks.
To correct the fallen tree issue in the waterway, I will ask Scott Seabaugh of Bay Isles to have the tree removed. This is allowed under the Florida Tree Law. Compensation for removing the tree is another issue and I trust whoever caused the tree to fall will provide reimbursement.
David E. Novak
Longboat Key
Tree in the canal between 3131 and 3121 Bayou Sound
To: Longboat Key Public Works Director Charlie Mopps
Thank you Charlie
BJ Bishop
Commissioner
Town of Longboat Key
Tree in the canal between 3131 and 3121 Bayou Sound
To: David Novak
The Commissioner is correct. You may want to get Neil involved, he has the backstory. We had meeting to discuss the maintenance of that area in July of 2024. I attached an email from back then to help with this understanding. The area highlighted in blue is part of Bay Isles responsibility to maintain.
Charles Mopps
Public Works Director
Town of Longboat Key
Tree in the canal between 3131 and 3121 Bayou Sound
To: David Novak
Bayou Sound owns the property on the Buttonwood side of the canal. They have not maintained (Bayou) property in decades. Next to Bayou property is Town property. No homes are under construction on Longview at this time. If there is a tree in Bayou Canal the canal is the Bayou’s. There is no management company for Buttonwood.
BJ Bishop
Commissioner
Town of Longboat Key
Tree in the canal between 3131 and 3121 Bayou Sound
To: Longboat Key Public Works Director Charlie Mopps
Charlie, I do not have firsthand information on the situation below, and I would normally contact the management company for Buttonwood. But apparently management has changed. Can you assist in determining the danger to Mr. Tonnesen’s property and how the situation can be best relieved?
I have copied Scott Seabaugh, manager for the Bay Isles Association, who maintains the perimeter channel.
David E. Novak
Longboat Key
Tree in the canal between 3131 and 3121 Bayou Sound
To: David Novak
I’ve been meaning to let you know that there’s a tree hanging down into the canal between 3131 and 3121 Bayou Sound coming from the other side of the canal probably from the workers working on houses in Buttonwood. My concern is this could cause a boat accident. We’ve already had 2 boats hit into our boat lift so they could avoid hitting the tree. Can you please have the town remove that tree before anyone gets hurt.
Scott Tonnesen
Longboat Key
Happy December
To: Longboat Key Commission, Sarasota City Commission
Today I’m reaching out with recent tourism data to share.
Below you’ll find October information along with data for FY25.
October tourism metrics in Sarasota County reflect lingering distortions from Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024 where recovery workers and displaced residents created unusual patterns in occupancy and spend. We are seeing and hearing optimism from our industry for the season ahead.
October numbers comparing 2025 to 2024:
Visitors were 93,600 compared to 86,600 in 2024
Visitor direct expenditures were $93,760,000 compared to $81,713,200 in 2024
Lodging occupancy was 46.6% compared to 49.2% in 2024
Lodging average room rate was $245.15 compared to $182.65 in 2024
There were 191,200 room nights sold compared to 197,100 in 2024
And hot off the presses – FY25 annual numbers.
A few notes about the FY:
Visitation metrics for FY 2025 were influenced by hurricanes and hurricane recovery. October-December visitors included recovery workers, displaced residents, and those who came to check on properties. These visitors may stay longer and have different spending behaviors than a more typical mix of leisure and business travelers.
The number of visitors decreased from FY 2024, resulting in a decrease in direct spending and a decrease in economic impact.
Room rates increased from FY 2024, but occupancy decreased resulting in a tempered increase in RevPAR. Though RevPAR increased, TDT collections decreased from FY 2024 due to a decrease in the average number of available units.
Though total visitation was down compared to FY 2024, the number of visitors from the Central Europe and Other International regions increased.
New York City remains the top market for out-of-state visitors, and Orlando remains the top market for in-state visitors staying paid accommodations.
The share of visitors who used of personal social media to plan their trips increased from FY 2024.
More visitors who recalled advertising report being influenced by the messaging they saw. The percentage of those that saw promotions on personal social media increased compared to FY 2024.
More visitors flew into Sarasota County this year than in FY 2024. As always – if you have thoughts or questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. Also, if there are data points we are not currently sharing that you’d like to see – please let me know and we’ll do our best to accommodate.
Erin Duggan
President/CEO
Visit Sarasota
Property tax reform information
To: Longboat Key Commission
As a follow up to the property tax exemption discussions and scenarios analyses we had on Nov. 10, 2025, our Finance group produced additional information based on independent inquiries from a couple of commissioners. The information is good and relevant to all regarding the overall topic. As such, please see below and attached as we continue to monitor, evaluate, and plan over the course of the 2026 state legislative session.
Isaac Brownman
Assistant Town Manager
Town of Longboat Key
Property tax reform information
To: Longboat Key Commissioner Sarah Karon
It was nice speaking with you this afternoon and we appreciate all your efforts.
I updated a few slides from the November Workshop (PowerPoint presentation attached). Slides 7 and 8 show the revenue losses for both a $500,000 super exemption and a $100,000 exemption.
There are also the slides that show the impact if we had to cut budgets 20%,40%, 60% and even 80%.
I also checked these numbers for you:
The FY26 Police/Fire and Emergency Expenditure Budgets are $14.1 million total. This divided by $24.1 million adopted budget = 58% Public Safety
75.46% of the General Fund Budget is funded by Property Tax.
The second attachment is an analysis of a $500,000 super exemption (Blue columns) while keeping public safety intact. So when we keep public safety whole, all other budgets must be reduced $2.2 million which is approximately a 21% cut to each department. For a $100,000 exemption (beige columns), also keeping public safety intact, we have to cut $272,834 and that is about 2% cuts to each department, the latter being much more tolerable.
But we also need to keep in mind, that in next year’s budget, Fire and Police have contractual wage increases, state dictated FRS adjustments (usually increases), and defined benefit pension contributions that must be met. So that can only mean that the other budgets will suffer by larger cuts. There are other fixed costs that must be met like property and liability insurances which are on the rise.
While somewhat unrelated, I want to mention another potential big liability that must be funded due to recent legislative changes.
The Heart and Lung Act is going to cost government, amounts we can’t even conceive, under the workers compensation laws. It basically presumes that certain health conditions are work related. Any hypertension claim is deemed as a result of a workplace injury and must be covered under workers compensation for the life of the employee. We must pay all their medical bills and expenses incurred due to the injury, which will further increase the overall cost of workers compensation. If there are any related illness (such as diabetes) that have a correlation to the injury we could be paying for that employees healthcare for life under workers comp instead of a normal Medicare claim. And people are living a lot longer. We will also need experienced attorneys who specialize in workers’ compensation law.
Property tax reform is not a one size fits all. We are very fiscally responsible as shown in the comparison mill rate slide. And we even put a taxation limit on ourselves with a Charter requirement of 5 mill limitation vs the State’s 10 mill limit. There is a lot here. Let me know if you need anything else.
Susan Smith
Finance Director
Town of Longboat Key
$25 Million Stormwater Project
To: St. Armands Residents Association President Chris Goglia
I will try to make the 12/16 meeting. What can you say about the likelihood of the $25mm project solving the problem? That may be a part of the key.
Ken Schneier
Mayor
Town of Longboat Key
$25 Million Stormwater Project
To: Longboat Key Mayor Ken Schneier
The City of Sarasota, with the support of the Town of Longboat Key, has asked Sarasota County for $25 Million for a St. Armands Resiliency & Flood Mitigation Project
This money would come from federal funds received by Sarasota County following last year’s hurricane damage, to be spent on resiliency projects
Based on comments made by some of the five County Commissioners at their last meeting, we believe that they might not all be ready to approve this project at their upcoming December 16th meeting If there is a way to get this investment for St. Armands, what is it going to take?
Representation from ALL stakeholders at the December 16 County Commission meeting in two weeks: City of Sarasota, Town of Longboat Key, Barrier Island Business Owners and Commercial Property Owners, and St. Armands Residents and Residential Property Owners
In a recent interview with WSLR regarding a different issue (link), County Commissioner Teresa Mast is quoted as saying:
“Any time we can get our community as a whole to be more resilient, I’m very supportive of it”
“I find it mind-boggling that not one person has been here to speak on their behalf, because if it was something that I felt very passionately about or that I felt was the right thing to do, I think I would scream from the mountaintops.”
Folks, representatives from ALL stakeholder groups need to follow Commissioner Mast’s own advice and go to the upcoming December 16 meeting to speak during the public input session. We need to scream from the mountaintops that…
Taxpayers in the unincorporated parts of Sarasota County or in Venice or North Port are NOT subsidizing a project that only benefits the City of Sarasota; these are federal funds intended “to repair, replace and enhance public infrastructure to mitigate future disaster risks and address urgent community needs”
Sarasota County has agreed to maintain the city’s stormwater management system via interlocal agreement, yet the system repeatedly fails to remove floodwater from our streets even after storms pass and tides recede
We’re not asking the county to stop future hurricanes; we know that can’t be done. We’re asking the county to invest in resiliency; we need to be able to bounce back faster
Home buyers and businesses will be hesitant to invest here until our resiliency issues are addressed
People throughout Sarasota County come to the city’s barrier islands to WORK; not just in shops, restaurants, and hotels; but also service providers (pool, lawn, tree, pest, HVAC, etc…), contractors and tradespeople, appliance repair people, caregivers, delivery drivers and installers, ride share drivers, etc…
People throughout Sarasota County come to the city’s barrier islands for recreation; not just shopping and dining, but going to Lido Beach, kayaking through the mangrove tunnels in South Lido Park, launching boats and picnicking on City Island, watching the holiday parade of boats and fourth of July fireworks, etc…
St. Armands is the only direct way to travel from mainland Sarasota to the Town of Longboat Key and it’s an official hurricane evacuation route, yet St. Armands streets were impassable last year and Town of Longboat Key people could only get there via Manatee County
tourists come to Sarasota County for its beaches, natural beauty, arts and cultural venues, and unique shopping and dining destinations of which St. Armands is a major draw.
We need this project to be fully funded; partial funding is unlikely to solve our resiliency problem.
County gives $44 Million in Federal Funds to Casey Key, but St. Armands could be denied $25 Million?
This road on Casey Key provides access to a row of waterfront mansions, while St. Armands provides access to Lido Key and the Town of Longboat Key, let alone being one of the county’s major tourist attractions!
Per the Resiliency SRQ website, the county’s federal funds are meant “to repair, replace and enhance public infrastructure to mitigate future disaster risks and address urgent community needs”.
Why have some of the County Commissioners expressed skepticism about the St. Armands Resiliency & Flood Mitigation Project, especially after they received letters and emails of support from The City of Sarasota, Town of Longboat Key, St. Armands Residents Association, St. Armands Circle (Merchants) Association, Lido Key Residents Association, and many individual homeowners and local business interests–all people and groups who are metaphorically screaming from the mountaintops.
The upcoming December 16 meeting will be held at the County’s Robert L. Anderson Administration Center at 4000 S Tamiami Trail, Venice, FL 34293. All public input is taken at the very beginning of the meeting (at 9am).
I hope that enough residents, business interests, and other stakeholders will consider this to be worth their time and effort. If it’s possible to secure this $25 Million investment in St. Armands infrastructure from the county, that’s what I think it will take.
We must become more resilient to future storms. Combined with our recent progress towards undergrounding power lines & utilities, this project will help make St. Armands a much more attractive and safe place to live, visit, work, travel to and through, and invest in. In turn, this will benefit the entire region and all of Sarasota County. Thank you for your support and assistance.
Chris Goglia
President
St. Armands Residents Association
Right of way Issue 755 Saint Judes Dr N
To: Longboat Key Planning and Zoning Director Allen Parsons
Thank you. That clears up a lot! Interesting. They actually placed permanent markers (rebar set). I appreciate you and the LBK employees…we are looking forward to getting back on island.
Larry A. Lackey, Jr.
President, L&T Engineering Group, Inc.
North Port
Right of way Issue 755 Saint Judes Dr N
To: Larry Lackey
Apologies for the challenges you’ve had regarding the unclear St. Judes Dr. N. r-o-w and property boundaries. Getting to one of your original questions about who placed survey markers on your property. It looks like it was not the Town. We received a similar inquiry from your next door neighbor, Mr. Crick.
We have received inquires about developing the currently vacant property to your west (with an address of 627 St. Judes Dr. N.). My guess would be that the owners (or possibly a contract purchaser) of that property have placed the survey markers in question. That activity is not regulated by the Town. Here is a link to the Manatee Co. Property Appraiser’s information for that property, if you want to reach out to the owners.
Allen Parsons
Director Planning, Zoning & Building Department
Town of Longboat Key
Right of way Issue 755 Saint Judes Dr N
To: Longboat Key Commissioner Debra Williams
Thank you for getting back in touch. The attached survey shows accurately our property being at the approximate centerline of pavement. It has been our understanding from P&Z and others that LBK maintenance R/W is back of curb to back of
Thank you for getting back in touch. The attached survey shows accurately our property being at the approximate centerline of pavement. It has been our understanding from P&Z and others that LBK maintenance R/W is back of curb to back of curb. You will note on the attached survey that a “landscape curb” is shown beyond the limits of the valley curb. This is simply a curb that was installed on our property for purposes of Xeriscaping and holding in the shell. Our property extends past the existing vegetation and in fact a wood pier is installed at one of the areas that should be removed.
Please note that I am surprised you use the PAO Gis for accurate representation of boundaries. This is simply a graphic representation only. It is obvious that the aerial and property lines are off.
I also highlight that the LBK map (attached) depicting limits of maintenance (or debris removal) further shows road areas. The LBK jurisdiction is further evidenced by the new pavement limits and to me it represents the LBK understanding of maintenance limits.
The neighbor’s access is simply a private driveway only. Maybe the neighbor had it staked?
Larry A. Lackey, Jr.
President, L&T Engineering Group, Inc.
North Port
Right of way Issue 755 Saint Judes Dr N
To: Larry Lackey
Sir, I am including the Town Manager, the Assistant Town Manager, the Town Clerk and the Director of the Planning, Zoning and Building Department.
As for the sign, that was placed upon request of your neighbor to the west, who was not getting any of the packages from Amazon or other like vendors. According to the below, it was placed in the Right of Way and not on your property. The warranty deed and the Manatee County Property Appraisers’ web site confirm this. I researched and also asked the Town Clerk to look into if any portion of the Right of Way was vacated to your property, extending the ownership to the Edge of Pavement. I have asked Mark to remove the sign and relocate it to the Corner of St. Judes and the unpaved section to continue to ensure your neighbor gets his packages.
As for the Temporary Easement stakes, Public Works is not involvement in their placement. I have checked with my entire team. This is why I have included Allen, the Director of Planning, Zoning and Building, he may know the reasoning behind their placement. I also attached the second email for everyone’s shared knowledge. I hope this helps clear up the situation.
Charles Mopps
Public Works Director
Town of Longboat Key
Right of way Issue 755 Saint Judes Dr N
To: Longboat Key Public Works Director Charlie Mopps
Hi Charlie, We have tried with no success to communicate with your team regarding your department’s placement of a sign in our yard area. My initial talk with Mark Richardson yielded that he was “going to get with his boss”. In short, his team
Hi Charlie,
We have tried with no success to communicate with your team regarding your department’s placement of a sign in our yard area. My initial talk with Mark Richardson yielded that he was “going to get with his boss”. In short, his team placed an address sign outside of the maintained roadway at our home. We have now discovered that there are survey markers noting a “proposed 20’ easement” placed on our yard. I have made several follow-up calls to Mark and also highlighted the need to discuss this issue with Julie at your office, as well as have left Mark messages, with no response. This has gone on for several weeks. I noted also to Mark that we have architectural house plans in place to rebuild while at the same time trying to salvage the existing house as an option “Plan B”.
None of this sign placement work was discussed with us, at least as a courtesy which would be expected. I trust you will contact me and perhaps arrange a site meeting to have an understanding of the LBK position, as well as to have involvement in any intentions. We lost our home from the hurricanes last year at this address, and we are fervently endeavoring to get back home (we are renting off-island). The stress of this loss alone as you may understand causes emotional hardship on our family; (as I’m sure you understand, along with others in our community.) I highlight that we don’t consider ourselves unique or special. Note this is our primary and permanent residence. I trust you can understand that the passive approach and lack of communication from LBK to us certainly adds to our emotional overload. I also trust you will contact me to schedule a meeting with me and my wife, along with the Town Manager.
Larry A. Lackey, Jr.
President, L&T Engineering Group, Inc.
North Port
Right of way Issue 755 Saint Judes Dr N
To: Longboat Key Public Works Director Charlie Mopps
I went to my house again today. You guys set permanent markers with rebar set for the proposed 20 ft easement. Typically a proposed easement would be set by temporary placement markers like a hub and tech. You guys set permanent rebar! I do not want this to be litigious but you guys are really pushing this.
Larry A. Lackey, Jr., PE
President, L&T Engineering Group, Inc.
North Port
Affordable Housing
To: Sarasota City Manager Dave Bullock
Thanks!
Debbie Trice
Mayor
City of Sarasota
Affordable Housing
To: Sarasota City Mayor Debbie Trice
We’ll meet with him.
Dave Bullock
City Manager
City of Sarasota
Affordable Housing
To: Sarasota City Manager David Bullock
Just in case this hasn’t already been forwarded to you.
Debbie Trice
Mayor
City of Sarasota
Affordable Housing
To: Sarasota City Commission
My name is Paul Dibert, I’m a member of troop 23 and currently I’m working on my citizenship in community merit badge. I have to interview someone from our local Sarasota government about the issue of affordable housing. Who could I contact about this and could you send me their contact information?
Paul Dibert
Sarasota
External STAR Student Program
To: Sarasota Deputy City Clerk Lori Rivers
Thanks Ms. Rivers for the follow-up and information. This is good news!
Jen Ahearn-Koch
City Commissioner
City of Sarasota
External STAR Student Program
To: Sarasota City Commission
I wanted to share the below as a follow up to your discussion yesterday in regard to STAR Student placements. They have just completed a cohort and expect applicants in the next month. We will bring forward applicants for your consideration as soon as possible. Thank you.
Lori Rivers
Deputy City Auditor and Clerk
City of Sarasota
External STAR Student Program
To: Sarasota City Auditor and Clerk Lori Rivers
Thank you so much for reaching out, and I hope you’re doing well.
We appreciate the update on the STAR seats, and it’s great to hear that the City Commission is eager to fill the vacancies. With the close of our most recent STAR cohort, we expect to have two candidate applications submitted by the end of the month for consideration for the Parks, Recreation & Environmental Protection Advisory Board and the Citizens with Disabilities Advisory Board.
I’m cc’ing Liz Mena, our Teen Program Director, who now oversees all STAR Board placements and will be your main point of contact moving forward. Also, just to share a quick update: Caroline has stepped back from the organization to focus on her family, so Liz will be fully supporting this process.
We’ll keep you posted as soon as the applications are submitted. Thanks again for your partnership; we truly appreciate the opportunity for our teens to participate in this important civic work.
Suriya Khong
Vice President of Teen Initiatives
STAR Student Program
External STAR Student Program
To: Caroline Nigro
I just wanted to reach out regarding the STAR Student placements on City of Sarasota Advisory Boards. Currently our STAR seats on the Parks, Recreation & Environmental Protection Advisory Board and the Citizens with Disabilities Advisory Board are vacant due to term expirations. Our City Commission is very interested in filling these roles.
Please let us know if you have anyone interested in any of these positions. If so, they should complete an online application through our website, selecting the appropriate board from the dropdown menu and indicating STAR Program seat where it asks for “position applied for”
Thank you, and have a great day.
Lori Rivers
Deputy City Auditor and Clerk
City of Sarasota
Your PR stunt of feeding the homeless you caused
To: Sarasota City Mayor Debbie Trice
Please don’t ignore them. Please continue to forward them so we can have the appropriate unit at the PD look into it. Always better to be safe than sorry.
Patrick Robinson
Deputy City Manager
City of Sarasota
Your PR stunt of feeding the homeless you caused
To: Sarasota Deputy City Manager Patrick Robinson
Should we simply ignore emails like this, or forward them to you. (This is my first.)
Debbie Trice
Mayor
City of Sarasota
Minutes and Consent Items for Tomorrow
To: Sarasota City Manager David Bullock
Hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving Holiday.
Per Tomorrow’s Meeting:
Minutes Nov 3, 2025:
Page 1, 9:01:21, E), second and third lines: the words “Will Allow”, “…to Hold…” ie “W, A, and H” should be lower case I think. To be consistent with the others.
Page 7, 11:12:32, second line: add a comma after Trice. Remove “and”. Add a comma after Polzak.
Page 11, 1:45:00, first line: “Interim City Bullock” please add “Manager” between “City” and Bullock”
Minutes for Nov 7, 2025:
Just one question about the top portion… the “(Zoom/Hybrid)” is not here as it is in the previous minutes and want to point that out. No corrections or edit suggestions for the CRA minutes.
That is it. Great job as always especially with spelling out all the acronyms and titles.
Consent Items to Pull:
Consent 2, VII.2
Jen Ahearn-Koch
City Commissioner
City of Sarasota
Requesting that City/County residence on newly received Advisory Board applications be checked and corrected
To: Sarasota City Mayor Debbie Trice
Thank you for your feedback. We will figure out a way to review address a little better. Just so you are aware we never turn away applications as it always the Commission’s discretion to accept non city residents. And since we have a hard time finding individuals to volunteer we typically prefer the commission to make the decision. Your email is noted and understood.
Shayla Griggs
City Auditor and Clerk
City of Sarasota
Requesting that City/County residence on newly received Advisory Board applications be checked and corrected
To: Sarasota City Auditor and Clerk Shayla Griggs
With all the Advisory Board appointments on Monday’s Agenda, I spent quite a bit of time today reviewing the applications.
Initially, it was a minor annoyance that so many applicants don’t know which City District they live in. (I guess they don’t vote in City elections; I wonder why not.)
When I don’t recognize a street name, I check Google Maps and often discover that the applicant lives in Unincorporated Sarasota County, not the City — even though they checked the box on the application that they are City residents. Had I known that they were not City residents, the interview might have gone differently.
There are also individuals who claim to be City residents, but are actually Manatee County residents! (If, after locating their homes on Google Maps, I’m not sure if they’re City or County, I check the Property Appraiser’s website. Those addresses north of University Parkway with Sarasota mailing addresses can be confusing.)
Because some Advisory Boards require City residence or preference for City residents, it’s problematical if we don’t have accurate information. Beyond that, I wonder if the advice offered by someone with limited connection to the City is as relevant as we’d like from an Advisory Board member.
I’d really appreciate it if the addresses were checked for accurate City/County designation before Advisory Board applications are sent to the Commissioners. It would save me the effort of checking them myself — and save similar effort by the other Commissioners.
I received a phone call Wednesday evening from a Rosemary District resident asking about the “Overtown” sign in the park. I hadn’t seen it yet, so I responded “that must be the new Overtown Square sign for the park; didn’t you see the word ‘Square’?” No, she didn’t. She was very unhappy.
(We were both unhappy about the Historic Marker being relegated to the back of the park where it is unnoticeable, but that’s a concern — and potential trigger for a community protest — for another time. I did suggest that she contact Jerry about it.)
Then I received the attached email and photos from Anand (which clarified the sign problem for me). From the outside of the park, you see “Overtown Overtown.” From inside the park, you see “Square Square.” Did the company that made the sign not understand the design? Can we send it back for correction?
Anand’s other concern about the location of the sign points out a problem with where it was placed. The walkway from the corner was designed to be a wide opening that funnels people into the interior of the park. The sign has been placed in the middle of the wide opening, creating an obstacle to avoid. Its placement certainly isn’t ADA-friendly. Please revisit this issue. I suggest you consult with the neighborhood on a resolution.
Debbie Trice
Mayor
City of Sarasota
Overtown Square Monument Sign
To: Sarasota City Mayor Debbie Trice
Wanted to share a couple of photos of the new monument sign that arrived in Overtown Square today. Not sure how this was approved and sourced, however, it doesn’t make any sense in the orientation it was designed and implemented; further the vendor that installed it destroyed the pavers in what is the center point of the entrance to the park.
Given the amount of collective effort and outreach that went into sourcing public input and alignment on every single facet of the park, this was disappointing to discover this evening.
I hope you get an opportunity to check it out yourself. At the very least, it will make a great leapfrog ornament in the park.
Anand Pallegar
Sarasota
Applications
To: Sarasota City Clerk Shayla Griggs
With all the Advisory Board appointments on Monday’s Agenda, I spent quite a bit of time today reviewing the applications.
Initially, it was a minor annoyance that so many applicants don’t know which City District they live in. (I guess they don’t vote in City elections; I wonder why not.)
When I don’t recognize a street name, I check Google Maps and often discover that the applicant lives in Unincorporated Sarasota County, not the City — even though they checked the box on the application that they are City residents. Had I known that they were not City residents, the interview might have gone differently.
There are also individuals who claim to be City residents, but are actually Manatee County residents! (If, after locating their homes on Google Maps, I’m not sure if they’re City or County, I check the Property Appraiser’s website. Those addresses north of University Parkway with Sarasota mailing addresses can be confusing.)
Because some Advisory Boards require City residence or preference for City residents, it’s problematical if we don’t have accurate information. Beyond that, I wonder if the advice offered by someone with limited connection to the City is as relevant as we’d like from an Advisory Board member.
I’d really appreciate it if the addresses were checked for accurate City/County designation before Advisory Board applications are sent to the Commissioners. It would save me the effort of checking them myself — and save similar effort by the other Commissioners.
Debbie Trice
Mayor
City of Sarasota
