Longboat Key News and Sarasota City News encourages Letters to the Editor on timely issues. Please email to: letters@lbknews.com or mail to PO Box 8001, Longboat Key, FL 34228. We also print letters sent to Town Hall that address Longboat Key issues. We reserve the right to edit.
Town of Longboat Key Town Commission Meeting: SR 789 Gulf of Mexico Drive
To: Longboat Key Commission
As you will note below, the FDOT contractor is scheduled to have the “Gulf of Mexico Drive” signs reinstalled tomorrow November 4, 2025. FDOT plans to send the Town confirmation once the work is complete. Additionally, FDOT is taking active steps to upgrade and install new vehicle detection technology at our two traffic signalized intersections (Longboat Club Road and Bay Isles Parkway). The original detection systems were damaged during last year’s storms; this proposed radar technology is anticipated to function better than the previous system. That update is below as well.
Isaac Brownman
Assistant Town Manager
Town of Longboat Key
Town of Longboat Key Town Commission Meeting: SR 789 Gulf of Mexico Drive
To: Longboat Key Commission
Our contractor confirmed they can have the signs re-installed tomorrow. We will provide photos once complete.
Isaac Brownman
Assistant Town manager
Town of Longboat Key
Town of Longboat Key Town Commission Meeting: SR 789 Gulf of Mexico Drive
To: Longboat Key Assistant Town Manager Isaac Brownman
“An update on your signal detection request from our previous phone call:
We are waiting on quotes from Wavetronix and Transcore (our contractor). We will be upgrading the detection to a more appropriate radar-based detection due to the proximity to the beach which will provide longevity and ease of maintenance. Right now, the equipment vendor has approximately a 6-week lead time. We are hopeful that we can have the detection installed and functioning before the start of the peak-peak season in January.”
Steven Davis
District Traffic Operations Engineer
Florida Department of Transportation
St. Regis signage
To: Dan and Mary Phelps
Thank you for your input on the St. Regis sign. We have heard from many residents who have expressed your same sentiments.
Debra Williams
Commissioner
Town of Longboat Key
St Regis signage
To: Longboat Key Commission
We are 20-year residents of Longboat Key. We strongly object to the illegal sign erected at the St Regis. Further we object to a code amendment to allow the St Regis to keep the illegally erected sign. Please hold the St Regis accountable to the rules and regulations in place on Longboat Key.
Dan and Mary Phelps
Longboat Key
Funding Secured Through SRF
To: Longboat Key Town Manager Howard Tipton
Woaaa…that is just fantastic. Our staff is the most qualified, the best informed and most talented individuals in their fields. Their determination and aggressiveness in pursuing excellence is impressive.
Gary Coffin
Commissioner
Town of Longboat Key
Funding Secured Through SRF
To: Longboat Key Commission
Yesterday was a big day for our Utility System. The feds had apparently authorized more than a billion dollars for states impacted by 2024 storms and wildfires. As you see below, our amazing team jumped on the application for these funds, and we found out yesterday evening that we were awarded a $9.58 million grant and another $9.58 million as a no interest loan. These funds will be applied to the subaqueous project costs.
Staff will be bringing to Commission in January a project update that will share more about these funds and how they will help move the project forward. Congratulations to our Utilities Manager Jessie Camburn and the entire Utilities team for this excellent work and successful outcome.
Howard Tipton
Town Manager
Town of Longboat Key
Funding Secured Through SRF
To: Longboat Key Town Manager Howard Tipton
This is fabulous news. Thanks to all involved.
Ken Schneier
Mayor
Town of Longboat Key
Funding Secured Through SRF
To: Longboat Key Town Manager Howard Tipton
The Town of Longboat Key is proud to announce that it has been awarded $19.2 million for wastewater infrastructure improvements. Specifically, this funding will support the construction of the new Subaqueous Wastewater Force Main. These funds were received based on federal funding as part of the American Relief Act, 2025, Supplemental Appropriation for Hurricanes Helene and Milton and the Hawai’i Wildfires (SAHM). As you know, the Town was directly and significantly impacted by both Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The impacts to the Town’s wastewater system enabled the town to apply for these SAHM funds in June 2025. On November 12, 2025, the FDEP State Revolving Funds (SRF) announced the results of the funding for numerous impacted utilities, with the Town of Longboat Key being one of the selected recipients.
Specifically, the Town’s request included funding for the construction of the new Subaqueous Force Main, which is a critical pipeline that transmits all of the Town’s wastewater to the Manatee County Wastewater Plant on the mainland. This appropriation, administered by the Florida DEP State Revolving Funds (SRF) program, provides low-interest loans to local governments and other entities for water quality and water supply projects.
The results of the appropriation are as follows:
– Loan: $9,583,252 loan at 0% interest
– Grant: $9,583,252 “principal forgiveness,” not to be repaid
– Total: $19,166,503
Next Steps – Although the town has already applied for and received approval for these funds, it must now initiate a formal application process with FDEP SRF to submit the required loan documents and supporting information. This process will begin immediately and is expected to be complete by March of 2026.
The Town has been in the planning and design process for the new critical Subaqueous Force Main for some time already. The receipt of these funds will enable the Town to proceed with the construction of the new force main while further solidifying the Town’s financing for these facilities.
Jessie Camburn
Utilities Manager Public Works Department
Town of Longboat Key
Sarasota Bay Estuary Program update
To: Longboat Key Commission, Sarasota City Commission
This will be my last Director’s Note, as the eminently qualified Ryan Gandy, supported by our fantastic staff, will be in charge as of next week. But I wanted to spend just a bit of time to summarize what we’ve done the past few years, and why we did it.
The signs that Sarasota Bay was in trouble predate me taking the position five years ago. Back in 2013, Sarasota County started to see troubling signs in terms of the abundance and types of macroalgae in the lower bay. Between 2014 and 2018, the lower bay lost 30% of its seagrass coverage, wiping out most of the gains that arose between 1999 and 2016 in that part of the bay. In the upper bay, we suffered one of the most intense and longest-lasting red tide events in decades. Researchers at New College documented a huge impact on the bay’s fish populations during that red tide, which was also the likely main cause of a seagrass loss of about 2,000 acres between 2018 and 2020. Then, in 2021, FDEP determined that the waters from Ringling Causeway down to Venice Inlet were “out of compliance” with the Numeric Nutrient Concentration (NNC) criteria that were established back in 2013.
In short, our bay was in trouble, with macroalgae blooms, elevated levels of floating microscopic algae, intense red tides, seagrass loss and widespread impacts to our fish populations.
Fast forward to 2025, and where are we? Well, we’re not pristine, but we’re in much better shape:
Thanks to over $300 million worth of investments in wastewater upgrades and large stormwater retrofits, the Pollutant Load Reduction Goal (PLRG) that we set in 2021 appears to have been met already. Due to the implementation of projects that have met our PLRG, we have been seeing positive system responses the last few years:
The amount of floating microscopic algae has decreased by about 50% over the past few years
The amount of macroalgae has declined even more, in the lower bay in particular, over the past few years.
Bay-wide, we’ve gained nearly 2,000 acres of seagrass since 2022, the second largest increase (19%) in the past 30 years.
Using values used by FDEP and FFWCC, that seagrass increase is likely sufficient to support over 70 million fish.
This graphical abstract, developed by Megan, illustrates how we used the combination of our Ecosystem Health Report Card and our watershed-wide pollutant loading model to develop our PLRG. We then hosted, in 2021, a Water Quality Restoration Workshop where we asked our local government partners to bring us all the projects that they could commit to implementing, which turned out to be sufficient to meet our PLRG target. And then, over the past three years, we’ve worked with our partners to collect, analyze and interpret the data that shows that our efforts have actually worked.
This does not mean that we’ve solved all our bay’s problems, but it does mean that we are a healthier system than we were a few years ago. And, as we’ve said multiple times, a healthier bay is a more resilient bay. And we’ll need to be more resilient, because the indicators of climate change are already here.
As we’ve discussed in the past, our air is warmer than it was a few decades ago, as is our water temperature. Warmer air holds more moisture, and as discussed previously, we have seen a big increase in the frequency of what used to be rare rainfall amounts. Using data from Bradenton, we had only a single day with more than 5” of rain in the 20 years between 1965 and 1984. Over the last 10 years alone, we’ve had eight such days. Increased water temperatures are adding more fuel to spin up more powerful hurricanes and also leading to increased rates of sea level rise. Sea level has been increasing for about 20,000 years, but our rates over the past 20 years (3”/decade) are not only in line with the State of Florida’s expectations over the next few decades, they are about three times higher than the rates we’ve documented over the past 80 or so years. Our current rates of sea level rise also appear to be higher than the average rates that we’ve had over the past 5,000 years.
We are seeing climate change happening in front of our eyes, which has led in part to the almost complete collapse of the live coral coverage on the Florida Keys Reef Tract, as well as an increased likelihood that storms that would have been Category 1 to 3 are now more likely to be Category 4 and 5 events.
As I say to friends and family (and folks who are neither) you can ignore climate change, but it won’t ignore you.
Which leads to the last element of this Director’s Note – what are the likely biggest problems we’ll see with our changing climate? Will we have another year like 2024? Sure we will, but nobody knows if that will happen in 2026 or maybe not for another 50 years. But we’re playing Russian roulette with storms, and our lack of adequate action to address climate change is adding more rounds to the chamber.
With or without a major storm, our region will be challenged with the combination of increased sea level and the increased probability of more intense rain events. Another graphic, created by Megan (who puts my communication efforts to shame) highlights the challenges of dealing with more intense rain co-occurring with higher sea level. Basically, our low-lying areas will find it harder to drain their streets when it rains on a high tide.
Will the SBEP and its stakeholders have the foresight and wisdom to respond to climate change the same way we’ve responded to the issues of water quality and nutrient enrichment? I don’t know, but I hope so. But I would suggest keeping this in mind as well – the vast majority of the costs of the projects that have been implemented to address our water quality problems were paid for by local residents. Neither the State nor the Federal governments have funded most of the wastewater upgrades and stormwater retrofits. They’ve not played no role, but they’ve not played the major role either.
Don’t expect much support from either Tallahassee or Washington, D.C. to respond to the stressors of climate change. They might not even want you to say those two words. So maybe you’re on your own for a bit on this topic. But if I know this region, I know that you’re up to the challenge – more so than any other part of Florida.
And that’s the final thing I’d like to point out. This bay isn’t better because of me, or the SBEP. Or because of EPA or FDEP. It’s cleaner and healthier because of YOU, the local and regional governments, supported by informed and engaged local stakeholders that have funded the projects that got our pollutant loads under control, and that led to our recent improved condition.
Sarasota Bay is the healthiest urban estuary in Florida. And that is something that I, and you, should be proud of. It’s also one of the reasons why I want to go back in the private sector, to see if we can get a few more Sarasota Bay-like success stories initiated, before I shuffle off this mortal coil. It’s been a privilege and an honor.
Dave Tomasko
Executive Director
Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
New public email
To: Longboat Key Mayor Ken Schneier
Good morning, Mayor. Yes, unless there is some urgency/time sensitivity, there is always a day’s lag (even without a holiday) in the processing.
Howard N. Tipton
Town Manager
Town of Longboat Key
Public Email
To: Longboat Key Town Manager Howard Tipton
I see a lot more 11/11 emails today on the Commission email site. May be a holiday delay or just a lag in this processing. Thanks.
Ken Schneier
Mayor
Town of Longboat Key
Public Email
To: Longboat Key Mayor Ken Schneier
That is all I see approved that is displayed on the website. Each e-mail is reviewed before it is allowed to be published by the Clerk’s office. With today being a holiday, any emails received today will be published by Trish’s team tomorrow morning.
I do see several e-mails over the last few days but it does look like all spam/junk/advertisement e-mails are not being approved to publish to the website. This is most likely to keep the e-mails published only relevant to Town business. I’m in the office tomorrow if you’d like to stop by if that helps.
Jason Keen
Chief Information Officer
Town of Longboat Key
Public Email
To: Longboat Key Chief Information Officer Jason Keen
I only received two emails today and “commission email” on the website isn’t functioning.
Ken Schneier
Mayor
Town of Longboat Key
St. Regis arch
To: Longboat Key Commission
We the people who enjoy the Beach of Longboat Key, use the Pier for fishing, watching stingrays kettling and many other fish, it is always amazing! Because you can walk out to the end of the pier, many different species can be seen.
No one owns the water; therefore no one owns the pier!
The arch erected…with their name on it, no less; shouts ownership by the St. Regis.
This is beyond arrogance!
If the Town of Longboat Key creates an Amendment for one property, it would not be good Land use planning but instead…opens a Pandora’s Box. This Pier has been used by the Public for decades and it should continue as such.
Judi Earnshaw
Longboat Key
Land Use Legislation SB 208
To: Longboat Key Town Manager Howard Tipton
FYI as it was mentioned last Friday at the Joint Meeting. SB 208 (Sen. McClain) has been placed on the agenda for Senate Community Affairs Committee, the first of its three committee referrals, for next Wednesday. There is no companion measure currently.
The bill:
Revises land use rules to streamline approvals for infill residential developments and limit local design and fee restrictions.
Clarifies “compatibility” by focusing on land uses within the same category and removing the requirement for uniformity or identical development.
Defines “infill residential development” as parcels up to 100 acres meeting specified proximity and size requirements.
Prohibits local regulations from denying or delaying residential projects based on compatibility concerns if the project adjoins existing residential development in the same land use category.
Limits the applicability of building design regulations for single-family or two-family dwellings and clarifies what qualifies as an architectural review board.
Requires administrative approval of infill residential development applications without public hearings if they meet current standards and maintain consistent density with surrounding properties.
Treats qualifying infill residential projects as conforming uses regardless of the local government’s comprehensive plan or zoning.
Prohibits local governments from charging certain fees or exactions as a condition of approval for residential developments and restricts fees to actual service costs while requiring public disclosure of fee schedules.
Rob Lewis
Director of Governmental Relations
Governmental Relations
Code compliance
To: Longboat Key Commissioner BJ Bishop
Very disappointing. Code Enforcement went to the site and spoke with the site supervisor just yesterday. He provided assurances that he would monitor his workers and subcontractors to prevent this issue from arising again. We will follow up. Thanks for passing this info along.
Allen Parsons
Planning and Zoning Director
Town of Longboat Key
Code compliance
To: Longboat Key Planning and Zoning Director Allen Parsons
Came home at 5:20 p.m. – they were still working
BJ Bishop
Commissioner
Town of Longboat Key
Code compliance
To: Longboat Key Commissioner BJ Bishop
Thanks for letting me know. We will absolutely do that. I am sorry your neighbors were impacted. We provide the allowed noise-making construction hours on every permit so that no one can claim not to be aware.
Allen Parsons
Planning and Zoning Director
Town of Longboat Key
Code compliance
To: Longboat Key Planning and Zoning Director Allen Parsons
The contractor at Buttonwood Drive across from the boat basin started banging on the roof Saturday morning at 7:15 am. Please advise these people there are people living here and do not appreciate the continuing violations. We have neither time or patience to call SRQ dispatch.
BJ Bishop
Commissioner
Town of Longboat Key
Utilities, Natural Resources, and Public Works Policy Committee Packet
To: Longboat Key Florida League of Cities members
Thank you again for your engagement and thoughtful discussion during the Florida League of Cities’ Utilities, Natural Resources & Public Works Policy Committee’s meeting in October.
As a follow-up to the presentation from Gary Hubbard, Water Department Director for the City of Winter Haven, I’m sharing the draft One Water Proclamation his team prepared in response to the committee’s request. This proclamation is intended as a voluntary resource for your municipality, should your commission/council wish to formally endorse the One Water concept.
The draft proclamation emphasizes water as a vital resource for public health, economic prosperity, and environmental protection; recognizes that drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater are often managed in silos; and highlights that a “One Water” approach treats all water as a single, integrated resource to be managed holistically and sustainably for communities, agriculture, industry, and the environment.
Please feel free to share the attached draft. It can be customized to reflect local circumstances and preferences before being brought forward for consideration by a governing body.
If you have questions about the proclamation or the One Water framework, you can reach Gary at ghubbard@mywinterhaven.com.
Matt Singer
Legislative Advocate
Florida League of Cities, Inc.
Dr. Ryan Gandy Selected as New Sarasota Bay Estuary Program Executive Director
To: Longboat Key Commission, Sarasota City Commission
Please join us in welcoming our new Executive Director, Dr. Ryan Gandy. Dr. Gandy holds a Ph.D. in Wildlife and Fisheries Science, a M.S. in Mariculture from Texas A&M University, and a B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of Charleston. Over his 15-year tenure as a Research Scientist and Research Administrator with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), he led and supported the development of scientific programs focused on research, monitoring, stakeholder engagement, citizen science, fisheries management, and the restoration of shellfish resources statewide.
For the last year, he has served as the Science and Restoration Manager for SBEP, where he successfully advanced the program’s library of restoration projects and ensured key initiatives are informed by current science. A fifth-generation Floridian and 21-year resident of Sarasota County, Dr. Gandy has witnessed the region’s ecological challenges and transformations firsthand.
He is committed to protecting and enhancing the natural resources of Sarasota Bay so that future generations can continue to connect with and benefit from Florida’s unique coastal environment. “While we’ve made significant progress in restoring bay health and increasing marine habitat, our coastal ecosystem still faces challenges. I look forward to working with our partners and the community to strengthen the estuary’s resilience for the benefit of all,” said Dr. Gandy.
Dave Tomasko
Executive Director
Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
$25 Million Stormwater Projec
To: Longboat Key Commission
Here is the latest information since my last email – two things: (1) Joint Meeting of the Town of Longboat Key Commission and the Sarasota County Commission After last week’s update, we learned that there was about to be the Annual Joint Meeting of the Town of Longboat Key Commission and the Sarasota County Commission. Longboat had already decided to ask the County to fund the St. Armands Resiliency & Flood Mitigation Project (link) because of island access and evacuation concerns, and because St. Armands is important to their residents and visitors. We contacted the Longboat Mayor and Town Manager and got the nod to come and make a brief presentation. So we canceled our Friday afternoon plans and went to this meeting and got to present directly to four of the five County Commissioners who are going to decide whether or not this project gets funded at their upcoming December 16 meeting (in five weeks). I was joined by Carl Shoffstall of the Lido Key Residents Association and Andrew Vac of the St. Armands Circle (Merchants) Association. Thank you to Carl and the LKRA for splitting the costs of the picture collages of flooding damage that we had printed up. Link to video: https://video.ibm.com/channel/K7AXepv39YZ Public input (me, Carl, Andrew): fast forward to 2:10 (2 minutes, 10 seconds) (be patient, they eventually turn the camera toward the speakers) Town of Longboat Key pitch: fast forward to 24:20 (24 minutes, 20 seconds) (2) Article about this Upcoming County Funding Decision in the Herald-Tribune Sarasota wants $82 million in federal funds for St. Armands; bayou stormwater projects Alternate link: click here Note: the article mentions two dates. The County is scheduled to select which dredging projects get funded next week on November 18, and which infrastructure projects get funded in five weeks on December 16. Apparently there are separate pools of money for each. Here’s what we still need to do: Many residents and a couple businesses have copied me on their own emails to the County Commissioners, or indicated that they are going to do this. I’m hopeful that more residents and businesses and commercial property owners will send a steady flow of additional emails to them over the next five weeks. Tell your own story of how the last two years of flooding events have impacted you. For commercial property owners, explain how new business tenants may be hesitant to invest in St. Armands Circle until the stormwater infrastructure issues get addressed. If you watch the video segments listed above, you’ll hear the idea that this project might only get partial funding. I recommend making the point that this project needs to be fully funded; that half-measures will not solve the stormwater infrastructure problems out here. Here’s the link showing the five County Commissioners and how to email them. This one email address goes to them all: commissioners@scgov.net If you’ve got the ability to have a phone call, Zoom, or in-person meeting with them, even better. Clear your Calendar for Tuesday, December 16 and go to the meeting in Venice: (it’s in five weeks) The meeting starts at 9am and every person present at the start of this meeting will get up to three minutes to speak. I expect to be there for several hours, depending on the number of speakers and how long the County Commissioners take to discuss this. Can I count on you to join me there? It’s at the County’s Robert L. Anderson Administration Center at 4000 S Tamiami Trail, Venice, FL 34293. Here’s a map with the location marked with a red icon at the bottom. A little far, but isn’t it worth it?
We must become more resilient to future storms. Let’s do everything we can to help the city obtain this $25 million in federal funds to invest in St. Armands infrastructure. Combined with our recent progress towards undergrounding our 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. Thank you for your support and assistance.
Chris Goglia
President
St. Armands Residents Association
St. Regis arch
To: Longboat Key Town Clerk Trish Shinkle
Trish – this is a transcript of a voicemail Sue Klauber left about Whittall’s sign:
Any monumental art should go up on the groin it should be to Murf Klauber for having to go all the way to the state to stop it from being torn down. Town didn’t want it there maybe because I think Murf helped rebuild it and the groin definitely needs to have a small plaque just before you get on the ground so people would know that if it weren’t for Murf nothing would be there. I just saw Judy Earnshaw’s email and I had no idea so I picked up the paper just read the problem and I agree it’s certainly noticeable and inappropriate. I thought it was somebody who was having a wedding you know Jewish arch not permanent but I am so nice I think it was maybe as of humor just have anything it should have a recognition of Klauber because if he hadn’t fought to the nail to the very end there would be no groin and we’d have no beaches so forget this arch in his go back to the beginnings. Anyway dear, look forward to seeing you tomorrow and you just got my message about tennis on Thursday take care we’ll see you at church bye-bye…”
Sue Klauber
Longboat Key
FLC update
To: Longboat Key Town Manager Howard Tipton
Hi Tip, I wanted to be sure you noticed this passage from Casey Cook’s FLC update. I watched the video and was encouraged by the tenor of this week’s Senate Finance and Tax Committee meeting:
Property Taxes and the Senate
The Senate has yet to show its hand on the issue of property taxes. However, in order for legislation to come into effect or be placed on the ballot as a proposed state constitutional amendment, both the House and the Senate will need to vote on and pass the same bill or joint resolution.
This week during the Senate’s Committee on Finance and Tax meeting, in response to a question from Vice Chair Don Gaetz about the committee’s trajectory on property taxes, Chair Bryan Avila stated that it would be prudent “to take a slow and methodical and productive approach,” and that this approach was supported by the Senate President Ben Albritton. See Senate Committee on Finance and Tax 11/5/2025 Meeting at 48:17. Therefore, there is no indication that the Senate is in a rush to hear and vote on the eight House proposals.
Penny Gold
Commissioner
Town of Longboat Key
St. Regis arch
To: Longboat Key Commissioner BJ Bishop
Understood I just did not realize it was happening at that hearing. That’s why I’m gonna come Monday so I can address as well.
Chuck (Charles) Whittall
Unicorp Companies
St. Regis arch
To: Unicorp President Chuck Whittall
The Commission received a letter from your attorney asking that we address the sign.
BJ Bishop
Commissioner
Town of Longboat Key
St. Regis arch
To: Longboat Key Commission
I was unaware that this week you would be discussing the Groin Sign at The St Regis or I would have been there to personally address you. I apologize for not being there.
I think there was a horrible misunderstanding of how this matter was handled and how we got to where we are today. I’ve been in business for 30 years and have always played by the rules throughout my career.
I personally will be at the commission on Monday at 1 p.m. to address this matter and hopefully add clarity to how we got here and seek resolution. I hope your listen with open minds as we have been a good community partner and I think a huge benefit for Longboat Key. We have not caused any traffic issues, provided several new dining and drinking venues, we have raised property values, hugely increased the property tax revenue, provided meaningful employment opportunities and gained a great reputation throughout the country. We delivered on our promise and are committed to being a solid part of the community and a team player. I look forward to seeing you.
Chuck (Charles) Whittall
Unicorp Companies
Monthly brief
To: Longboat Key Commission
The Town Manager’s Monthly Brief is hot off the press! If you haven’t had a chance to check out what’s happening this month, now’s your chance. Our Communications Team would like to remind the community about our Veterans Day & 70th Anniversary Celebration happening this Saturday. The event will take place at the Town Center Green from 4-6 p.m. Attached, you’ll find the program for the event. Come out and enjoy a fantastic lineup of speakers, followed by mingling with our sponsors, vendors, and other community members while you enjoy light refreshments, drinks, and jazz music by Michael J Ross & Company.
Additionally, our Fire Department wants to share some exciting news. This Thursday, from 10-11 am at Town Hall, there will be a presentation about Longboat Links. The Longboat Key Fire Rescue Department has teamed up with Youthful Aging Home Care to provide any necessary assistance that our residents may need. We hope you can join us and learn more about this wonderful program.
We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events. If you have any questions or need further information, feel free to reach out to me or any of our town staff.
Tina Adams
Fire Administration & Communications Manager
Town of Longboat Key
Keep Sarasota Safe
To: Sarasota City Mayor Debbie Trice
First, I would like to congratulate you on becoming the next mayor. I have total confidence in you that you will uphold the office honorably and do whatever you can to keep Sarasota safe, while making reasonable decisions, all while listening to the public’s concerns and suggestions for the City of Sarasota.
We do however have a severe problem at Saint Armands Circle. We have individuals in the circle playing rap music very loud and extremely inappropriate, in addition today I noticed are now are putting up tents to camp in during their ridiculous activity here. This is not the impression and reputation we want for St. Armand’s Circle and I know many merchants and homeowners who agree 100 percent.
Furthermore, as I just have entered the circle on my daily walk, there was a gentleman (and I use that term very lightly) screaming at the top of his lungs as he was crossing the street from Venezia area to Columbia while spitting at cars going by! Again not the image that Saint Armands needs or wants and this is totally unacceptable.
At this point during my (not so relaxing) walk I felt it very necessary to call the non-emergency police phone number where I filed my concerns. I also shared with the police department that this “music” was so improper using the “N” and “F” words, well Ms. Trice it is plain sickening! This is not only a violation of the Sarasota noise ordinance but it is also disturbing the peace.
Disturbing the peace: It is illegal to operate any machine or device, or to yell, shout, or sing in a way that disturbs the peace, quiet, and comfort of neighbors.
As I continued my walk I did notice a police vehicle, shortly after my call, go around the circle, slowly pass by this “gentleman” with his huge loud speaker and vulgar music however this officer did not stop; which is extremely disappointing to say the least.
Ms. Trice I implore you to please find a way for these types of individuals to be prohibited from St. Armands Circle. This is not the place for such disgusting and revolting actions.
Thank you for your time and especially for your understanding. If you can provide an update to the above concerns, I’d greatly appreciate it.
Karen Crowley
Sarasota
Keep Sarasota Safe
To: Jennifer Jorgenson
Here’s a summary of the points we discussed, and new thoughts.
Granular Map of Downtown Core to limit the number of events being held in each area.
The rough map I texted you contains 7 areas. (This was pure guesswork on my part; your team is better positioned to define areas where events can be held.) Perhaps the limit can be 1 event per area per month – possibly even including City co-sponsored events in the count. This will “spread the wealth,” reducing the disruption for people living in the most popular area for events, and building foot traffic to businesses in other downtown areas. As Downtown Core gets more built out, I expect other parts of Downtown will be more attractive for events. Now is a good time to get event organizers to consider other areas.
Question: are the limits only placed on events with Special Sound Permits and/or alcohol?
Penalties for violating terms of the permit should be imposed on both the applicant and the event manager. The applicant can easily apply under a different name in the future. The event manager’s livelihood depends on continued ability to manage events, making them more likely to adhere to the rules.
The method of determining 2/3 approval for street closures might consider length of street frontage instead of building count. Is it fair for a handful of single-family-home residents to overrule a 200-unit multifamily building?
Question: would residents of a multifamily building or a proprietor of a business in a mixed use building have “standing” to petition the City Commission to rule on the Special Event?
Low frequency pulsating (bass) sound: I think we need a verbal commitment that this will be addressed in the Special Event Ordinance as soon as it is addressed in the City’s Sound Ordinance. I’m pleased to hear that Jim will provide a checklist to event organizers to make sure they know what’s expected of them. Overall, I think you and your team have done an excellent job.
Debbie Trice
Mayor
City of Sarasota
