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.
To: Longboat Key Mayor Ken Schneier
First, thank you for your dedication to our community. Now, as I drive around the Sarasota area I am pleasantly surprised by how many Goodwill locations I see. That’s great.
But I’ve also quickly come to realize just how large, loud and borderline garish their building signage is. That’s bad. Their location is part of the new center that is void of trees or any structure blocking its view from the road. It’s wide open.
I understand the need to grab a driver’s attention on busy 301. But here on GMD, we will pass their building once, at 45 mph, and won’t forget it. I hope LBK is doing something to keep their signage at a minimum to preserve the beauty of our island.
Jed Petrick
Longboat Key
St Regis Arch
To: Longboat Key Commission
I hope like hell you are not going to allow the St Regis to keep their arch over our beautiful Gulf. While it is wonderful that they rebuilt the pier, I hope it does not give them any right to do whatever they please. The arch is not in keeping with the character of the pier, metal and mirrors on wood and rope is beyond tacky. Please make them move it! Thank you for your consideration!
Suzanne Snyder
Longboat Key
St Regis arch
To: Longboat Key Commission
I was pleased to read in the newspaper that you, the Town Commission, voted down St. Regis’s request to change code to accommodate their recently added sign on the groin. It is unsightly and not in keeping with the quiet elegance of LBK.
When election time comes around I’ll remember that Sarah Karon and Penny Gold have a different vision for the future of our Key.
Lise Bernhard
Longboat Key
Response requested – FLC Legislative Committee appointment
To: Tommy Cardinal
President Holly Smith has appointed me to the Florida League of Cities Legislative Committee. BJ Bishop
Commissioner
Town of Longboat Key
Response requested – FLC Legislative Committee appointment
To: Florida League of Cities Legislative Administrative Supervisor Mary Edenfield
Please thank Holly for me and I will be at the December meeting.
BJ Bishop
Commissioner
Town of Longboat Key
Response request – FLC Legislative Committee appointment
To: Longboat Key Commissioner BJ Bishop
Florida League of Cities (FLC) President Holly D. Smith has appointed you to serve on the 2025 FLC Legislative Committee as representative for the Federal Action Strike Team (FAST).
Attached is your appointment letter containing important information about this year’s committee. I have also attached the committee roster. The Legislative Committee will meet on Friday, December 5, 2025, from 11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. EST. This meeting is in conjunction with the FLC Legislative Conference held on December 4-5, 2025, at the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld. The meeting packet will be emailed to you two weeks before the meeting.
Please respond to this email to confirm whether you will be able to attend the Legislative Committee meeting on December 5. Let me know if you have any questions.
Mary Edenfield
Legislative Administrative Supervisor
Florida League of Cities, Inc.
St Regis Groin Sign
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 1:00 PM 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 Whittall
Unicorp Companies
Orlando
Tracking our bay’s health – what about bacteria
To: Longboat Key Commission, Sarasota City Commission
As you know, the health of our bay has shown multiple signs of improvement recently. For example, the amount of nitrogen in the water has declined enough that it has brought about a substantial decrease in the amount of floating microscopic algae in the bay. We have also seen, where we have the data, a commensurate and considerable decline in the amount of drift macroalgae. Related to those findings, the amount of seagrass in the bay recently increased by 19%, an improvement of nearly 2,000 acres, likely capable of supporting more than 70 million fish. Reduced loads of the most important forms of nitrogen are responsible for this good news. Our cleaner bay should be less likely to be a location where red tides can explode based on local nutrient enrichment, as seems to have happened in 2018.
But that news, good as it is, reflects the nutrient-related aspects of the bay’s health. What about the fish populations? The clams and oysters? The dolphins and manatees? How are they doing? Well, we don’t have solid information – yet. But the SBEP’s Technical Advisory Committee is likely to want to look into this in more detail in the near future. Those “higher level” indicators are important to monitor. We didn’t ignore those data gaps over the last few years; we simply prioritized attention on nutrients and water quality. Now that we have a firmer grip on nutrients and water quality, we need to find out if our recent nutrient management actions have brought about the system response we were anticipating, in terms of benefits to wildlife.
There’s a third aspect related to the bay’s health that needs to be considered – the levels of bacteria found in some locations at some times. As you know, we’ve been discussing the topic of bacteria, health standards, and results from our work (as well as that of others) for several years now, as summarized here:
August 2022 – Director’s Note: Wastewater overflows – Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
October 2022 – Director’s Note: Initial findings, post-Ian – Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
December 2022 – Hurricane Ian’s Impact on Sarasota Bay
July 2024 – Director’s Note: Palma Sola Bay – how’s it doing lately? – Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
August 2024 – Director’s Note: Latest on water quality post-Debby – Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
September 2024 – Director’s Note: Bacteria levels – 4 weeks after Debby – Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
October 2024 – Director’s Note: Is it safe to go into the water? – Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
August 2025 – Director’s Note: Bacteria Source Identification Efforts – Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
September 2025 – Director’s Note: Potential sources of bacteria along Palma Sola Bay – Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
As you can see, we’ve discussed this topic a number of times with our Policy Board and local stakeholders. But why don’t we have a course of action to “do something” about our bacteria issue? In part because we don’t know where the bacteria are coming from, which means we don’t know how to control all the sources. But also, because if you don’t know the source(s) of bacteria, you don’t really know enough about the implications of any findings. For example, when she was younger, would I have let my daughter turn over the material in a compost heap? I would, and she has. Would I let her muck out a horse stall? I would, but I seriously doubt that she would have enjoyed it. Would I let her clean out porta-potties after a music festival? No way. Those examples are overly-simplistic, but those are all activities that would bring her into contact with bacteria – but they’d come from very different sources, with different implications.
The SBEP is not a regulatory agency. While we did the work that developed our Numeric Nutrient Concentration (NNC) criteria, those criteria were not “official” until they were reviewed and adopted by FDEP, with concurrence from EPA. For bacteria, the guidance we have comes from the Florida Department of Health (FDOH), which collects data at designated bathing beaches, and FDEP, which tracks water quality criteria for the open waters of the bay.
In Palma Sola Bay, the north side of the causeway is the site of several horse ride vendors, who take people out into the bay. Some of those horses defecate on the beach, some in the water. It is entirely reasonable to assume that horses are at least one source of bacteria in that location. Over the past few months, SBEP has worked to collect data, supplemented by data provided by Suncoast Water Keepers, to try and determine just how big a source of those bacteria the horses are. Such approaches – a quantifiable assessment – have been successfully completed in other areas. The overall goal was to have particular sources put into a percentage basis by having both a “numerator” and a “denominator”. In this case, it was intended for the bacteria due to horses to be the numerator, and the total amount of “fecal” bacteria to be the denominator.
So, after collecting data at two to four locations, on nine separate days (including four events when the ride operators had voluntarily left the causeway), testing for four different indicators (90 data points in all), what did we find?
Well, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that none of the results found evidence of a “hit” from humans as a source of bacteria in Palma Sola Bay for the months of August to October. Social media is rife with folks blaming bacteria levels on local governments because “that’s where they dump their sewage,” or “they dump their sewage at night in that spot,” or something like that. Well, we’ve not found that to be the case. That certainly doesn’t mean that sewage overflows are not a big deal – they are. But it does mean that high levels of fecal indicator bacteria do not necessarily mean that an inadequate sewage system or failed septic tank systems are at fault.
Well, what about the horses there? What we can clearly state is that we did indeed pick up evidence of horses as a source of at least some of the bacteria. What we cannot say is how important a source they were. Why? Because whether the overall bacteria levels were very low (i.e., August 5th, September 16th, September 29th, October 14th, October 21st), extremely high (August 26th), or in between the two extremes, we almost always did not find horses to be a substantial enough contributor to the overall bacteria levels to be able to be quantified. Or we couldn’t detect them at all. On August 26th, for example, we had very high levels of enterococci bacteria in Palma Sola Bay after a big rain event. For that day’s samples, we had a detectable and quantifiable hit for an overall indicator of “fecal sources” based on a more specific marker than enterococci bacteria (Bacteroides GenBac3). But at the same time, the number of bacteria that could be reasonably associated with horses as a source was in the category of “detected, not quantifiable”. Which means, we had “hits” for horses, but not at high enough levels to determine if they were a major or a minor source. We did find a quantifiable number of bacteria from horses one time, but it was during a period when the overall levels of bacteria met Class 3 marine waters criteria, and when the overall level of fecal-specific sources was at non-detectable levels. Hard to interpret those results, frankly.
It’s important to keep in mind that none of the State of Florida’s three “fecal indicator bacteria” (fecal coliform bacteria, E. coli, and enterococci) are specific to humans, mammals, or even animals as a source. You could have high levels of enterococci because of leaky septic tanks and sewage spills. But you could also have elevated levels of enterococci bacteria from raccoons or decomposing seaweed.
You know what source we did find, at levels high enough to be quantified, more times than any other? Birds. But what are you going to do with that information? As one of our staff put it, “They were here first.” And they’re right.
Wanna know why our Ecosystem Health Report Card doesn’t include bacteria? This is why. We don’t know what levels are “background”, which could be used to represent values from natural sources. I’ve seen horses poop in Palma Sola Bay – as have others. That’s not good, and the vendors need to stay on top of that. But I’ve also seen a picture of “horse poop” in the bay that appears to be from manatees, not horses. And I’ve seen plenty of birds pooping as they take off from the beach. Humans and horses are not the only animals that defecate in our local waters. As anyone who’s ever owned an aquarium knows, fish poop as well. Does fish poop test positive for enterococci? We don’t know. And when even decomposing vegetation could be a source of bacteria, that further adds to a very complicated topic.
The SBEP’s stakeholders may decide that this topic requires more study and that the SBEP should take the lead on such an effort. But I caution that this is a regional and state-wide issue, with implications for all those local governments struggling to respond to findings of being “out of compliance” with established criteria for bacteria. SBEP has done a lot to help advance these discussions, but in my opinion, formulating a more holistic approach to this topic requires the participation of FDEP, FDOH, EPA, and others. SBEP could devote its entire budget for science-based projects towards this topic, and we’d not likely be much farther along than we are right now, in terms of guidance.
As we’ve stated numerous times, it is not a good idea to swim anywhere in the bay after heavy rainfall and documented wastewater overflow events. But should you be scared to wade into the water to load your boat onto a trailer at a local ramp where sloughed-off seagrass blades and seaweed have accumulated, and where various shorebirds are poking around looking for something to eat in the wrack line? That’s not a worry that I have.
Dave Tomasko
Executive Director
Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
Senate Bill 180
To: Longboat Key Town Manager Howard Tipton
The attached proposed amendments to SB 180 seem to dramatically and positively limit the application of that law. I think it satisfies the concerns we had about enacting our changes to the canal docking and boating ordinance and to the freeboard requirements (as opposed to options) following FEMA’s reduction of the flood plain level. But I think it would be prudent, and a good test, for Maggie and Allen to review the proposed amendment to be sure it would permit those actions by Longboat. Thanks.
Ken Schneier
Mayor
Town of Longboat Key
Senate Bill 180
To: Longboat Key Town Manager Howard Tipton
At the request of a fellow Commissioner, I am sharing the attached proposed amendment to Senate Bill 180. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Savannah Cobb
Assistant to Town Manager
Town of Longboat Key
Town of Longboat Key -Upcoming Events
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 pm. 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
Friday’s 1 p.m. meeting with County Commission
To: Longboat Key Mayor Ken Schneier
My suggestion would be to have one or two representatives speak under public comment. The bigger show of support will be needed when the County Commission is actually deliberating the allocations.
Howard N. Tipton
Town Manager
Town of Longboat Key
Friday’s 1 p.m. meeting with County Commission
To: Chris Goglia
I am forwarding this to my Town email, as I must, and would like Howard’s input on your question about Friday. You should know that our Commission yesterday unanimously agreed to support your Resiliency Project and to deliver a formal
Chris: I am forwarding this to my Town email, as I must, and would like Howard’s input on your question about Friday. You should know that our Commission yesterday unanimously agreed to support your Resiliency Project and to deliver a formal note to that effect to the Sarasota County Commission at Friday’s meeting.
Ken Schneier
Mayor
Town of Longboat Key
Friday’s 1 p.m. meeting with County Commission
To: Longboat Key Mayor Ken Schneier and Town Manager Howard Tipton
Do you think it would be a good idea for me, and perhaps also a representative of the St. Armands Circle (Merchants) Association, to come to your Friday 1pm meeting with the County Commission, and speak during the Public Comment section about the importance of the St. Armands Resiliency & Flood Mitigation Project? Heck, I could probably round up more people than that.
Chris Goglia
President
St. Armands Residents Association
November 2025 Town Manager Brief
To: Longboat Key residents
The November Town Manager Brief is out! Here are the latest updates from the Town:
Veterans Day & 70th Anniversary Celebration: Saturday, Nov. 8, 4 p.m. at Town Center Green. Speakers, refreshments, music, and community mingling.
Citizens Academy – 5 Spots Left: Wednesdays, Jan. 14 – Feb. 25, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.; graduation on Mar. 2 at 11 a.m.. Learn how local government works.
AI Phone System Pilot: Starts Nov. 10. Call 941-316-1966 for 24/7 AI assistance; staff available during business hours.
Light Up Longboat: Holiday celebration with tree lighting, live entertainment, festive treats, and community fun.
Utilities Undergrounding Project: New backlit street signs installed; light poles coming soon along east side of Gulf of Mexico Drive.
Gulf of Mexico Drive Turn Lane Project: Night work Nov. 4-7, 9 p.m. – 6 a.m. Substantial completion Nov. 7; final landscaping completed by Nov. 31.
Please see the attached Brief for the full update.
Savannah Cobb
Executive Assistant to 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
All good news. Thanks, Isaac.
Ken Schneier
Mayor
Town of Longboat Key
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 Assistant Town Manager Isaac Brownman
Our contractor confirmed they can have the signs re-installed tomorrow. We will provide photos once complete. @Isaac Brownman An update on your signal detection request from our previous phone call: We are waiting on quotes from Wavetronix and
Our contractor confirmed they can have the signs re-installed tomorrow. We will provide photos once complete.
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 District 1
November Bay Bulletin
To: Longboat Key Commissioner Gary Coffin
Thank you, Gary! Your kind words are much appreciated.
Megan Barry
Public Outreach Manager
Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
November Bay Bulletin
To: Sarasota Bay Estuary Program Public Outreach Manager Megan Barry
And to you, Megan, also a happy Halloween. And what a beautiful night it was for. The Bay Bulletin looks wonderful. And the photo session went picture perfect. It must be mentioned, that The mayor, the town Commission and all of our staff are very appreciative and honored to work with you and your organization. Everyone loves working with a positive results winner, and you guys are it. I’ll see you oat the next meeting. If I can be any assistance with anything please let me know.
Gary Coffin
Commissioner
Town of Longboat Key
November Bay Bulletin
To: Longboat Key Commissioner Gary Coffin
Happy Friday and happy Halloween! Below is the November Sarasota Bay Bulletin, which includes program updates from October leading into November. Please let us know if you have any questions. On a separate but related note, we are immensely appreciative of the TLBK Commission, Mayor, and staff for their participation in our ribbon-cutting ceremony. I hope you agree that it went well!
Administration
SBEP is in the process of hiring a Staff Scientist. It is anticipated that the new staff member will begin in January 2026.
SBEP’s Fiscal Year 2025 (Oct 2024 – September 2025) data is in:
Over 14,500 lbs. of trash were removed at cleanup events
30 public events, presentations, and appearances
80 media mentions
640 students engaged in bay-related education and field trips
2,500 people engaged
2,100 volunteer hours leveraged
20 acres of land enhanced through targeted removal of exotic plant species
1,913 acres of seagrass gained since 2022, providing habitat for more than 70 million fish
2,000 feet of urban shoreline slated for restoration or bay-friendly retrofits
4,000 native plants installed
Habitat Restoration
The storm-damaged City Island Boardwalk restoration is complete. A ribbon-cutting event will be held in January or February 2026.
A contractor has been selected for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Park. Construction is slated for the first quarter of 2026.
Outreach & Communications
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Wednesday, October 29, at Bayfront Park to celebrate the new living seawall. Approximately 50 people attended the event. SBEP thanks TLBK and their staff for the success of the project and event.
SBEP Citizens Advisory Committee and TLBK Green Team members are assisting with monitoring the ecological progression of the seawall.
SBEP will be hosting an event at the Bishop Museum of Science and Nature on Tuesday, November 18, at 6:30 PM. The event will feature a short film and presentations on manatees and seagrass.
Water Quality
The Sarasota Bay Water Quality Protection Plan (WQPP) was approved by the SBEP Policy Board on September 12, 2025. The WQPP will track projects by local governments to prevent pollutant load increases over the next 30 years. The plan was developed and reviewed by the Water Quality Consortium, which includes representatives from several local and state agencies. It is available for viewing on SBEP’s website.
Megan Barry
Public Outreach Manager
Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
November 3, 2025: Agenda Packet
To: Longboat Key Town Manager Howard Tipton
Item 6A has been updated to accurately reflect the correct District Seats scheduled for election in 2026. The previous version of the Ordinance (Section 5) incorrectly listed District 5 and one At-Large seat. This has now been corrected.
I sincerely apologize for the oversight and appreciate your understanding. Measures will be in place to ensure this does not occur again. We look forward to seeing you at today’s 1 p.m. meeting.
Stephanie Garcia
Town Clerk II
Town of Longboat Key
November 3, 2025: Agenda Packet
To: Longboat Key Commission
The Finance Department has further analyzed the year-end transfers related to Resolution 2025-30, agenda item 6B for Monday’s Commission meeting. The amounts for Fire, Police, and Contingency adjustments have changed due to additional FY25 invoices being received for both Fire and Police. The net effect of these additional expenses has increased the Fire Department’s negative balance and decreased the Police Department’s positive remaining amount for FY25, therefore, causing a decrease in available budget in the Police Department and an increase to the amount needed from the Contingency budget. Please see the most up-to-date Memorandum and Resolution for this agenda item, attached. I apologize for the inconvenience this may cause. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Stephanie Garcia
Town Clerk II
Town of Longboat Key
Article on sea level rise
To: Sarasota City Manager Dave Bullock
I thought this sharable article in the NY Times was very effective in conveying NYC’s vulnerability to sea level rise, storm surge, localized flooding from rainfall and tidal flooding. It also graphically explained many of the options available to address these issues.
I’m sharing it as a possible model for how Sarasota might present our city’s watershed and climate adaptation reports in an easy-to-understand format. This would be quite useful if we need public action and/or support for our plans (I imagine that Miles could create an excellent video along these lines).
Debbie Trice
Commissioner
City of Sarasota
Players Historical Designation
To: Sarasota City Clerk Shayla Griggs
Please remove Item XII. 4 from agenda on request of the Mayor. The Players have asked for more time to review the request. Thank you.
Dave Bullock
Interim City Manager
City of Sarasota
Players Historical Designation
To: Sarasota City Manager Dave Bullock
I have spoken to the Players and have now received a formal request to remove this item from the November 3rd, 2025 Commission agenda, in order that they be allowed more time to respond to the topic.
We understand the value of the Player’s taking the time needed to fully evaluate all the options and issues, so the Commission can have all possible information. Accordingly, we will postpone this issue being brought before the Historic Preservation Board until after such time as the Commission has met to deliberate on this issue.
If you would be so kind as to confirm when the item has been removed from the Agenda I will then inform all the expected attendees of the schedule change.
Susan Dodd
Historic Preservation Senior Planner
Players Historical Designation
To: Sarasota City Manager Dave Bullock
I will reach out to the Players CEO immediately, and respond back with an update as soon as possible.
Susan Dodd
Historic Preservation Senior Planner
Players Historical Designation
To: Sarasota City Planning Director Steve Cover
Michael Shelton contacted the mayor. Please find out where they are with this. If they have had a change and need more time from their leadership, we can pull it. But find out what’s up
Dave Bullock
Interim City Manager
City of Sarasota
Players Historical Designation
To: Sarasota City Manager Dave Bullock
I’m not sure why they’re doing this. They are well aware of what’s being considered. Susan and Wayne have been talking with them constantly about this. We even went on a tour of the auditorium to go over their plans for the space.
Steve Cover
Planning Director
City of Sarasota
Players Historical Designation
To: Sarasota City Planning Director Steve Cover
Someone from the Players asked the mayor to have the item pulled because they have not had time to respond to the issue. I thought they were involved in the discussion? What’s going on?
Dave Bullock
City Manager
City of Sarasota
