Thanks for Trying
To: Sequoia Felton
Thank you. I appreciate you trying to help. Let me know what you hear!
Jen Ahearn-Koch
City Commissioner
City of Sarasota
The Funding Runs Out Before the Need Does
To: Sarasota City Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch
Good afternoon! I am looking into resources. Unfortunately, it seems like she has already tried the ones I am aware of in this community. The homeless response system only has funding for unhoused and renters on the cusp of homelessness.
I reached out to some funders in the community. I am waiting on their response. The only other suggestion I have right now is for her to reach out to local churches, especially if she belongs to one. I will let you know if I have any other suggestions that come through.
Michelle Legarsky
Coordinator of Homeless Response
City of Sarasota
Calling in the City Manager
To: Sequoia Felton
Thanks for sharing and advocating on behalf of this mom. I have copied the City Manager and Deputy City Manager to see if someone from the City’s Homeless Response can help connect her with services. I am aware of some programs to help keep folks housed, and that is what I am hopeful might be able to help.
Jen Ahearn-Koch
City Commissioner
City of Sarasota
Seventeen Years, $4,800 and a Deadline
To: Sarasota City Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch
Good morning. I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind helping me share my story. I have until Oct. 30, 2026, to come up with $4,800 to keep my home from going into foreclosure.
I honestly don’t even know where to begin. This is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to write because I have always been the person trying to figure things out on my own. I’ve always been the one helping others, even when I didn’t have much to give. But right now, I’m the one who desperately needs help.
As of September 2026, I have been in my home for 17 years. Seventeen years of memories, raising my children, making sacrifices, and doing everything I could to provide a stable home for my family. And now I’m facing the possibility of losing it all.
I had previously fallen behind on my mortgage, but I worked hard and managed to get caught up. I thought I was finally getting back on track. Then, just a couple of months later, my entire world came crashing down when my mother passed away.
Not only did I have to deal with losing my mother, but she didn’t have life insurance, which left me responsible for coming up with approximately $11,000 to bury her. To this day, I honestly don’t know how I managed to come up with that money, but somehow I did. I held fundraisers, worked double shifts, and pushed myself beyond exhaustion. I can remember crying through the majority of my shifts because I was grieving so badly, but I couldn’t afford to stop working. I had responsibilities, and I had to keep going even when I felt like I was falling apart.
While trying to process the loss of my mother, I also had to take on the responsibility of two of my younger siblings whom my mother had adopted years ago. Their adoption subsidy payments stopped, and now I have to go through the DCF process to try to get those benefits reinstated. In the meantime, I’m financially responsible for two additional children, on top of the children I was already raising.
I am a mother of six children of my own, including my oldest daughter, who is currently attending college. On top of raising my own six children, I have taken on the responsibility of caring for my two younger siblings, bringing the total to eight children who depend on me in some way. Seven of those children are still at home with me. Seven children under my roof who need food, clothing, love, stability and, most importantly, a safe place to call home, while I also continue to support and encourage my oldest daughter as she works toward her future through college. I am doing everything in my power to make sure all of my children have what they need, even when I barely have the strength to keep myself together.
Because of the changes in my household and the responsibilities that came with taking in my siblings, I had to give up one of my jobs. I was already struggling financially, and losing that income only made things harder.
Then came the letter that absolutely broke me. My home was facing foreclosure.
I immediately started trying to find a solution. I contacted Habitat for Humanity, completed the mortgage modification paperwork, and submitted everything that was requested of me. Unfortunately, I still haven’t been able to reach a solution with them that would allow me to keep my home.
What makes this situation even more difficult is that my mortgage company is refusing to accept partial payments. They will only accept the entire past-due balance of $4,800 paid in full. I cannot make smaller payments toward what I owe or gradually catch up, even though I have income coming in. I have to come up with the entire amount at once by Oct. 30, 2026, or risk losing my home. That is what makes this situation so frightening and overwhelming.
I’ve tried applying for loans, but my credit isn’t good. Over the years, I’ve put my name and credit on the line trying to help other people, never imagining that one day I would be the person in desperate need of help and unable to qualify for it.
And just when I thought life couldn’t throw anything else at me, the engine in my car blew. Now I’m without reliable transportation, trying to figure out how to get to work and take care of my family. I have to catch an Uber to and from work four days a week, every single week. That’s another expense coming out of the little money I’m trying so hard to stretch to cover my bills, provide for my family, and save my home. But as stressful as that is, a car is the least of my worries right now. My biggest fear is losing the roof over my children’s heads.
I’ve called agency after agency, nonprofit after nonprofit, looking for mortgage assistance. Either they aren’t currently assisting with mortgages, or I have to enroll in a program and wait several months before assistance could possibly become available.
I don’t have several months. I have until Oct. 30, 2026.
I’ve reached out to family, but everyone is struggling with their own financial situations. I’ve put my pride aside and asked for help publicly on social media. I’ve exhausted every option I know to try.
The part that hurts me the most is watching my children worry. They have even begged to get jobs to help me save our home. They’ve filled out applications, hoping someone would call them back. As a mother, that breaks my heart because those are worries I never wanted my children to carry.
My children should be able to enjoy being children. They should be worrying about school, birthdays, and making memories, not whether we’re going to have a home to come back to. My youngest has a birthday coming up, and instead of being able to focus completely on celebrating another year of life, I’m carrying the fear of possibly losing the home we’ve built our lives in.
And on top of everything else, my health is starting to suffer. I’m so overwhelmed trying to hold everything together that it’s now affecting me physically, not just emotionally and mentally. I’m trying to take care of my family, work, grieve the loss of my mother, figure out transportation, and fight to save our home, all while dealing with my own health struggles. I am literally stressing myself sick trying to make sure everyone else is okay. And the hardest part is knowing that I can’t afford to fall apart because my family is depending on me. I need to be healthy and present for them, but it’s becoming harder when I have so much weighing on me.
I am mentally, physically, emotionally and financially exhausted. I’m grieving my mother while trying to be strong for everyone who depends on me. There are days when I don’t even know where to start or how I’m going to make it through the next day.
I’ve cried. I’ve prayed. I’ve worked myself to exhaustion. I’ve swallowed my pride. I’ve made phone calls, filled out applications, and asked for help in places I never imagined I would have to.
I am not someone who doesn’t want to work. I am not someone trying to avoid my responsibilities. I am a mother who has been fighting every single day to keep her family together while life keeps knocking her down.
I’m not asking anyone to pay my mortgage forever. I’m not asking anyone to take care of me or my children. I am simply asking for a jumpstart. I know that if I can get through this immediate financial hardship, I can work toward getting myself back on track.
I want to make one thing very clear: I do have income coming in. I have the income to cover my regular mortgage payments, household bills, and the basic needs of my family moving forward. My biggest struggle is not paying my bills going forward. It’s coming up with the past-due mortgage balance all at once.
Every time I start to get ahead, another unexpected hardship has set me back. If I could just get help clearing this past-due balance, I would finally have the opportunity to stay current and maintain my household on my own.
I’m not asking for someone to support me long-term. I’m asking for one chance to get caught up so that the income I work hard for can keep us afloat instead of constantly trying to dig us out of the past.
Right now, that jumpstart is $4,800.
Seventeen years in my home. Seventeen years of memories. Seventeen years of having somewhere my children could call home. I cannot imagine having to pack up our lives and walk away from everything because of a hardship that started with losing my mother.
I know everyone is going through something. I know times are hard, and I would never want to take away from anyone else’s struggles. But I’m asking from the bottom of my heart: If there is anyone, any organization, any business, any church or any individual who is in a position to help, please consider helping my family.
I also want to make something very clear. I am not asking anyone to hand me cash or send money directly to me. I am more than willing to provide the necessary information so that anyone who is willing and able to assist can arrange for the payment to go directly to my mortgage company. I don’t need to have the money in my hands. I don’t need to touch it. My only concern is saving my home. Because the mortgage company will only accept the full past-due amount, any assistance would need to be coordinated so that the entire $4,800 can be paid at once. My goal is not to receive money personally. My goal is simply to prevent my family from becoming homeless and protect the home I’ve worked so hard to maintain for the last 17 years.
Whether it’s a donation, financial assistance, a referral to someone who can help immediately, or simply sharing my story, I would be beyond grateful.
I don’t want to lose my home. I don’t want the seven children living under my roof to lose the place they know as home. I don’t want everything I’ve worked so hard for over the last 17 years to be taken away because I’m going through one of the darkest seasons of my life.
I wish my mother were still here. She was the person I could turn to, the person I could call when life got overwhelming. And now, when I need her the most, she’s no longer here. I’m trying to carry on, not just for myself and my own children, but for the two children she left in my care.
I just need somebody to give me a chance. A chance to catch my breath. A chance to get back on my feet. A chance to save my home.
I’m trying so hard not to give up. I just need a little help getting through this.
Thank you to anyone who takes the time to read my story, share it, pray for my family, or offer assistance. You have no idea how much it means to me.
$4,800 needed by Oct. 30, 2026. Please help me keep my family in our home. With sincere gratitude and hope.
Latoya Robinson
Sarasota
No Test Drives, No Text, No Time
To: Sarasota City Manager Karie Friling
Thanks for sending staff’s answers to my Sept. 14 questions on the Transportation Chapter (your email of Oct. 13), and thanks to staff for the work that went into them.
I have quickly reviewed them. Thanks also for offering another 1:1 before the workshop. I think it will be most useful once I have the revised text on which the answers rely, which is the main subject of this letter.
So this is an interim reply, and a full written response, likely with further questions, will follow when I can read that text.
Six things seem worth saying now. Some of them may be as new to you as they were to me.
1. I was surprised to learn there will be no test drives. I asked staff to run the new rules against traffic studies the City has already accepted, so the Commission and community can see the practical effect before adoption. Staff said no, for lack of time: “There is not enough available staff time between now and the adoption schedule to make that commitment” (Q3(b)).
What surprised me is that staff’s answers describe a small task. Staff reports “76 studies in past 5 years, high degree of confidence that 100% report a v/c ratio” (Q3(d)), and that the shift “would not cause the need for additional staff resources or training” and vendors “would be able to easily shift” (Q3(c)). Staff also says it already “reviewed several small- and large-scale projects to test the shift” before transmittal (Q3(c)). The Q2 answer works through the Bahia Vista example in two paragraphs. If all of that is accurate, a handful of comparisons is a few hours of work. If it is not, the change is larger than the Commission has understood. Either way, we still have not seen the new rule applied to a real case, which is what I asked for. The pre-transmittal reviews staff mentions already exist. Please share them with the Commission.
2. Many answers depend on text I haven’t seen.
The responses repeatedly cite revisions made after transmittal. For example: “This has been revised as part of the Florida Commerce Revision” (Q1(a)) and “Additional language has been included in the latest revision to address this” (Q2(a)). New concurrency language “will be included in the package that is being submitted to Florida Commerce for their secondary review” (Q4), and “Language has been updated to reflect ‘roadways within the City'” (Q4(b)). A table row “has been added to T-4 in the latest iteration” (Q7(c)), and a sentence “has been removed and updated with clarifying language” (Q8(a)). The Q10 chart presents numbers keyed to “the proposed V/C Standard,” a term that isn’t in the transmitted package.
The Department’s Sept. 9 letter meant staff had to revise. I appreciate that staff also looked at other parts of the transmitted package; several of the changes address problems my questions raised that the Department’s letter did not. That’s good. The problem is that the answers can only be checked against a document the Commission has not been given. The same is true of the Evaluation Matrix: the answer to Q9(a) says a provision was “modified to match the evaluation matrix,” but the Matrix in the transmitted package reads differently (pp. 24 and 83 of 399), so there must be a revised Matrix too. The adoption package will need the chapter, the conforming amendments, the concurrency text, the tables, and a Matrix that agrees with all of them. Until we have them, no one on the Commission or in the community can tell what the amendment now says.
3. Several answers do not match what the Commission was told on Aug. 3.
On Aug. 3, staff said the two measures were “very similar … Instead of giving it a letter grade, we’re giving it a numerical grade” (captions, 2:37 PM). The City’s consultant, Jason Collins, said the V/C ratio “is already calculated” in the appendices of existing traffic studies (11:33 AM). The Q3 answer now says a comparison would require “V/C results calculated on a comparable basis” and review “to avoid comparing segment and intersection V/C values as if they were interchangeable.” So the number already in the studies is apparently not the number the new table uses. I’d like to understand which one is right.
On Aug. 3, the Commission saw two pages from existing traffic studies, and one of them was explained as a comparison. The Q3 answer says that staff “reviewed several small- and large-scale projects to test the shift” before transmittal. Those reviews were not shown or mentioned at the hearing. It would have helped to see them.
The staff report says the chapter “does not meet the new state requirement and must be updated” (p. 365 of 399), and staff said the state’s coordinated review is “limited for us to the evaluation and appraisal” (2:11 PM). The Q11 and Q12 answers now say “There is not a Florida Statute that specifically requires the update to occur before December 2029” and “This is an elective process.” So the schedule and the review process are the City’s choices. They may be the right choices, but on Aug. 3 they were presented to us as requirements.
4. Two answers the Commission still needs.
Question 9(b) asked where in the transmitted package the post-vote change to AS 1.18 is disclosed. There is no answer to that one. If it isn’t disclosed anywhere, please just say so. Question 10(e) asked whether the legal review the Matrix recommends for AS 1.4 (p. 21 of 399) was completed, and for the document. The answer describes how AS 1.4 came about, but not whether the review was done or what it found. I know that work is continuing with the City Attorney and Florida Commerce. Since it affects whether the amendment can be adopted now, I’d like to know when it will be finished and whether the Commission will see it before the hearing.
5. Two statements that don’t match what I’ve read.
Q9(a) says this about the MMTIF investment-priority language: “The item was not deleted. It is now AS 1.17 and was modified to match the evaluation matrix.” The clause I asked about is deleted from the transmitted strategy: “in a balanced manner … with priority given to areas that demonstrate transportation accessibility needs, redevelopment potential, or affordability objectives.” And the transmitted Matrix does not match the shortened text: it retains “in a balanced manner” at p. 24 of 399 and the full priority clause at p. 83. If staff means a revised Matrix, the Commission has not been given it, which is the same problem as above.
Q9(c) says the differences since Aug. 3 “ha[ve] been included under Appendix 6.” Appendix 6 (pp. 266–314 of 399) is the redline of the Planning Board supplemental, which was finished before the vote. It does not show the post-vote changes; in at least one case it shows the opposite: it still has the Table T-4 Strategic Capacity row (p. 290) that was deleted before transmittal. A list of what changed after the vote, and why, would be a helpful part of the adoption package.
It is entirely possible I have missed a page on either of these. If so, please just point me to it.
6. The schedule question.
The answers raise further questions — about the mitigation trigger, the credit-stacking rules, the concurrency text, the EDCM map — but I can’t ask them properly until I have the revised sections. My Sept. 14 questions were answered on Oct. 13, a month later. The workshop is Oct. 26 and the adoption hearing is Nov. 2. This is a dense topic, and I will need time to review the final text to be prepared for a useful workshop. Staff and the consultant have worked on this amendment since the consultant’s notice to proceed in February 2025 (according to the City’s project page), ran “an entire public engagement effort” on the LOS-to-V/C change alone (captions, 2:38 PM), and describe the result as “a fundamental shift” (Matrix, p. 9 of 399). A change this big needs more than a few days for us to read it.
So, two requests, both about timing:
Please provide the Commission the complete adoption draft — chapter, conforming amendments, concurrency text, tables, and a Matrix that matches — far enough ahead of the Oct. 26 workshop for Commissioners to read it and prepare. For me that means at least a week, but we don’t seem to have that, so as soon as possible. If that is not possible, I’d like to discuss at the workshop whether the Nov. 2 date still makes sense.
Please provide the pre-transmittal test reviews staff has described and, before the hearing, a few test drives, which staff’s answers suggest is a small task.
I know staff is managing Florida Commerce’s comments at the same time, and nothing here asks for new analysis, only for the documents the answers already rely on and the time necessary to read and digest them, please. Thank you all for your patience, your work, and your time on this with me.
Jen Ahearn-Koch
City Commissioner
City of Sarasota
On It, Pronto
To: Sarasota City Mayor Debbie Trice
On it. I’m sending to Lucia now.
Karie Friling
City Manager
City of Sarasota
Urgent: Mind the Mira Mar
To: Sarasota City Manager Karie Friling
Karie, please look into this. I would hate to discover that the Mira Mar was demolished by mistake. The City made significant concessions to ensure that the two-story front Mira Mar building would be restored. I suspect that this is urgent.
Debbie Trice
Mayor
City of Sarasota
Tear It Down First, Explain Later?
To: Sarasota City Commission
I am watching the Mira Mar get ripped down right now… not just the parking garage but the actual building. The drone operator said they are only keeping the facade. Is this true? Seems like the developer’s promise to renovate the Mira Mar so they could get the 18-story towers was the ploy we all feared. Way too easy to just knock the structure down and say that they tried. Is there anything being done to hold them accountable?
Lorie and Mark Foust
Sarasota
Lucia, You’re Up
To: Sarasota City Mayor Debbie Trice
I forwarded to Lucia for her to review and respond.
Karie Friling
City Manager
City of Sarasota
Whose Beat Is This Sidewalk?
To: Sarasota City Manager Karie Friling
Is this a Code Compliance issue?
Debbie Trice
Mayor
City of Sarasota
A Public Health Sniff Test
To: Sarasota City Commission
I am reaching out as a local resident, public health professional (MPH, DHSc) and downtown community stakeholder to formally request municipal oversight regarding an active public health and sanitation hazard outside The DeSota Apartments (1415 2nd St.).
The public sidewalks adjacent to this residential complex are heavily saturated with standing pet urine and accumulated waste. This creates severe odors that harm local restaurant foot traffic and, more critically, poses an immediate public safety risk in downtown Sarasota. As documented by municipal safety standards, unmitigated pet waste in Florida’s climate serves as a vector breeding ground for E. coli, parasites, and zoonotic diseases like Leptospirosis, while actively drawing rodent infestations to neighboring properties.
I have already engaged local authorities, and a case file has officially been generated:
Active Enforcing Agency: City of Sarasota Code Compliance
Reference Case Number: 2026-CI-044808
This is becoming a chronic structural failure on the part of the property management (DeSota Apartments Property Owner LLC) to regulate tenant pet etiquette and clean their exterior premises. I am urging our elected city leadership and county health officials to monitor this case. We request that the property owners be held strictly accountable to execute immediate concrete bio-sanitation and establish permanent, internal resident controls to stop this public sidewalk contamination. Thank you for your dedication to the health, safety, and commercial accessibility of downtown Sarasota.
Dr. North, MPH, DHSc
Downtown Sarasota Business & Resident Community
Script Notes From the Corner Office
To: Sarasota City Mayor Debbie Trice
I read it and it flows very nicely. When you look back over the whole year, a lot got done and advanced forward. I would suggest adding, to the hurricane recovery portion, a sentence that shares that we are not allowed to start construction on projects without FEMA approval or we risk losing federal funding, which equals millions of dollars. Another suggestion is to note that the City made significant strides this past year to replenish our emergency reserves, which were significantly impacted by the 2024 storms. I will share your remarks with Jennifer too, for her review.
Karie Friling
City Manager
City of Sarasota
Lights, Camera, Fact-Check
To: Sarasota City Manager Karie Friling
I am sharing an annotated draft of my video script with Miles tomorrow (2 days before the deadline he gave me).
I would appreciate fact-checking before we finalize and record the script a week from now. Also, if there’s anything that I really should have included but didn’t, please let me know.
I am planning some very brief remarks before the video plays and probably a bit afterwards regarding Amendment 3.
Debbie Trice
Mayor
City of Sarasota
Let’s Zoom, Park Pals
To: James Clinch
Thank you so much for your response, and I would very much like to set up a meeting with you. I have copied Christina on this email to set something up, perhaps a Zoom meeting, at least at first. Thanks again, and I look forward to hearing more!
Jen Ahearn-Koch
City Commissioner
City of Sarasota
Volunteers to the Rescue
To: Sarasota City Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch
Mayor Pachota shared your question about our local volunteer programs in our parks. We have several different programs that are very successful and actually supplement our Public Works staff in a big way. I would be more than happy to share more information with you and Karie at your convenience. Just let me know if you would like to set up a meeting, or we can just communicate via email on these different programs.
James Clinch
City Manager
City of Venice
Venice Has Friends in the Parks
To: Venice City Mayor Nicholas Pachota
Hi Nick, Hope all is well. The City of Sarasota and our Parks Advisory Board are interested in Venice’s “Friends of the Parks” program and your robust volunteer program. Would you have a staff connection or contact we can reach to find out more?
Jen Ahearn-Koch
City Commissioner
City of Sarasota
Pulled Back From the Pull List
To: Sarasota City Police Chief Rex Troche
Thank you! I don’t need to pull VI.3, the solid waste item, now. Mr. Patel’s response answered my question perfectly. Thanks for the follow-up!
Jen Ahearn-Koch
City Commissioner
City of Sarasota
Chief of Police, Part-Time Postman
To: Sarasota City Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch
Please see Nik’s response regarding your question about VI.3. Hope this helps.
Rex Troche
Chief of Police
City of Sarasota
Trash Talk at the Transfer Station
To: Sarasota City Police Chief Rex Troche
Yes, Item VI.3 falls under Public Works. To answer Commissioner Ahearn-Koch’s question directly, the agreement is not limited to yard waste. It covers hauling municipal solid waste from the City’s transfer station to the Sarasota County landfill, with optional hauling services for yard waste and recyclable materials. City staff will continue collecting waste and loading the trailers.
Public Works also handles the lighting repair agreement and companion resolution, listed as Items VI.4 and VII.1 on the attached agenda. Both concern the same hurricane-damaged lighting project. We understand the constituent wishes to speak about the overall project, and staff will be available to address questions on both items.
The lighting project’s next steps include finalizing the Local Agency Program (LAP) agreement with FDOT, obtaining the required agency authorizations, and completing procurement and construction contract award. Our current planning estimate is completion in late 2027 or early 2028, subject to approvals and procurement. Following the LAP requirements is necessary to maintain eligibility for federal reimbursement of eligible hurricane repair costs.
Please share this information with the Commissioner before Monday’s meeting. Alvi, Todd, Sage and I will be there to address questions about the Public Works items.
Nikesh Patel
Director of Public Works
City of Sarasota
Is This Your Department, Nik?
To: Sarasota City Public Works Director Nik Patel
Is VI.3 under your purview?
If so, please respond regarding Commissioner Ahearn-Koch’s question to avoid it being pulled.
Rex Troche
Police Chief
City of Sarasota
So Much Going On, So Little Agenda Time
To: Sarasota Deputy City Manager Jennifer Jorgensen
Unfortunately, the City Manager and I ran out of time during our one-on-one meeting this week because there are so many things going on in our wonderful City. We did not have time to go over the agenda for Monday ahead of the meeting as we had hoped to, so I was not able to submit questions and talk through some of the items, most importantly the Consent agenda items. Therefore, I am submitting the following.
Per Monday’s agenda, specifically Consent 1 and 2:
Consent 1
Consent VI.2 — Maybe pull for a request for public comment from a constituent. I’ll follow up if I have confirmation, so this is a “maybe.”
Consent VI.3 — Question: This contract is for just yard waste, and not all solid waste, correct?
Consent VI.4 and 5 — Pull for a request from a constituent to speak to this item. They are similar (an agreement and a resolution), both for the lighting repairs on Lido, and the constituent would like to speak to the project as a whole. I guess both could be removed, but she only wants to speak once.
Consent 2
Consent VII.3 and 4 — Pull both for an express vote to enact law that is applicable citywide.
Jen Ahearn-Koch
City Commissioner
City of Sarasota
Karie’s Hot Button
To: Jeff Crabtree
Congratulations, Mr. Crabtree, on your new position. I only had a short conversation with Ms. Whitfield, but I came away from it with enthusiasm for potential opportunities for the City of Sarasota to collaborate with Bank of America.
I will be leaving office myself on Nov. 6, and my replacement as Mayor will be selected by the City Commissioners on that date. However, I believe it will be most productive for you to reach out to our City Manager, Karie Friling. One of Karie’s “hot buttons” is economic development, so I believe you will find much common ground to discuss.
Debbie Trice
Mayor
City of Sarasota
No Hijacking, Says the Mayor
To: Martin Hyde
Thank you, Mr. Hyde, for your appreciation of how I tried to conduct City business during my time in office. Let me clarify, however, that I have never been consulted on or influenced what was placed on any Agenda. I learn, like everyone in the public, what’s on the Agenda when it is published 11 days before the meeting.
There are different ways of looking at the concern you raised. Should votes on City business be delayed because an election is coming soon? If so, how soon is “soon”? On the other hand, if seated Commissioners have been studying the issue for several years, witnessing all the twists and turns, is it fair to expect a newly elected Commissioner to get up to speed within a week or two? Or to further postpone addressing the issue?
(I confess to being disturbed that an issue I thought I should have been able to vote on was on the Agenda the day before I was elected to the Commission. After my election and after gaining a better understanding of the job, I appreciated not having to have voted on that issue at my first meeting.)
I don’t believe that any Agenda items are being rushed to get a Commission vote before I leave office. If anything, I’m hearing of items that are being postponed because they aren’t ready yet.
Debbie Trice
Mayor
City of Sarasota
Last-Day Shenanigans, Please Don’t
To: Sarasota City Mayor Debbie Trice
There are rumors that the agenda for Nov. 2 might be hijacked in the style of “Chicago politics” by including items with long-term consequences literally hours before an election which could change the majority sentiment of the City Commission.
Let me disabuse you of any idea that it would go unnoticed. Indirectly, such outrageous behavior, with the attendant publicity it would receive before, during and after the meeting, would be a further boost to the Yes on 3 campaign, if that concerns you. There is absolutely NO reason to try to tie the hands of a new commission on the way out of office. Let me say that while I’ve disagreed with you on issues, I’ve always said that you held positions honestly. This would be a sad way to go out, tainted with the whiff of compromising the democratic process. You have time to reconsider the agenda before it’s too late. This goes to the core of who we are as Americans. I’m hopeful you’ll see that and resist the temptation for any last-day shenanigans. Don’t give me a viral moment opportunity the day before judgment is passed on me.
Martin Hyde
Sarasota
A Satisfactory Ride on Bird Key Drive
To: Sarasota City Commissioner
I offer the following in response to the request below. The City maintains a Pavement Management Program for maintenance of the over 200 centerline miles of city-maintained roadways. This program includes regular inspections of every roadway to evaluate and assign a Pavement Condition Index (PCI). This enables staff to objectively prioritize and schedule resurfacing based on needs across the entire City and available budget. The City’s focus is to improve any PCI ratings that are below 70. This program has a budget of about $1.2M per year, with resurfacing having an average cost per mile of around $500K.
Based on the most recent assessment, Bird Key Drive has a PCI of 74, which is considered Satisfactory. Given the current scheduling of the City’s resurfacing program and the current pavement condition rating of Bird Key Drive, this segment is beyond the current resurfacing schedule (for at least the next five years).
Hibiscus Street from Osprey Ave. to East Ave. has a PCI of 75 (Satisfactory) and is also beyond the five-year resurfacing plan.
Hibiscus Street from East Ave. to the dead end has a PCI of 50 (Poor rating) and is part of a grouping of streets anticipated for resurfacing in 2028.
As a result of this request, we have inspected these locations, and it is worth noting that there are two areas on Bird Key Drive which might benefit from some pavement maintenance to address some of the concern. Staff will add this to our spot maintenance schedule. Also, staff recently addressed poor portions of the pavement marking striping in the area and replaced missing raised pavement markers (RPMs) along the pavement marking edge lines.
Sage Kamiya
City Engineer
City of Sarasota
Passing the Pavement Baton
To: Sarasota City Public Works Director Nik Patel
Could you please provide an update on this to Karie and me, and we will provide it to the Commissioner.
Jennifer Jorgensen
Deputy City Manager
City of Sarasota
Hibiscus Heard ‘Round the Key
To: Sarasota City Manager Karie Friling
I have a constituent who has asked about the status of repaving of Bird Key Drive. Could I get an update on this and on the repaving of Hibiscus as well?
Jen Ahearn-Koch
City Commissioner
City of Sarasota
Copying Everyone, Just in Case
To: Michael Hassett
Thank you so much for your email. I have copied the City Manager, Karie Friling; the Deputy City Manager, Jennifer Jorgensen; and the City Attorney, Joe Polzak, on this email to respond accordingly.
Jen Ahearn-Koch
City Commissioner
City of Sarasota
Sister Cities, Big Audit Bill
To: Sarasota City Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch
Nice chatting earlier. As mentioned, I need some help identifying the right contact person and navigating City Hall.
The context is that I accepted a short-term volunteer assignment to sit on the Finance Oversight Committee for Sister Cities Association of Sarasota (SCAS). They recently signed a renewal agreement with the City for expense reimbursement defined activities. The Committee wants to make sure we have everything tightened up re: methods/procedures/processes/controls in order to readily provide any compliance docs asked for by the City. One of the first things they started to do was to interview CPAs for what I’d call a full audit. The cost was in the $3K-$4K range, which is a very large expense for an org this size. I believe they may be over-engineering things.
Who can I speak or email with in the City to see if there is a “short form” process for a smaller nonprofit organization that files the 990-N (under $50K in annual revenue)? An AI search (Gemini) seemed to indicate that the City has a scaled-down compliance schedule in which only a few things may be required of smaller orgs: annual income statement, balance sheet, end-of-year bank statements, etc. But I’d rather hear the specifics from a City employee than rely on AI.
Michael Hassett
Sarasota
