STEVE REID
Editor & Publisher
sreid@lbknews.com
What could be worse on Longboat Key than stumbling with a glass of red wine while strolling across the newly created Town Center Green during an event at the recently donated Karon pavilion?
Or, what could be worse at a Town Center Green than defying its very name with its grass withered, yellow and dying because it cannot endure the summer sun and the highly salinized well water?
These conundrums may soon be solved thanks to a donation that the Longboat Key Club will present to the town next week.
According to Public Works Director Isaac Brownman, when the Town Center Green was developed, it became clear that “the final designed and constructed product did not represent what the Town’s original vision was for that green space. The aforementioned dying grass, the general unevenness of the walking surface and the need for maintenance and irrigation led to staff exploring numerous options including artificial turf. As part of staff’s research, it reached out to the Longboat Key Club to obtain recommendations for soil and sod turf. The Key Club came back to the town with a donation opportunity that includes supplying and regrading all of the soil layers, installing new sod and adjusting irrigation heads, and supplying a robotic mower for maintenance. Additionally, the Key Club would jointly pay for educational signage.
The Key Club recommends that the new sod variety be Platinum Paspalum, which is known for its thick and luxuriously soft walkable texture as well as extremely resistant to salinized water.
The Town Commission must agree to this donation agreement and shared responsibilities. Brownman said that if possible, the goal is to complete these enhancements this summer, “to catch the rainy season.”
The Commission will consider the donation agreement at its June 3 Commission Meeting.
