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MARCH 2018 | 941.349.0194 | ISLAND VISITOR PUBLISHING, LLC | www.SiestaSand.net | COMPLIMENTARY
EASTER EGG HUNT
“Worth It:” How the Siesta Breeze trolley came about By Roger Drouin
The Annual Easter Egg Hunt and Games
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DAIQUIRI DECK
Daiquiri Deck brand continues to grow
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A FATHER’S GIFT
Back about eight years ago, Helene Hyland brought some photos of the Anna Maria Island trolley to a meeting of the Siesta Key Village Association (SKVA) board of directors. Hyland told members that Siesta needed a similar trolley. An open air trolley, Hyland, a realtor and longtime board member of the now-dissolved SKVA, believed, would help address many of the Key’s problem areas; it would alleviate traffic during peak season, help with parking woes, and enhance the beachy village feel of the Key. “I thought it was something we needed to improve the quality of life on Siesta Key,” Hyland told Siesta Sand. But she didn’t need to work too hard to convince her fellow board members. “The SKVA recognized the need for it immediately, and started its efforts then,” Hyland told Siesta Sand. “It just took some time.” Implementation of the trolley took many meetings and discussions over the years, strong lobbying by several members of the SKVA, and ultimately the support of former SCAT Director Rocky Burke and County Commissioner Alan Maio. The effort finally paid off on March 20, 2017, when SCAT launched the Siesta Key Breeze
trolley, a free trolley service. The Breeze trolley will have been in operation for a year on March 20, becoming a vastly popular mode of transportation on the Key. “I don’t think in anyone’s mind the trolley
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SIESTA SOUNDS
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Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse on Siesta Key Beach 2/1/18 Photo taken by island resident, Tracy Witzer
Legal bills in Big Pass case Siesta Promenade applications approaching the $1 million mark still incomplete By Rachel Brown Hackney By Rachel Brown Hackney
If you cannot do great things, do small things that are great
has not been worth it,” Hyland said. “The immediate response was so positive. We are extremely pleased with the ridership.”
The City of Sarasota and two nonprofit organizations altogether have paid close to $1 million in legal fees as they have wrangled over the proposed dredging of Big Sarasota Pass to renourish a 1.6-mile stretch of South Lido Key Beach. The city’s legal bills through December 2017 totaled $561,564.11, according to figures City Attorney Robert Fournier provided with a recent inquiry. That figure included a December 2017 payment for attorneys’ fees of $70,596.50 to the Bradenton firm representing the Lido Key Residents Association. That nonprofit also has been a party to the legal challenges, as Lido residents repeatedly have expressed fear that condominium towers on South Lido could suffer severe storm damage, given the extent of erosion on that part of the island. Continued on page 31
Once again, Sarasota County staff members have cited a number of insufficiencies in documents Benderson Development Co. has submitted regarding its proposed Siesta Promenade mixed-use project. Among the information missing from materials the firm provided the county in December 2017 is an updated traffic impact analysis, “which addresses all FDOT Florida Department of Transportation comments as discussed” during a Jan. 24 meeting, says a Feb. 1 county letter to Todd Mathes, Benderson’s director of development. Also missing are the documentation of traffic counts taken at side streets and medians in the study area along U.S. 41 and Stickney Point Road, and an evaluation on which to base recommended traffic calming measures “for the identified local roadways,” even though the “Traffic Calming section the company submitted in December 2017 provides an analysis of the daily traffic volume,” plus afternoon peak hour trips and the average speed for 85% of the vehicles on the roadways included in the study, the Feb. 1 letter says. Continued on page 20
Readers share their opinion from last month’s commentary Mark Waelti and band mate Randy Marsh of RPM have performed for 32 consecutive years
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SAND CASTLES
Prime location with a friendly atmosphere at Sunset Royale
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Great publisher’s commentary in the February paper, “Siesta beaches have never needed sand renouishment”. Let’s start with the closing of Midnight Pass. There have been two beach renourishments costing $32.7 million since the closing. This will continue and as history shows, every time the sand is replenished it washes away faster than before. The county will be replenishing every 5 years at around $25 million.
The next time Turtle Beach needs sand, pull it right from Midnight Pass, open up the Pass. The beach will not need the constant renourishment, saving millions of dollars. Dredging Big Sarasota Pass - I thought how ironic it would be, every 5 years Lido would dredge Big Pass at a cost of $21.5 to $25 million, taking the sand that replenishes Siesta Key. Would north Siesta Beaches spend $20 to $30 million bringing in sand from miles
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out? A simple solution, Lido Beach is the only beach that needs sand renourishment. They could get the sand elsewhere. Where are the County Commissioners? They could stop this Big Pass madness. Last, the State of Florida needs to open up Midnight Pass. Alan Cannestra Continued on page 32
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