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LONGBOAT

Observer Longboat Key’s weekly newspaper since 1978

SCAT plans stop for Key bus route. PAGE 6A

YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

VOLUME 40, NO. 30

FREE

Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. March 11.

File photo

Riana Rawson flips pancakes at last year’s breakfast.

LIVING THE DREAM 50 years later, the lure of Whitney Beach hasn’t changed a whole lot. SEE PAGE 26A

Breakfast of champions

Commissioners vote 5-2 to send Unicorp plan to final approval. PAGE 3A

Get ‘em while they’re hot! The annual Kiwanis Club of Longboat Key Pancake Breakfast will be held from 7:30-11 a.m. Saturday, March 17, at St. Mary, Star of the Sea, Catholic Church, 4280 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Cost is $10 per person or six tickets for $50. Tickets can be purchased at the door, or at The Lazy Lobster, 5350 GMD or SunTrust Bank, 510 Bay Isles Road.

BLACK

File photo

Richard Gonzmart

Restaurant rewards The movies had their time to shine at the Academy Awards, and now it’s time for restaurants’ turn. The James Beard Foundation Awards nominees have been announced, and one nominee might sound familiar. Richard Gonzmart, of the Columbia Restaurant Group, is nominated in the “outstanding restaurateur category.” Along with The Columbia on St. Armands Circle, Gonzmart and his company announced in December that they would develop The Buccaneer at the former Pattigeorge’s property. The winners will be announced March 14.

THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2018

Colony plans score a ‘Yes’

YOUR TOWN Tick, tock. Turn forward your clock!

•

In their own words Voters sample Town Commission candidates’ viewpoints at forum. SEE PAGE 4A

Who are we recommending? PAGE 8A

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THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2018

Photos by Bret Hauff

More than 70 people attended the more than eight-hour meeting Monday.

COLONY: ONE VOTE AWAY Town Commission gives Unicorp its first OK, but Colony unit owner says he’ll sue to stop it. BRET HAUFF STAFF WRITER

own commissioners late Tuesday voted to advance a proposal for developing the site of the former Colony Beach & Tennis Resort, sending the application for final approval to a meeting March 16. Town residents sat through full days of testimony Monday and Tuesday from town staff, the applicant, Unicorp National Developments, and a Colony unit owner. The commission voted 5-2 on first reading to approve the application. District 1 Commissioner Randy Clair and District 2 Commissioner George Spoll voted no. Hours earlier, Colony-unit owner Blake Fleetwood threatened to sue the town if it approves Unicorp’s plan, saying the Orlando company’s application is flawed. Fleetwood and his lawyer, Dan Lobeck, said Tuesday that the application, as submitted, discounts a unit owner, Breakpointe LLC, which opposes the proposal to build a St. Regis Hotel and Residences at 1620 Gulf of Mexico Drive. “As long as Whittall is involved, this property will be a vacant lot, tangled in litigation,” Fleetwood said of Unicorp President Chuck Whittall. Fleetwood is a property owner and board member with the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort Association. He used this standing as grounds to be judged as a party in the hearing. This designation afforded Fleetwood and his attorney the same rights to presentation, cross examination of witnesses and rebuttal as Unicorp. In addition to the Breakpointe

“As long as Whittall is involved, this property will be a vacant lot, tangled in litigation.” — Blake Fleetwood said of Unicorp President Chuck Whittall

“For the average resident, do you think this really is what has been framed as progress? No. I will say unequivocally no.” — Pat Wermuth

LLC issue, Lobeck questioned the legitimacy of a traffic report prepared by Unicorp and the accuracy of the developer’s economic modeling and asked the commission to reject this “fundamentally flawed application.” The condo board’s lawyer dis-

puted Lobeck’s assertions. “Mr. Fleetwood has never challenged the authority of the board to extended approval to the application,” Jeff Warren said. “We will obey and we will comply with the life-safety determinations by the town of Longboat Key official, because that’s too important for the individual concerns of one person, or two people or three people.” Mayor Terry Gans said it didn’t seem like the business of the town to involve itself in a legal fight between Unicorp and Fleetwood. “We have been advised by our counsel that we have an application that has legal standing to be reviewed by this council,” he said. “I don’t view our job to settle the underlying dispute that you have presented.” Breakpointe is an active, stateregistered entity that lists a unit at 1701 Gulf of Mexico Drive as its mailing address and Andrew W. Adams as its member-manager. Adams controls 75 units at the Colony Beach & Tennis Association and has opposed Whittall’s moving forward with the project. Adams could not be reached for comment. “The entire ownership of the property has to apply for these land-use changes. The record is clear that this didn’t happen. Breakpointe LLC was not in the record,” Lobeck said of the application approved by the Planning and Zoning Board. Unicorp filed a lawsuit in January against the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort Association in an effort to dissolve the condominium coalition on the grounds that it is decrepit and a threat to public safety. Ordinarily, 95% of members of a condo association would need to vote to dissolve the organization. With Adams blocking such an approval, Whittall and condo association leadership went to court. Whittall said he is working toward a deal with Adams and hopes to avoid litigation. The case has not yet been heard.

“The death of good is perfect, and we’re never going to get something that is perfect for everybody.” — Chuck Whittall

TWO DAYS OF TESTIMONY

More than 70 people attended the more than eight-hour hearing Monday, and more than 40 on Tuesday, where town staff, Unicorp National Developments, Fleetwood, Lobeck and members of the public all testified about a St. Regis proposal, which includes a 166-room hotel built to five-star standards and 78 condominiums, in addition to public meeting, dining and entertainment spaces. At least 29 members of the public testified before the commission, more than half of whom spoke in support of Unicorp’s plan as it was submitted. Pat Wermuth, a Longboat Key resident, said she’s concerned that residents don’t want a fivestar resort on the island. “For the average resident, do you think this really is what has been framed as progress? No. I will say unequivocally no,” Wermuth said.

Bob Erasmus, treasurer for the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort Association, said the board “resoundingly” supports Unicorp’s proposal. He said Unicorp has compromised and invested much over the past couple years it has sought development of the once iconic resort. “This Colony problem has been around with us for too long, and it is time for it to get your attention,” Erasmus said. Town staff, in its testimony before the commission, echoed much of what it recommended to the Planning and Zoning Board: The commission should approve the developer’s request for the remaining 165 units from the tourism pool, its planned unit development/outline development plan and final site plan for the hotel — granted the applicant meets 53 conditions. The PUD/ODP contains nine departures, or requested flexibility within town codes, including an appeal for more accessory commercial space than allowed by town code. Local law allows 10% of a hotel for accessory commercial space — the developer wants more than 30%. The developer also offered a 54th condition that would reduce the ballroom size to 7,650 square feet, a compromise conceived in its February hearing before the Planning and Zoning Board. “The death of good is perfect, and we’re never going to get something that is perfect for everybody,” Whittall said of his plan. Unicorp promises, in its conditions of approval, to allow island residents access to the resort’s amenities, limits the number of total participants for all indoor meeting space events and agrees to construct the project within three years. Whittall, in his testimony, said that if his application were approved, he hopes to start construction by January or February. Demolition would begin within months.

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THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2018

SEE THE PHOTOS READ THE STORIES RELIVE THE FUN

Commission hopefuls pitch policy decisions

RECAPTURE THE MOMENT Visit us at

Longboat Observer hosts a public forum for voters to hear from candidates about a swath of issues.

YOUROBSERVER.COM

BRET HAUFF STAFF WRITER

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ill and Bonnie Coughlin are new to Longboat, but not to politics. “When you grow up in

Boston, everything is politics,” Bill Coughlin said. That want for the political world drew the year-round residents last week to a forum hosted by the Longboat Observer — an effort to shed light on where the would-be commissioners stand on key issues. “There are so many bright people on Longboat Key, the candidates are all brilliant. In so many little towns we’ve lived in, it’s not that way,” Bill Coughlin said. Eric Warneke said the forum

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Commission candidates John Weber, Ken Schneier, Irwin Pastor, Ed Zunz and Randy Langley answered questions March 1 at a forum hosted by the Longboat Observer.

created a convenient space for him to hear what each of the candidates think outside of what he has read in the newspaper. “In this environment, this will be an unscripted conversation,” Warneke said. As for that conversation, District 3 candidate John Weber stuck to his campaign message throughout the evening: Stop commercial development of the island in the form of condos and hotels. Stopping such development, Weber said, would help reduce traffic snarls on the island. “We need to work together to

RAL REPRESENTATIONS CANNOT BE RELIED UPON AS CORRECTLY STATING REPRESENTA¬TIONS OF THE DEVELOPER. OR CORRECT REPRESENTATIONS MAKE REFERENCE TO DOCUMENTS REQUIRED BY FLORIDA STATUTES SECTION 718.503.

solve the underlying problem that is commercial development,” Weber said. Ken Schneier, Weber’s opponent for the soon-to-be-vacated District 3 seat and a member of the town’s Planning and Zoning Board, said growth on the island is a “non-issue,” saying the population has drifted downward in recent years. Redevelopment on the island is the issue, Schneier said, and the town needs to be careful and crafty when updating its zoning codes. “Our responsibility is to create a legal framework for people to work within the boundaries of,” Schneier said. Randy Langley, a former developer who is running for the District 5 seat, also said the island’s zoning codes need updating, particularly to address the issue of the island’s nonconforming structures. Other than that, Langley said the only thing he would change about the island, after the overhead wires are buried underground, is the town’s street lighting. He said he likes the island the way it is, traffic included. “I want to protect the interest that I have,” Langley said. “I can bring energy, time, an open mind and recent development experience (to the commission).” Incumbent Ed Zunz, Langley’s opponent for the District 5 seat, said the island needs to think big about an inevitable challenge it faces: sea-level rise. “It’s about time we start thinking about the future,” Zunz said. Warneke said he was encouraged to hear a commissioner talk about such an issue in a matter-

of-fact way. But another thing was clear to him, he said: “no one is really planning to do anything about it.” Zunz also endorsed redrawing the town’s borders solely within Sarasota County, a proposal Irwin Pastor, incumbent at-large candidate, said he would also support. Glenn Peterson said this is what he would like to see from his commissioners. But there are some things Peterson said he thinks went unsaid that could have been discussed. “Nobody talked about the shadow hotel industry with Airbnb,” Peterson said. “I’ve got to do some thinking about who I’ll vote for.” Pastor said the one-county issue should be thought about regionally so all parties involved — Longboat Key as well as Sarasota and Manatee counties — benefit from the move. “I don’t think it’s going to be five or six years, it could be within a few years,” Pastor said of the potential move to one county. Pastor’s opponent, Jack Wilson, had been in a hospital after a fall and could not make the forum. April Stratton, a resident who has owned on the island since 2001, has never been to a candidate forum on the Key. But now, Stratton said, she’s interested. Stratton wants to see the island evolve — it has been “kind of stuck” for some time now, she said. “I think it’s time for me to get involved,” Stratton said. “It is an interesting time on Longboat Key.”

THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2018

ELECTION DAY ESSENTIALS Where: Sarasota County voters cast their election day ballots at Longboat Key Town Hall, 501 Bay Isles Road. Manatee County voters cast their ballots at Longboat Island Chapel, 6200 Gulf of Mexico Drive. When: Election day is Tuesday, March 20. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Any voter in line at 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote. How does it work? Though commission candidates campaign either for an at-large seat or in a geographic district, all Longboat Key voters cast ballots in all the races. At-large: Irwin Pastor vs. Jack Wilson; District 3: John Weber vs. Ken Schneier; District 5: Ed Zunz vs. Randy Langley. Randy Clair had no opponent in District 1 and was automatically elected to another two-year term. What about early voting? Early voting runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily March 10-17. Longboat Key Town Hall, 501 Bay Isles Road is an early voting location for all residents of the island. What to bring: Current and valid photo ID with signature.

CORRECTION District 3 candidate for Town Commission John Weber has no prior public office experience. A photo caption in the March 1 edition of the Longboat Observer said otherwise.

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Bus route cut threatens Longboat worker access Sarasota County’s budget plan takes aim at island’s only SCAT link to the mainland. BRET HAUFF STAFF WRITER

ichard Heath takes the bus from Sarasota to Mote Marine Aquarium and Laboratory on City Island almost every day. He works there, and Sarasota County Area Transportation’s Route 18 is the cheapest way to go, Heath said. But, that route is proposed to be eliminated by the end of the year as part of a broader plan to reduce recurring expenses in the county budget by about $5.4 million. “Without the bus, I lose my main source of income,” Heath said. Most of the people riding the Route 18 bus on a recent Thursday morning were employees of businesses along the route, including the Resort at Longboat Key Club. Resort at Longboat Key Club spokeswoman Sandra Rios said in an email that a number of the company’s employees use public transportation to get to the island for work. Changing or eliminating the bus route, Rios wrote, would “most definitely impact those individuals.” “Eliminating amenities such as public transportation could have a significant impact on recruiting efforts and staff retention within

the local business community,” Rios wrote. An average of 62 people ride the bus each day on that route, almost five people per hour, according to county ridership figures. The county pays $136,660 a year for the service which, the SCAT route schedule shows, offers 14 round trips from downtown to Bay Isles for $1.25. The first northbound run leaves downtown at 6:05 a.m., and the first southbound run leaves Bay Isles at 6:30 a.m. Service concludes for the night at 7:50 p.m. If all happens as proposed, this elimination of service will be the latest in a series of public-transit cuts on Longboat Key. Manatee County Area Transit last year dropped its general service in favor of a door-todoor, on-demand operation that required calling a day ahead to reserve service. SCAT offers a similar service, SCAT Plus, but only for Americans with Disabilities Act-eligible individuals, people with disabilities, elderly, transportation disadvantaged and veterans, according to its website. SCAT last year also shortened its route from a northern terminus at Coquina Beach in favor of Bay Isles. Nhesel Zarat, a 23-year-old intern with the Harbourside Resort at Longboat Key Club, said she takes the bus almost every day to work because she doesn’t have a car. Zarat said she’ll intern at the Resort at Longboat Key Club for a year, then she’ll return

to the Philippines. “It will affect me a lot,” Zarat said of the route being canceled. “If I take Uber, it’s expensive.” Her co-worker, Ploy Kittivira, 23, said she also takes the bus to work every day. A canceled bus would make it difficult for her to get to work, especially if a friend is unavailable. Son Ho, 28, from Vietnam, said the SCAT service is good, and he takes advantage of the cheap ride to work at the Islandside resort. If the bus were canceled, he’d have

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Bret Hauff

Sarasota County commissioners have proposed canceling Route 18 for lack of ridership.

to ask a friend to drive him or use Uber, a more costly alternative. The ride-sharing service showed a midday price from downtown to Mote at around $10. Terri Ludovicy, 56, moved here a year ago to be with family. She works at Ancient Olive, to which she takes the bus almost daily. Ludovicy has not purchased a car, she said, because the cost of living in this area is so high.

“I’m going to have to get a vehicle and that’s going to cause more congestion,” the Jamestown, N.Y., native said. Sarasota County commissioners have proposed cutting the route for the sake of saving money, one of three the county has proposed to eliminate. Bus service cuts aren’t expected to go into effect until after Oct. 1, and after public input sessions. Longboat’s route is one of three under consideration for elimination. The other two are: Route 100: an express route from Venice to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, which averages 50 riders a day; and Route 13: a local Venice route that average 60 riders a day. Additionally, the entire SCAT system on Saturdays would revert to a more limited Sunday schedule, which would save about $580,000. Added together, the SCAT cuts and schedule changes would create a budget savings of about $933,000. Heath said he plans to send emails to county commissioners in an effort to keep Route 18 running. “Above all else, drivers need routes to work,” Heath said on his way off the bus.

Legal approval protects the town from lawsuits in the way it finances project to bury overhead wires in neighborhoods. BRET HAUFF STAFF WRITER

The bonds Longboat Key plans to use to finance its project to bury utility wires in Longboat Key neighborhoods received legal approval on Tuesday from the 12th Judicial Circuit Court. The town seeks to borrow $23 million for the project, a sum to be repaid by affected residents through non-ad valorem taxes. But before that could proceed, a legal review called a bond-validation hearing had to be held. A Circuit Court judge approved the terms of repayment and the validity of town approval by referendum for the debt as legally sound. This action protects the town from the threat of a lawsuit that could have the potential to stop the project after it has begun. Chris Roe, the bond counsel for the town and attorney with Bryant, Miller, Olive, said the judge is ruling on the legality of the endeavor. “The court’s role isn’t to determine whether or not it’s a good

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Though it can’t guarantee a prevention of all future power outages, the utilities project is designed to protect the town’s infrastructure from wind and rain. The utility lines, contained in underground tubes, are also better insulated from flooding. Should power be lost, the underground service makes it easier for Longboat’s utility provider, Florida Power & Light Co., to identify where damage took place.

COMMISSIONER, 5th DISTRICT

FOCUS FOR THE FUTURE • Maintain our millage rate • Maintain and preserve our beaches, canals and inlets • Preserve Greer Island • Wisely plan for redevelopment with a proper comprehensive plan and codes • Strictly control density and building heights • Control street flooding with all necessary pipe maintenance and replacement of old valves with new ones having the best proven efficiency

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policy decision, or whether it should be funded in a different way,” Roe said. “The court’s role is a legal analysis for ‘does the town have the legal foundation to do this.’” The town “estimated [the cost of the project] conservatively” in its application seeking bond validation, Roe said. The project may cost less than expected by the time it’s complete. “Once the town has the judicial validation to issue the bonds, it can proceed full speed ahead,” Roe said of the project. “You want to know before you incur the bond indebtedness that you have the legal authority to do it.” A bond for a similar price for a project to put all Gulf of Mexico Drive wires underground was validated in 2016 by the court. Town voters approved two referendums in the past couple years to allow the town to tax its residents to put all island overhead wires underground for the sake of safety, reliability and improved aesthetics. The project is scheduled to finish by 2021. Work is scheduled to begin this year. “It gives the bond issuance a sense of finality,” Roe said of the bond validation. “When the town goes to issue the bonds, the lender will have a sense of security that no one can challenge the credibility.”

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THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2018

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“I’m going to have to get a vehicle and that’s going to cause more congestion.”

OPINION / OUR VIEW

LONGBOAT OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2018

We recommend … C

ongratulations to Chuck Whittall, owner/CEO of Unicorp National Development. You are one step away. Of course, knowing what we all know about Longboat Key, pardon the cliché: It ain’t over ’til it’s over. Who knows what lawsuits lurk in the Gulf of Mexico to derail Unicorp’s redevelopment of the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort. But if that day comes in two years when Whittall cuts ribbons, the record books will show the names of the town commissioners who cast this historic vote. Assuming the vote stays the same at the second reading of the ordinance on March 16, the vote will mark the end of a 30-year era and the beginning of a new era of redevelopment and a new generation of town commissioners. To be sure, the Colony-Unicorp vote will be Topic No. 1 for at least the next week in the town’s restaurants, Publix aisles, tennis courts and condo elevators. And well it should be. But we hope the euphoria doesn’t divert completely Longboat Key voters’ attention from the upcoming March 20 Town Commission elections. Over the next two years, the Town Commission likely will address three issues that will as important, perhaps more important, than the Colony: 1) Converting Longboat Key’s boundaries so all of the island falls under the jurisdiction of Sarasota County; 2) Rewriting the town’s comprehensive plan and zoning codes to allow redevelopment of Longboat’s nonconforming properties; 3) Expansion and redevelopment of the Longboat Key Club and Resort. Who are the best candidates to address those issues? As always, Longboat Key voters are blessed with choices of competent candidates. In the commentary that follows, we assess the three races and offer our recommendations:

At-Large

Incumbent Irwin Pastor; first-time candidate Jack Wilson Evaluating candidates often starts with the idea that elections are referendums on incumbents’ performance. When we posed the question to Commissioner Irwin Pastor why voters should re-elect him, he said: “My record,” followed by listing what he considers accomplishments completed during his tenure — the 911 system; beach renourishment; approval of underground utilities; and completion of Bayfront Park. Perhaps more important than all of these is Pastor has been one of the leaders advancing the idea of converting all of Longboat Key to being part of Sarasota County. That would provide a big tax break to Longboat’s Manatee County taxpayers. Pastor wants to see that through. It’s not likely to be completed in two years, but you can say Pastor, more than his challenger, has the experience and temperament to keep pushing that effort toward a successful outcome. As owner of a multistate Pepsi distributorship and director of Pepsi’s government affairs in New York state, Pastor learned the importance of cultivating relationships among all levels of government. “You need a good negotiator,” he said. “That’s my strength.” Pastor’s opponent, Jack Wilson, is an accomplished entrepreneur in his own right. Wilson in 1975 decided he wanted to be his own boss. He gave up his position as general manager of world operations in London for the type company Letraset and bought a troubled doll manufacturer in Bristol, England, the House of Nisbet. He made it a success, eventually retiring to Longboat Key. Talk to Wilson, and you’ll quickly learn he has an impressive command of and sensible positions on Longboat’s major issues. But here’s the catch, and

he knows it: Longboaters don’t know Wilson; he’s a newcomer to the town’s political scene. That’s always a disadvantage for anyone running for Town Commission. There’s an unwritten protocol to be elected to Town Commission. Rare is the candidate who is elected to the commission without having served time on a town board. If Wilson were running against another first-time candidate with little involvement in town government, he would be a solid choice. Unfortunately, he’s running against an incumbent who has earned the trust of voters. We recommend: Irwin Pastor

District 3

Ken Schneier and John Weber, first-time candidates Neither Schneier nor Weber has the name recognition of Town Commission incumbents. But Schneier has an advantage over Weber that typically suits Longboat Key voters: Schneier has served two years as a member of the town’s Zoning Board of Adjustment and is in his fourth year as a member of the town’s Planning and Zoning Board, serving this year as vice chair. Schneier’s professional experience as a lawyer and, more important, his experience with the town’s land-use issues also position him well to address what the Town Commission will face in the coming years. For the past three years, Schneier has worked with his planning board colleagues crafting new zoning codes intended to solve Longboat’s vexing problem with nonconforming properties (only to be tabled by the Town Commission). Schneier has it right: Give the nonconforming properties the flexibility to redevelop to meet market needs, while maintaining the same number of existing units on each property. At the same time, Schneier holds views that cast him as a fiscal conservative. But he is also a realist about the importance of having thriving, albeit controlled, commercial and tourism sectors on the Key. In contrast, Weber has made clear his top priority: “Put a moratorium on all further commercial development on the island.” We’ll thank Mr. Weber for making the commitment to run for Town Commission, but as longtime readers of this newspaper know, when candidates tout the “M” word, it’s over for us. We recommend: Ken Schneier.

District 5

Incumbent Ed Zunz; first-time candidate Randy Langley If not for this race between incumbent Zunz and Langley, many Longboaters probably would not know there is an election March 20. Suffice it to say Langley’s candidacy and campaigning have created the most contentious election cycle in 25 years. You could say the fractiousness first exploded when Langley released to the Longboat Observer in mid-February an affidavit he composed in 2016. It recounted meetings in 2014 at which then-Mayor Jim Brown and George Spoll, then a private citizen, urged Langley not to sell his Colony ownership stake to Unicorp National Development owner Chuck Whittall because “Whittall’s development would never be approved by the town.” Not long after, Langley lobbed a second grenade. He emailed a letter to Longboat Key voters, rife with accusations of questionable behavior of Town Commission members: “Several, for example, are favoring a personal friend over the town’s best interest.” … “Some of the Town Commission members are playing loose with the rules …” “I have uncovered only some of what is wrong

in our Town Hall. Who knows what else is going on …” “They don’t want someone to lift their curtain,” Langley wrote, “someone like me who will rock their boat.” The coup de grace: Langley told the Longboat Observer “the reason I’m running, so we can have integrity on the council.” The affidavit and accusations brought responses with equal levels of gunpowder. Commissioner Brown: “This is a false accusation from a convicted felon.” A week later, Brown sent an email to voters with links to four stories in the Orlando Sentinel detailing how Langley was a leading perpetrator when he was 17 to 19 years old in a cartheft ring in Central Florida. We received calls and emails from voters accusing Langley and the Longboat Observer of not being fully forthcoming about Langley’s past. Zunz felt Langley’s accusations about the commission made him collaterally damaged, painting him (wrongly) as lacking integrity. And he in turn accused Langley of “grossly” misrepresenting Langley’s past — “he was far more than a teenage rascal; he committed continuous felonies …” And he admonished the press as having a duty to provide full details of Langley’s crimes. Clearly, you could sense the proZunz/anti-Langley factions wanted to retry Langley’s 30-year-old past and paint him as the one without integrity. Langley, for the record, was sentenced to seven years in prison, 15 years of probation and was to pay with his accomplices $150,000 in restitution. He served a few months in prison, and because of his age was allowed to attend a boot camp. He completed the boot camp after three months and was freed. In 2017, the state clemency board restored all of Langley’s civil rights. For nearly 30 years, Langley has been a law-abiding citizen. And now, after living on Longboat Key for 11 years, including stints as the owner of the Cedars Tennis Club and one of the investors in Colony Lender, he wants, as he says, to bring “fresh thinking” to the Town Commission. These two candidates present an interesting choice. Indeed, if you stepped back from the smoke that has engulfed the Zunz-Langley race, you could assess it this way: Ed Zunz has been a good commissioner — earnest and thorough, the way he practiced law in New Jersey. He’s honest, decent and trustworthy; high integrity. He’s dedicated to keeping Longboat Longboat. Judge him on his performance, and you could say he is deserving of another term. But if you think the Town Commission is in need of fresh, disruptive, challenge-the-status-quo thinking, you will get that from Langley. We have heard voters question Langley’s tactics — why release the affidavit a month before the election and question the entire Commission’s integrity. Can Longboat Key voters trust him? We called David Siegal, a Longboat resident and lawyer. Siegal has been Langley’s partner for eight years in Colony Lender, the entity that bought Murf Klauber’s assets in the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort. They worked side by side until they sold to Whittall’s Unicorp National Developments. Siegal knows Langley — his strengths and weaknesses. “I’ve coached him a lot,” Siegal told us, “on thinking before he speaks. He’s much better than he was.” Asked if voters can trust Langley, Siegal said: “Absolutely.” He also told us this: “Randy Langley is the smartest person I’ve ever known. Let me repeat, Randy Langley is the smartest person I’ve ever known.” We’ve always been partial to challenging the status quo. Safe vote: Ed Zunz Challenge the status quo: Randy Langley

LONGBOAT

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them, and the restaurant staff distracted them with bowls of ice cream. Happily, our son-in-law was able to return home that evening and flew home with a promise to follow up with his doctor. Many thanks to all who helped. This is such a wonderful community and we will be back again next year!

DAVE AND LINDA VAN HOWE

BRENDA AND JIM FERGUSON

LONGBOAT KEY

STRATFORD, ONTARIO, CANADA

Kindness went a long way, so we’ll be back

Manatee schools need tax to stay competitive

Another near-perfect vacation in Longboat Key is coming to a close for us, but before returning to the snowy north we would like to express our gratitude and appreciation to all who assisted our family during an incident that occurred during a lovely lunch at the Anna Maria Oyster Bar when our son-in-law had an unexplained spell. The attentive staff immediately asked our permission to contact 911 and then stayed with us and remained a quiet presence the entire time. Paramedics from Manatee County arrived quickly and their professional, calm manner comforted us. Their gentle but firm advice was to seek further attention, which we did. Our two little granddaughters were, of course, distraught, but a couple of fellow diners came to chat with

The Manatee County School District has lived in the shadow of Sarasota County schools for as long as I can remember. Every time the grades of schools are published, Sarasota schools outrank Manatee schools. The question is: “Why?” Differences in pay and length of the school day can account for the difference in the two systems. It is not a competition nor a rivalry. It is a matter of quality of opportunity for our students. Manatee has a teacher shortage — in fact, the whole country has a teacher shortage. With as many as 80-100 vacancies, it is difficult to attract qualified teachers when we are constantly losing teachers to Sarasota with its superior pay scale. Sarasota students have a

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$33 million per year, will raise wages for school personnel and extend the school day by a half hour. Some parents spend about $200 a month for phones for their children. Why not invest it in their education, which will have a far greater impact upon their futures? Does more money guarantee better schools? Logically, we can see that higher salaries not only will attract outstanding teachers, but we will be likely to keep them. Thirty minutes added to the school day will strengthen learning. It has been said that we can judge a community’s values by its education system. Our children and teachers need our support if we are to compete in the workplace. This election gives us a chance to elevate our system to a new level. The special election for a 1-mill increase of property taxes is one of the most important elections we have seen in my 55 years as a member of this community. It is important because it is the first time we have an opportunity to directly improve the quality of our school system. Our children deserve no less.

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30-minute extension of their school day. That means 90 extra hours of instruction per school year, each year. Over the course of K-12 years, that amounts to one full school year of instruction more than Manatee students. Our students are no less bright, our school buildings no less functional. It is my strong feeling that one gets what one pays for. Sarasota taxpayers have always supported tax issues to improve their schools. They have pay scales at all levels that far exceed that of the Manatee County School District. Manatee County’s shortage of teachers is detrimental, particularly in science and math. When a teacher is absent, sometimes a substitute is available, and sometimes not. If no substitute is available, other teachers must cover the classes during their prep periods — or sometimes the students are split among other classrooms. This untenable situation takes a toll on learning. Substitutes may not be qualified to teach the students they meet, so continuity is totally lost. None of us wants more taxes, but to put it in perspective, 1 mill will translate to $1 for each $1,000 of value of your property. After deducting the $25,000 homestead exemption, property valued at $250,000 would have an additional tax of $225 per year. Property valued at $200,000 will have an additional tax of $175 per year. This tax, estimated to raise

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Enough is enough. We should no longer have to live with the Colony blight that is plaguing our seaside oasis. My wife and I have owned property at the Aquarius Club since 2009, becoming residents and voters of Longboat Key. Over the past eight years we have had front row seats to watch how decay and drama has turned the 13-plus acres of the Colony into an uninhabitable blight, incurring safety and security concerns to our community. We have studied and watched with great anticipation the many development proposals that Unicorp has brought forward. Is the current plan perfect? Not in our opinion. We would like to address an earlier letter stating that some Longboaters believe the Aquarius Club owners are receiving perks to “buy” our support of the Unicorp plan. This is simply not true. The Unicorp and Aquarius agreement is essentially the same verbal agreement we had with the Colony when it was in operation. Being the immediate neighbor to the north, in the past we would access the Colony property to walk to dinner, the deli or the Monkey Bar through a private gated entrance. Many of us also had accounts with the Colony. This was indicative of our ongoing neighborly

relationship with the Colony. I would argue that our agreement with Chuck Whitall and Unicorp is simply a continuation of being good neighbors. My wife and I strongly support the passage of the current plan. It is time for the bulldozers to tear down the existing buildings and begin the next chapter on the property known as the Colony.

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LONGBOAT OBSERVER

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THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2018

Zota murder suspect could be freed pretrial

BRET HAUFF STAFF WRITER

The now-incapacitated suspect in the Longboat Key double homicide last year at the Zota Beach Resort could soon be released from jail, pending trial. Darryl Hanna Jr., who police say shot and killed Zota security guard Kevin Carter and night manager Timothy Hurley on the morning of Aug. 4, 2017, has been in a vegetative state since Sept. 9, when he collapsed while in custody. The suspect spent more than a month at South Bay Hospital in Sun City Center before being returned to the Manatee County Jail for containment and treatment. He has been there ever since. The 12th Judicial Circuit Court and Hanna’s attorney, Jordan Redavid, agreed last week to release Hanna, an order Redavid said is being drafted. Attorneys are coordinating with a nursing facility in Ocala for Hanna’s recovery, according to court records. “[Hanna’s] situation is grave and his needs (if he is to ever make a meaningful recovery) require a stable, well-equipped, nonincarcerative medical environment,” Redavid wrote in an email. This comes after a motion was

File photo

A poster shows suspect Darryl Hanna Jr., who is being held in the Manatee County Jail. He is expected to be released to a nursing home.

filed Feb. 12 for Hanna’s release on grounds that he poses no threat to society in his vegetative state. It further accuses the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office of neglecting Hanna’s health when problems became apparent. “Hanging in the balance of the scales held by this court, much like the allegorical figure Lady Justice, is Darryl Hanna’s life — or what’s left of it,” the motion said. Prosecutor Suzanne O’Donnell did not return messages seeking comment. Sheriff’s Office spokesman Dave Bristow declined to comment on allegations set forth in the motion. ‘A SCARY PROPOSITION’

When he was taken to the Manatee County jail Aug. 9, Hanna

seemed to be a healthy 28-yearold, according to a motion. All seemed well until two weeks later, when Hanna had been playing basketball with some fellow inmates. That’s when Hanna collapsed. “Confidence in Hanna’s good health changed in an instant — well, actually, 41 seconds,” according to the motion. A video camera had captured Hanna on the ground for 41 seconds, after which he was cleared by a prison nurse for safe return to his cell. The motion alleges prison medical examiners did not perform “formal diagnostic or medical testing” and declined to review video footage for further analysis and diagnosis.

Then it happened again. A correctional officer found Hanna on Sept. 8 on the floor of his cell. Asked if he was OK, Hanna stood up, said he was lightheaded, then fainted, according to the motion. Nurses took him, handcuffed, to a medical pod for diagnosis. After examination, he was “inexplicably permitted to return to his” cell, according to the motion. Not more than 12 hours later, officers found Hanna again lying face up on the floor, breathing but unresponsive, according to the motion. “Sadly, nobody can with any degree of certainty how long Hanna lied in his cell, unconscious and desperate for help,” defense attorneys said in the motion. The officer who found him, attorneys allege, didn’t call EMS until Hanna stopped breathing. EMS was called, but it took 42 minutes for them to arrive and another 18 for them to get him out of the jail, the motion reads. Hanna spent a month in the ICU and was sent back to the jail, where he has remained in a vegetative and incapacitated state, according to the motion. An email obtained by the attorneys sent Oct. 9 from Sgt. Andrew Gardieff reads: “Medical advised [Hanna] needed additional care due to his current condition and they did not have the resources on hand that the hospital would have access to.” Yet Hanna has remained in Manatee Sheriff’s Office custody. The county contracts flat-cost medical services for its jail with

Armor Correctional Health Services, which the Sheriff’s Office estimates has paid $370,000 since Sept. 8 for Hanna’s medical care. GROUNDS FOR RELEASE

Defense attorneys allege in their filing that, “There is no reasonable basis to contend that Hanna poses any threat of physical harm to the community.” “The community of Manatee County gains no additional security by having Hanna in jail; if anything, it takes on the financial burden of paying for his 24/7 medical care,” according to the motion. The motion also claims neither Hanna nor his mother, Patricia Hanna, should be held accountable for a bond because it would be “purely punitive in nature.” Attorneys also guarantee Hanna will appear at any court hearing if one is to be held. Hanna’s condition also stipulates an “exceptional circumstance,” permitted for pretrial release for murder cases in Florida. Defense attorneys also claim that prolonged detention could lead to Hanna’s death. Attorneys for the defendant and the state agreed Feb. 20 to draft an order for Hanna’s supervised release. Hanna’s lawyer offered the state and county “unfettered access” to his client’s medical records and a formal obligation for regular reporting on his client’s condition.

Donations to Pines of Sarasota Foundation can be made online at pinesofsarasota.org/Love-Lives-Here or by calling 941.955.6293. For more information, contact Foundation President Janet Ginn at jginn@pinesfoundation.org. new_pines_loveman.indd 1

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Hanna’s medical state means he is no threat to community, court request says.

2/12/18 1:57 PM

LONGBOAT OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2018

11A

Landscape with House and Ploughman (detail) Vincent van Gogh

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501 Harbor Point Road $3,399,000 | Web ID A4209607 Debra Garrett 941.685.1086

1111 Ritz Carlton Drive #1402 $1,700,000 | Web ID A4186933 Laura Pearson & Don Wood 941.993.5167

455 Longboat Club Road PH 7 $1,599,999 | Web ID A4208826 Gigi Silverberg 941.993.3695

1810 Lincoln Drive $1,595,000 | Web ID A4196788 Brian Wood 941.928.8408

114 North Warbler Lane $1,595,000 | Web ID A4207147 Steve Wexler 941.586.1124

1655 Laurel Street $1,400,000 | Web ID N5915821 Elke von Oertzen 941.441.7073

340 South Palm Avenue #61 $1,395,900 | Web ID A4200708 Keith Whitfield 941.302.4256

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Sotheby’s International Realty® and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered service marks used with permission. Each office is independently owned and operated. Equal Housing Opportunity. Property information herein is derived from various sources including, but not limited to, county records and multiple listing services, and may include approximations. All information is deemed accurate and neither suggests nor infers that Premier Sotheby’s International Realty participated as either the listing or cooperating agent or broker in the sale or purchase of the properties depicted. *Landscape with House and Ploughman (detail) by Vincent van Gogh used with permission.

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LONGBOAT OBSERVER

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THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2018

Police, medical examiner waiting for evidence tests More than a month after woman’s death, investigators have not made a determination on how she died.

“Thoroughness is more important than timeliness.” — Police Chief Pete Cumming

BRET HAUFF STAFF WRITER

It has been more than a month since Lori Martin was found dead in a Longboat Key sauna. And not much more is known publicly now than just days after it happened. Inconclusive evidence at the Harbourside Moorings, where her body was found, has kept the District 12 Medical Examiner’s office from issuing a cause of death, which would in turn lead to more information being released by the Longboat Key Police Department. Martin died Jan. 23 in a heated sauna, where her body was for hours before its discovery, police have said. There was blood found at the scene, and police dismantled some of the sauna for a deeper investigation of physical evidence. Police have not confirmed if they suspect homicide or suicide. Because the circumstances haven’t been publicly confirmed, the police haven’t identified the victim, but the family has. According to her obituary, Martin was 54 when she died and was born in Niles, Ohio. She is survived by her husband, Dave

could already be there, Vega said. The Medical Examiner’s office has paid extra for expedited results and is expecting results within a few weeks, Vega said. “The testing is not like you put a sample into a machine and it comes out with an answer. It takes a lot of human processing. It’s not simply the fact that there are a lot of specimens in line,” Vega said. But the department has more answers than questions, and its timeline is “pretty stable at this point,” Police Chief Pete Cumming said. The Medical Examiner is key to the scientific examination of evidence, Cumming said. He said the office has received partial toxicology and DNA results, which it has shared with the department. “Thoroughness is more important than timeliness,” Cumming said. “Everybody wants the answers to this, and people deserve them. When we give them the answers, they’re going to be thoroughly examined.”

Bret Hauff

The building where Lori Martin’s body was found in a sauna.

of Sarasota; sons Stephen Cleary of Anderson, S.C., Michael Martin of Columbus, Ohio, and Stephen Martin of Edgewater, Md.; her parents; her sister, Linda Gleespen; her brother, Jim Nestor; six grandchildren and numerous aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews. She was buried Feb. 1 in Ohio. “We don’t have all the information we need,” said Dr. Russell Vega, chief medical exam-

iner with the District 12 Medical Examiner’s office. That information includes the results of various tests, one of which, Vega said, is toxicology, that have been sent to the University of Florida for examination. If the university does not have the means to complete one of the tests on an expedited schedule, it may send evidence to an out-ofstate testing facility. Some of the evidence in Lori Martin’s death

Lori Martin

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