Longboat Observer 1.5.23

VOLUME 45, NO. 22

YOUR TOWN

He kept Longboat Longboat

Winter? It’s just better here

Dr. Mark Kauffman and his wife, Irene, of Longboat Key, recently had a fittingly photographic (and adorable) reminder of why Florida winters are preferable to most anywhere else.

As our area returns to normal after one of the chilliest Christmases in years, We submit as evidence a snap (Dare we call it a cold snap?) of their great-grandson, Zev, on a recent visit to Philadelphia with his Sarasota parents.

As Dr. Kauffman put it, “It made me think again of why I moved to Florida!”

Longtime commissioner, mayor and town supporter served the town for 30 years. PAGE 3

A municipal must-read

On Wall Street, an annual report is pretty heady stuff.

Profits and losses, outlooks for the future, and something called EBITDA figure prominently in every annual report corporations produce.

Though Longboat Key isn’t a Fortune 500 firm, the town’s annual report is essential reading for anyone who wants to know more about municipal inner workings.

Prepared by the town’s departments, the publication is chock-full of budget information, a review of projects complete, a look ahead toward soon-to-be-wrapped-up works and more.

You’ll find an electronic copy at LongboatKey.org, along with a video from Town Manager Tom Harmer covering the highlights of 2022.

Courtesy photo

Courtesy photo

Eric Garwood

Tim Clarke aboard his boat at Sarasota Yacht Club.

It didn’t take George Spoll long to become involved in making Longboat Key a better place.

Sarasota

GEORGE SPOLL

Five questions with Gary Coffin

Gary Coffin is the commissioner-elect for the Longboat Key Town Commission District 1 seat.

He and his wife, Lynn, have lived on the barrier island for more than 20 years.

Shortly after moving into his home in Country Club Shores, he was ushered in as the homeowner’s association president. He served his fellow residents in the role for more than 14 years.

He  serves on the town’s Planning and Zoning Board, a stop many have taken in the past before moving up to the commission.

Longboat Observer Staff Writer Lauren Tronstad sat down with Coffin recently to chat about his decision to run and his hopes for the town’s future.

Country Club Shores homeowner’s association thing was a taste, and then the Planning and Zoning Board seat became available and I was approached about that. It has been very rewarding … I got called by some people on the island that I respect highly (about serving on the commission) and I thought, why not give it a go?

What have you learned from Longboat Key’s past?

When our forefathers made the rule in the ordinances about zoning restrictions to be held at a particular level, that was a critical developmental block in our city. Otherwise, we would likely be building 15-, 20- or even 30-story buildings. It’s OK if other people want that, but people don’t move out here for that. I think they move out here for the quaintness, for the smalltown vibe, which is still good out here. That’s the biggest thing I have learned, how building is restricted, what we can and can’t do.

What is Longboat Key all about?

What led to

decision to seek a seat on the commission?

I’ve always volunteered in every community I have ever lived in, and it seems like the right thing to do as a citizen of your community. If you have the time and can be involved, I think you should be involved.

Serving as the president of the

Before I moved to the island, I lived downtown and the people here on Longboat were called “Longnose,” and people said they were stuckup. Then, I moved out here and was jammed into the HOA presidency and found out that was not the case. That’s not the case at all. It could very well be a place where people have been more fortunate than some other people, but we’re all people on the inside. On top of that, you’ve got your beach in the front yard, your boat in the backyard. You have palm trees, clear water and white sand. There is really nothing else I was after in life.

How would you describe your leadership style?

Participant management style is the style I have always used growing up and in my career. I found that was the way to be most productive.

I believe that at the town level of government that people come to our meetings for the Zoning Board and for the Commission; those are the people that we listen to. If we do anything, I think we need to advertise more for people to come out and tell us what they think and tell us what they want. We have rules that can be modified and adjusted based on the public’s input. That is what this is all about.

What is the most pressing issue for Longboat Key moving forward? One of the great things about running for the commission was I didn’t do this because I was think-

ing, this is busted, this is broken, this needs to be fixed. I think the town is moving in a very positive direction. The obvious concerns based on what people want are the traffic. From (Hurricane Ian), we want to make sure we are as safe as we can be from that. Beach nourishment projects are very important. Water quality is another big one, and right now we are in the middle of a terrible red tide. We need to figure out what is wrong and what’s causing it, so that we can work to prevent it from being worse as much as we can.

Lauren Tronstad Gary Coffin will take his District 1 Commission seat in March 2023.

NEXT WEEK Five questions with Ken Schneier

JAN. 19 Five questions with Deborah Murphy.

SPOLL’S LEGACY: FINE-TUNING PARADISE

ERIC GARWOOD MANAGING EDITOR

It’s hard to think of a segment of Longboat Key life that George Spoll didn’t affect.

Traffic? He worked from public office and through a private organization he helped launch to urge solutions both on the island and off.

Tourism? The island’s biggest construction project in decades ties directly to an idea Spoll fostered to balance hotel space with a strong desire to avoid becoming an overrun tourist Mecca.

A town center? The retired architectural engineer and home builder who moved to Florida from Connecticut long supported a central place for Longboaters to gather. Such a place is now under construction.

Spoll, 89, who died Christmas night after a period of declining health, devoted decades of his retirement to fine-tuning an island many already call paradise.

Direct, driven and demonstrative, Spoll didn’t always appeal to everyone with his style, but his contributions are hard to argue with.

“I think George was trying to make Longboat a better place, but not a place like other places,” said Jim Brown, with whom Spoll served on the town’s Planning and Zoning Board and Town Commission.

“I mean, George did a lot to keep it that way.”

A SECOND ACT

The notion of a successful retired professional moving to Longboat Key without intending to become civically connected only to embark on a second act isn’t an unusual one here. But friends and colleagues around the island say Spoll, who served on the Town Commission for seven years and then returned to office five years later, was a special kind of person in that regard.

Between elected stints in Town Hall, he helped form the private Longboat Key Revitalization Task Force, a group assembled to shine a spotlight on ways to further improve the community through informed examinations of traffic issues, red tide concerns, sea level rise, redevelopment plans for condo communities and a general look to the future.

“His hobby was working on projects on Longboat Key,” said Tom Freiwald, whom Spoll invited to join the Task Force in 2011. “When he wasn’t on the commission, he would still go to all the meetings, all the workshops. He went to almost all the planning and zoning meetings. He had a wide circle of knowledgeable people who were involved in a lot of things.

“He just loved Longboat Key and he loved making contributions to the future Longboat Key. That was his driving force.”

Tom Aposporos, who as thenpresident of the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce and was also invited to take part in the Task Force, said he’ll remember Spoll as one of the town’s leading figures.

“It’s wonderful for the people who live there that they have such dedicated leaders,” he said. “George was certainly high among them.”

Freiwald said Spoll insisted the Task Force involve itself with noth-

ing but issues that benefited the entire island and ensured that its membership didn’t lean toward the north or south ends.

The Task Force was an early supporter of the now-formalized proposal to build a roundabout at Gulf of Mexico Drive and Broadway Street. It also pushed for rules allowing condominiums to rebuild or remodel into more modern buildings, either driven by disaster or the market.

He said Spoll’s leadership fostered an atmosphere of being heard.

“I don’t think I was ever in a meeting where he overruled anybody,” Freiwald said. “I don’t remember in the 10 years or so that we were very active as the Task Force a single time we voted. We either all agreed or we agreed not to agree, and therefore we wouldn’t pursue certain things.”

MOVING FORWARD Aposporos, who had served as mayor of Poughkeepsie, New York, wasn’t even a Longboat Key resident when tapped by Spoll.

“It was all about moving Longboat Key always in a positive direction,” he said. “That was pretty much George’s insistence right from the beginning.”

It didn’t take Spoll long to become involved in making Longboat Key a better place.

He and his wife, Madelyn, moved to Longboat Key in January 1993.  In a 2011 interview with the Longboat Observer, Spoll said he and Madelyn “wanted a place where there was a sense of community, where people could be involved and still be close to a cultural center. Longboat is the epitome of all of that.”

Shortly after arriving, Spoll attended a Fairway Bay condo meeting during which a painting project was discussed. Spoll asked about other things in the community that needed to be repaired before the buildings could be painted, and by September 1993, he was on the condominium’s board. He went on to serve as president for 12 years.

By October of that year, he began serving on the Federation of Condominiums of Longboat Key.

By early 1994, Spoll was president of the Federation, ultimately serving in leadership roles with that group for more than 20 years.

“Longboat Key is a unique place in many ways, but one of the ways is that it is a retirement place for many people who have been leaders in whatever industry they were in,” said Brown, with whom Spoll served in public office.

It was during his time on the Planning and Zoning Board from 2003-04 that he met Brown, who had also retired to Longboat after selling his architectural firm.

Spoll served twice on the Town Commission, from 2004-2011 (vice mayor from 2007-08 and mayor from 2010-2011) and again from 2016-2021 (two years as mayor beginning in 2018).

As a Planning Board member, Spoll triggered discussions that resulted in the town undertaking a long-term vision process with the Urban Land Institute, results of which remain top of mind for city leaders today. Out of that process in 2013 came the term that Longboaters continue to invoke: “To keep Longboat Longboat.”

Also, after Longboat saw the midKey Holiday Inn converted to a luxury condominium and many other small Gulf-front resorts converted to condos, town leaders realized a loss of tourism was destructive to the Key’s future.

TOURISM IDEAS

Spoll and the late Vice Mayor David Brenner, who died in 2019 at age 83, launched ideas that ultimately resulted in the development of the tourism-residential hybrid Residences at the St. Regis Longboat Key Resort on the site of the former Colony Beach and Tennis Resort.

Voters in 2008 approved two charter amendments — one that allows nonconforming condo projects to rebuild what exists in the event they are destroyed; the second, Spoll’s idea, created a pool of 250 hotel units that existing resorts and hotels could tap to bring back lost hotel units. The latter amendment fostered the redevelopment of the Hilton into the Zota Beach Resort and was crucial to Unicorp Developments’ proposal for the St. Regis, which underwent years of scrutiny from government and private groups alike until its eventual approval in 2018. Spoll voted against the proposal, saying he objected to the project’s emptying of the town’s 250-room tourism-unit supply.

Firm with the mayor’s gavel, Spoll also played roles in guiding policies that played a role in the nearly completed underground utilities project and defended the island when it came to traffic issues and the need for a town center, which is now working its way through its second phase.

Spoll criticized road projects to the north in Bradenton Beach and to the east in Sarasota, criticizing their effects on local traffic and potential evacuations.

Former Commissioner Jack Daly, who left the dais in 2021 alongside Spoll and Ed Zunz, said Spoll’s legacy as mayor will be one of inclusion.

“George had very strong views and he was articulate and consistent on articulating those views,” Daly said.

“But again, to his credit, he never let those views override his primary obligation, as I saw it, to conduct fair and open and collegial discussions. And he did that religiously.”

Spoll served with both Pat and Ed Zunz until recently on the Longboat Key Revitalization Task Force.

“George and I had an interesting relationship,” Pat Zunz said. “He and I usually agreed, but the one thing we never agreed on was he said to me, ‘You always said things once, and you never repeated them.’ Well, I said, ‘If people didn’t hear it the first time, they weren’t going to hear it the second time either.’ But he was always after me that you need to keep saying things over and over again so people get it.”

STUBBORN AT TIMES

Mayor Ken Schneier, who took over the role in 2020, said Spoll’s leadership was often wise and thoughtful, though stubborn at times.

“But, in the last analysis, he was 100% committed to Longboat Key and the preservation of its ambience and character,” he said.

Lenny Landau, with whom Spoll also worked on the Task Force, said Spoll’s belief in attention to detail and making things better extended to his Bay Isles home.

As Spoll got weaker in recent years, it was hard for him to go up and down the stairs, but he didn’t want to move. With his background, Landau said Spoll designed and supervised about months of construction to install a “clear plastic tube” elevator.

“It’s really something to see. It should be a monument,” Landau said. “He thought of it, and I did too, as a piece of art as well as an elevator, and that’s the way he was about everything. He was really interested in the details, and he contributed a lot.”

The long-serving former commissioner and mayor died at age 89 following decades of service to the town.

File photo

Mayor George Spoll of Longboat Key

TURNING

THE CORNER

ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER

Two decades after the concept of a roundabout at Gulfstream Avenue and U.S. 41 first appeared in a downtown Sarasota mobility study, the circle replacing one of Sarasota’s busiest intersections is now open to traffic.

Bolstered by a 2008-2010 Bayfront Connectivity Study that recommended roundabouts on U.S. 41 at Gulfstream Avenue and at Fruitville Road, the concept has evolved into a string of roundabouts built or

planned on Sarasota’s bayfront.

With the opening of the latest and the scheduled spring 2023 completion of the entire intersection project, Sarasota now has four roundabouts on U.S. 41 — from north to south — at 14th Street, 10th Street, Fruitville Road and Gulfstream, the latter being the vital connector between the mainland and St. Armands, Lido and Longboat keys. Two more at U.S. 41 at Myrtle Road and MLK Jr. Way are in the Florida Department of Transportation design process, and studies and planning for roundabouts at U.S. 41 at Ringling Boulevard and at

Main Street are underway.

“The design on those two has been put on hold until funding becomes available,” said Sarasota Chief Transportation Planner Alvimarie Corales of the Ringling and Main roundabouts. “All these have been identified as a transportation priority. It’s just going to take a couple of years for them to become implemented. These can take eight to 10 years to see from the top of the priorities list to actual construction.”

According to the Florida Department of Transportation, there are some 20 roundabouts operating on the state highway system — including the four on U.S. 41 in Sarasota — and more than 300 on local roads throughout the state. Growing in popularity, they are not unique to the state, but a network of roundabouts on a short stretch of state highway, Corales said, might be.

“As for a chain of roundabouts, this is the first area that has continuous roundabouts,” Corales said. “At the state level, they have seen the benefit of having multiple roundabouts as a chain.”

A chain of roundabouts rather than a standalone facility amid signalized intersections through an urban corridor provides for a more efficient movement, according to SarasotaManatee Metropolitan Planning Organization Planning Manager Ryan Brown, who points out that yet another at U.S. 41 and University Parkway is under consideration.

Longboat Key is planning a roundabout at Gulf of Mexico Drive — also a state road — and Broadway Street.

“Traffic studies indicate that a network would improve traffic conditions much more significantly than a standalone roundabout due to the limitations from choke points at signalized intersections,” Brown said. “Signalized intersections are confining, and when you look at implementing a roundabout in the middle of regular intersections with red lights on each side, it’s going to choke.”

Since 2002 the Sarasota/Manatee MPO has had a policy requiring consideration of roundabouts for intersection improvements.

“That doesn’t mean that they always got full consideration or that they would work in every situa -

SARASOTA ROUNDABOUTS

There are total of 13 roundabouts within the city limits of Sarasota, four of them at former signalized intersections along U.S. 41.

n U.S. 41 and 14th Street

n U.S. 41 and 10th Street

n U.S. 41 and Fruitville Road

n U.S. 41 and Gulfstream Avenue

City street roundabouts include: n Old Bradenton Road and Myrtle Road

n Old Bradenton Road and 47th Street

n Five Points

n Ringling Boulevard and Palm Avenue

n Ringling Boulevard and Orange Avenue

n Ringling Boulevard and Pineapple Avenue

n Orange Avenue and Main Street

n Cocoanut Avenue and Palm Avenue

n Hillview Street and Laurent Place

A roundabout is scheduled to be built at Ringling Boulevard and Pine Place in 2023.

There are traffic-calming circles (not roundabouts) at Shade Avenue and Novus Street and at School Avenue and Temple Street.

tion,” said MPO Executive Director David Hutchinson. “Engineers have questioned whether or not they can actually work in rural areas, but in rural areas they actually have proven effective as a safety measure.”

COMPLEX AND CHALLENGING

The newest link in the roundabout chain along U.S. 41 is perhaps the city’s most visible. Framed by gleaming towers to the east and Sarasota Bay to the west, it could also be considered among the city’s most scenic — and most complex. It carries U.S. 41 traffic at a 45-degree angle, Gulfstream Avenue to and from the keys and into downtown, a driveway into the busy marina and Bayfront Park, plus nearby entrances into The Quay Sarasota off U.S. 41, as well as Golden Gate Point at the approach to Ringling Bridge.

Maintaining vital traffic through all that during the nearly two years

Located in a vibrant neighborhood near area attractions, beaches, theatres, entertainment, events, fine dining, and shopping.

Easy urban living with availability of furnished apartments, delicious meals, educational programs, housekeeping, along with Concierge Transportation and a Concierge Health & Wellness Program.

BABY

Sarasota now has four roundabouts on U.S. 41 along the bay. With four more planned and nine others on city streets, the city is committed to throwing traffic for a loop.

Harry Sayer

Traffic circulates around the new roundabout at U.S. 41 and Gulfstream Avenue on its first day of operation.

of the project — more than 40,000 vehicles flow through the intersection a day — in addition to installing flood management systems; water, sewer and other utilities infrastructure; and widening the roads approaching and leaving the roundabout was no mean engineering feat.

Further complicating the project were multiple delays caused by supply-chain and materials shortages in the wake of COVID-19 and,

WHY ROUNDABOUTS?

According to the Federal Highway Administration:

Roundabouts feature channelized, curved approaches that reduce vehicle speed and entry yield control that gives right of way to circulating traffic, and counterclockwise flow around a central island that minimizes conflict points. The net result of lower speeds and reduced conflicts at roundabouts is an environment where crashes that cause injury or fatality are substantially reduced.

Roundabouts are not only a safer type of intersection, they are also efficient. Even while calming traffic, they can reduce delay and queuing when compared to other intersection alternatives. Furthermore, the lower vehicular speeds and reduced conflict environment can create a more suitable environment for walking and bicycling. Roundabouts can be implemented in both urban and rural areas under a wide range of traffic conditions. They can replace signals, two-way stop controls and all-way stop controls.

Roundabouts are an effective option for managing speed and transitioning traffic from high-speed to low-speed environments, such as freeway interchange ramp terminals, and rural intersections along high-speed roads.

most recently, FDOT’s reallocation of resources toward recovery efforts following Hurricane Ian. Heavy rains caused further delay of the scheduled Dec. 17 opening of the circle.

Even with the circle open to vehicles, the overall project, originally scheduled for fall 2022 completion, won’t be done until spring 2023. Remaining is work on lanes approaching and leaving the roundabout, which until now were used as detours around the primary construction site. The true performance of the roundabout won’t be experienced until then.

“Anecdotally, from what we’ve heard from other MPOs across the country, our initial data is promising from the ones that we’ve built in terms of  resiliency as well as maintaining throughput, which of course is a huge priority for everyone,” Brown said. “Having such large roundabouts in such a dense urban area is something that I think others will look to do.”

That resiliency comes in the form of functionality of intersections during localized or widespread power outages. Roundabouts don’t rely on traffic signals to move traffic.

“You’re eliminating the need for vigilance over the signaled systems,” said Nina Venter, multimodal planner of the MPO. “If there’s one thing we learned with Hurricane Ian, roundabouts that were otherwise unobstructed continued to function whereas many signalized intersections either lost power or the signals were destroyed. As a resiliency tool, roundabouts are really effective, and at those on 41, which are evacuation routes, are really necessary.”

SLOWER BUT FASTER

The essence of the roundabout is to slow down vehicles moving through an intersection while simultaneously speeding up the commute by limiting stops and idling, and increasing capacity. Removing left-turn movements in the face of oncoming vehicles eliminates the need for stacking and prevents head-on and T-bone type collisions, when most injuries and fatalities occur. The most common crashes in roundabouts are lowspeed rear-ends and sideswipes.

“One of the reasons why roundabouts are so highly advocated for is

you don’t have to spend the energy of the car to slow down and then speed up, and then also just idle,” Corales said.

What makes roundabouts, efficient, especially those with multiple lanes, can also make them confusing to some drivers, particularly those who are unfamiliar with them. Arrows, stripes and flashing crosswalk beacons can be a lot to navigate for a driving culture accustomed to left- and right-turn lanes, through lanes and signals.

The Gulfstream roundabout may be the busiest in the city with vehi-

cles bound to and from the barrier islands mixing with through traffic at a multilane, uniquely shaped circle.

Corales said there will be a learning curve.

“But drivers will see the benefits of it. Gulfstream is large, but as long as you already know roundabouts and how they operate, I think it will be a seamless operation,” Corales said.

“Some sections of Gulfstream have been open for a while now, so they are experiencing parts of it. Once it’s open, they will experience the whole circle there.”

THE LEARNING CURVE

While the Federal Highway Administration reports a 75% reduction in intersection-related injuries and 35% fewer crashes in roundabouts nationwide, they’re not a silver bullet. Vigilance is still required as driving remains a human activity. While crashes in roundabouts tend to be less severe, they do occur anytime vehicles merge from different directions.

The crash rate at 10th Street and U.S. 41 roundabout, for example, was higher than the previous intersection configuration during its first full year of operation. According to Sarasota Police Department records, in 2017 there were 17 crashes reported at that intersection. In 2021, there were 31.

The learning curve appears to have flattened this year, though, as through Dec. 20 there are a reported 20 crashes in the 10th Street roundabout. That data, however, is not conclusive. Accidents are logged by where the vehicles are located when law enforcement arrives, not necessarily where the accident occurred.

Minor crashes that occur in intersections, for example, may be moved out of an intersection to a side street.

Typical causes of crashes in roundabouts include: n Driver uncertainty about yielding and right of way n Multiple merger points n Speeding n Not using the proper lane n Changing lanes

Eric Garwood

Vehicles flow through the traffic circle at U.S. 1 and Gulfstream Avenue on Thursday morning.

Longboat pushes ahead with its own roundabout project

LAUREN TRONSTAD STAFF WRITER

Although Longboat Key did not hide its animosity for the roundabout now complete in Sarasota, the town is actively pursuing a roundabout of a different kind on the north end of the barrier island.

In September 2018, the town voted to spend $22,760 from its contingency fund to hire CDM Smith to peer review plans for the now-open roundabout at Gulfstream Avenue and U.S. 41.

Arthuro Perez, CDM Smith’s senior project manager, told commissioners in February 2019 the then-proposed roundabout would be no better than the three-turn lane “no-build” alternative of the intersection as then stood.

The Florida Department of Transportation, however, has said its traffic projections by 2040 show the roundabout will improve the flow of traffic by 72% over the previous junction during peak morning traffic and 14% more during afternoon traffic.

According to the town, the goal of constructing the roundabout on Broadway Street at Gulf o f Mexico Drive is to help slow down traffic, provide for safer vehicular crossings and left turns, address elevation changes and enhance bicyclist and pedestrian safety.

Design for the roundabout is about 90% complete, according to Public Works Department Director Isaac Brownman.

Gulf of Mexico Drive is a state road, so all designs and permitting must go through the Florida Department of Transportation. Final permitting of the project is in progress.

As is with any project of this magnitude, residents in the Longbeach neighborhoods have raised concerns, though others have been supportive.

Resident of Longbeach Condominiums David Baughman says his concern stems from the roundabout design eliminating the center turn lane, on which he relies to turn into his neighborhood from the south.

“I really think the better thing would be to put a traffic light there that would be a blinker for most of the day because it’s not really necessary until traffic builds up,” he said.

He has come to terms with the fact that with design nearing completion that not much can be done to alter the town’s decision.

“It’s just a concern to me,” he said. “I totally admit I am being selfish because I use that center turn lane all the time.”

Funding sources and timeline for construction is to be determined. Construction must be coordinated with FDOT since the project falls under its jurisdiction, though state officials typically look for local spending before considering funneling state dollars into a project.

On Jan. 11, 2022, the Manatee County Commission approved transfers from the reserves in the transportation trust fund to the highway capital projects fund for the Broadway roundabout project as construction would lie within their county lines of the barrier island.

The agreement, which was executed at the commission’s Sept. 27, 2022 meeting, between the town and Manatee County states that the county will fund and reimburse the town 50% of the design costs or $150,000, whichever is less.

The town’s portion of the agreement requires it to complete the

Sarasota Memorial Presents

project through its own employees or through contracted service providers. The town will submit written requests and invoices each month to the county for payments that have been made.

The roundabout is being designed by Kimley-Horn.

In terms of next steps, the primary one is finding the money to fund the construction. Construction is expected to cost between $2 million and $3 million.

“The town does not have that kind of funding set aside to build this,” Brownman said.

At a Dec. 12 workshop meeting, Brownman told commissioners that he and the department were taking all the necessary steps to “accelerate” the project as much as possible.

“Accelerating the process would involve finding ways to fund construction outside of town funding sources sooner rather than later,” Brownman wrote in an email. “Right now, the Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization has the roundabout construction as cost feasible in the year 2030 of the regional Long Range Transportation Plan. The town’s goal is to work with FDOT and other relevant agencies to

obtain construction funding sooner.”

Construction for the roundabout will likely take about a year.

“Preferably, the town would start sometime after the underground project is completed and in a manner to minimize impacts during season, to the extent feasible,” Brownman wrote.

The final schedule would be coordinated once the town has the necessary funding for the project in place.

Discussion for the potential construction of one on the south end have been had but were only alluded to in Kimley-Horn’s final Gulf of Mexico Drive complete streets corridor plan, which was presented to the commission Dec. 12, 2022.

Brownman wrote that such construction of a roundabout on that side of the island would follow development consideration and review for plans with Longboat Key Club.

“Our thought is that when they are ready (to develop) then we will get serious about the roundabout,” Mayor Ken Schneier said.

It is likely that plans would be fit into those for the club’s development plans, and the town would look to them to help supplement costs of the circle’s construction.

At this time, construction on the roundabout at Broadway at Gulf of Mexico Drive is expected to begin around 2030.

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} Edward Stolarski, MD - 2023 Update on Hip & Knee Technology from Robotics to Anesthesia Techniques

Thursday, January 12, 4:30-5:30pm

} Ngoc-Lam Nguyen, MD - Failed Back Surgery

Wednesday, January 18, 4:30-5:30pm

} Sean R. Dingle, MD - Latest Improvements with Hip & Knee Arthritis Tuesday, January 24, 4:30-5:30pm

} Brian A. Schofield, MD - Treatment Options for Shoulder Arthritis Tuesday, January 31, 4:30-5:30pm

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Sarasota Memorial Hospital Auditorium - First Floor 1700 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34239

This is a FREE LECTURE SERIES with FREE VALET PARKING at main hospital entrance. Light refreshments served. RSVP required. Reserve your space by phone at (941) 917-7777 or online at smh.com/lectures. CDC GUIDELINES WILL BE FOLLOWED.

Longboat Key town staff is hoping to accelerate the start of the project as much as possible.

Lauren Tronstad

Wake up. Have hope.

Our word for 2023

OUR CHILDREN’S INHERITANCE: MASSIVE DEBT 2 008 2 023 % Chg./Avg. per Yr.

$9,609,950,454,664 $ 31,462,067,045,334 +227%/15%

U.S. National Debt

Debt per citizen $ 31,699 $94,133 +197%/+13%

Annual Federal Spending $2,794,765,974,448 $ 5,987,535,389,346 +114%

Annual Federal Deficit $238,158,505,455 $1,313,303,082,937 + 451%

Source: U.S. Debt Clock

MATT WALSH

Afive-day belated Happy New Year to all.

You remember Jan. 1, this past Sunday. On that one day, you felt optimistic, happy. You thought of and felt new beginnings, a determination to stop bad habits and make your life better.

Certainly, we’re guessing you also felt hope. Hope that whatever pulled you down personally in 2022, whatever pulled down our community, our state, our nation in 2022 will disappear.

We all hope for the better. We need hope.

That is our word.

Followers of this page at this time of year know that one of our traditions in the first edition of the year is to devote this space to a word … a word to live by through the year. And in light of the events ravaging this great nation for the second consecutive year, one word kept surfacing: We need hope.

We hope for the better, because we know deep down there is so much more good around us than there is bad. We have hope because deep in our psyches we believe good eventually will overtake the bad.

In our home turf of Longboat Key and Sarasota and Manatee counties, we are fortunate because good indeed far outweighs bad.

Thanks to the basic decency and goodness of the people who live along the west coast of Florida, and thanks to the law enforcement officers who serve us, we don’t have the runaway crime that afflicts so many communities across America.

And like him or not, you can credit Gov. Ron DeSantis, his leadership and the Legislature for not letting wokeism become a social cancer here the way it has been eating away the nation’s historical moral culture in so many other states. Florida clearly stands out now as the best, freest state in America in which to live and work. Talk about good fortune. Miraculously, the Tampa Bay region down to northern Sarasota County escaped the wrath of Hurricane Ian. Our hearts, prayers and best wishes continue to go out to the Floridians from Venice to Naples still trying to recover and rebuild. They need hope. Perhaps the inspiring words of the late Pope John Paul II at World Youth Day in 2002 can help them through:

“Although I have lived through much darkness … I have seen enough evidence to be unshakably convinced that no difficulty, no fear is so great that it can completely suffocate the hope that springs eternal … Do not let that hope die! Stake your lives on it!”

And perhaps those inspiring

words can be infused in all of us — and especially all across America. We need to be filled with hope in 2023. Even though we all felt buoyant and optimistic Jan. 1, on that one day, five days into the New Year and beyond many of the dark realities of 2022 will continue to drape our backs.

Hope? We in Florida should hope our fellow Americans — the 80 million who voted in 2020 for Joe Biden and the millions upon millions more who live obliviously — wake up. We should hope they wake up and see how their standards of living and quality of life are deteriorating day by day. We should hope in 2023 it dawns on them what the people they elected to Congress are doing to them — and especially to their children and grandchildren.

Surely, they see. Surely, they care. We hope.

Of course, they know their paychecks don’t buy as much as they did in 2020. They know it’s inflation. But we hope they would understand that the cause of inflation comes not from “Putin,” but from only one source: The federal government — the printing of too much money, brought on by Congress’ spending of money it doesn’t have.

Because of the legalized theft in Congress, the declining value of our dollars has been a forever trend.

But let’s go back only 15 years for an eye-opening snapshot of what they are doing to us and our heirs.

From the end of the George W. Bush era in 2008 and the election of Barack Obama, the purchasing power of your dollars has declined 30%. That $100 you spend at the grocery store today bought $141 worth of groceries in 2008.

That $50,000 annual salary in 2008? Today, it’s the equivalent of earning $35,460 — a loss of $14,540 in purchasing power. And that’s before taxes.

Just since Joe Biden’s election, the value of your dollar has declined 12.5%. Just in the past two years alone, the middle class has lost 40% of the purchasing power it has lost since 2008. Or turn that around: That loss is essentially a 40% increase in taxation.

That devastation is what Americans are feeling today. And it’s going to get worse in 2023, thanks to the $1.7 trillion “omnibus” spending bomb Congress passed at the close of 2022. That bill has 7,200 earmarks, including nearly $1 billion to provide food and shelter in sanctuary cities for illegal migrants pouring into the U.S.

Whatever local, state and federal governments spend to feed, house, provide medical care and other services to illegal immigrants is money the government is not saving or spending on its legal citizens.

Think also of the effects on all the

A passion for Longboat Key

He was gruff; sometimes offensively direct; certainly opinionated and wouldn’t hesitate to give his opinion to your face. His physical stature, along with his baritone voice made him intimidating.

That was George Spoll, longtime Longboat Key Town Commissioner and Mayor. But Spoll dwarfed all of those traits with this: Underneath the

façade, George Spoll had a big heart and deep, deep affection for Longboat Key and its residents. In his nearly 30 years of involvement in town affairs, he had one motivation: to make Longboat Key even better than it already was.

Spoll, 89, died Christmas night.

He should be and will be remembered as one of the town’s top civic leaders in the modern era. His imprint is extensive — as Observer Managing Editor Eric Garwood detailed in Spoll’s obituary on page 3 and on YourObserver.com.

For nearly three decades, begin-

SHRINKING DOLLAR POWER

The table shows how the purchasing power of $100 has shrunk over the past 15 years.

$100 today was worth… Annual decline

2008 $141.61 2016 $123.31 -12.9% 2020 $114.30 -7.3% 2021 $106.78 -6.5% 2022 $100 -6.3% Total -$41.61 -29.4%

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

local property owners and citizens along the borders of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California. Illegal immigration is destroying their communities’ ways of life. While this goes unabated and is filtering into all of the United States, Joe Biden has yet to communicate to the American people what objective he is trying to achieve and how this invasion of illegal immigrants is a benefit to American citizens.

All of the above is what Americans see and feel now. But what Congress and the White House are doing to our children and grandchildren is an even worse crime.

Look at the accompanying U.S. debt table. In the past 15 years, Congress has increased the national debt 227% — an average of 15% a year. What middle-class family do you know that can increase its annual income 15% a year?

And that total national debt doesn’t count the unfunded liabilities U.S. taxpayers will have to pay in the future to cover the debt on Social Security and Medicare — a staggering $173 trillion, or $518,625 per citizen.

This relentless looting of middleclass Americans’ income will continue to eat away and destroy future generations’ standard of living. The more money the federal government consumes to fund itself and pay the interest on its growing debt, the more punishment is inflicted on Americans.

In the words of the late economist Ludwig von Mises, “Depriving the individual of the freedom of the choice of consumption logically leads to the abolition of all freedom.”

Wow. What a downer of a way to start the New Year.

So much appears hopeless.

But that is exactly why we must start 2023 with hope. Indeed, history — from the Old Testament on — has shown us the power of hope.

To buttress any waning hope you might have, we turned to Rabbi Noam Marans, director of Interreligious and Intergroup Relations at the American Jewish Committee.

Rabbi Marans is an internationally recognized leader of Catholic and Jewish dialogue and an expert biblical scholar.

Asked what good does it do to have hope, Marans’ first words were: “Let me first state unequivocally, hope is a Jewish value.”

Or, put another way, the Israelites were the first to make hope an embedded value in their culture.

Even though the word “hope” does not appear in the first five books of the Old Testament, the concept came about via the early Jews’ exiles to Egypt and Babylon.

Marans cites the prophet Jeremiah, who lived around 585 B.C. Jeremiah sent a letter from God to the Jews exiled in Babylon. Among its words:

“Thus says the Lord: Cease your cries of weeping, hold back your tears! There is compensation for your labor, they shall return from the enemy’s land. There is hope for your future; your children shall return to their own territory.”

God says: Have hope. And then there is the prophet Zechariah. In Chapter 9:12, Zecheriah refers to the Jews as the “prisoners of hope.”

Hope is in their nature.

Throughout the Old Testament, Marans notes, “Hope is what kept the Jewish people alive who were disconnected from their homeland.”

And there is no better story of hope, Marans adds, than that of the Jewish people from the late 1800s through the 1940s. During this period, world Jewry was nearly destroyed. Ninety-percent of the Polish Jews were murdered.

“But somehow these ‘prisoners of hope’ were able to rise up and change the course of history,” Marans says. “They went from the nadir of powerlessness to selfempowerment. It was the activist hope making the possible happen.”

To be sure, Marans reminds us of the frequent truism: Hope is not a strategy. But it’s a necessary ingredient to a better life.

“An individual without hope,” he says, “is a person with no mechanism for dealing with the challenges of human beings. Life without hope is a life governed by inevitable tragedy and despondency.”

But hope “is the antidote to loneliness and despair,” Marans says. “It’s the power of community. When one belongs to a community, one inevitably embraces hope. Community in this sense implies friendships, relationships, family, neighborhood, shared humanity.”

“Shared humanity gives us hope,” Marans says. “Hope is the power that propels us to take action.”

In 2023, fill your heart and mind with hope. Have hope that all Americans will do the same.

Friedrich Hayek “Road to Serfdom,” 1944

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ning in 1993, Spoll immersed himself in everything Longboat. If there was a Longboat-based event, Spoll and his wife, Madelyn, would be there supporting every town civic group.

He was the defacto king of the Federation of Condominiums of Longboat Key for 20 years. During one of his many years as president, Spoll made one of his most significant contributions toward improving life on Longboat Key.

It was the late 1990s, and Longboat Key town government had developed the local and regional reputation as one of the worst places for contractors to do business and for the town’s employees to have snarling attitudes toward town residents.

Aware of the complaints, Spoll invited the town manager to a condo fed meeting.

In the wake of that meeting came a sea change.

To this day, customer service at Town Hall ranks among the best you’ll find in any government. Spoll made that happen.

An affectionate joke about Spoll is that whatever he did, he needed to be in charge.

Some have groused that was Spoll’s ego. It wasn’t. It was his unselfish passion — striving constantly to make life better for others on Longboat Key. He should be remembered as a model of citizenship — be involved to do good, make a positive difference.

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“If we are to build a better world, we must remember that the guiding principle is this — a policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy.”

CEO / Matt Walsh Vice President / Lisa Walsh Chairman Emeritus / David Beliles

is ‘hope.’ We all must have hope — hope that our fellow Americans wake up to what is being done to them. History shows us the power of hope. It propels us to take action.

Kiwanis Lawn Party tops record

off-island

club it raised $23,000, a little more than last year, with a lot less stress.

The silent auction also outdid itself, bringing in more than $4,000, which is a 25% to 30% increase over last year. The club is estimating to hit $95,000 after expenses this year.

LESLEY DWYER STAFF WRITER

Even with increased expenses connected to changing the venue to Ken Thompson Park, the Kiwanis Lawn Party continues to top itself each year.

Organizers met in December for their monthly Kiwanis Club meeting at the Lazy Lobster for a final review, where Kiwanis President Michael Garey humbly admitted to member Lynn Larson that she was right and he was wrong.

The debate was over the raffle prize. Last year’s 50/50 brought in $45,000. But selling so many tickets was a nightmare, and some people objected to more than $20,000 going to an individual versus a charitable cause — in this case, the Children’s Guardian Fund, an organization that supports local foster children.

Larson thought a $5,000 prize would bring in about the same without the backlash. Garey gave Larson a kiss on the cheek after telling the

The new location on City Island was a good fit. While already booked for next year, the club isn’t ruling out the Town Center Green.

“I just want to be safe-guarded that we don’t lose Ken Thompson Park,” Garey said. “What I don’t want to do is go to Town Center Green next year and not be able to go there the year after.”

The upside of the Town Center is that the party can stay on Longboat. The downside is that final plans are up in the air.

Ken Thompson can easily accommodate 1,200, while the Town Center would cap out at around 900.

“The added space allowed us to accommodate more restaurants and wineries this year as well,” Garey said. “What is most important to our Kiwanis Club is raising the most money for the kids. We feel the best chance at having future success for the Lawn Party is having it at a consistent site that can also handle growth.”

New

location called a success after club raises more money for charity than in 2021.

Lesley Dwyer

The Kiwanis Club of Longboat Key gathers for its monthly meeting to discuss the Dec. 3 Lawn Party by the Bay.

Professionally satisfying

LAUREN TRONSTAD STAFF WRITER

Manager Tom Harmer chose to describe his five-year tenure with the town.

Harmer’s last day with the town is Feb. 6, after a contract extension added six weeks to his previous plan to leave the barrier island Dec. 10.

“It has been an honor to finish my career here,” he said.

St. Lucie County Administrator Howard Tipton will move into Harmer’s role Jan. 30.

LOOKING BACK

The road to serving as town manager was one that Harmer had never really considered until he was approached by his predecessor, Dave Bullock.

Bullock had asked Harmer, who planned to retire as Sarasota County administrator, for names of people who might be a good fit.

After listing the names, Harmer recalls Bullock saying that Harmer had not included own name. Harmer explained that it wasn’t something he had considered.

“Good. You didn’t say no,” Harmer recalled Bullock answering.

That conversation was the catalyst for his decision to make the change and eventually the move to Longboat Key.

Asked what his favorite part of his job has been, Harmer had no hesitation in saying the residents.

“It’s the support that the community gives to the town and the services that are provided,” he said.

He recalled meeting 100 residents in his first 100 days as manager to gauge what the community was looking for from him.

“They all said ‘We like Longboat Key the way it is; you’re the new manager, so don’t sit here and mess

it up,’” he said.

He counts some of his biggest accomplishments as creating the general fund reserve policy and a reduction in the town’s millage rate.

He also spoke with pride of being a leader in the town during the bulk of the underground utility project, which is slated for completion mid2023.

Other projects he helped oversee include numerous beach renourishment projects, the groundbreaking for the Town Center Green and its privately funded stage.

The north end of the barrier island is now experiencing better phone service after the installation of nine Verizon cell poles.

Harmer played a role in seeing through the planning and funding stages for the sea level rise study, neighborhood-specific drainage studies and Gulf of Mexico Drive Complete Streets Corridor Plan.

Under his management, the town implemented an annual citizen survey to ensure citizens have a way to

provide direct feedback to the town.

With all of that taken into consideration, Harmer recalls expecting a slower lifestyle when he took the job. However, he was pleasantly surprised with how busy he was.

“I have been as busy as I wanted to be my entire five years here,” he said. “I like to be professionally challenged ... if anything, there hasn’t been much of a downtime.”

LOOKING AHEAD

Harmer has already sold his home and purchased a place in Winter Garden, near Orlando. He is looking forward to being closer to his two sons living in the Orlando area.

His focus will be shifting from policy and projects to his hobbies of cycling and martial arts.

He also intends to work with his son but has no intention of the work becoming his new full-time job.

“I have no desire to work full time for another city or county,” he said. “Because if I did, I would stay right here.”

FAREWELL MESSAGES

Town staff and elected officials sent in their farewell messages to Harmer, reflecting on their time working alongside him.

n Penny Gold: You have been an exceptional town manager and mentor. I have learned so much from you. Your knowledge, experience, temperament and compassion for Longboat Key residents made you the perfect person to lead us during this difficult period.

The town’s residents, staff and commission have been so fortunate to have you at the helm these past five years. Thank you for all you have done to move us forward. You will be missed.

n Mike Haycock: I will miss Tom Harmer. I started as a commissioner about the same time Tom became our town manager. His previous experience as a town manager, fire chief and his relationships with Sarasota County proved invaluable. Tom brought in an excellent staff, started many new communication tools (Talk of the Town, Monthly Town Manager briefs, annual survey). He did a great job balancing handson requirements of his job but also kept the Town Commission focused on long-term goals (through our yearly strategic plan). A few highlights of Tom’s career include rebuilding our relationships with Manatee and Sarasota counties and the city of Sarasota, execution of major beach, utility projects (undergrounding)and Town Center projects, building and retaining an excellent LBK Town staff, and getting the St. Regis project started. He leaves the town in great financial shape and focused on how to make Longboat Key an even better place to live.

n Maureen Merrigan: Thank you for your service to our beautiful Key, including the residents, staff and all of its

creatures (sea turtles and otherwise).

Thank you for addressing immediate needs with the urgency required and a level head, all while keeping a strategic eye on and planning for our future needs. Thank you for making Longboat Key a better place — and for making me a better commissioner. Wishing you and Dee all of the happiness in the world.

n Police Chief George Turner: I’d like to wish Tom and DeeDee the best in retirement, and thank Tom for giving me the opportunity to return to Longboat Key as Chief of Police.

n BJ Bishop: I have spent much of my life in public service in Virginia and now here in Florida. Tom is one of the most talented, skilled town managers I have ever worked with. He keeps everyone on an even keel, which is not easy when individuals feel strongly on differing opinions. He made a total commitment to this community — living here, being involved 24/7 with our community and helping the commissions he worked with focus on long-term goals and big-picture items. He was instrumental in finding a talented manager to take his place. I will miss our weekly chats and will miss Tom and Dee being here in Longboat Key.

n Ken Schneier: My five years as a commissioner, including three years as mayor, have overlapped almost exactly with Tom’s tenure. Whenever anyone asks how I like the job, I have said that it is easy, enjoyable and educational because of Tom. He is always calm, clear and a step ahead, even during hurricanes and pandemics. He has again gone above and beyond in tapping a replacement who will also be great, but I for one will miss Tom every day.

Harmer and colleagues look back at 5 years with town.

Lauren Tronstad

Tom Harmer will be replaced by Howard Tipton, who serves as St. Lucie County’s county administrator.

8:54 a.m.,

SUSPICIOUSLY SPARKLY

9:10 p.m., 5200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Suspicious incident: A gulf-front resident alerted police to a brightly decorated vessel heading north along the coast, about a mile offshore. An officer explained to the caller that there were several boat parades over the weekend.

SATURDAY, DEC. 10

DOCK, DOCK, LOOSE 11:55 a.m., 4100 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Boating call: A dock that likely broke away from a neighborhood during late-season tropical storms was causing a navigational hazard, police were told. The town’s marine patrol officer and another officer moved the adrift dock to a safe area to await removal by the Public Works Department.

SUNDAY, DEC. 11

PARKING WITH PUPS

1:56 a.m., 3600 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Suspicious vehicle: While on routine patrol, an officer stopped to investigate a car parked illegally on the west side of Gulf of Mexico Drive. The officer first issued a parking citation, then encountered the vehicle’s owner returning from the beach carrying two dogs. The officer issued a warning, as well.

HELPING HAND 8:02 a.m., 400 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Citizen assist: An officer rendered aid to a visually impaired caller who reported losing her bearings outdoors. The officer assisted the caller in finding her way.

MONDAY, DEC. 12

TREASURE ON THE BEACH 12:31 p.m., police headquarters

Found property: A beachgoer went

to the police station with a distinctively designed gold ring found in the sand while searching for seashells.

A police staffer locked the ring away for safe keeping until the owner can claim it.

TUESDAY, DEC. 13

NO NEED FOR SPEED

6:30 p.m., 500 block of Tarawitt Drive

Citizen dispute: An officer sent to investigate a report of a truck-trailer combination consistently driving faster than the neighborhood’s 20 mph limit spoke to the initial caller and learned more about who owns the vehicles. The caller said he confronted the driver of the vehicles about the speed and reported feeling threatened by his response.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 14

ALL SHOOK UP 10:06 a.m., 800 block of Binnacle Point Drive

Noise complaint: A resident called police to complain that a construction project nearby was causing vibrations in his home. The officer explained that the project was complying with town rules. In speaking with the construction supervisor, the officer learned two more days of work were planned, then the project would be completed.

FREE!

10:24 a.m., 1000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Fire assist: Police and fire-rescue personnel arrived at the scene of a stuck elevator to render assistance. The building’s maintenance staff was able to free the people.

BLOWN AWAY 10:59 a.m., 300 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Traffic hazard: A vehicle with outof-state license plates was spotted parked in the bike lane. As an officer pulled in behind to investigate, he was met with the vehicle’s owner who said an important document flew out of a window. The driver was not ticketed.

THURSDAY, DEC. 15

NO LONGER WELCOME 1 p.m., 3200 block of Harbourside Drive

Citizen dispute: Police were called

to the scene of a dispute between a supervisor and a recently fired employee. The dispute, which arose while the employee was collecting his belongings, concerned money. The fired employee was no longer on the premises when the officer arrived, but was told by telephone that he was not welcome to return to the property.

FRIDAY, DEC. 16

OH, HE WORKS FOR ME 10:40 a.m., 500 block of Yardarm Lane

Suspicious person: An out-of-town homeowner watching his property via a remote video system called the police when a man arrived in a white pickup and walked to the backyard and deck area. An officer found the interloper, though quickly learned he was a representative of a construction company assigned to survey the property’s dock. A check with the property owner confirmed the company was authorized to do such work.

FORTUNATE FIND 2:58 p.m., police headquarters Found property: A man came to the police department to turn in a credit card that did not belong to him. He told a police staffer he had recently dropped the contents of his own wallet and subsequently checked to see if everything was accounted for. In doing so, he discovered an extra credit card that did not belong to him. He surmised that a store employee helping him pick up his own belongings after the mishap could have mistakenly also given him someone else’s card. The police department employee was able to find the rogue card’s owner on the island and made arrangements for its return.

NOT A DROP 6:49 p.m., 5300 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive Citizen assist: Police tried to contact a resident who called to say there was no water service at his residence but could not get through. The officer referred the call to the town’s Public Works Department.

SATURDAY, DEC. 17

NOT AN EXPRESS LANE 10:42 a.m., 5500 block of Gulf of

SUNDAY, DEC. 11

OUR HOOMAN MADE US DO IT 1:59 p.m., Greer Island Dog on the beach: A pair of brown dogs, who apparently arrived by boat, were reported to police on the beach, in violation of town ordinances. An officer arrived and found the two brown canines alongside a boat. Following an explanation by the officer of town rules, and a verbal warning, the dogs and their owner departed the way they arrived.

Mexico Drive Citizen assist: An out-of-town woman who mistook a walking path at a town park for a driveway toward restrooms was advised by an officer about the navigational mistake she made behind the wheel. An officer arrived to find her backing out of a parking spot and explained the error of her ways. She said she had come to the same conclusion and had backed out the way she came. No citations were issued.

St. Regis concrete enough for 200-mile sidewalk

ERIC GARWOOD MANAGING EDITOR

From top to bottom, work is progressing on the Residences at St. Regis Resort Longboat Key as the project heads into its second year of construction.

With ground broken on the project in October 2021, the foundation building permits were awarded in early 2022.

From there, construction didn’t take long to go vertical at the 17.6acre former home of the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort.

Five buildings are working their way through construction: a fivestory hotel on the north end of the property, three five-story condo buildings on the south side of the property and a single-floor amenities building in between.

The 166-room hotel  will feature two restaurants, a beach grill and three bars.

Additionally, a ballroom with seating for 425 is planned, along with six meeting rooms and two board rooms.

The condo complex will have 69 units above parking garages on the ground level.

Prices range from $2 million to $22 million.

The project is expected to be finished in 2024. The residences are sold out.

In the company’s most recent construction update, Unicorp National Developments said that general contractor Moss & Associates is on time, despite hurricanes and the general state of the country’s construction supply chain.

Contractors purchased some 200

bathtubs in advance and are storing them in a Sarasota warehouse as a hedge against supply-chain disruptions.

Roofs and parking garages have been completed in both the condo and hotel sections of the project and window installation is underway.

Work is also underway installing structural steel in the hotel’s main ballroom, and chillers have been set into place in the hotel’s central energy plant.

Piping for the chillers is being installed now.

In mid-December, more than 60,500 cubic yards of concrete had been poured, which is about 6,740 truck loads.

Moss & Associates said this is enough concrete to build a 4-foot wide sidewalk 234 miles long.

The resort’s swimming pools are next on the list of milestones, and work is expected to begin on those in early January.

About 350 workers are shuttled to and from the worksite each day from a mainland staging area.

From the property’s beach groin, the scale of the project is evident.

Longboat Key fire station earns two awards

“Todd and his team came in early on in the process and did a thorough site assessment,” Fire Chief Paul Dezzi said in the release. “When he gave a very compelling, honest presentation on their findings, it was an easy decision for our board and commission.”

WORSHIP directory

Devon Meddock

Meddock, described by many as “The Darling of Manhattan,” is a singer, actor, and multi-instrumentalist based in New York City. Devon led the company of The Imbible nightly for two years at New World Stages and performs regularly at Feinstein’s/54 Below, The Green Room 42 and Lincoln Center, in addition to other renowned New York venues. Most recently, Devon performed with acclaimed jazz pianist Arthur Migliazza in Mystic, CT, played trumpet in Joe Iconis’ album debut concert in Manhattan, and spent summer 2022 in Long Island, NY playing trumpet and acting with the Argyle Theatre’s production of The Buddy Holly Story.

LAUREN TRONSTAD STAFF WRITER

Sweet Sparkman Architecture and Interiors received two national design awards from Firehouse Magazine and The Architect’s Newspaper for its design of Longboat Key’s Fire Station 92, which opened in August 2021 at 2162 Gulf of Mexico Drive.

Firehouse Magazine awarded Sweet Sparkman its Career Stations 2 Bronze award, while The Architect’s Newspaper awarded the design firm the Editor’s Pick commendation in its 2022 Best of Design Awards for the civic category.

“This project represents the pursuit of architecture’s highest ideals,” founder Todd Sweet said in a news release. “It’s functional, resilient and a visual landmark.”

Jenna Albers worked alongside Sweet as the project manager and lead architect for the fire station, which the release characterized as “a stylistically stunning structure.”

Sweet noted that the elevation of the station was a critical component in the design as the barrier island sits   about three feet above sea level.

Other notable functional characteristics of the station are its cancer-prevention strategies, which are focused on reducing a firefighter’s exposure to carcinogenic chemicals found in diesel exhaust and active fires. Diesel fumes are captured inside the apparatus bays, while firefighter equipment and clothing are corralled and cleaned in specialized rooms that are separate from the station’s living quarters.

“This wasn’t your typical fire station project in that the town of Longboat Key wanted something more sophisticated than a traditional fire station,” Albers said.

The exterior of the building was designed to reduce cooling costs while still allowing natural light inside through the main entrance.

The station, which was demolished before being rebuilt and remodeled, cost $4,251,085.

Heading into second year of construction, condo and hotel buildings are coming together on St. Regis site.

Eric Garwood

The station, designed by Sweet Sparkman Architecture, received awards from Firehouse Magazine and The Architect’s Newspaper.

Courtesy photo

The fire station received accolades for its safety measures and modern design.

YOUR NEIGHBORS

SAVE THE DATES

LESLEY DWYER STAFF WRITER

Longboat Key is a busy island once the snowbirds land. Social calendars fill up quickly, so make sure to pencil these 10 events into your 2023 calendars.

LORD’S WAREHOUSE FASHION SHOW

On March 9, clothes are headed from the racks to the runway and then back to the racks again. The Longboat Island Chapel’s consignment shop is hosting its annual garden-themed fashion show.

Models are allowed to buy one outfit of their choice, but the rest of the clothes, shoes and accessories go back to the store after the show. Be prepared to show off your own style — the best hat wins a prize this year.

March 4-5, and is one of the church’s biggest fundraisers. Shop for clothing, furniture, art, collectibles, housewares, jewelry and more.

FREEDOM FEST

This is a can’t-miss event that you can’t be late to because it starts with “The Shortest Parade in America” on Bay Isles Road. Following the parade, residents are invited to Bicentennial Park for a bite to eat and a butterfly release.

Freedom Fest has become a Fourth of July Longboat Key tradition. The parade is not just short, it’s adorable thanks to the Rotary Club’s Hot Diggity Dog parade and contest.

In 2022, Biscuit arrived on a float fashioned into a hot air balloon using an exercise ball. The competition is stiff. To be top dog, start creating your entrance now.

The military singalong is always a highlight, with members of each branch of service standing to belt out each anthem. And 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the event.

CHRISTMAS BAZAAR

It takes a lot of yarn and felt to get a Christmas Bazaar together. The Ladies Guild at St. Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Church work for months creating and crafting Christmas gifts.

The bazaar is held in November to give everyone a head start on Christmas shopping. And as of last year, there’s a new addition. Shop ’til you drop because the Maine Line food truck will be waiting.

INTERFAITH DINNER

There are a half-dozen places to worship from St. Armands Circle to the north end of Longboat Key depending on your religion, but once a year, they all come together as one. The interfaith service and dinner is held the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Each year, a different church or the temple hosts the service and dinner. Everything from dinner to preaching is on a rotation, so each faith is equally represented and the work is shared. Hundreds of people attend the event.

“I love the interfaith Thanksgiving service,” the Rev. David Marshall of All Angels Episcopal Church said. “I love having people get together, all different walks of life, to give thanks.”

the holiday season on Longboat Key by lighting the tree on Nov. 25.

The annual event has everything one could want in a holiday party— Christmas lights, hot chocolate, Santa Claus, candy canes and wine if you pop by the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce tent.

Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium brings their mascots, Gilly the Shark and Shelley the Sea Turtle. Light up Longboat is fun for all ages.

SAVOR THE SOUNDS

The three-part concert series will be held at Town Center Green. The “elegant picnic” is organized by the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce. The lawn and bands are provided, the chairs and picnic accouterments are left up to the guests. Publix will be offering boxed dinners that can be ordered.

Advanced tickets are $25, and $35 at the door. There are also VIP tables for eight available for $250.

CONCERT LINEUP

Gates open at 4:30 p.m.

Concerts begin at 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 4: Yesterdayze

Saturday, March 4: Tim McCaig

Saturday, April 1: Shantel Norman and the Shantel Norman Group

ROYAL RUMMAGE SALE

This event is so popular, there’s a sale and a pre-sale. Those early bird shoppers who can’t bear to miss a bargain can pay $5 to shop early.

Volunteers at St. Mary, Star of the Sea Church collect and sort donations all year long.

The rummage sale is being held

BREAST CANCER WALK

Not a lot of good things came out of the COVID-19 pandemic. But in the midst of shutdowns and cancellations, one can’t-miss event landed on Longboat: the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer satellite walk.

The 2023 walk will be the third that TPC has organized. The main event takes place at Nathan Benderson Park in on Oct. 21, but the LBK Paradise Striders team walks from The Paradise Center on Bay Isles Road through the Longboat Key Club’s Harbourside neighborhood and back.

VETERANS DAY

The Rotary Club of Longboat Key’s Veterans Day program is the patriotic can’t-miss event of the year. Local veterans are honored with music, flags, food, gifts and guest speakers.

LIGHT UP LONGBOAT

LAWN PARTY BY THE BAY

To be determined if the restaurant tents will be staked into Longboat Key soil, but the Kiwanis Lawn Party still is and always will be a Longboat Key event that you simply can’t miss.

The Kiwanis Club of Longboat Key organizes it, and even though it was held at Ken Thompson Park in 2022, the Town Center Green hasn’t been ruled out as the 2023 venue.

“What is most important to our Kiwanis Club is raising the most money for the kids. We feel the best chance at having future success for the Lawn Party is having it at a consistent site that can also handle growth,” President Michael Garey said. “We are open to returning to Town Center Green. We have reserved Ken Thompson Park just to be sure and because we have heard great comments about not just the space but also the logistics.”

The lawn party is held on the first Saturday of December each year and features local food and beverage vendors, live music and a grand prize of $5,000.

The event sees from 800 to 900 guests and has raised more than $90,000 for the Children’s Guardian Fund two years in a row.

As the oak tree grows, so does the party. Light up Longboat is held at the Town Center Green and kicks off

MEET THE COMMODORE

sibility over the next year: helping Sarasota Yacht Club thrive as one of the world’s most respected organizations of its kind.

GARWOOD MANAGING EDITOR

Timothy Clarke has nothing to do with Vanderbilt University nor did he play a role in the band that made Lionel Richie famous.

And forget about that entry-level computer from the 1970s. Still, the Longboat Key banking and advertising executive is every bit a commodore, one with the respon-

In plain terms, he’s recently been elected to serve in a CEO-like role for the 800-member club on Ringling Causeway, leading the way on a slew of initiatives that include philanthropic outreach, growing the membership base and working toward physical improvements.

The position is voluntary and unpaid, but he and commodores past say it’s a gratifying one to keep the yacht club sailing straight and true.

“Our job is policy, setting strategic direction,” he said in an interview recently in the club’s boardroom.

“And as commodore, I am also the chair of the board of directors, and the board is made up of nine members in good standing. So, we really set the policy and the direction for the club; then management executes.”

While Clarke, a founding director of three banks and the founder of his own advertising and public relations company, sometimes makes the yacht club sound like a business — it is, by the way, with publicly reported revenue of about $7.5 million in 2020 as a nonprofit 501 (c)(7) organization — a major portion of his tenure revolves around looking to the future on several fronts.

Among them, keeping club’s

ON THE JOB WITH THE COMMODORE

A look at Timothy Clarke’s career highlights: Gulfside Bank: Founding director and chair of the board (2018-present)

Clarke Advertising and Public Relations: Founder (19872005)

Saga Communications: Board of Directors and chair of the Audit Committee (2013-present)

Sarasota Bank: Founding director (1992-2003)

Insignia Bank: Founding director (2006-2017)

FCCI Insurance: Past director Tervis Tumbler Co.: Past Director

standing in the yachting community.

Forbes magazine includes Sarasota Yacht Club in its list of 50 “platinum-rated” clubs worldwide, alongside the likes of Royal Thames Yacht Club in London, Yacht Club de Monaco and the Royal Bombay Yacht Club in India.

“For members, we want them to have, you know, the time of their life here,” Clarke said. “It’s about socializing and entertainment and networking and meeting people.

A lot of our members come here as newcomers to the community, and they look to create a social network for themselves. And a club is a wonderful place to do that.”

A boater himself, Clarke says the club experience, by default, involves the boating world, but beyond that, Sarasota Yacht Club is many things:

n It’s an entertainment destination.

n It’s a gathering place for many of the club’s other sub-clubs: Clarke said one of the yacht club’s most popular subsets is a group who fancy classic cars and enjoy monthly drive-up gatherings.

n It’s a fine-dining location.

n It’s a place for kids to learn about getting along in the world.

Clarke said he’s especially proud of the programs put forward for youngsters, either at the helm of small boats — often competing in the Optimist class, the largest youth

racing class in the world — or away from the water entirely.

For children 6-12, Clarke said there are events and gatherings meant to guide them toward learning etiquette and other life skills. Older kids, Clark said, take on their own role of philanthropy, recently raising about $35,000 with a dogfashion show.

“They raised an enormous amount of money,” he said. “The kids do it all. I mean, they recruit it, they sell it, they, raise the money they put on the program.”

The kids aren’t the only ones working for others.

Clarke said one of the centerpiece efforts of the Sarasota Yacht Club puts on are charitable events that drive annual grants of about $50,000.

Boating and sailing, though, are the prime focus of any such club.

The club’s location is perfect, he said, plotted by John Ringling for its depth and proximity to New Pass and Big Pass, tidal action through which keeps nearby waters sparkling.

The docks themselves, though, have been around since the Eisenhower and Nixon administrations.

“The center dock is 70 years old, the other two docks are pushing 50, probably over 50,” he said, adding that designs for renovations are done, and permits could be granted in the next few months.

“So, we’re sending it out for bids. We don’t know how much it’s going to cost and if we can afford it or if we have to do it in pieces or anything like that.”

Also on the horizon, 2026 is the club’s 100th anniversary.

“That’ll be a major milestone, a big marker,” he said. “And we have many exciting things planned, but we’re starting to push ahead on that one.”

Looking forward is a big part of the club commodore’s job, one that Clarke said he relishes. Yes, it’s a lot of work, but ...

“It’s a great honor. It really is,” Clarke said. “I just love the club. It’s been a great experience for me. I’ve had wonderful friends, have had wonderful experiences here since I’ve always been a boater and I enjoy all of that aspect of it. It’s been an easy thing for me to step into and to say it’s a high honor.”

ERIC

Longboat Key exec takes the helm at Sarasota Yacht Club.

Eric Garwood

Commodore Tim Clarke relaxes in the bow of his boat at Sarasota Yacht Club.

THURSDAY,

From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Education Center at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road. A panel of doctors will be giving helpful, supportive information on both the joys and challenges. Free to the public. Zoom and in person available. Call 383-8222.

SUNDAY, JAN. 8

SQUABBLES

From 2-3:30 p.m. at the Education Center at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road. A smart, insightful, funny play about family squabbles presented by the Arts Alliance Play Readers. Cost is $20; $25 for nonmembers. Call 383-8222.

TUESDAY, JAN. 10

LECTURE SERIES

From 3-4:30 p.m. at the Education Center at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road. This week’s topic is “The Demise or Betterment of Capitalism.” Cost is $15 for members; $20 for nonmembers. Call 383-8222.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 11

OFF THE CLOCK

From 5-6:30 p.m. at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, 2001 Siesta Drive, Sarasota. The Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce invites you to come network with local businesses. Cost is $5 for members; $10 for nonmembers. Call 383-2466 to register.

RECURRING EVENTS

MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY LONGBOAT LIBRARY

The Longboat Library is open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday at 555 Bay Isles Road. On Wednesdays, most books are on sale for $1 or less. Call 383-2011 for information.

MONDAYS

GENTLE CHAIR YOGA

From 9-10 a.m. at the Education Center at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road. Improve flexibility, strength and overall physical functioning while stabilized in a chair. Eight sessions from Jan. 9 to Feb. 27. Cost is $95 for members; $110 for nonmembers. Pay as you go available. Call 383-8222.

THE WORLD’S GREATEST SHORT STORIES

From 9-10:30 a.m. at the Education Center at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road. Read assigned works and discuss. Four sessions from Jan. 9-30. Cost is $75 for members; $85 for nonmembers. Call 383-8222.

STRETCH AND STRENGTHEN

From 10-11 a.m. at The Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road. Focus is on strength training and flexibility for balance. Suzy Brenner leads the class. Fee is $15. Walk-ins welcome. Call 383-6493.

ADVANCED BRIDGE

From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Education Center at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road. A strategic approach to bridge bidding and play. Six sessions from Jan. 9 to Feb. 13. Fee is $85 for members; $95 for nonmembers. Zoom and in person available. Call 383-8222.

THINKING OUT LOUD: TIMELY TOPICS WITH MIKE KARP

From 1-2:30 p.m. at The Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road. Topics will include U.S. and world current affairs, popular culture and topics relevant to seniors. Cost is $15. Walk-ins welcome. Call 383-6493.

MIXED INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED BRIDGE

From 1-2:30 p.m. at the Education Center at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road. Eight sessions from Jan. 9 to Feb. 27. Fee is $115 for members; $125 for nonmembers. Call 383-8222.

BEGINNER’S BRIDGE

From 3-4:30 p.m. at the Education Center at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road. A review of the fundamentals; players should have some knowledge of the game. Eight sessions from Jan. 9 to Feb.

BEST BET

FRIDAY, JAN. 6 SHABBAT DINNER WITH CEO APRIL GLASCO 5:30 p.m. at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road.

April Glasco, with Second Chance Last Opportunity, empowers individuals from all walks of life to gain a sense of self-worth through counseling, workshops, seminars. Fee is $35 for members; $45 for nonmembers. Call 383-3428. File photo

27. Fee is $115 for members; $125 for nonmembers. Call 383-8222.

MONDAYS, WEDNESDAYS AND FRIDAYS

PUMPING THE PRIME

From 10-11 a.m. at Bayfront Park Recreation Center, 4052 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Cost is $10 for members; $15 for nonmembers. Call 361-6411 ext. 2212.

MONDAYS, WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS

LORD’S WAREHOUSE THRIFT STORE

The thrift store will be open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 6140 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Donations are accepted during business hours. Call 383-4738.

MONDAYS AND FRIDAYS BODY SCULPT

From 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at Bayfront Park Recreation Cen-

ter, 4052 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Strength training and body sculpting with weights, resistance bands and towels. Cost is $10 for members; $15 for nonmembers. Call 361-6411 ext. 2212.

TUESDAYS

QI GONG

FOR HEALTH AND VITALITY

From 9-10 a.m. at the Education Center at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road. Eight sessions from Jan. 10 to Feb. 28. Cost is $95 for members; $110 for nonmembers. Pay as you go available. Call 383-8222.

SUPREME COURT TOP CASES

From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Education Center at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road. A seminar-style course with assigned readings. Zoom only. Four sessions from Jan. 10-31. Cost is $75 for members; $85 for nonmembers. Call 383-8222.

YOGA

From 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at The Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road. Debbie Debile of Feel Good Yoga & Massage leads a gentle yoga class that can be done on a mat or in a chair. Cost is $15; free for members. Call 383-6493.

MEMORABLE MOVIE SCENES

From 1-2:30 p.m. at the Education Center at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road. Watch and discuss great movie scenes. Eight sessions from Jan. 10 to Feb. 28. Cost is $120 for members; $130 for nonmembers. Zoom and in person available. Call 383-8222.

Observer Challenge returns in February

The Observer Challenge takes place Feb. 3-5 at the Longboat Key Public Tennis Center.

LESLEY DWYER STAFF WRITER

February marks the 22nd edition of the Observer Challenge tennis tournament at Longboat Key’s Public Tennis Center. More than 100 players compete each year.

Tennis Center Manager Key Thayer attributes its success to its format.

Players are divided into fourperson teams — two men and two women. They play a six-game pro set within each match. Men and women play doubles. When finished, one man and one woman go straight into singles, and the other players are up next. It’s the best of five pro sets. Whoever wins moves onto the next round.

“We’ve kept it the same format because it seems to be that people end up really liking it because it’s something different,” Thayer said. Play begins Feb. 3 and continues

CHALLENGE HISTORY

The Longboat Observer has hosted this tournament since 2001, when Observer Media Group CEO Matt Walsh extended an olive branch to the tennis center after an editorial that argued against its creation. The tournament has been an annual event on the Key ever since.

through Feb. 5, but first, a party.

The players party is being held the night before and is included in the $50 entry fee. Nonplaying guests can attend for $25. The party is at the Tennis Center and is catered by Harry’s Continental Kitchens.

The public is invited to the party and tournament. While a few players travel over the bridge from Bird Key and Sarasota to attend, most of the players live on Longboat.

“It’s kind of neat because everybody comes and watches their friends, and everybody knows each other,” Thayer said, “So most of the people really enjoy coming out and even watching it. It’s a good community tournament.”

For information, call 316-8367.

File photo

Andy and Karen Adams and Sandra Weiss and Chris Wetzig were 2019 Division 1 champions.

Bird Key property sells for more than $5.3 million

ADAM HUGHES RESEARCH EDITOR

Ahome on Bird Key tops all transactions in this week’s real estate. GSR Florida Property Holdings II LLC sold the home at 639 Mourning Dove Drive to Rajesh and Renuka Malik, of Sarasota, for $5.39 million. Built in 1967, it has five bedrooms, five-and-a-half baths, a pool and 5,172 square feet of living area. It sold for $3.15 million in 2018.

VIZCAYA AT LONGBOAT KEY

PNC Bank and Ann Whitney, trustees, sold the Unit 1C2 condominium at 2333 Gulf of Mexico Drive to Gordon and Mary Jo White, of Dayton, Ohio, for $4.1 million. Built in 1997, it has four bedrooms, four-and-ahalf baths and 3,895 square feet of living area. It sold for $2,240,700 in 2000.

SANCTUARY AT LONGBOAT KEY CLUB

Rebecca and William Davis, trustees, of Windermere, sold the Unit A-504 condominium at 575 Sanctuary Drive to Daniel and Joanne Cotton, of Melrose, Massachusetts, for $2.42 million. Built in 1990, it has three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 1,785 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,225,000 in 2007.

BIRD KEY

Sanford Gerber, of Atlanta, sold his home at 324 Bobwhite Way to Edward Peyton Gage and Kathi-Ann Gage, of Sarasota, for $1,525,000. Built in 1974, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,870 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.3 million in 2022.

L’ELEGANCE ON LIDO BEACH

Vicki Deweese and Mary Dell Deweese, trustees, of Memphis, Tennessee, sold the Unit A-102 condominium at 1800 Benjamin Franklin Drive to Shawn and Jennifer O’Malley, of Sarasota, for $1.35

million. Built in 1996, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 1,980 square feet of living area. It sold for $650,000 in 2003.

THE PRIVATEER NORTH

Fay Lazaris, of Bradenton, sold the Unit 803 condominium at 1050 Longboat Club Road to Todd and Melissa Kontny, of Lakeland, for $1.25 million. Built in 1974, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,409 square feet of living area. It sold for $575,000 in 2020.

BAYPORT BEACH AND TENNIS CLUB

William O’Donnell III and Mary Patricia O’Donnell, of Longboat Key, sold their Unit 510 condominium at 510 Bayport Way to Harvey Zale Hoffman and Abbie Epstein Hoffman, of Longboat Key, for $995,000. Built in 1980, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,456 square feet of living area. It sold for $680,000 in 2020.

BEACHPLACE

Jeremy and Rochelle Ann Lewis, of London, England, sold their Unit 101 condominium at 1095 Gulf of Mexico Drive to MJHL LLC for $858,800. Built in 1981, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,172 square feet of living area. It sold for $605,000 in 2008.

LIDO SURF AND SAND

Shawn and Jennifer O’Malley sold their Unit 317 condominium at 1104 Benjamin Franklin Drive to Theresa Thomas and Rostislav Kopylkov, of Sarasota, for $840,000. Built in 1976, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,494 square feet of living area. It sold for $460,000 in 2020.

LONGBEACH VILLAGE

Joan Stiefel, of Delray Beach, sold her Unit 14 condominium at 7001 Gulf of Mexico Drive to Shawn Leven, of Longboat Key, for $825,000. Built in 1974, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,170 square feet of living area.

WHITNEY BEACH

McElwain Sisters Holdings LP sold the Unit 172 condominium at 6750 Gulf of Mexico Drive to Homayoun and Tara Saidai, of Caramel, Indiana, for $675,000. Built in 1970, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,377 square feet of living area. It sold for $560,000 in 2021.

CLUB LONGBOAT

& TENNIS

BEACH

Tyler Reiber sold his Unit 336 condominium at 5055 Gulf of Mexico Drive to David and Janice Franklin, of Tampa, for $652,500. Built in 1973, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,484 square feet of living area. It sold for $665,000 in 2007.

THE PRESIDENTIAL

Kathleen Klos and Mark Baran, of Granby, Massachusetts, sold their Unit 307 condominium at 845 Benjamin Franklin Drive to Michael and Elisa Fitzmartin, of Westerville, Ohio, for $575,000. Built in 1974, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 991 square feet of living area. It sold for $107,400 in 1990.

SEAPLACE

Graham and Mary Turner, of Ontario, Canada, sold their Unit M2-106-C condominium at 1945 Gulf of Mexico Drive to Nancy Patricia O’Rourke, of Longboat Key,

for $555,000. Built in 1978, it has two bedrooms, one bath and 928 square feet of living area. It sold for $115,000 in 1990.

BEACH HARBOR CLUB Kevin and Joan Gill, of Spotsylvania, Virginia, sold their Unit E-101 condominium at 3806 Gulf of Mexico Drive to Charles Edward Schook, of Louisville, Kentucky, for $450,000. Built in 1970, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,085 square feet of living area. It sold for $269,500 in 2016.

WINDWARD BAY Stephanie Jacquette, of Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, sold her Unit 3-V-11 condominium at 4730k Gulf of Mexico Drive to Robert Stephen Gathman and Mary Gathman, trustees, of Odessa, for $300,000. Built in 1974, it has one bedroom, one bath and 812 square feet of living area. It sold for $150,000 in 2008.

In with the new

Courtesy photo

The home at 639 Mourning Dove Drive was built in 1967, it has five bedrooms, five-and-ahalf baths, a pool and 5,172 square feet of living area.

NATURE’S BEAUTY WITH

FORECAST

FRIDAY, JAN. 6

High: 66 Low: 52

Chance of rain: 3%

SATURDAY, JAN. 7

High: 71 Low: 57

Chance of rain: 3%

SUNDAY, JAN. 8

High: 73 Low: 60 Chance of rain: 6%

TIDES

SUNRISE

Thursday, Jan. 5 7:21a 5:50p

Friday, Jan. 6 7:21a 5:51p

Saturday, Jan. 7 7:21a 5:51p

Sunday, Jan. 8 7:21a 5:52p

Monday, Jan. 9 7:21a 5:53p

Tuesday, Jan. 10 7:21a 5:54p

Wednesday, Jan. 11 7:21a 5:55p

MOON PHASES

Jan. 14

Jan. 6 Full Jan. 21

Highs Lows

Thursday, Jan. 5 9:58p 6:20a

Friday, Jan. 6 10:37p 6:56a

Jan. 28 First

Saturday, Jan. 7 2:41p 11:17p 7:29a 5:11p

Sunday, Jan. 8 2:49p 11:58p 8:02a 6:03p Monday, Jan. 9 2:59p 8:33a 6:58p

Tuesday, Jan. 10 12:40a 3:14p 9:03a 7:58p

Wednesday, Jan. 11 1:26a 3:34p 9:33a 9:03p

THE STARS by Drew Schmenner, edited by David Steinberg

Luis Campos

Marc Preininger

LIVING

Key Life is a new magazine publishing February, May and November from the Observer Media Group.

Key Life shines a light on the people, experiences, culture, arts, architecture and business that set the keys apart –and makes them so special.

Vacation/ Seasonal Rentals

Delightful Gulf-to-bay living at L’Elegance on Lido Beach! This sixth-floor, 3BR island getaway is a flourish of gorgeous contemporary updates perfectly complemented by spectacular direct views from the Gulf of Mexico out to Sarasota Bay and downtown’s city skyline. From almost any room, you can look out through walls of floorto-ceiling glass into the calming waters of the beach or bay. East and west-facing terraces are the perfect spots to soak up breathtaking ocean and city views. Secure parking, resortstyle amenities, and an ideal central locale are wonderful finishing touches.

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