Longboat Observer 2.23.23

Job of a lifetime

TOWN

Flipping pancakes and art

The residents of Seaplace may wear aprons as often as swimsuits. The grills and griddles were hot on Feb. 18 for the condominiums’ annual pancake breakfast.

It was a gorgeous Saturday morning, so breakfast stayed outside on the patio. The menu was fluffy pancakes with grilled sausages from Detwiler’s Farm Market and a side of art.

The clubhouse was turned into an art gallery for the day, where residents could display anything they’ve painted or made. The pieces ranged from original oil paintings to handmade cards and jewelry. Many of the items were up for sale, and Madeline Wikler gave a watercolor painting demonstration following breakfast.

Bishop goes to Washington

File photo

Commissioner BJ Bishop recently arrived back to the barrier island after a trip to Washington, D.C., where she acted as the Longboat Key representative to the Manasota League of Cities.

She acted as the Key’s representative when discussing with members of Florida’s congressional delegation key issues that affect municipalities.

Some of those issues include cybersecurity funding, community development block grants and reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program.

“It was a great trip,” Bishop said in a news release. “All of the Senate and House offices we were able to meet with gave us positive feedback on our key issues.”

Bishop was accompanied by more than 50 other city leaders from across the state.

Lesley Dwyer

Lesley Dwyer

Ruby and Kay Cox win for best costume at the Bird Key Yacht Club’s dog parade. The event raised more than $4,000 for Nate’s Honor Animal Rescue.

Lauren Tronstad

Sips specializes in coffee, juices and smoothies.

Electric vehicles spark conversation

The conversation has returned as the town debates how best to serve residents with electric vehicles.

Electric vehicles have circled back as a hot topic on Longboat Key ahead of a workshop being held on the vehicles and other green initiatives.

The need for more charging stations has been an on-again off-again conversation in the town for some time.

Currently, the town only has one town-owned electric vehicle charging station. The station is located at

NEARBY CHARGING STATIONS

Residents can also access other charging stations on both the north and south ends of the island:

NORTH OF LONGBOAT

n 1335 Gulf Drive S., Bradenton Beach

n 5418 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach

n 505 Pine Ave., Anna Maria

SOUTH OF LONGBOAT

n 1703 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota (free with ChargePoint card)

n 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota (free for use at Mote Marine Museum and Aquarium)

n 50 Fillmore Drive St., Armands Key ST. ARMANDS CIRCLE

n 47 North Adams Drive, Sarasota, FL 34236

n 407-415 Monroe Drive, Sarasota, FL 34236

n 700 Benjamin Franklin Drive, Sarasota, FL 34236

SARASOTA

n Tesla supercharging station: 5903 Honore Ave., Sarasota, FL 34238

Bayfront Park. The station is free,but can only accommodate one car at a time.

Whitney’s on the north end has a charging station, but it only accommodates Tesla vehicles. Private charging stations include one for residents only at Marina Bay and a members-only station at Longboat Key Club. The number does not account for visitors to the island who might be seeking a charge.

However, resident David Novak has taken it upon himself to begin discussions with Bank of America.

The idea came after he noticed the bank’s overflow lot, the corporation’s support of electric vehicles and a Florida Power and Light transformer nearby.

“It would certainly be a benefit to the community,” he said.

Earlier this month, the corporation announced new loan options that would allow buyers to finance their electric vehicles and charging stations at the same time.

He emailed the regional president of the bank, who expressed interest in moving forward with the idea and forwarded it on to higher-ups.

About three months have passed since then, with Novak only receiving correspondence that the bank needs more time to consider the idea and potential next steps.

Although no formal agreement has been reached, Bank of America representatives have been notified of the town’s workshop.

The possibility of adding additional charging stations within the town is not a new idea.

A program from Florida Power and Light’s “EVolution” grant program, which if approved in 2021, would have paid for the town to install up to four more stations on the Key. However, commissioners decided to vote against the installation after knowing the town would be responsible for paying for the electricity needed to power the stations.

After the contract’s seven-year term, the town would have had to purchase the charging stations to continue using them. The charg -

ELECTRIC VEHICLES ON LONGBOAT

As of September 2022, the town has 176 battery electric vehicles and 39 plug-in hybrid vehicles registered within the town.

ing stations were estimated to cost between $35,000 and $55,000 each, in addition to about $2,000 in annual maintenance.

“As a town, we really didn’t want to get involved in paying for other people’s power,” Schneier said. “We were happy to facilitate discussions and work with condominium properties in terms of permitting and

whatever may be necessary to enable property owners to install charging stations. We weren’t so fond of creating a few stations here and there to have the taxpayer pay for whoever charges their vehicle.”

Some condominium properties allow their residents to have a private charging station installed and measured along with the residence uses so as to not increase costs for residents without electric cars.

However, Schneier said during conversations over time, condominium owners have voiced that some of their properties simply don’t have enough power coming to the property to allow for the individual stations.

“That’s an issue (the associations) are confronting, but I am not sure there is an answer to it,” he said.

Lauren Tronstad

The town has one free level two charging station available to drivers at Bayfront Park.

LEADING THE ST. REGIS

Project executive Josh Mutchler leads over 500 people every day on the Residences at the St. Regis Longboat Key project.

LAUREN TRONSTAD STAFF WRITER

No day is the same when working on the $800 million, two-and-a-halfyear-long construction of the Residences at the St. Regis Longboat Key.

After more than 20 years working in construction, project executive Josh Mutchler is the one charged with overseeing the largest project to be developed on Longboat Key since Arvida started shaping the Key in the 1970s.

In a typical work week, which usually lasts from Monday to Saturday, Mutchler can spend as many as 11 hours per day on the project site.

He works for Moss, one of a few contracting teams that work together to build the hotel and condominiums. The primary two teams include a superintendent team, which handles the construction, and a project management team, which handles the paperwork, pricing and designs.

The majority of Mutchler’s days are spent working to collaborate with agencies covering the design and construction of the project.

“A lot of your days are in meetings going through that coordination between teams,” he said. “We do a lot of pricing changes. There’s a lot of changes on these jobs with additions and adjustments.”

As small issues arise, which the team prefers to call “management opportunities,” they will gather to discuss the origin of the issue, how to address it and ways to prevent it from happening again.

“My main focus on the management side is making sure we get that material to the gate,” he said. “A lot of our day is spent tracking deliveries and making sure we know when things are coming.”

Looking ahead as much as six months is crucial for a project of this size, he said, especially with the state of the supply chain and longer lead times.

As far as his responsibilities go, the safety of the employees is his top priority.

“They’re here to do a job and make a living, take care of their families,” he said. “The last thing we want to do is have anybody get hurt.”

Other responsibilities he has to keep in check include ensuring the project stays on schedule and stays within budget. Upon completion, the project is estimated to cost $800 million.

Mutchler works with superintendents on the project to ensure the entire team is getting along as best they can when each week workers tend to see one another more than their families.

WHAT IT TAKES

A project of this size requires a lot of different materials (and people) in high quantities.

These are just a few of the components going into the project.

n 6,500 tons of reinforcing rebar, which is the equivalent of about 538 school buses

n 850 windows, budgeted at about $9 million

n 166 hotel rooms

n 69 condominiums, which range in size from 1,553 square feet to 5.895 square feet

n 29 elevators

n 42 bodies of water, which include private pools

n Four water features including a saltwater lagoon, hotel pool and a lazy river

n $4 million planned for spending on light fixtures

n 70,000 cubic yards of concrete. The amount is enough to fill 21 Olympic-sized swimming pools

n More than 3,000 people will have worked on the project at one time or another by its completion. About 500 people work on site each day.

He also helps keep up communication with neighbors of the construction site. Weekly emails are sent to property owners around the property to keep them updated. If complaints arise, meetings can be scheduled with the neighbor on-site to discuss the issue and give them a clear view of what is going on and why certain noises are made.

“Our goal is to be super courteous to our neighbors,” he said. “We’re disrupting their lives for two years. We’re making noise, making dust. We want to be as respectful as we can.”

As one can imagine, a lot of materials — and people — are needed to successfully build a project, especially one of this size.

Materials, supplies and equipment for the project were purchased in advance in preparation for the likely long delivery times that developers across the country are facing following the pandemic.

A 40,000-square-foot warehouse was rented in Sarasota for storage of the materials that weren’t needed right away. For example, as equipment and steel poles were procured for the project, they were placed in the warehouse until crews got the go ahead to move them to the site.

At the moment, as the buildings are being constructed, materials needed for the current phase of the project are kept in spaces not being actively worked in.

About 500 workers show up to the site each day, but in lieu of not making traffic more congested in the area and just a lack of parking on the lot, workers park in a garage on St. Armands Circle before taking a shuttle to the work site.

A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE

When working on a project the size of the St. Regis project, it is easy to get stuck in the day to day. Mutchler tries to ensure he and his colleagues remember the grandeur of the proj-

ect they are undertaking.

“I’ve done condos of the size we’re doing condos here,” he said. “I’ve done hotels the size we’re doing here, but never at the same time. This is a unique job. You don’t see this kind of property on the beach being developed to this level.”

Mutchler’s favorite part of the project is the people he gets to work with every day.

“The biggest joy I get is watching people be successful on this team and work hard and be able to work on this iconic project,” he said. “I keep telling them ‘You’re not going to get this chance again.’”

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 project is in construction on a 17.6-acre lot of the previous home of the Colony Beach and Tennis Resort.

The last slab of concrete for the whole project was poured Feb. 16, Mutchler said. The final pour will be formally celebrated at a private topping-off ceremony Friday, Feb. 24.

The project remains on track for completion in July 2024.

More than a year into construction, project developer Unicorp wants to change parking plans and build a three-level parking garage on the northeast corner of the property.

If approved, the garage would replace a plan to install mechanical lifts in the already-approved ground level garage under the hotel building.

The multilevel garage would be built on the site of an already approved outdoor surface lot.

In replacing the mechanical lift spaces and surface lot, parking spaces would increase from 100 to 157. The proposal could go before the town’s Planning and Zoning Board as early as March.

Photos by Lauren Tronstad

Project executive Josh Mutchler spends upwards of 11 hours per day on the site.

Portions of the hotel already have windows in place.

Longboat couple show CARE for retirees

LAUREN TRONSTAD STAFF WRITER

Longboat Key snowbird couple

Mike and Lynn Madden are hoping to bring a safety program to the barrier island.

The two founded the nonprofit Center for Aging Resources and Enrichment at LeMoyne College in New York about five years ago with the desire to help retirees explore their individualism and self-worth now that they are without a job title.

The idea was Lynn’s after working at the college and wanting to help colleagues who had retired.

Up north, the program focuses on three pillars: spirituality, health care and education.

The education component takes center stage in the program that the couple is hoping to circulate on Longboat Key, focusing on scams, fraud and safety in and out of the home.

With the help of town Code Enforcement Officer Chris Kopp, the Maddens have come up with ideas for about 12 modules to address “the increasing need of seniors to protect themselves in a changing environment.”

The program was previewed at a recent Kiwanis Club meeting, and the couple said they received good feedback.

“None of it was negative,” Lynn said. “The videos prompted them to share their own personal experiences.”

She recalled common experiences shared through emails and text messages stating people targeted needed to provide social security or bank information to regain access to their financial accounts.

One woman suggested the couple look into a course about “catfishing,”

What’s up at The Paradise Center?

546 Bay Isles Rd, LBK 941.383.6493 More Info: TheParadiseCenter.org

MONDAYS: 10-11 Stretch & Strengthen, 1 -3 Thinking Out Loud Discussion Group

TUESDAYS: 10-11 Qi Gong, 11:15-12:15 Yoga, 1 -3 Mah Jongg *

WEDNESDAYS: 10-11 Beginner Tai Chi

THURSDAYS: 10-11 Zumba & Pilates, 1 -3 Open Mah Jongg

FRIDAYS: 10-11 Intermediate Tai Chi, 11:15 -12:15 Qi Gong & Meditation

Walk-ins welcome for fitness classes & discussion group!

*For Tuesday Mah Jongg, RSVP Required: MaryAnnBrady@TheParadiseCenter.org

Veterans’ Canteen

Sponsored by Rotary Club of LBK 1-2pm March 8

A lively, moderated group discussion with subjects such as world affairs, US politics, pop culture and topics relevant to seniors.

A welcoming space for our U.S. Veterans to connect, relax, share and support one another.

Pickleball Basics 11:30am March 16 Certified Pickleball Instructor Terri Noyes will show us the basics of the game, including scoring.

Join us on a fun outing this spring! After touring the museum and sculpture garden, we will lunch!

which is the process of luring someone into a relationship with a fake online persona.

The series is in its early stages, but the Maddens want to continue showing modules at Kiwanis. The next module would focus on driving safety — an area of particular interest as the town’s busy season has arrived and more people are on the roads.

As the program takes shape on the Key, the Maddens said they would be open to bringing more of the original program to the Gulf Coast. Combating loneliness is a focus that Lynn believes would be beneficial.

“It all depends on the support and receptivity we get,” Mike said.

Other organizations that have expressed interest in partnering with the Maddens include St. Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Church and The Paradise Center.

The couple hopes that as word gets out about the program, more partnership opportunities will arise and allow them to get a better understanding of the needs of the area.

Although there is uncertainty surrounding where the program will go next, they expressed confidence that interest in the program’s topics will grow on the Key.

Mike and Lynn Madden work to bring a program to their winter home focusing on the well being of retirees.

Courtesy photo Mike and Lynn Madden have introduced a safety program on Longboat.

Town works to fix north end flooding

Works Director Isaac Brownman said in an email. “For pursuing grant applications, the town is including the Village area drainage as part of those grant requests.”

LAUREN TRONSTAD

STAFF WRITER

Flooding is an issue for many neighborhoods on Longboat Key, leaving some feeling left behind as Buttonwood Harbour and Sleepy Lagoon neighborhoods get targeted solutions to their flooding problems.

Residents in other neighborhoods on the north end of the island find themselves wondering if their issues have been forgotten or if they are just further down the line.

“Several neighbors asked why Buttonwood Harbour and (Sleepy Lagoon) were chosen to study when (Tropical Storm) Eta proved the lowest locations on the island were located throughout the north end,” resident Ashlie Thomison wrote in a Facebook message to The Observer.

Thomison lives on St. Judes Drive near Joan Durante Park.

She cited that following the tropical storm in 2020, many residents in her neighborhood had to gut their homes due to damages.

“It’s just a question of triage or prioritization of what has to happen first,” Mayor Ken Schneier said.

The town’s Public Works department has worked with engineers, including Kimley-Horn, to identify areas prone to flooding and the damages related to help the Town Commission decide where to put dollars first.

“In light of the recent reports for Sleepy Lagoon and Buttonwood neighborhoods, we have asked Kimley-Horn and Associates to take another look at the Village studies and ensure they are in line with current recommendations,” Public

Residences on the north end, particularly The Village, were hit hard with storm surge and heavy rains from Tropical Storm Eta with waters rising into homes. However, it doesn’t take a tropical storm to flood roads on the island. Many neighborhoods on the north end are more susceptible to flooding during high tide or a heavy afternoon storm than their neighbors on the south end.

Two studies have already been completed in Longbeach Village as it has previously been identified as one of the lowest lying areas on the Key.

In 2016, the town paid $35,940 to Venice-based DMK Associates Inc. to evaluate the stormwater system in the Village and suggest solutions.

New seawalls, stormwater valves or pumping systems were among solutions presented in the report.

In 2018, in hopes of combating some of the flooding issues, the town’s Public Works department installed WaStop Inline Check Valves. The valves are a flexible, hollow cone-shaped barrier with its apex facing inward and upward.

When stormwater fills the pipe, the pressure lifts the bottom of the barrier, allowing stormwater out.

When the tide rises above the valve, water fills the sealed hollow barrier, stopping it from flowing inward.

Even with the new valves installed, five years later, flooding is still an issue in the Village.

Lyons Lane was among the first problem areas addressed by raising the road and tipping it to change the direction of water flow. To Schneier’s knowledge, the improvement is serving its purpose, he said.

In February 2022, the town identified Buttonwood Harbour and Sleepy Lagoon neighborhoods as areas of concern and hired KimleyHorn to conduct the study.

The town paid the firm just over $90,000 for the eight-month Sleepy Lagoon assessment and an additional $78,733 for the six-month Buttonwood Harbour assessment.

The final report was provided to the commission with possible next steps in December 2022.  Sleepy Lagoon neighborhood solutions focused on raising roads in phases including:

n Phase 1: Norton Street, which could cost about $1.35 million

n Phase 2: Bayview Drive and Penfield Street, which is projected to cost $1.86 million

n Phase 3: General Harris Street and Marbury Lane, which is projected to cost $1.72 million

n Phase 4: Da Narvaez Drive and Juan Anasco Drive, which could cost about $1.15 million Buttonwood Harbour proposed solutions included the following projects:

n Project 1: Buttonwood Drive and Winslow Place road reconstruction, which is expected to cost $1.48 million

n Project 2: Flow diversion, which is estimated to cost $540,000

n Project 3: Ditch optimization, which is estimated to cost $540,000

n Project 4: Longview shoreline stabilization and reconstruction, which is expected to cost $510,000

n Project 5: Buttonwood shoreline stabilization, which is expected to

cost $84,000

n Project 6: Monroe Street saltwater marsh, which is estimated to cost $104,000

The town dedicated about $1.8 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to be used to offset costs of recommended actions of the neighborhood and sea level rise studies.

With several low-lying areas throughout the Key, the town considers its priorities to address flooding.

Studies have been conducted in Longbeach Village and most recently Buttonwood Harbour and Sleepy Lagoon.

File photos

The streets around the Village flood during storms but also during high tides.

Two new businesses open on Longboat

when entering it, did not realize what opening a business on the barrier island would entail, such as permitting and the town’s approval process.

While the coffee shop is in its early days, the couple continues to do fitness instruction at Performance Pilates when the coffee shop isn’t open.

LAUREN TRONSTAD STAFF WRITER

Two new businesses have recently opened their doors on the north end of Longboat Key.

One is a coffee shop in Whitney Plaza. The other is above the Lazy Lobster.

SIPS

A diary entry about a childhood dream to own a coffee shop has become a reality for Justina Condensa with the opening of Sips coffee shop.

The dream started coming to fruition when her father, Mike, who owns Performance Pilates in Whitney Plaza, heard of an opening and encouraged his daughter to take a look at the property.

After touring the property with her fiance, Chris Carter, he recalled saying to her “Let’s just do it.”

“It was kind of a spur-of-themoment decision,” Carter said.

The pair had been living in Atlanta working within their joint passion — fitness.

Condensa worked as a Pilates instructor and Carter as a personal trainer. They recalled growing tired of the hustle and bustle of the city and knew they wanted to look elsewhere.

The couple moved to the area in late July while the shop was being built out how they envisioned it.

“It took longer than I initially expected,” Condensa said. “We really learned the value of patience.”

She did not recall facing any particular hiccups in the process, but

Condensa’s coffee shop, which is run with the help of Carter, celebrated its soft opening Feb. 13 in Whitney Plaza, 6828 Gulf of Mexico Drive.

The shop specializes in coffees, smoothies and juices, leading to the name Sips.

“We were in the car moving down here brainstorming ideas (for the shop name),” Condensa said. “We had this giant list.”

When brainstorming, the couple continued with the notion “everyone can sip something” at the location, she said. Taking that idea literally, the couple decided to move forward with naming the shop Sips.

The official grand opening of the coffee shop is going to be held March 1. Currently, the shop’s hours are from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. However, they have consistently stayed open later to meet the demand of customers happening upon the shop.

In the few days the shop has been open, the couple agreed the powerhouse smoothie has likely been their most popular menu item. It includes banana, strawberry, blueberry, cherry, almond milk and vanilla protein powder.

Other popular items include lattes and avocado toast. Condensa makes the mash for the toast before opening each morning to ensure freshness.

MENTAL HEALTH PRIVATE

PRACTICE

Danae Koeper hopes to meet the needs of Longboat Key’s residents with her new private practice located above the Lazy Lobster, 5350 Gulf of Mexico Drive.

Make it a Day!

Jump start your day with a cold brew coffee and sand volleyball before squeezing in a spa treatment and an afternoon of shopping. And as the sun begins to set, gather family and friends for dinner and drinks under the stars. Whether you’re in the shops, on the Plaza, or at the park, you’ll find new ways to spend the day at Waterside Place every time you come. Our year-round events, Sunday farmers’ market and weekly live music are open to everyone.

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“There’s not a lot of mental health care on Longboat,” she said. “Mental health can be a stigma and can go unaddressed at times ... there’s a definite need for more mental wellness on Longboat Key.”

The practice has only been open for a few weeks.

Koeper has been a licensed therapist for more than 20 years. Nine of those years were spent in the center of a lot of grief as she worked with hospice patients and their families.

“There is a lot of grief and loss out here,” she said of the barrier island’s demographic.  She is hopeful that her practice, and the convenience of not having to leave the island, will help residents improve their mental health.

Much like Condensa, she has known since she was young that she wanted to pursue a career that would link her passions of helping people and psychology.

“I’ve always had a passion for helping other people,” she said.

Koeper received her master’s degree in social work and license for therapy from the University of South

Florida. She has lived in the area since 1976 with some time spent in Sarasota, Siesta Key and Lido Key before she made the move onto Longboat Key just less than a decade ago.  Individuals or couples seeking therapy can make a free 15-minute consultation with Koeper before deciding whether to pursue fulltime care with her. She is accepting new patients and urges anyone interested to check out her page on Psychology Today, which also lists her contact information.

Sips coffee shop and a mental health private practice have opened their doors on the barrier island.

Lesley Dwyer

Justina Condensa and Chris Carter own and operate Sips in Whitney Plaza.

“Mental health can be a stigma and can go unaddressed at times ... there’s a definite need for more mental wellness on Longboat Key.”

— Danae Koeper

LONGBOAT

Mind the Mental Health Gap

Nearly two years after forming a mental health district, the Sarasota County Commission has yet to distribute $8 million in funding. Now Commissioner Mike Moran wants to restructure the process — and what services get funded.

recommendations for 12 programs that addressed eight of nine boardapproved priorities with a request to rebid priority eight: “Increase psychiatric and outpatient capacity, particularly child and adolescent psychiatry.”

AGENCIES/PROGRAMS POTENTIALLY TO BE DEFUNDED

Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association, Inc.

■ Sarasota County Caregiver Connection Program

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast, Inc.

■ One to One Mentoring

■ Senior Outreach Services

Loveland Center, Inc. (The)

■ Adult Day Training (ADT)

NAMI Sarasota and Manatee Counties, inc.

■ NAMI EEC (Education, Empower, Connect)

Parenting Matters

Once the champion behind creating a mental health taxing district to raise funds for mental health services, Commissioner Mike Moran seemed visibly upset during the Nov. 15, 2022 Sarasota County Commission meeting after the board-appointed Behavioral Health Advisory Council (BHAC) presented its funding recommendations, commenting, “Boy, we’ve lost our way.”

After years of research, surveys and hundreds of hours of volunteer committee work, the commission wants more time to discuss the process of funding human services and behavioral health programs and exactly what services should be funded with taxpayer dollars at a March 8 workshop.

“I don’t think there is another county in the country, especially in Florida, that has done as much research and no action has been done since 2018,” said Jennifer Johnston of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation and a member of BHAC. “The lack of action is not improving any outcomes, and many people are struggling.”

In 2018, a University of South Florida research scan of mental health services in Sarasota County commissioned by the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation identified gaps in mental health, behavioral and human services. A year later, Moran first introduced the idea of a mental health taxing district. This prompted the county to launch its own survey on the proposed district in 2020, in which 79% of respondents said they would be willing to pay more taxes to support mental health services. Commissioners created the Mental Health Dependent Special District in June 2021 and discussed raising the millage rate 1/10 of a mill, which would generate $6.5 million for behavioral health funding.

Ultimately, the commission did not raise taxes but put together a task force to assess mental health needs and appointed seven behavioral health experts and professionals to the BHAC to recommend funding for agencies and programs with the potentially earned $6.5 million as a guide. In March of 2022, the commission allocated $8 million of APRA funds to be distributed by the BHAC over three years beginning in 2023. From June to September of 2022, BHAC conducted 18 site visits and volunteered 526 hours evaluating 35 program applications. It finalized its funding

The BHAC presented these recommendations to county commissioners in November 2022. That meeting is where Moran’s frustration surfaced, especially when it came to priority eight. The BHAC recommended that priority eight applicant, Teen Court of Sarasota, not be funded for its Mental Health Counseling Expansion and Screening program. Moran’s wife, Lori, is chief operating officer of Teen Court of Sarasota. (As of press time, Moran did not respond for comment.)

After much discussion, the commission decided to delay the funding decision until the newly elected commissioners were in place and continued the agenda item until January. Prior to the Jan. 31 commission meeting, Moran attended a BHAC meeting where he presented a new proposal to restructure the process and what programs should be funded, causing alarm among multiple human services and behavioral health agencies.

In Moran’s new proposal, the BHAC would be replaced by a fiveperson advisory board appointed by the county commissioners. This new board would give recommendations on where Sarasota County should be spending resources with the commission setting the final priorities and allocating funds to the county staff. Staff would then review grant applications and bring back their recommendations to the commissioners, who would discuss and vote on the final allocations.

Moran has also proposed that social economic programs, such as: housing subsidies, daycare subsidies, job training and free legal services, should be funded by nonprofits, community foundations, religious institutions and philanthropists. And that taxpayer dollars should fund the following:

■ Jail Diversion — Programs that help reduce jail population and/or diverts incarceration.

Examples: Substance abuse facilities, drug-free youth programs, youth court diversion programs and county jail programs.

■ Mental Health & Substance Abuse — Focus on individual & family counseling services. Examples: Any organization that directly provides or sub-contracts licensed counseling services to families or individuals for mental health and/ or substance abuse, including inpatient services.

■ Food, Shelter & Safety

— Basic human necessities such as nutrition and shelter. Examples: Food distribution, children’s supervised visitation programs, early childhood court, senior meal delivery programs, youth shelters and emergency shelters.

At a Behavioral Health Stakeholders Consortium meeting on Feb. 17, chaired by P.J. Brooks, COO of Community Assisted & Supported Living Inc. (CASL),the group

Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties, Inc.

■ Boys & Girls Clubs

■ Teen Program

Children First, Inc.

■ Early Head Start/Early Childhood

Education (0-3 years old)

■ Early Head Start/Early Childhood Education (3-5 years old)

■ Family First Institute/ Nurturing Dads (FFI)

Community Assisted & Supported Living, Inc.

(CASL)

■ 16th Street Renaissance Manor

■ Arbor Village Life Skills Support

Florida Center for Early Childhood, Inc. (The)

■ The Starfish Academy

Forty Carrots of Sarasota, Inc.

■ Parenting Program

Girls Incorporated of Sarasota County

■ Girls Inc.

Jewish Family & Children’s Services of the Suncoast Inc.

highlighted multiple agencies and programs have the potential to be defunded (see box), under Moran’s new proposal. These organizations collectively received $1,971,128 in county funding in 2022.

Jon Thaxton, Gulf Coast Community Foundation’s senior vice president for community leadership and former Sarasota County commissioner, reminds us how blessed Sarasota County is with philanthropy. “However, we have this expectation or sense of entitlement that foundations will do it. Government is responsible for the health, safety and welfare of its citizens. With mental health there is a group of citizens in crisis and declining. It’s the government’s duty to provide so people can live sustainable lives, not end up in jails or youth programs or become a suicide statistic. Foundations can add to that. If it were working the way it should, Sarasota County would have the model for the country.”

With all the time, research and expertise allocated to getting mental health services and funding correct thus far, we must be able to come to some sort of consensus so lives are not disrupted by programs and services going unfunded. Reach out to your commissioners and attend the workshop scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 8, at the Sarasota County Administration building.

“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.”

Friedrich Hayek “Road to Serfdom,” 1944

President and Publisher / Emily Walsh, EWalsh@YourObserver.com

Executive Editor and COO / Kat Wingert, KWingert@YourObserver.com

■ Parent Partner Program

Safe Children Coalition, Inc.

■ Achievers

■ Home Instruction for

Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY)

Sarasota Housing Funding Corp.

■ Sarasota Housing Authority

Youth Thrive

School Readiness Coalition of Sarasota County, Inc.

(The) d/b/a/ Early Learning

Coalition of Sarasota

County

■ Child Care Quality & Training

■ Child Care Training

Senior Friendship Centers, Inc.

■ Caregiver Resource Center

■ In-Home Case Managed Services

■ Senior Centers

Women’s Resource Center of Manatee, Inc.

■ Project UpLift

YMCA of Southwest Florida Inc. (FKA SKY Family Young Men’s Christian Association, Inc.)

■ Early Childhood Education Initiative

■ School Age Care

Staff Writers / Lesley Dwyer, LDwyer@YourObsever.com; Lauren Tronstad, LTronstad@YourObsever.com

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Regional Digital Director / Kathleen O’Hara, KOHara@YourObserver.com

Senior Advertising Executive / Laura Ritter, LRitter@YourObserver.com Advertising Executives / Richeal Bair, RBair@YourObserver.com; Beth Jacobson, BJacobson@YourObserver.com; Jennifer Kane, JKane@YourObserver.com; Honesty Mantkowski, HMantkowski@YourObserver. com; Toni Perren, TPerren@YourObserver. com; Brenda White, BWhite@ YourObserver.com

Classified Advertising Sales Executive / Lexi Huelsman, LHuelsman@ YourObserver.com

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Observer Media Group Inc. is locally owned.

Publisher of the Longboat Observer, East County Observer, Sarasota/Siesta Key Observer, Palm Coast Observer, Ormond Beach Observer, West Orange Times & Observer, Southwest Orange Observer, Business Observer, Jacksonville Daily Record, LWR Life Magazine, Baldwin Park Living Magazine and Season Magazine

CEO / Matt Walsh

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1970 Main St. Sarasota, FL 34236 941-366-3468

EMILY WALSH

Lack of convention space — again — concerns leaders

With the pending demolition of one major property, a go-to ballroom spot for Sarasota events is being taken off the board.

MARK GORDON STAFF WRITER

The lack of a large, or even midsize, branded convention center and meeting space in downtown Sarasota — long an issue for business and civic leaders — is inching closer to an inflection point.

The crux of the issue: New owners of the Hyatt Regency, at 1000 Boulevard of the Arts, plan to demolish the hotel and rebuild it into a Hyatt-branded Thompson Hotel. A timeline for that project, originally set for summer 2024, isn’t definitive. But whenever the Hyatt goes, a 10,000-square-foot ballroom that can seat some 750 people will go with it.

“The Hyatt has been our meeting lifeline,” says Virginia Haley, President of Visit Sarasota County, the county’s tourism marketing arm. VSC works with dozens of groups and associations globally to hold and host meetings and events in the region. The Hyatt is in the upper end but still reasonably priced sector of the market, and a popular spot for both out-of-town groups and locals. The Sarasota Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota County are among the organizations that have recently held major events there.

Sarasota Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Heather Kasten says when the Hyatt is gone, there will be only one primary downtown spot left to hold a large lunch or dinner event with a “ballroom experience.” That would be The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota, down the street from the Hyatt Regency. The Ritz has a 12,000-square-foot ballroom that can hold 800 people for a banquet and 1,200 for a reception, according

to its website.

Kasten says for meetings or events with 200 to 250 people, there are multiple choices across Sarasota County. “But when you get to 500 and 600 people you are running out of options,” she says.

Multiple business leaders in the Sarasota community have heard 2024 is when the Hyatt will come down. But Hyatt Regency Sarasota General Manager Wes Santos says there’s no definitive date on when the development firm that bought the property, Kotler Hospitality, will begin the transformation to a Thompson-branded flag.

Santos says he’s instead focused on the here and now. “We’re not shying away from any convention center business,” Santos says. “We’re at the peak of it right now.”

Officials with Kolter Hospitality, a unit of Delray Beach-based Kolter Group, declined to comment,

through a spokeswoman, on a date or timing of the project. In a statement last May, when Kolter bought the property, Kolter Hospitality President Scott Webb confirmed Thompson as the hotel. Webb added that the company was in the “initial stages of the redevelopment plan … which will feature innovative design, luxury and personalized hospitality.”

At the Ritz, meanwhile, General

Manager Rajesh “Raj” Khubchandani says it’s mostly business-as-usual at the property, which he boasts is in a higher echelon in the local meeting and convention marketplace. “There’s a possibility we might get some business” when the Hyatt closes, Khubchandani says, adding that the hotel offers a broader array of services and options than most others in the market.

A LOOK BACK

The pending Hyatt closure also exacerbates an issue that’s long confounded many leaders in the region: Why doesn’t Sarasota, with its arts and culture a national, even global, draw, have a convention center?  “It’s odd for a county of our size,” Kasten says, “with 400,000 people, that we don’t have a convention center.”

It’s an issue that, at some level, has been floating around since the 1990s. In 1994, a study from KPMG Peat Marwick of St. Petersburg found that Sarasota “needed both a hotel and a meeting facility and suggested a 300-500 room hotel with 70,000 to 125,000 square feet in meeting space,” according to a timeline of stalled convention center projects from the VSC. The report added that the project should “be under one roof.”

In 2004, Sarasota County officials paid $80,000 for a study that found a similar need, calling for a third hotel in addition to the Ritz and Hyatt Regency. Multiple other entities, from the initial team that worked on the Quay to local developer Charles Githler to the founders of the Sarasota Film Festival, have looked into a conference or convention center downtown in the past two decades.

In addition, according to the VSC timeline, in 2015 all five Sarasota County commissioners supported an effort to look at “conference center feasibility in Sarasota, driven by the need to fill the new hotels under construction in downtown Sarasota.”

And finally in 2019 VSC, in its draft of its 2025 Strategic Plan to Sarasota County Commissioners, called for exploration of a conference center.

All of those efforts, from a combination of cost, inertia, debate and more, have led to the same result: no conference/convention center in Sarasota County, with no one out there proposing one.

Haley says cost is a big issue developers face. She’s heard often that the

SEE CONVENTIONS, PAGE 10

Courtesy photo

Kolter Hospitality intends to demolish the Hyatt Regency in Sarasota and rebuild it into a Thompson-branded hotel.

Republican Club of Longboat Key, Inc.

P.O. Box 8181

Longboat Key, FL 34228-8181

DINNER MEETING!

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Reception: 5:30 PM to 6:00 PM

Dinner / Meeting: 6:00 PM to 8 PM

Longboat Key Club and Resort

Harbourside Ballroom

3200 Harbourside Drive

(North Gate by Publix)

Longboat Key, FL 34228

GUEST SPEAKER: David Verinder

David has served as president and CEO of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System since 2014. The health system provides the region’s greatest breadth and depth of care and has more than 1 million patient visits a year.

Sarasota Memorial has been recognized repeatedly as one of the nation’s best health systems, with superior patient outcomes and a comprehensive continuum of care. With more than 8,000 staff, it is Sarasota County’s largest employer.

Throughout his tenure, David has overseen the successful launch of new medical services and facilities to improve the community’s access to high-quality care. In November of 2021, David led the most significant expansion in the organization’s 96-year history, with the opening of a new hospital in Venice and the completion of a state-of-the-art Oncology Tower on the Sarasota campus. The two facilities have increased system-wide capacity from 839 beds to 1,005 beds, allowing the health system to better respond to evolving patient needs prompted by the ongoing pandemic as well as the community’s continued growth. In previous years, David was responsible for the opening of Sarasota County’s only Trauma Center, the construction of a state-of-the-art Rehabilitation Pavilion, and the start of physician residency and fellowship training programs. He is currently overseeing the development of a new, state-of-the-art behavioral health pavilion on the Sarasota campus and a new hospital in North Port.

David first joined Sarasota Memorial in 2006 as chief financial officer, and later served as chief operating officer before being named CEO. Previously, he served in senior leadership at Scott & White Memorial Hospital & Clinic in Temple, Texas. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University and his MBA from Auburn University.

Florida Trend magazine has included David on its list of Florida’s 500 most influential business leaders for the past three years. He has served on numerous boards and in community leadership roles, and is currently chairman of the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida.

MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS

MEMBERS: $70

NON-MEMBERS: $75

Because we must give a final number to the Club for dinner, the deadline for reservations is 3pm, Friday, March 10th. Reservations will not be accepted after that date.

Thank you for your understanding.

Make your reservation online and pay securely with your credit card or register to pay by check by going to our website, rclbk.org.

We do not accept credit cards at the door.

For more information, please contact our President: Garnett Black | gblackrclbk@gmail.com

Conventions

FROM PAGE 9

return on investment, higher than ever with inflation, supply chain and labor challenges, isn’t there when choosing to build more hotel rooms vs. a large meeting space. And given convention centers only really work in downtown areas, “with a lot of entertainment options,” she adds,  that makes the cost, particularly in land, even higher to justify.

UP NORTH

One part of the region where a convention center project has some momentum is 14 miles north of the Hyatt Regency — at the Bradenton Area Convention Center in Palmetto, Manatee County.

Activity is happening there on two fronts. For one, officials with the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau are preparing to go before Manatee County commissioners in March to propose a convention center expansion project that could be worth up to $17 million. If approved, the project would add some 20,000 square feet of space to the center, which is already 32,000 square feet. With capacity for 1,200 people under air conditioning in a banquet setting, it would be the largest convention center space from St. Pete through Naples, says Braden-

ton CVB Executive Director Elliott Falcione.

The last time the convention center, built in 1985, was renovated was in 2007. That was a $6.5 million project. But in championing the expansion, Falcione says it’s a bit of apples and oranges to compare it to the Hyatt Regency, which is on the water. “These are two different models,” he says.  In addition to the convention center expansion, a California-turnedFlorida developer is building a 252room Marriott connected to the convention center. Tony DeRusso, with Improvement Network Development Partners, is building the hotel, branded the Marriott Palmetto Resort. The eight-story project, including a roof-top pool and restaurant, in addition to 10,000 square feet of convention and meeting space, is on target to be open in January 2024.

DeRusso, who says he moved from northern California to the region to oversee this project, looks at the Marriott as a 50-50 partner with the convention center in being an economic development magnet.

“We want to be able to attract Fortune 500 companies and CEOs here,” he says. “And to do that you need a full-service upscale hotel and a convention center.”

Courtesy rendering

Improvement Network Development Partners is building an eight-story hotel next to the Bradenton Area Convention Center.

Hello neighbors, friends, residents and visitors!

Christ Church of Longboat Key has been established for 11 years, creating a beautiful campus where friendly and inviting people gather and make up our membership. In celebration, we would like to know you all better and invite you to our NEIGHBORHOOD COOKOUT

Here is a chance to meet us and some

St. Armands BID to make second bid for renewal

ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER

Following the failure of the membership of the St. Armands Business Improvement District to renew the special district for another 10 years, its board of directors is preparing to take a second vote on the matter.

During the Feb. 6 Sarasota City Commission meeting, BID Business Manager Julie Ryan, a city employee, explained the shortfall in the required percentage vote of the 63 property owners at St. Armands Circle was largely because of technicalities.

Because it is a special tax overlay district, the voting is weighted by the relative value of the property owners who cast ballots. Of the ballots returned, 48.9% of the assessed value that returns ballots approved of the renewal. Ryan said two of the returned ballots were disqualified because they were improperly completed, either of which would have put approval over the top.

Ryan told commissioners that historically it requires two votes to renew the BID.

At its Feb. 8 meeting, the BID board voted 3-0 to restart the renewal process, which will require several months to complete. The current timeline runs until August. Without timely renewal approval, the BID expires on Sept. 30. Absent from the meeting was Yamen Elsaid. The fifth seat is vacant and has yet to be filled by City Commission appointment.

BID Chairman Tom Leonard blamed the first vote shortfall on confusing ballot instructions.

“I’ve talked to almost every one of these property owners, and we all filled them out,” Leonard said of the returned ballots. “I’m going to be honest with you. I had mine completely done, and I put it in the envelope and I said, ‘Dang, now I I’ve got to get my wife’s signature.’ She’s in California. So I spent I don’t know

how many dollars on FedEx going back and forth.”

Another property owner, he said, filled out the ballot while on the way to airport and, needing a witness signature, had her Uber driver sign.

The ballot was disqualified because the driver did not provide his or her address.

More education, Leonard said, should be included with the second ballot to ensure that the votes will meet all the criteria required by state special district statute.

Restarting the process starts with a petition that at least 13 property owners sign. That petition must then be presented at a meeting of the City Commission — the April 3 meeting is the earliest that can be placed on the agenda — and the commission must validate the petition.

Assuming City Commission acceptance of the petition, ballots must be delivered via certified mail, then returned. Renewal is approved by affirmative vote of greater than 50% of the assessed property owners.

“I’m really confident that we can get this done right, but it is a little bit of holding hands,” Leonard said.

To meet state statute, the voting period must conclude within 120 days, by Aug. 7.

The BID is governed by a board of directors that is appointed by the City Commission. The five-member board currently has a vacancy.

Rachel Burns, executive director of the St. Armands Circle Association, who along with her husband owns commercial property there, has expressed interest in filling that seat.

The association is an organization of merchants at the Circle.

Commercial property owners in the BID pay additional property taxes that are collected by the city, the revenues made available for improvements and service enhancements within the district.

Savor the Sounds Savor the Sounds Savor the Sounds Musical Concert Series Savor the Sounds Savor the Sounds

Presented by

Longboat Key • 2020

Saturday, March 4th

DOUG DEMING & THE JEWEL TONES

5:30 pm - 7 pm (Gates open at 4:30 pm)

4:30 pm - 5:30 pm Music by Mike Sales Town Center Green 600 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key

Come out and “Savor the Sounds,” and enjoy an elegant, yet casual, outdoor picnic setting.

BYOPB! Bring a picnic basket and blanket. (Lawn chairs, tables and coolers are welcome.)

Pre-order boxed dinners from Publix by calling (941)383-1326 ext. 228 or 229 Decorate your table or blanket!

VIP Tickets

$250 (Table of 8)

Advance purchase only. Limited availability.

General Admission

$25 in advance $35 at the door

Weather permitting - No Refunds

ADVANCE TICKET SALES

Monday - Friday from 9 am to 5 pm

Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce 5390 Gulf of Mexico Dr., Longboat Key, Suite 102

FRIDAY, FEB. 10 EXTRA HELP NEEDED

4:49 p.m., 6500 block of Gulfside Drive Animal complaint: Officers were alerted of a beached dolphin. Once they arrived at the scene, they found multiple people working to keep the dolphin wet. Mote Marine Aquarium was contacted and once they arrived, they began treating the dolphin. Officers helped Mote employees carry the dolphin to their van.

SATURDAY, FEB. 11

FOUND WALLET, MISSING OWNER

1:19 p.m., 5300 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive Found property: An officer was flagged down by a citizen in front of the Blue Dolphin restaurant after a wallet was found on a bench in front of the establishment. Employees at the restaurant said no one had reported a missing wallet. The wallet is still being held at the police station.

MORE TO IT THAN NO GAS

3:21 p.m., 2600 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive Citizen assist: An officer came across a broken down vehicle on the side of the road. The owner said she believed she had run out of gas. The officer took her to the Mobil gas station to get a gallon. However, even after the gas was put into the car, it still wouldn’t start. The officer attempted to jump the vehicle, but to no avail. The woman’s granddaughter was contacted and said she was coming to help. The driver was told to call the department if further help was needed.

SUNDAY, FEB. 12

NOT THAT SERIOUS

8:00 a.m., 500 block of Gunwale Lane

Noise complaint: An officer was sent to address after receiving a complaint of construction noise. Upon arrival, the officer spoke with the worker who said he was picking up equipment to be taken to another job off-island. He assured the officer he was not doing any other work.

MONDAY, FEB. 13

RUNAWAY ROVER

5:01 p.m., 3300 block of Sabal Cove Lane

Animal complaint: Dispatch reported a dog wandering the backyard of the residence. Once an officer arrived, they met with the owner who said their dog, Flynn, had escaped the yard and was wandering the neighborhood. Neighbors were out searching for the dog but had not found him by the time the officer left.

TUESDAY, FEB. 14

DAZED AND CONFUSED

1:47 a.m., 4000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive Suspicious vehicle: While patrol-

FRIDAY, FEB. 10

CHANGING TOO

SOON

12:58 p.m., 200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive Citizen assist: An officer was sent to the intersection of GMD and Longboat Club Road after a complaint about the traffic light only allowing six cars to go through the intersection. The town’s Public Works Department was alerted of the issue.

ling, an officer noticed a vehicle parked in the lot of Ace Hardware. A woman was found sleeping in the vehicle but said she was looking for Coquina Beach. The officer pointed her toward the north end before departing.

FINAL NOTICE

7:29 p.m., 3400 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Abandoned vehicle/boat: An officer patrolled the area of the bay side beach access after word of a suspicious vehicle. Upon arrival, the vehicle was still parked. The officer attempted to call the owner, but was unable to reach them. An abandoned vehicle notice was placed on the rear glass.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 15

DOWNED LINE

10:27 a.m., 900 block of Spanish Drive

Citizen assist: Following a call of needed assistance, the officer arrived at the scene where the fire department was already present. The caller said the power line was down behind the residence, but no fire, smoke or visible arcing was noted. Florida Power and Light was made aware of the issue.

THURSDAY, FEB. 16

EVERYONE’S A WORKER

9:15 a.m., 6200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive Citizen assist: An officer was dispatched after a call about a suspicious person entering a construction site. The officer met with one of the workers on the site, who said everyone there was a construction worker and they were not aware of any suspicious activity.

HELP ALREADY ON THE WAY

4:15 p.m., 300 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive Animal complaint: An officer was dispatched after a call about an injured snowy egret near the entrance to the property. While on the way, he received a call from a fellow officer that an employee at Save Our Seabirds was already responding to the incident.

Photos by Lesley Dwyer

Temple Beth Israel celebrates 44 years

T

“Rabbi Eisenstat is our rabbi emeritus. He served the congregation for a very long time, and he continues to participate in many of the activities,” Executive Director Isaac Azerad said. “We have something called the Rabbi Michael B. Eisenstat Miniversity of Judaism, and it’s a compendium of courses that are of Judaic nature. We repeat it every year, and all the retired rabbis participate.”

Eisenstat led the temple from 1997 to 2008. In addition to being

emple Beth Israel has been a part of the Longboat Key community for 44 years. To celebrate, the temple threw a “La Vie en Rose” soiree on Feb. 19 at Michael’s On East. To help see life through the lens of positivity, each guest was gifted a pair of pink, heart-shaped glasses. About 165 members and guests attended the gala, which honored Rabbi Michael and Nancy Eisenstat.the evening’s honorees, which the rabbi humbly said he was embarrassed by, he and wife Nancy recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.

The ballroom was dimly lit with candles and decorated in black and white with pops of red. Some of the women wore roses in their hair, and a few of the men dusted off their tuxedos for the occasion.

The entertainment lineup included Dr. Mime Kenny DeCamp, the temple’s organist and Music Director Ann Stephenson-Moe and Sheri Nadelman and SoulRcoaster. Auction items ranged from restaurant gift cards to gold and diamond rings.

In a letter of acknowledgement, Chief of Police George Turner wrote, “Thank you for allowing me to share with you, and acknowledge, the celebration of 44 years of Jewish life, community service and leadership on Longboat Key.”

— LESLEY DWYER

Growing

Worship With Us at Our Church

Sunday Service 10:00 AM

The Rev. Dr. Norman Pritchard

Men’s Bible Study: Monday @ 9:00

Women’s Bible Study: Wednesday @ 10:00

W INTER C ON CERT S ERIES

ARE FREE • VISITORS & RESIDENTS WELCOME

SUNDAY

• MARCH 5, 2023 • 2:00 PM

Todd Donovan & Dale Williams

American Bass-Baritone, Todd Donovan, has been described by critics as a passionate performer with splendid acting and a stentorian voice. He has graced the operatic, musical theater and concert stages for over fifteen years, and has been a frequent soloist for the Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt and Vienna, Austria.

Mr. Donovan’s operatic roles include: Leporello in Don Giovanni with Opera Orlando, Olin Blitch in Susannah (Naxos Records DVD 2017), Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro with Winter Opera St. Louis, and Scarpia in Tosca

Mr. Donovan’s musical theater roles include: Emile De Becque in South Pacific, Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady, the Baker in Sondheim’s Into the Woods, and Count Carl Magnus in A Little Night Music

Todd will collaborate with pianist, Dale Williams who has served as accompanist for the International Cathedral Music Festival in England and the Seminar für Klassiche Musik in Eisenstadt, Austria. She has played with the Tampa Oratorio Singers, the Florida Orchestra, and the Pass-a-Grille Community Church

An Ecumenical Church that Welcomes all People Founded in 1956

Wednesday Bible Study 10:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.

Lord’s Warehouse hours are 9:00 - 1:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays

Celebrate Mass with Our Parish Community WINTER

To learn more about our Temple and all our educational, cultural, and social programs, please call us. We’d be delighted to talk with you.

Questions? Email us at info@longboatkeytemple.org

Sharing Values, Friendship, and Faith 567 Bay Isles Rd, Longboat Key, FL 941-383-3428 longboatkeytemple.org

www.bit.ly/cclbksermons or www.christchurchof lbk.org ( follow YouTube link) A SH W EDNES DAY S ERVICE • 10:00 A.M. • F EBR UARY 22 395652-1 398069-1 St. Armands Key Lutheran Church • 40 North Adams Dr., Sarasota, FL • 941.388.1234 • Questions? Contact: michael@saklc.com All are Welcome ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICES February 22 - 12 & 7pm CONTEMPORARY STYLE WORSHIP Saturday at 5pm SUNDAY WORSHIP at 9am & 11am (Coffee Hour at 10am) 395778-1 All are welcome at All Angels no exceptions • In-person worship services Sunday at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. • Live-stream at AllAngelsLBK.org to participate on-line New to You Art Sale, Sunday - Thursday, 9 am to 1 pm. 563 Bay Isles Rd • 941-383-8161 AllAngelsLBK.org 395842-1 Would like to Welcome & Invite You, Your Family Members & Friends to

395886-1

Honorees Rabbi Michael and Nancy Eisenstat

Ron and Marilyn Shapiro

Holly Freedman, Susan Gorin and Bunny Skirboll

Lois Freedman, Ron and Karen Ginsberg, Rabbi Stephen Sniderman, Jeffrey and Arlene Stiffman

Walter and Gale Frank

Executive Director Isaac Azerad and Co-president David Gorin

Games day raises $10,000 for breast cancer

The ladies of the Longboat Key Club laid their cards and purses on the table Wednesday afternoon. The women gathered in the Harbourside ballroom for an annual games day to benefit Breast Health Sarasota Inc.

“This started many years ago when Golf for a Cure took up the whole dining room, and people wanted to put money into breast cancer research,” Co-chair Marion Levine said. “It’s for those people that don’t play golf or tennis.”

After a COVID-19 hiatus, 137 members came out to play backgammon, canasta, mahjongg and bridge this year. So many that the raffle tickets sold out and $10,000 was raised, which doubles past donations.

“Last year, this group raised $4,500 just playing cards,” said Breast Health Saraso-

ta Inc. Chair Suellen Kaeb. “The Longboat Key Club, in 2022, raised over $85,000 with their combined events.”

Donations pay for screenings, mammograms, biopsies and breast MRIs. Breast Health also sponsors a mobile mammogram bus. In October, 50 women in Newtown received breast cancer screenings. They plan on sponsoring four more screenings in Newtown this year.

“We’re finding that women of color and the Hispanic community, they have a little bit of distrust going into the big hospital system. It’s intimidating, and there may be a language barrier,” Kaeb said. “So we do these mobile units in their communities, and they’re more apt to come out and be screened.”

— LESLEY DWYER

Photos by Lesley Dwyer

Marcie McGovern and Becky Smothers play backgammon.

Sheila Pizer organizes her cards.

YOUR NEIGHBORS

Broadcasting from the Beach

work normal hours, drive nice cars and have a life outside of work, Saunders switched gears. It took him three decades to get back on air with a wacky name, but the Ho Dad has arrived.

LIVE FROM THE MONKEY ROOM

The Monkey Room is a throwback to the Colony Beach and Tennis Resort. Saunders hangs a stuffed monkey mascot on his microphone in the studio, Cappy the Capuchin monkey.

“When I worked for the Reds, I used to eat lunch out here at the Monkey Room. It was a really cool vibe because they had all this tropical monkey wallpaper everywhere,” Saunders said. “It was a relaxed atmosphere to sit and have lunch when you’re working, so I wanted to do something that tied in Longboat Key and the history of the key. So I thought when I’m on the air, I should just say I’m live and in color from the Monkey Room.”

He got the gig after the Latin Explosion aka Juan Montenegro heard him in the sound booth at a Pirates game. It was Hispanic Heritage night, and Montenegro was impressed enough by the pregame playlist that he went to the press box and said, “You should have your own show.”

The Longboat Luau is live on WSLR from 7-9 p.m. on Thursdays but can be replayed anytime on the station’s website or app.

WHAT IS A HO DAD?

First came the pitch for the show.

COVID-19 shut a lot of doors, but it opened the door to retirement for 64-year-old Gary Saunders. After a year of career detox and living like a tourist, he’s become happier and busier than ever living the Florida dream and hosting the Longboat Luau on WSLR.

“When I envisioned retirement, I wanted to do things that I wanted to do, and my sports career was starting to feel like Groundhog Day,” Saunders said. “We also had several friends who either died young or developed serious illnesses, and it got us to thinking that our future is not guaranteed. If Longboat and greater Sarasota is where we want to be, let’s just go and we’ll figure out a way to make it work.”

Saunders only retired from his main gig, a 30-year career in sports marketing and sales, when there were no games to promote because of pandemic shutdowns. If you’re not listening to him on the radio, you can catch him over the loud speaker operating the sound board at spring training baseball games. He also works in the fitness center at the Longboat Key Club a few days a week and assists the IMG Academy with special events.

“Thankfully, with all of the stuff I’m doing, I still have enough time every day to get a swim in, get in the hot tub, walk on the beach or ride my bike,” Saunders said. “I do my best thinking, whether it be creating playlists or ideas or my writing projects, when I’m out floating in the Gulf of Mexico.”

This isn’t Saunders’ first dip into the gulf. He lived on Siesta Key when marketing for the Cincinnati Reds. After the team moved its spring training to Arizona in 2010, Saunders connected with IMG. He worked for the academy in various capacities for the next 12 years, about four of them at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama, selling advertising and tickets.

From there, he headed to the University of Mississippi in Oxford, where he stayed eight years. Before that, Saunders had lived and worked all over the country advertising for the St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies and Atlanta Braves. But it all started with radio.

“While I was at college at Virginia Tech, that was where I got hooked on radio because they had a student station there,” Saunders said. “I started there as a sportscaster because my interest at that time was baseball. I was a big player all the way through high school, so I thought I might want to do the sportscasting thing.”

The communications major stayed on track with sportscasting but began noticing more creative opportunities within the station. He started a “morning zoo” program called “The Bob and Bill Show” and another on his own called “Sunglasses After Dark.”

Bob and Bill — aka Gary and Jeff — did skits and employed funny voices and sound effects. “Sunglasses After Dark” was Saunders’ introduction to FM radio. His playlists were crafted with music from the 1950s and ’60s.  Saunders graduated and started working at a local radio station. But with his new co-workers going by on-air names like the Rooster and

Fub Nuggles, Bob wasn’t going to cut it, so the Rockin’ Fig was born.  The job turned out restrictive compared to working at a campus station. With a for-profit agenda, the playlists stuck to the Top 40 and were mostly curated by the bosses. He moved to a larger station in Roanoke and got a morning spot from 5-10 a.m. six days a week.

Now, the hours were restrictive. Saunders was in his early 20s, going to bed at 7 p.m. and waking up at 3 a.m. Then, the station switched to an easy listening format, which didn’t appeal to him.

So after watching the sales team

“The last show I did, I played a song from 1929, and I played a song from 2020, so it was almost a 100year span of music that I was pulling from,” Saunders said. “I focus on nostalgia, and I focus on fun, primarily upbeat, positive-type stuff.”

The show is a labor of love. On its website, WSLR describes itself as “an innovative, listener-supported nonprofit, noncommercial FM radio station dedicated to serving the Sarasota community.”

Saunders’ love of music borders on obsession. When moving into his Seaplace condominium, his record collection didn’t fit. About 30 plastic bins filled with almost 3,000 records are currently in storage.

“Mrs. Ho Dad has been very gracious and patient with that,” Saunders said. “I tell her all the time there are worse hobbies one could have.”

With a mind filled with music, the Ho Dad prides himself on playing a few songs that “can only be heard on the Luau” like the Spanish version of “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini.” But most of his playlists are cultivated from hits of the 1950s through the 1970s. He says the ’60s are the most played decade with ’65 and ’66 being the most played years.

“I’m trying to get them to maybe reminisce a little bit but also forget about their problems for a couple hours and just relax and have fun,” Saunders said, “Everybody’s so stressed out these days, and there’s so much division as far as politics and everything else that’s going on. I’m trying to pull everybody together and, at least for a couple hours, let’s agree on doing something fun and positive.”

“Just imagine this: Beach music, tropical music, Calypso, reggae, ’60s pop, the Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, surf guitar, maybe a little big band stuff, maybe some ’40s and ’50s like rhythm and blues that would all somehow flow together.”

Saunders was pitching to Jesse Coleman, WSLR’s station manager. Coleman had two follow-up questions: What do you want to call the show, and what do you want to call yourself?

“One of the things that I’ve really gotten into recently is the surfing scene and surfing culture that emerged in the ’60s in California, and one of the characters in that scene was the Ho Dad,” Saunders said. “The Ho Dad is someone who likes to hang out at the beach, who enjoys being part of the surfing scene — the music, the dancing, the fashions, the cars, all of that but is not necessarily a great surfer.”

LESLEY DWYER STAFF WRITER

Gary Saunders returns to the radio after a 30-year hiatus. The Ho Dad is live and in color from the Monkey Room.

Courtesy photo

Cappy and Gary Saunders in the WSLR studio.

Lesley Dwyer

Gary Saunders reads some records on the beach.

Sip, shop and spy

LESLEY DWYER STAFF WRITER

Jane Hughes only spent a few years working for the CIA, but she says the experience left her thinking a lot about secrets.

“I was in the Soviet bureau at the agency back in the days when there was a Soviet bureau,” she said.

That was in the late 1970s and early 1980s. On Friday, the now author and Harvard professor was signing copies of her books at J. McLaughlin. The book signing was part of a Sip & Shop event to benefit the Longboat Library. From 1-5 p.m. on Feb. 17, the clothing store donated 15% of its sales to the library.

When Hughes dropped off a copy of her latest book, “The Spy’s Wife,” it was an instant hit with library patrons.

“I sat down and read it within 24 hours. I got hooked,” President Mary Baker said. “We’re not selling it. We’re just passing it around, and everybody who’s read it has said, ‘I love that book.’ I think that’s why all these people are here.”

Refreshments were laid out for the sip portion of the event, and the store stayed crowded around the register and Hughes’ signing table. Everyone wanted to know if “The Spy’s Wife” was based on personal experience.

“They all have some tiny, little grain of something that I observed sometime,” Hughes said.

The grain from “The Spy’s Wife” stuck with her for 40 years. While working for the CIA, Hughes met a woman in her 20s whose father was a top officer in the agency for her entire life, but the woman had only

just found out. Her mother didn’t know either. They thought Dad was in sales.

Hughes’ previous two novels center around famous historical mysteries. Both set in modern day, “Nannyland” looks back to July 1553 when the teenaged Lady Jane Grey held the throne of England and Ireland for a mere nine days, and “The LongLost Jules” delves into the mystery of Queen Katherine Parr’s baby. Parr was the last of Henry VIII’s six queens.

“I would say that ‘Jules’ is about secrets,” Hughes said. “It’s about uncovering the secret of what happened to this lost baby and about uncovering secrets in the hero and her life.”

Jane Hughes is a Longboat Key resident and author.

Jan Menker and Linda Gidel buy both of Hughes’ books. “Nannyland” is available on Kindle.

Photos by Lesley Dwyer

#1 LONGBOAT KEY TEAM

Michael Saunders & Company

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Bird Key dogs raise funds for Nate’s

The event raised over $4,000 to go to Nate’s capital campaign. The rescue is seeking $10 million to expand its facility.

LESLEY DWYER STAFF WRITER

The pampered pooches of Bird Key gave back to dogs less fortunate than themselves on Sunday, Feb. 19. They strutted down a catwalk and did their best tricks to raise money for Nate’s Honor Animal Rescue.

“One of the people on our committee has done this at another club, and we thought it would be a fun thing to do for the Women’s Association because so many people on Bird Key have dogs,” Jennifer Lackland said. “Anytime you walk down Bird Key, your dog will meet 10 other dogs.”

This was not just a stroll around the yacht club parking lot though. This was a fashion event, complete with an elevated runway, DJ and lobster lunch. The Maine Line food truck was parked to the side, and chairs lined both sides of the runway.

DJ Jesse from STAAR Entertainment had each dog walking to their own tune. Piper the golden doodle, and winner of the Diva Dog category, was clad in the most risque outfit of the day. She wore only a pair of pink flowered panties and walked to “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC. It’s unfortunate that Bird Key resident and former lead singer Brian Johnson missed it.

About 30 other dogs strutted their stuff too. DJ Jesse offered tidbits about each dog. Izzy walked to “Dancing Queen” by ABBA and knows the names of her favorite toys. She matched her mom in a pirate costume that was handmade for her through an Etsy vendor.

“This is her third dog parade. She loves dressing up,” Lynne Short, Izzy’s owner, said. “She knows that when she puts a costume on she’s going somewhere, so I dress her up and she goes to the door.”

Ruby the French bulldog won first place for best costume, and that diva didn’t even step a paw onto the runway. Her sidecar didn’t fit.

The remaining three categories were Best Trick, Owner/Dog Look Alike and Class Clown. Lackland’s dog Luna won Class Clown for dressing as a cow and lying down mid-runway.

It was fun and games with a purpose. The event raised more than $4,000 for Nate’s. Development and Fundraising Director Rob Oglesby said the money will go toward the current capital campaign.

The animal rescue is raising $10 million to expand its facility to include additional kennels and exam rooms, a maternity ward, walking trail, surgical suite and interactive education center.

Join us as we honor community treasures helping children and families in need.

March 30, 2023

March 30, 2023

Art Ovation Hotel Art Ovation

10:30 AM - 1 PM 10:30 AM - 1 PM

2023 Honorees:

Bob & Jen Keller - Advocates for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) awareness & support

The Sorrento Gang of Esplanade - Neighbors who fundraise and volunteer for community causes

Kim Williams, M.S., CCC-SLP - Developmental therapies specialist who impacted the lives of thousands of children.

Starting at 10:30 am, browse our 'Treasure Shops' featuring exciting retail merchandise. Enjoy complimentary mimosas while you find your own treasure to keep!

Tickets and Sponsorships Available at: TheFloridaCenter.org

To purchase tickets, Visit LBKGardenClub.org or call 941-387-1909

Piper the Scotty is the most patriotic of all the dogs.

Buddies Henry and Oliver play bunnies for the day.

Oliver and Penny refuse to leave the stage without treats.

Photos by Lesley Dwyer

Christina Shantz walks with Buddy the Yorkie.

Jill Hennessey, Marilyn Huseby and Carol Patulo play with the puppies.

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Beautiful views & sunsets from 3BR/3BA spacious w/Sabal floorplan. Amenities include include lobby concierge, 24 hr guarded gate, olympic sized pool, 2 hartru tennis courts, fitness center & more.

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Meticulous 4 BD/3 BA wide deep water canal with direct access to Sarasota Bayno bridges! Great dock. 2 boat lifts. Private beach access directly across the street.

garage.

Longboat Key for 40 Years

Feeding neighbors in need

The church held a packaging event for Kids Against Hunger on Feb. 11 to benefit one organization in Bradenton and another in Fort Myers.

LESLEY DWYER STAFF WRITER

Ask and you shall receive. St. Armands Key Lutheran Church asked for 100 volunteers, and 125 showed up to package meals for Kids Against Hunger on Saturday, Feb. 11.

It was a communitywide turnout with representatives from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Sarasota, local school children and their parents, 19 national honor students from the Classical Academy of Sarasota, 26 residents from the Lido Shores Property Owners Association and several Longboat Key residents.

In total, the group packaged enough meals to feed either 23,000 adults or 46,000 children. The packages were split between Gladiolus Food Pantry in Fort Myers and Feed Empty Little Tummies (FELT) in Bradenton.

“At FELT, they have people living in campers and people living in their cars,” Community Service Ministry

Chair Karyn Hawksley Smith said. “This food will be very, very helpful to them. It’s amazing how much hunger there is right in our own backyard.”  Gladiolus Food Pantry should’ve been inoperable after Hurricane Ian. The building was under 4 feet of water with roof damage. The van was destroyed, and the food went bad. The building smelled so rancid of rotten meat, volunteers couldn’t go inside for three weeks.

“Now the only thing I’m missing is the computers, but I brought my laptop from work, and my assistant brought her laptop, so we’re open,” founder and Director Miriam Ortiz said. “We never stopped.”

It was business as usual, just outside. The building has since been repaired, but the internet was only fixed two weeks ago. Normally, the pantry distributes groceries once a week. Until the end of January, it was open every day.

Ortiz says it’s hard to keep up with the demand from donations alone. She’s having to buy a lot of peanut butter, jelly and eggs lately. The donation from the church was delivered and gone within a week.

Founded in 2013, the pantry distributed 848,678 pounds of food in 2021 alone. Gladiolus also provides diapers and toilet paper. To help, visit GladiolusFoodPantry.org/donate.

BEST BET

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, FEB. 24-25

THE LONGBOAT KEY FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Town Center Green, 600 Bay Isles Road.

An art showcase of 100 of the nation’s top fine artists representing an array of artistic media including painting, sculpture, jewelry, glass, photography, fiber, mixed media, metal, wood and more. This is a free event and open to the public. Call (561) 746-6615.

FRIDAY, FEB. 24

DIY SUCCULENT DISH GARDEN

From 1-4 p.m. at The Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road. Watch a demonstration, then plant your own dish garden. $40 for members; $50 for others. Call 383-6493.

FAMOUS COMPOSERS AND THEIR MUSES

From 3-4:15 p.m. at the Education Center at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road. The stories of Chopin, Debussy, Rachmaninov, Gershwin and Hoagy Carmichael are brought to life by their muses in this showcase meant to educate and entertain. $20 for members; $25 for others. Call 383-8222.

SUNDAY, FEB. 26

THE KIRKIN O’ THE TARTANS 10 a.m. at Christ Church of Longboat Key, 6400 Gulf of Mexico Drive. An annual tradition, this Sunday’s service will include Scottish banners, kilts and bagpipes. Call 383-8833.

A SALUTE TO THE FLUTE

From 3-4:30 p.m. at the Education Center at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road. Rick Aaron will be playing classics to contemporary Spanish music on the flute along with Lee Dougherty Ross on the piano. $20 for members; $25 for others. Call 383-8222.

TUESDAY, FEB. 28

EYES IN THE SKY: THE NEW SPACE RACE

From 3-4:30 p.m. at the Education Center at Temple Beth Israel, 567

File photo

Bay Isles Road. This lecture will provide background on the development of man’s ventures into space. $15 for members; $20 for others. Call 383-8222.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1

SENSATIONAL SALADS, HERBS AND SAVORIES

10 a.m. to noon at Driftwood Beach

Home & Garden, 6838 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Chef Tina Anderson is leading the class in the garden behind the boutique. $65 per person. Call 960-0568 to reserve a spot.

RECURRING EVENTS

THURSDAYS

KIWANIS CLUB OF LONGBOAT

KEY

At 8:30 a.m. at Lazy Lobster, 5350 Gulf of Mexico Drive. This service organization meets every first and third Thursday of the month for breakfast and a speaker. Breakfast is $10. Email Lynn Larson at LynnLarson@comcast.net to register.

SLOW FLOW YOGA

From 9-10 a.m. at the Education Center at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road. Simple yoga routines incorporating a range of several hatha yoga styles for all fitness levels. Eight sessions through Feb. 23, $95 for members; $110 for others. Pay as you go available. Call 383-8222.

Orchid Beach Club Residences condominium sells for $3.35 million

LESLEY DWYER STAFF WRITER

Acondominium in Orchid Beach Club

Residences tops all transactions in this week’s real estate. Kosberg Holdings LLC sold the Unit A702 condominium at 2050 Benjamin Franklin Drive to John and Carole Randjelovic, of Sarasota, for $3.35 million. Built in 2005, it has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and 3,242 square feet of living area. It sold for $2.21 million in 2019.

SANCTUARY AT LONGBOAT KEY CLUB

Thomas and Susan Pluss, of Longboat Key, sold their Unit A-603 condominium at 535 Sanctuary Drive to James Miller and Kelly Ruggles, of Tampa, for $3 million. Built in 1990, it has two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 2,375 square feet of living area. It sold for $780,000 in 2013.

MARINA BAY

Jennifer Shimek, of Longboat Key, sold her Unit 312 condominium at 2550 Harbourside Drive to Maryann Tarnok, of Mount Kisco, New York, for $1.8 million. Built in 1990, it has three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 2,830 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.61 million in 2022.

TIFFANY PLAZA

Christopher Torbeck sold the Unit 304 condominium at 4325 Gulf of Mexico Drive to Qoomars and Leandra Mollanazar, of Longboat Key, for $1.09 million. Built in 1975,

it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,336 square feet of living area. It sold for $750,000 in 2005.

GRAND BAY

Linda Ihle, trustee, of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, sold the Unit 546 condominium at 3080 Grand Bay Blvd. to Steven Peters, of Charlottesville, Virginia, for $1 million. Built in 1996, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,270 square feet of living area. It sold for $660,000 in 2015.

LONGBEACH ON LONGBOAT KEY

Janis Frawley, of Sarasota, sold the home at 751 Russell St. to Nicketta Guarino, trustee, of Longboat Key, for $779,000. Built in 1985, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 900

TOP BUILDING PERMITS

These are the largest building permits issued by the Longboat Key Planning and Zoning Department for the week of February 10-16 in order of dollar amounts.

square feet of living area. It sold for $157,000 in 1996.

FAIRWAY BAY

Edward and Gloriann Felicetta, of Brookhaven, New York, sold their Unit 136 condominium at 1930 Harbourside Drive to Jeffrey Jones and Erin Hogan Jones, of Mason, Ohio, for $720,000. Built in 1982, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,270 square feet of living area. It sold for $525,000 in 2021.

Photos courtesy of Jo Rutstein

The condo at Orchid Beach condominiums has three bedrooms and three-and-a-half baths.

2050 Benjamin Franklin Drive, Unit A702

THE PERFECT END RESULT

PET PICS

Have photos of your four-legged family members? We want to see them! Share them at YourObserver.com/contests/petpics to be published online and for a chance to see them in print!

To celebrate the 20th Anniversary Season of this leading national arts incubator, Hermitage Artistic Director Andy Sandberg returns to his roots as a performer to sing a benefit concert at Sarasota’s iconic Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall This one-night-only event will raise funds for the Hermitage Artist Retreat following the impact of Hurricane Ian earlier this season.

In addition to his role at the Hermitage, Sandberg is a director, writer, performer, and Tony Award-winning producer. He will be performing a concert of Broadway songs and will be joined on stage by Broadway guest stars, accompanied by 2023 Grammy Award nominee and Hermitage Fellow Rona Siddiqui

Accompanied by 2023 Grammy Nominee RONA SIDDIQUI

EASY BREEZY: Maltese pups Zoey Violet and Phoebe Rose traveled from Plymouth, Michigan to enjoy a few months of relaxation.

JUDY KEPECZ-HAYS TEAM

JUDY KEPECZ-HAYS TEAM

February 23, 2023

LONGBOAT KEY TOWERS

601 Longboat Club Rd #603S

Enjoy Sunrise and Sunsets. The beach is in your front yard and the golf course is in your backyard. The view from this residence is Hypnotizing! Bright and happy, instant enjoyment in this 2 Bdrm 2 baths 1458 sq. ft. Community offers a semi-private elevator, on-site manager, pool, guest suite, social room, and fitness room www.LBKtowers603S.com

LIDO KEY ST. ARMANDS CIRCLE

408 Jackson Dr 3 bed + den, 3 bath

159 Taft Dr #E305

3 bed, 3 bath | 2,500 Sq Ft

PLUS a 2,250 sq ft Private Rooftop Terrace with wrap-around views. Directly across from the Gulf of Mexico and features a resort-style heated swimming pool and spa, two under-building parking spaces with an additional storage room, and is overlooking the 110acre waterfront south Lido Park Reserve.

www.159taftdriveE305.com

Offered for $3,500,000 – Furnished

The Gem of all Jewels on St. Armands Circle! Location makes this spacious home with a pool an exceptional opportunity for those who want to be minutes from the circle, Lido Beach, and Main Street-in-the-heart of the city. This residence is brimming with updates and remarkable touches to add texture and style. The family room/office can easily be converted to a 4th bedroom with its glass wall to walk out to the garden, pool and patio. Offered for $3,085,000

Sq Ft

Exquisite water views from the long canal that leads out to Sarasota Bay. The Strand is a private gated community offering a resort style pool and spa , fitness center, dog park, EV charging station, boardwalk, and a kayak and paddle-board launch. Get ready to create lasting memories!

www.1709NTamiami221.com

Offered for $625,000 - Furnished

NATURE’S BEAUTY WITH

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DOCTOR’S ORDERS by Amie Walker and Jeff Chen, edited by David Steinberg

Luis Campos Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

The Longboat Observer reserves the right to classify and edit copy, or to reject or cancel an advertisement at any time. Corrections after first insertion only. *All ads are subject to the approval of the Publisher.

*It is the responsibility of the party placing any ad for publication in the Longboat Observer to meet all applicable legal requirements in connection with the ad such as compliance with towncodes in first obtaining an occupational license for business, permitted home occupation, or residential rental property. Notice: All real estate advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.

professionally managed greenery beside the coastal landscape of Sarasota Bay.

www.97SouthWashington.com

3030

Panoramic, direct views of Sarasota Bay, Harbourside golf course and downtown’s twinkling skyline are the star of the show as soon as you enter this lovely 3BR Antigua residence at Grand Bay. www.GrandBay346.com

$3,000,000

views welcome you to this 5thfloor Antigua residence, featuring a open concept, 3BR layout waiting for you to add your custom touches. Also includes deeded parking and private beach club access.

www.GrandBay251.com

$2,695,000

Enjoy the best of Florida living in this beautifully updated, well maintained, 3BR pool home. Just a few short miles from the beaches of Anna Maria Island, you will love moving right in! www.FairwayManor5311.com

$599,000

GRAND BAY BOULEVARD #346

5311 10TH AVENUE DRIVE WEST