Observer
LONGBOAT
NEWS Passionate player Tennis lessons give Parkinson’s patient an edge. Page 5A.
DIVERSIONS: LITTLE BIG STAR
Seabird Sanctuary
The Asolo Rep’s Will Little slips into a fitting role.
Save Our Seabirds currently is home to more than 200 birds.
NEWS 1C
INSIDE | PAGE 1B
You. Your neighbors. Your neighborhood.
OUR TOWN PEOPLE, PICS & PLACES
contract negotiations
Town sides with St. Denis The Town Commission agreed with Town Manager Bruce St. Denis on the three issues left to resolve a new firefighter contract last week.
By Kurt Schultheis | City Editor
+ Arts Center receives new look Longboat Key Center for the Arts, a Division of Ringling College of Art and Design, has new sculptures on display in its courtyard. Sarasota-based sculptor Mark Anderson created the five bronze-and-aluminum sculptures. Anderson was the interim chairman of fine arts at Ringling. His work can be found in many private university, corporate and museum collections throughout the country. The five sculptures are made up of body-part casts that are welded together.
Thursday, MARCH 10, 2011
Nineteen months of discussions about a new Longboat Key Fire Rescue contract have come down to this: Both sides must either ratify a new contract that expires in six months or keep the status quo that includes some modifications. Either way, both the town and the firefighters will head back to the drawing board almost immediately to try and work out a new three-year contract that includes concessions with which both sides can live. The Longboat Key Town Commission
sided with the town manager’s position on all three points of contract contention between the town and the firefighters at an impasse hearing Wednesday, March 2, at Town Hall. The seven commissioners voted 7-0 on two of Town Manager Bruce St. Denis’ positions, which include that: • The town should no longer count sick or leave time as hours worked for overtime purposes. • The town should no longer count va-
Q&A
Longboat Key’s mayor signs off Mayor George Spoll will leave the Town Commission after six years of service.
+ It’s time to turn back the clocks
By Kurt Schultheis | City Editor
Sunset photo submitters, take note: You’ll have to stay out an hour later to snap up those succulent sky scenes. It’s time to turn the clock forward and savor an extra hour of evening sunshine: Daylight Saving Time officially ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, March 13.
How did you get involved with town of Longboat Key politics? My wife and I moved here in January 1993. We were unpacking, and I said I was heading to a Fairway Bay condo meeting. When they mentioned the community was undertaking a painting job, I inquired whether the association planned to fix other things that needed to be repaired before the buildings were painted. By September 1993, I was on the Fairway Bay I board and was its president for 12 years. From there, I got involved with the Longboat Key Federation of Condominium and became its president within two years of joining. From there, I overheard there were issues arising with how the town’s Planning, Zoning and Building Department was perceived. We had an open community meeting, and it led to substantial changes in the building department. That issue brought me clearly to the attention of the commission, and I was appointed to the Planning and Zoning Board for a year-and-a-half before being appointed to the Town Commission six years ago.
See OUR TOWN / PAGE 2A
INDEX Black Tie................................11B Classifieds...............................12C Crossword..............................11C Deal Us In..............................10C Key Real Estate.......................2C Letters to the Editor................7A Opinion.....................................6A Weather.................................11C Vol. 33, No. 32 Three sections www.YourObserver.com
Dora Walters
Town Manager Bruce St. Denis, right, and town labor attorney Reynolds Allen discuss why the town is not able to give SEE IMPASSE / PAGE 7A the firefighters a contract that involves spending more money.
Rachel S. O’Hara
Mayor George Spoll oversaw his last evening regular Town Commission meeting Monday, March 7, at Town Hall.
SEE SPOLL / PAGE 8A
Profile Name: George Spoll Age: 77 Raised: Mount Vernon, N.Y. Former occupation: Retired builder of homes, condominiums and commercial rehabilitation projects Family: Wife of 26 years, Madelyn; one daughter; one son; and one grandson Served as: Fairway Bay Association Board member for 14 years and president for 12 years; Bay Isles Board member for 12 years; Longboat Key Federation of Condominium member for 10 years and president for seven years; P&Z Board member for two years; town commissioner for six years and mayor for one year