Pelican Press
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2011
AN OBSERVER NEWSPAPER
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back to the the drawing board By Rachel Brown Hackney | Managing Editor
New beach sign in the works At the County Commission’s direction, county staff is assembling a group of representatives from the Key and interested members of the public to create new signage about the Siesta Public Beach being No. 1 in the United States.
DIVERSIONS
artinsight brings a woman’s touch to sARTée. NEIGHBORHOOD
Sarasota County staff is assembling a “stakeholders” group to work on new signage proclaiming Siesta Public Beach’s status as No. 1 in the country. Rob Lewis, executive director of Planning and Development Services, has notified the county commissioners he also has organized a team of internal staff to work on the project. During their Sept. 13 regular
meeting, the County Commission directed Interim County Administrator Terry Lewis to coordinate the redesign with the Florida Department of Transportation, the Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce and Key organizations representing businesses. The directive called for staff to report back within 45 days. “We need a more attractive
sign,” Commission Chairwoman Nora Patterson said, referring to the signs county staff had attached to SCAT bus stop signs prior to Labor Day weekend. Virginia Haley, president of the SCVB, agreed. “I know people don’t think the signs on the bus stops are the greatest,” she said. “Hopefully, (county staff will) get the other signs all worked out.”
Still, she said she was happy something went up before that last big summer holiday weekend. Discussion of signage and possibly banners at the entryways to the Key arose during the Aug. 2 meeting of the Siesta Key Village Association. At the time, county zoning staff said banners may not be allowed by county ordinance.
SEE SIGNS / PAGE 2A
HANDS-ON LESSON
commitment
Key 13A Siesta Crystal Classic
Master Sandsculpting Competition chairs Eileen and Bob Parkinson enjoy their community work.
NETWORKING
14A
Members of both the Siesta Key and Venice chambers of commerce get better acquainted at Bentley’s Resort in Osprey.
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CELEBRATING
YEARS
1971-2011
INDEX
Business directory.........22A Classifieds................... 22A Neighborhood................13A Cops Corner..................11A Crossword.....................21A Opinion..........................6A Real Estate...................20A
Vol. 41, No. 11 | Two sections YourObserver.com
Mallory Gnaegy
Lt. Scot Gottschalk shows St. Boniface preschoolers Giovanna Hansen, Chloe Macaluso and Liam Lizotte the heat-seeking camera the Siesta Key Fire Department utilizes in its work. He used their teacher to show how the device depicts bodies. Preschoolers got a close-up look at some of the firefighters’ operations Sept. 22. For more photos, see page 18A.
bid business
By Rachel Brown Hackney | Managing Editor
Village maintenance vendor bid almost ready A request for proposals for a new vendor to handle the upkeep in Siesta Village is awaiting final county approval before it is released. At the latest, a new vendor should be on board by early 2012. In the meantime, the county will continue the upkeep. If all goes as planned, county staff should have a new bid for a vendor to handle the Village maintenance ready by Oct. 8, said Tom Maroney, general manager of business operations and public works for Sarasota County. The County Attorney’s Office may want to make a few changes in the language, he said, but staff had worked both with the Procurement Department and Mark Smith, the representative of the Siesta Key Village Maintenance
Corp., on the revised language. Maroney met with Procurement staff Sept. 22, he said, to discuss final details. James Harriott, executive director of the county’s Public Works Department, told county commissioners July 26 he hoped to present them a contract with a new vendor for their approval this fall. “That could still happen,” Maroney said. However, he said, it was pos-
sible a new vendor would not be hired until early 2012. “I’m being very conservative,” he said. “I’m assuming somebody (among county staff) will want to change something.” Smith had reported to the Siesta Key Village Association Sept. 6 he had reviewed both the revised request for proposals for the bid and the proposed changes in the ordinance that established the Maintenance Corp. He had suggested minor changes, he said.
The new ordinance specifies that any subsequent vendor hired will handle work that the first vendor, JWM Management, undertook over the previous year in the Village, Smith said. JWM Management officials already had said they would not re-bid on the work; the firm’s contract period ended Aug. 15. In the meantime, the county has been handling all the Village
SEE VILLAGE / PAGE 2A