Before 11.14: oppose "defunding" Sarasota's Public library's memberships

Sarasota Commissioner Mike Moran 

Kindra Muntz:

THE ISSUE:  Encouraged by the Sarasota County Commission’s recent swift approval of “medical freedom” and “Bill of Rights sanctuary” resolutions, several speakers at last Monday’s board meeting asked commissioners to “defund” the county library system’s membership to the American Library Association and the Florida Library Association over concerns about reading material made available to young people at local libraries.

 

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Call or send an email to our elected officials before 11/14. The County Commissioners may vote on this issue and they are getting lots of support to "defund" libraries by the wacky right wingers.  

Go to the Commissioner's Meeting on Nov. 14 at 9:00 and Anderson Admin. Bldg,. in Venice.  Fill out a card to speak to the issue.

 

WHERE TO SEND AN EMAIL:

Sarasota County Commissioners -         commissioners@scgov.net

State Senator District 22 - Joe Gruters - Gruters.Joe@flsenate.gov 

State Rep. District 73 - Fiona McFarland- fiona.mcfarland@myfloridahouse.gov

District 74 - James Buchanan - james.buchanan@myfloridahouse.gov 

District 75 - Michael Grant - michael.grant@myfloridahouse.gov

 

SUGGESTED EMAIL WORDING:

[Subject Line]: I support strong Sarasota libraries! 

Thank you for your support of Sarasota County’s public libraries. Libraries play a vital role in creating a strong community where education and information is available to everyone. They are community spaces where residents from all walks of life come together. It is critical that libraries receive the funding they need to serve our ever-growing population. As a taxpayer, libraries are very important to me and I encourage you to allocate sufficient resources to ensure our library system continues to be the best in the state. Strong libraries aren’t a luxury - they are a necessity for a thriving community.  An enlightened County like Sarasota deserves the very best libraries

Sincerely,

_______________

TO PLACE A PHONE CALL:

County Commissioners: 941-861-5000

Joe Gruters: 941-378-6309

Fiona McFarland: 941-361-2465

Jameas Buchanan: 941-429-4560

Michael Grant: 941-613-0914

 

Sample Phone Script:

Below is a sample script you can use when calling your elected representatives in support of libraries. Please feel free to personalize these comments. 

Hello, my name is ___________________ and I live in District ________________. I believe strongly in the importance of public libraries and want to thank you for your past support for our Sarasota libraries. I urge you to please consider increasing the funding for our libraries so they can continue to meet the needs of our growing community and can keep pace with inflation and the rising costs of books and materials. Professional, well-resourced libraries are essential for our quality of life in Sarasota. Thank you for considering my request.

Do Grand Trees need to make way for development?

Grand Trees

On 1/31/23, The Board of Sarasota County Commissioners will vote on an ordinance which loosens protections for “grand trees,” including live oaks.

Commissioner Ron Cutsinger was the first to address the Grand Tree issue during the Oct. 11 regular meeting, followed by Commissioner Michael Moran. 

A chart that Herman showed the commissioners suggested that Section 54-586(2)(c) of the County Code remain in place. That calls for staff to allow the removal of Grand Trees on platted lots for either safety reasons or if the location of a Grand Tree “would unreasonably prevent the Development of a Lot.” 

Chair Alan Maio pointed out on Oct. 11 that he had had many discussions with county residents regarding Grand Trees on platted lots. “Unincorporated Sarasota County has a lot of 80 by 100-foot platted lots,” he said. “Anyone who thinks [otherwise] is mistaken.” A Grand Tree might be “right square in the middle” of one of those, Maio continued.

Sarasota News Leader 10.13.22: Commissioners Cutsinger and Moran push for more flexibility in removal of Grand Trees to allow for new developments

From Adrien Lucas: 

Tell them to vote NO!

Email to: bcc@scgov.net or commissioners@scgov.net.

Individual Commissioners:

mmoran@scgov.net - Mike Moran

mhsmith@scgov.net - Mark Smith

ncdetert@scgov.net - Nancy Detert

jneunder@scgov.net - Joseph Neunder

rcutsinger@scgov.net - Ron Cutsinger

Please share this message with friends and neighbors who care about quality of life in Sarasota County.

Brief snip from Commissioner Maio on Grand Trees

Thank you!

Why is the MSBIA's Florida House proposal even being considered? An email exchange

Florida House, Sarasota

Below is a recent email exchange with Sarasota County administration regarding Commissioner Mike Moran's motion to consider a proposal from Jon Mast, president of the Manatee / Sarasota Building Industry Association (MSBIA), the local Building Industry lobby. Jon Mast and his wife, Teresa Mast, have written to the Board and appeared before them at various points in pursuit of this proposal.

As already reported, the lobby and marketing organization is asking to buy the Florida House and move it to the Southwest Quad parcel. However, this parcel is under a conservation easement granted by the county in 2019 to the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast and to Sarasota Audubon. The Board discussion of the proposal has been reported in the Sarasota News Leader and the Herald Tribune. 

Despite the constraints on the SW Quad parcel, the Board approved Moran's motion, agreeing to consider the Mast proposal, fast-tracking it rather than choosing to examine other options presented by county staff (four options are shown at the end of this post).

=====

5.4.22

Dear Ms. Casanova,

This is in response to your email to Ms. Lucas, which is quoted here:

Thank you very much for your email. I am not sure where you received information that caused you concern, but the recent information that was provided on Facebook and other locations is not correct.

The county entered into a conservation easement in 2020 on the SW quad that provides for both conservation and for a portion to be used for the County Government needs. The SE and NE quads also have been protected by the same conservation easement. The conservation easement was initiated by county commission, and they approved it in 2020 to protect the buffer with the celery fields.

I am sorry you were misinformed by others, but there is no plan for private sector development on the SW quad or the other two protected quads.

Thank you again for emailing the County.

Kind Regards,

Desiree Casanova

County Administration Office

Today I reviewed the video footage of the brief Board discussion of 4.26.22, instigated by Mr. Moran's wish to make a motion for Staff to begin discussions with the MSBIA, which has, with no discussion with or support from citizens, peppered the Board with messages indicating its desire to take control of the Florida House and relocate it.

Mr. Moran opened the discussion, seeking to direct Staff to open a negotiation with the MSBIA regarding the Florida House. A few moments later, Mr. Ziegler said he's fine with such a motion, but he's heard "rumors" that MSBIA wishes to relocate to "the Celery Fields." He said he did not know if this was the case, but he would not favor a motion that included this element of the MSBIA's desire.

Other Commissioners weighed in, Ms. Detert opposing this motion, then it came back around to Moran, who proceeded to make the motion without honoring Mr. Ziegler's point about foreclosing the option of relocating to the SW Quads Parcel. All except Detert approved the motion.

Two facts: 

    1. Mr. Ziegler misspoke in referring to "rumors." As the news has reported, communications from the MSBIA - basically Mr. and Mrs. Mast - specifically wove into their builder lobby's proposal the intention to relocate to the SW Quad parcel. This was their choice after Mr. Mast had earlier tried to situate the Florida House on the NW parcel, owned by the County. If Mr. Ziegler were more meticulous or attentive, he'd understand that "rumors" was not what the Board is dealing with.

    2. Any commissioner could easily have amended Mr. Moran's motion in line with Mr. Ziegler's point, but did not. In directing Staff to open discussions with the MSBIA, the motion makes no mention of excluding the Quad parcels.

This is not unlike various other board discussions that deal with topics that affect our community. When dealing with a specific plan for a stop sign or a setback, the Board will spend hours on picayune details, but here, when a very sensitive community asset is being singled out by the local area's largest developer lobby as the target location of a property it does not own, nor has ever had any interest in participating in (according to those intimately familiar with the history and work of the Florida House), the Board simply goes "yeah, sure," and moves on. 

I'll leave it to you to decide whether this is slipshod oversight, or the Board's way of protecting the interests of the Masts. 

Either way, the community is now alerted to a present threat to public land under the 12.6.19 easement. You can "say" it's protected, but the fact is, when the Board had a clear chance to qualify its motion to avert this possibility, it chose not to do so.

I hope this helps you and Staff to understand this community's concern.

Respectfully,

Tom Matrullo

Citizens for Sarasota County

====

Response received 5.5.22:

Good afternoon Mr. Matrullo

 

Thank you very much for your email.

 

I have provided the link to the board assignment below:

https://www.scgov.net/home/showdocument?id=55559&t=637871927228885579 

 

Thank you for your feedback and effort in making the county better.

 

Kind Regards,

 

Desiree Casanova

County Administration Office

=====

The link Ms. Casanova shared goes to a full staff report on the Florida House, which includes some options staff thought worth considering: 

                                    Image courtesy of the Sarasota News Leader

Board Dead Set on Repealing Citizen Initiative

On December 7, the Board of Sarasota County Commissioners will designate a special election to repeal Single Member District voting.

They're back . . . Sarasota’s highest elected officials intend to undo a Charter Amendment that the electorate approved just three years ago.

What’s going on? Why does the Board want us to re-vote on an amendment we approved by 60 percent across all five districts in 2018?

Fueled by hollow rhetoric, reasons offered by the Commissioners have been shifting:

We the People were “confused” when we voted for Single Member Districts, according to Commissioner Al Maio.

After the public explained -- in person on three occasions and through a professional County poll -- that it was not confused, Commissioner Mike Moran offered another story: “Sly Democrat operatives” have fooled a gullible electorate into voting for Single Member Districts, he said.

When the non-partisan Citizens for District Power noted that the 2018 vote passed by a strong majority in all five Republican districts, Moran switched to “sly political operatives,” or just “sly operatives.”

Instead of describing voters as confused or hoodwinked, Commissioner Nancy Detert said, "I've never liked Single Member Districts, but I'm getting tired of trying to save people from themselves.”

Board of Sarasota County

Why are our elected Commissioners bound and determined to reverse this citizens’ amendment to Sarasota County’s Home Rule Charter?

In a word, fear.

The Board has a critical task: to evaluate and approve large-scale developer plans for housing projects, commercial centers, apartments and roads. What can happen to their political careers if each Commissioner had to answer to citizens impacted by their rapid-fire blanket developer approvals in his or her district?

Take for example the highly controversial “mega-hotels” recently approved on Siesta Key.

Scale of proposed Siesta Key hotel

Residents from some 70 Siesta Key HOAs hired lawyers and professional planners, and came out in force, presenting strong, cogent arguments why these hotels would be disastrous to the local character of the barrier island. To no avail -- the Board approved both hotels that have come before it (two more are in the pipeline). Under Single Member Districts, the Board members would be answerable to their district voters on Siesta Key. In a re-election, they’d face intense public scrutiny of their voting record.

When these same politicians are elected by all the voters of the County, they can avoid addressing issues of concern in their District. They’ll drown the mailboxes of North Port, Northeast Sarasota or Englewood with their mailers, knowing full well that many voters in other districts neither know about nor care what the Board allows developers to do to Siesta Key.

In the current economic environment, Countywide voting allows candidates to ignore everything that urgently matters to residents of their district. In recent years, incumbents have refused to participate in public forums or debates, to hold town hall meetings, even to be interviewed by the press.

That allows politicians running for our Board, which dedicates a great deal of time to growth issues in an overheated developer frenzy, to evade the people who want to preserve our Siesta Key and oppose mega hotels, or who fight the transformation of vast ranchlands into suburban gated communities, or who worry about an intersection that can’t handle oversized developments -- like Siesta Promenade at Stickney Point and US 41.

Single Member District voting requires each Commissioner to face the people who feel their neighborhoods, roads and environment are imperiled by their Board votes. And SMD candidates can reach their district voters without needing developer dollars or Dark Money, while Countywide campaigns cost at least $100,000.

Over time, special interests have made it clear that to even hope for their support, you have to publicly demonstrate your pro-growth credentials -- by serving on the Planning Commission, for example. Planning “commissioners” are not elected, but are appointed by County Commissioners -- Maio, Moran and District 5 Commissioner Ron Cutsinger all are alumni of that self-fulfilling loop.

Sarasotans worked hard to adopt Single Member Districts from a shared sense that growth here has gotten out of hand. Those who remember Sarasota as a place of taste, charm, and intelligence do not need to be saved from themselves. Rather, they need a level of political accountability that could save Sarasota from its at-large-elected officials.

Come to the Board Hearing on December 7 to speak, or simply to pack the room. The latest Hearing information will be posted to the home page of the Citizens for District Power site.

The Board discussion described above took place on Nov. 16, 2021, beginning at the 2 hour, 50-minute mark.