Environment and Energy: Bloom, Sellers at CONA 1.10.20

Justin Bloom of Suncoast Waterkeeper spoke about the fish farming operation proposed for offshore of Sarasota - an EPA hearing is set for Jan. 28th at the Mote Wave Center, 5:30 pm. More on this here.

And Sean Sellers of the Suncoast Climate Justice Coalition spoke about what can be done to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2030, and who is getting behind this effort. Sarasota is one of 10 cities in Florida to have committed to government 100% renewable by 2030.


Click here or on the video below for the entire meeting:

This link will take you to Sean Sellers' full power point presentation on the perils facing a world that isn't quick enough on the uptake for renewable energy.

Magic and Mystery, Fishy Farms and thinking about the Quads

Magic, Mystery, Vitality, Complexity . . . These adjectives describe the idiosyncratic heritage of Sarasota, where wealth, intellect, and love of the arts and science went hand in hand with circus flair and echoes of the Italian Riviera, and they're found in the Jan. 2, 2020 New York Times story about the brand new Sarasota Art Museum. Michael Adno reminds us that there's more to Sarasota's storied past than just gated communities, golf, and beer on the beach. We also have seen a stark absence of long range vision from our current Board. How will the massive developments shaping our future alter the lively creative traditions of our past? 

Friday Jan. 10th at CONA: We'll hear updates about the controversial Fish Farming operation seeking a permit off of Sarasota, and on the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast's ideas for the Quad parcels - public lands adjacent to the Celery Fields. Sean Sellers of the Suncoast Climate Justice Coalition will also talk about Ready for 100% - the Sierra Club's move to catalyze our transition to renewable energy. Doors open at Waldemere at 6:30 pm.

Sarasota Audubon is in season high gear and their newsletter is rich with info and activities. As they are working on the Quad parcels with the Conservation Foundation, they offer their own update here.

Local planning for sea level rise and climate change

CONA Sarasota forum 10.11.19 with representatives of North Port, Sarasota County, the city of Sarasota, and Longboat Key addressing adaptation and preparation for coming changes to sea level and climate.

Full video here. (A few minutes were lost due to equipment malfunction).

CONA Sarasota Resource page

l. to r. Kafi Benz, Stevie Freeman Montes, Lee Hayes Byron, Darcy Young, Molly Holland, Elizabeth Wong, Carolyn Brown, Jerry Traverso

CONA April 8: City Transportation Master Plan

 

Sarasota County Council of
Neighborhood Associations - CONA

Monday, April 8, 2019   7 p.m.         city transportation  master plan  coming to Sarasota                On April 8, 2019, please join CONA-Sarasota County Council of Neighborhood Associations, when the chief transportation planner for the city of Sarasota, Colleen McGue, will present Sarasota in Motion, a preview of the city master plan development regarding transportation that will kick off this Spring.                    More than just a traffic plan, the city planners also are looking at how to move people around the city safely and comfortably on foot, on bicycles, on improved transit service, and in new ways such as automated and connected vehicles, water taxi, and more .               Ms. McGue will give citizens an insight into the process for development of the plan and enough information to determine what their role will be in that process during input from the community and the public participation opportunities.

Waterkeeper to address Red Tide at CONA Sarasota

Sarasota County Council of  Neighborhood Associations - CONA       Monday, February 11, 2019           -  monthly meeting  -       how we feed red tide          On February 11, 2019, please join CONA-Sarasota County Council of Neighborhood Associations, to hear the executive director of Suncoast Waterkeeper, Justin Bloom, discuss factors fueling red tide that potentially, are within our control and steps that may be taken to reverse our contributions to the exacerbation of the natural cycle into the protracted toxic calamity we have been experiencing.                  Suncoast Waterkeeper is a Sarasota-based nonprofit that seeks to protect and restore waterways in our community and beyond, through enforcement, fieldwork, advocacy, and environmental education for the benefit of the communities that rely upon these precious coastal resources. It is one of more than 300 waterkeeper programs around the world. Waterkeepers are a combination of watchdog, investigator, scientist, educator, and legal advocate, protecting rights to clean water and empowering citizens to defend their waterways.             CONA will hold a series of programs related to red tide in order to encourage community action to reduce factors. Understanding all of the factors may lead to the identification of actions the community can take to reduce red tide and point to the best timetable for actions as we tackle the reduction of red tide.                          Following a traditional half-hour social beforehand, the meeting will open with brief neighborhood updates about their issues, including Chris Bales on Arbor Lake Preserve, Ben Cannon on Bath and Racquet Club, Sura Kochman on Siesta Promenade, and Tom Matrullo on the Celery Fields and Fresh Start.                                                                             See www.conasarasota.org/meetings.html for more information.                 social 6:30 p.m. -  meeting 7:00 p.m.          neighbors helping neighborhoods since 1961                                                          CONA meetings are free and open to the public as well as members of the more than seventy associations the organization represents and its individual members. Unless otherwise noted, the meetings are held at the Sarasota Garden Club, 1131 Boulevard of the Arts in Sarasota, which is at the intersection of Tamiami Trail, south of the Municipal Auditorium. Parking and the entrance are reached from Van Wezel Way. Socials precede the meetings at 6:30 p.m., the meetings begin at 7:00 p.m.                       For additional information about CONA and our schedule of upcoming meetings,  please see the CONA web site copyright © 2019 Sarasota County Council of Neighborhood Associations  all rights reserved

CONA Sarasota Forum Oct. 8: Commission Race and Single Member Districts

Update: Go here for video of the single member vote debate and condidate panels from CONA's October meeting.  Monday, October 8, 2018         -  general election forum  -  county commission races single member districts         All candidates competing on the general election ballot for our county commission districts have been invited to participate in the CONA forum on October 8, 2018 that also will address a ballot initiative of particular interest to county voters. The forum will be divided into two panels.                  The first panel will feature Jack Brill and Dan Lobeck in a discussion of an initiative on the ballot that voters will consider regarding a change of county government form, from at-large election to single-member-district election of commissioners.               The second panel will combine county commission candidates Ruta Maria Jouniari and Christian Ziegler of the district 2 race with Wesley Anne Beggs and Alan Maio of the district 4 race.        Written questions may be submitted in advance or at the meeting to be included, as time allows, following the questions posed by our moderator.           Candidates appearing on our ballots for any races are welcome to attend the social before the meeting in order to make contact with voters and to distribute literature and yard signs, even if not scheduled as a member of a panel for the forum. Information about initiatives appearing on the ballot also may be provided to inform voters.                   The meeting will open with brief neighborhood updates about their issues, including Chris Bales on Arbor Lake Preserve, Ben Cannon on Bath and Racquet Club, Sura Kochman on Siesta Promenade, and Tom Matrullo on the Celery Fields.                                                                             See www.conasarasota.org/meetings.html for more information.                 social 6:30 p.m. -  meeting 7:00 p.m.          neighbors helping neighborhoods since 1961                        anniversary party  -  honoring John McCarthy  -  November 5, 2018 make your reservation at the meeting ticket purchase information is on the 'contact us' page of our web site

CONA meetings are free and open to the public as well as members of the more than seventy associations the organization represents and its individual members. Unless otherwise noted, the meetings are held at the Sarasota Garden Club, 1131 Boulevard of the Arts in Sarasota, which is at the intersection of Tamiami Trail, south of the Municipal Auditorium. Parking and the entrance are reached from Van Wezel Way. Socials precede the meetings at 6:30 p.m., the meetings begin at 7:00 p.m.

Cona District 4 County Candidates Forum

Three of the four candidates for Sarasota Board of County Commissioners Dist. 4 answered questions about climate change, development, priorities for parks, and more. Wesley Ann Beggs, Mike Cosentino, Lourdes Ramirez were present, with moderator Kafi Benz, president of CONA. Incumbent Al Maio did not appear.



All four videos from 8.13.18 candidate forum at CONA Sarasota.

District 4 Race - Candidates at CONA Aug. 13

Sarasota County Council of  Neighborhood Associations - CONA                - monthly meeting -          Monday  7 p.m.   August 13, 2018      -     candidate forum       - county commission district four race     Candidates Wesley Ann Beggs, Mike Cosentino, Al Maio, and Lourdes Ramirez have been invited to participate in the CONA forum on August 13, 2018. They are the candidates qualified to run in the district four race for the county commission in the August primary. Voters elect all county commissioners, who are supposed to represent the entire county. Candidates run in the race for the district in which they reside.         The forum is free and open to the public. Written questions may be submitted in advance or at the meeting to be included, as time allows, following the questions posed by our moderator.           Qualified candidates for any scheduled local race are welcome to attend the social before the meeting in order to make contact with voters and to distribute literature and yard signs, even if not scheduled as a member of the panel for the forum. Information about amendments and referenda appearing on the fall general election ballot also may be provided to inform voters.                   Following our traditional half-hour social beforehand, the meeting opens with brief neighborhood updates about their issues, to include Chris Bales on Arbor Lake Preserve, Ben Cannon on Bath and Racquet Club, Sura Kochman on Siesta Promenade, and Tom Matrullo on the Celery Fields.                          CONA election forums will be held each month through October.                                                           See www.conasarasota.org/meetings.html for more information.             social 6:30 p.m. -  meeting 7:00 p.m. at the Sarasota Garden Club neighbors helping neighborhoods since 1961                        save the date  -  our anniversary party  -  November 5, 2018

Meet the candidates at the CONA Forum

Sarasota County Council of Neighborhood Associations—CONA 

meet candidates at 6:30 pm and attend forum at 

7:00 pm Monday, July 9, 2018

_____ candidate forum _____ 

county commission district two race

Alexandra Coe, Ruta Maria Jouniari, and Christian Zeigler have been invited to participate in the CONA forum at 7 pm on Monday, July 9, 2018. They are all of the candidates qualified to run in the district two race for the county commission in the August primary. Voters elect all county commissioners, who are supposed to represent the entire county. Candidates run in the race for the district in which they reside.

The forum is free and open to the public. Written questions may be submitted in advance or at the forum to be included, as time allows, following the questions posed by our moderator.

_______ plus ______ 

meet qualified candidates for all local primary races

Qualified candidates for any scheduled local race are welcome to attend the 6:30 social before the 7:00 CONA forum in order to make contact with voters and to distribute literature and yard signs, even if not scheduled as a member of the panel for the forum. Because so few forums are scheduled, we are providing this opportunity for all local race candidates.

CONA election forums will be held each month through October at the Sarasota Garden Club 1131 Boulevard of the Arts see www.conasarasota.org/meetings.html for calendar dates and directions

Candidates for county commission invited to CONA forums

All candidates who qualified to run for county commission have been invited by CONA to participate in a candidate forum scheduled for their race. The forums are free and open to the public.

• The forum for district two candidates for county commission will be held by CONA on July 9, 2018. 

• The forum for district four candidates for county commission will be held by CONA on August 13, 2018.

The location for both forums is the Sarasota Garden Club at 1131 Boulevard of the Arts in Sarasota, which is at the intersection of Tamiami Trail, south of the Municipal Auditorium. Parking and the entrance are reached from Van Wezel Way. A social at 6:30 p.m. precedes the forum that begins at 7:00 p.m. 

Our forums are open to the public and free. Details and more information are posted to the web site,www.conasarasota.org and will be distributed in regularly scheduled meeting announcements. 

Qualified candidates for any scheduled local race and those proposing ballot initiatives are welcome to attend the social before each of the forums in order to make contact with voters and to distribute literature and yard signs -- even if not scheduled as a member of the panel for that forum. 

Kafi Benz, president

Confusing Ballot Amendments - CONA Sarasota, Monday June 11

   - monthly meeting -

         

      Monday 7 p.m.   June 11, 2018

     

understand the confusing
proposed ballot amendments

and updates on Arbor Lake Preserve, Bath and Racquet Club, Siesta, Promenade, Celery Fields 

  

   On June 11, 2018 please join CONA to hear Barbara Ford-Coates, Dennis Maley, and Lourdes Ramirez discuss the proposed state constitutional review committee (CRC) ballot amendments that voters will need to understand in order to determine which ones they will approve. Sixty percent approval is required for each to pass.        

   This year, decisions about the many changes proposed for the state constitution have been complicated further by the CRC grouping their proposed changes rather than using the traditional single-issue amendments that are more familiar to voters. 

   Every twenty years, a committee is appointed to review the state constitution and to draft changes they alone recommend. Contrary to the typical procedures for state constitutional amendments, these are not citizen-initiated through a process that requires the consent of a significant percentage of the voters just to get proposed amendments onto the ballot and, grouping has been used to obscure the large number of the 2018 committee's proposed changes. 

   The grouping device seems designed to require voters to adopt unpopular changes in order to approve popular changes. Careful scrutiny and understanding will be needed this year in order to avoid approval of changes to the state constitution that are not desired--just because they are tied to a change that voters do desire.

   Historical and contemporary perspectives of the amendments proposed by this constitutional review committee will be presented to assist voters in making their decisions. Q & A will follow.

   Following a traditional half-hour social beforehand, the meeting will open with neighborhood updates about their current issues from Chris Bales on Arbor Lake Preserve, Ben Cannon on Bath and Racquet Club, Sura Kochman on Siesta Promenade, and Tom Matrullo on the Celery Fields.

                                 

  See www.conasarasota.org/meetings.html for more information.

           

social 6:30 p.m. -  meeting 7:00 p.m.

at the Sarasota Garden Club

       

neighbors helping neighborhoods since 1961

                      

save the date  -  our anniversary party  -  November 5, 2018

Thaxton at CONA: Our Comp Plan

Sarasota County Council of  Neighborhood Associations - CONA

- monthly meeting -         Monday   April 9, 2018      at 7 p .m.        importance of our comprehensive plan and a report on the Bath and Racquet Club application      On Monday, April 9, 2018 please join CONA for a thorough discussion by Jon Thaxton regarding our county comprehensive plan.Learn how this document expresses our vision of what we want our community to be and how it drives the decisions made by our local government regarding development and redevelopment. That our plan for smart growth was carefully-crafted by citizens participating in a long process that resulted in a vision that garnered national recognition and awards will be covered. The examination will reveal the devolution of our comprehensive plan through gradual changes that failed to adhere to the inherent vision expressed by the community.                                       Understanding and participating in this process is essential to reviving our vision in time to avoid the Browardization of Sarasota through compromise of the smart growth goals of our vision that include protecting neighborhood compatibility and the environment, limiting traffic congestion, constraining urban sprawl, and making growth pay its own way rather than being subsidized by existing taxpayers and degrading our quality of life.              Following our traditional half-hour social beforehand, the meeting will open with Ben Cannon bringing us up to date on the redevelopment application for the Bath and Racquet Club.                                                   Q & A will follow both discussions.         More about CONA meetings, location             social 6:30 p.m. -  meeting 7:00 p.m. at the Sarasota Garden Club neighbors helping neighborhoods since 1961                        save the date  -  our anniversary party  -  November 5, 2018

Are developers holding back on big plans until growth-friendly candidates get voted in?

Dan Lobeck of Control Growth Now at Sarasota County Council of Neighborhood Associations (CONA) in Sarasota on March 12, 2018, speaking about Smart Growth, the upcoming elections, and Single District Voting.

 

 Part 2 with Q & A:

 

Smart Growth - now more than ever

Sarasota County Council of  Neighborhood Associations - CONA                - monthly meeting -         Monday   March 12, 2018      at 7 p .m.        smart growth needed more than ever              On Monday, March 12, 2018 please join CONA for a presentation by  the president of Control Growth Now, Dan Lobeck, regarding recent and proposed changes by local government to the vision of our community that had been carefully-crafted for the future by citizens participating in the extensive planning process that resulted in an award-winning comprehensive plan.                                         These changes are compromising the smart growth goals of our vision, including those protecting neighborhood compatibility and the environment, limiting traffic congestion, constraining urban sprawl, and making growth pay its own way rather than being borne by existing taxpayers.             Mr. Lobeck will propose solutions and reforms within our government institutions and political choices that will benefit and represent the interests of neighborhoods, residents, and businesses.              Among the potential solutions that will be discussed, is an initiative toward single-member districts for county commission seats that currently is working toward placing a referendum on the county voting ballot.                                          Q & A will follow. A social precedes the meeting at 6:30.           See www.conasarasota.org/meetings.html for more about CONA.             social 6:30 p.m. -  meeting 7:00 p.m. at the Sarasota Garden Club, 1131 Boulevard of the Arts neighbors helping neighborhoods since 1961                        save the date  -  our anniversary party  -  November 5, 2018 CONA meetings are free and open to the public as well as members of the more than seventy associations the organization represents and its individual members. Unless otherwise noted, the meetings are held at the Sarasota Garden Club, 1131 Boulevard of the Arts in Sarasota, which is at the intersection of Tamiami Trail, south of the Municipal Auditorium. Parking and the entrance are reached from Van Wezel Way. Socials precede the meetings at 6:30 p.m., the meetings begin at 7:00 p.m.

===== 

On March 10, Control Growth Now holds its annual lunch, this year at Marina Jacks. Those attending will hear from Glenna Blomquist and Tom Matrullo two of many who helped build community opposition to the placement of a waste processing plant at the Celery Fields in 2017. Both are now working on the project known as Fresh Start, seeking sensible, community enhancing planning for the parcels where the developer sought to build an open-air waste processing facility.