About Old Miakka: An open letter to the Sarasota County Commission

To: The Board of Sarasota County Commissioners

When I drive out to east Sarasota - which I do when I visit Crowley’s Nursery, or Florida Native Plants, I experience a sense of going to another place - a bit of travel to ranches, open spaces, a reality different from our core residential areas, filled as they are with gated communities, Publixes and Walgreens.

 

An environment that has not been tamed and rubber-stamped into a profit-maximizing business plan seems somehow life affirming and reassuring. The rural quality of east Sarasota is unique because it has not been packaged into yet another sterile commodity. We need the otherness of places like this - they enrich the diversity of where we live, and remind us that Adam and Eve didn’t require sidewalks, generic house plans, or well-coiffed dogs on leashes.

Sarasota County has prided itself on individual flair - the creative experimentalism of Bertha Palmer, the Baroque extravagances of John Ringling, the public spirit of John Nolen's vision for downtown Venice. 

John Nolen Park

Individuality - the unique - endows a place with character.

When you take that away, you end up with the tedious regularity of yet another Florida residential product -- packaged, commodified and sold. For whose profit?

As a Board charged with using sound judgment and common sense in the process of deciding what is gained and lost through human construction, you might at least weigh the value of another 5,000 Pat Neal homes behind Pat Neal gates with Pat Neal names like Cielo, Milano, or Vicenzo against the irreducible uniqueness of nature -- rural life, the heritage of a 172-year-old community like none other. This balance of nature and artifice should be factored into any deliberation with so much at stake.

Frederick Law Olmsted didn’t look at 3.5 square miles of Manhattan and see dollar signs. He saw a green place that provides escape and a saving natural environment for the millions of New Yorkers who benefit from the varied delights realized in Central Park:

Mr. Neal appears to aspire to be an Olmsted in reverse: He sees green and wishes to turn it into a replication of what he’s producing all over this county, for another sort of green.

Our minds, hearts and souls need something more than infinite Nealification. Give this organically grown community of Old Miakka the honest recognition that it deserves. Because without such otherness, we - and Sarasota - will be diminished in more ways than we can imagine.

Tom Matrullo

WSLRNews: The Fight to "Keep the Country Country" Continues

State parks close due to virus

As of today, March 23, all STATE parks are closed as well as all beaches.

DEP Notice regarding State Parks closing in FL

At the Celery Fields, birds are modeling correct social and physical distancing:

Human visitors to the Celery Fields are advised to follow their lead:

County advisory at all parks

Meanwhile, construction continues at James Gabbert's nearby Waste Transfer Facility:

Construction on the Gabbert WTF Monday 3.23.20

Three perspectives on the public realm

1. A consultant's recommendation to put an 80,000-square-foot industrial facility on public land a short walk from the Celery Fields will go to the Board of County Commissioners for discussion on Oct. 10. If the Board sees fit, the Lambert recommendation for rezoning Quad Parcel #3 could begin the public review process soon after. For the present, the Quad parcels at Apex Road and Palmer Boulevard remain in public hands.

Paley Park, NYC

2. A distinguished city planner talks about why she believes in the human importance of planning successful public spaces. "Communities can tell whether or not you understand their neighborhood," says Amanda Burden. "It's not something you can just fake."

3. Two long time citizen advocates urge a NO vote on a county-initiated amendment on the November ballot that would make it much more difficult in the future for voters to gather enough signatures to place a citizen-initiated Charter amendment on the ballot.

Please share this with your networks - our public lands, public spaces, and public voices are now at risk.

Public space can shape the soul of a city

Amanda Burden, a famed city planner who contributed to Manhattan's High Line, talks about the value and importance of public spaces as well as the happiness bestowed by them.

"Public spaces have power," says Burden. "A successful city is like a fabulous party -- people stay because they are having a great time."

The trick, she notes, is to get outside the compulsion of the developer profit motive, and make the most of opportunities for the common good.

"Communities can tell whether or not you understand their neighborhood," she says. "It's not something you can just fake."

To make successful public spaces, more than professional skills are necessary.

"You don't tap into your design expertise," says Burden. "You tap into your humanity."

UPDATE: Four housing tracts will overrun east Sarasota County without a public long range plan

Updated as of July 24, 2018:

If you live in Sarasota east of the Interstate, or if you like to experience the country roads of rural Florida, prepare for the shock of large-scale development. Several super-sized housing tracts are coming to East Sarasota. Four projects alone will add nearly 28,000 housing units on 20,705 acres.

Major developable swaths of east Sarasota County are either already underway or set to be approved before the inevitable next crash in the Sunshine State's housing cycle.

Sarasota County Map of developments to the East of I-75, north of Palmer Boulevard 

One of the four largest, Lakewood Ranch (LWR), ranks #5 among the "fastest growing suburbs in the US":

Sprawl: Fastest burbs in the US: LWR = #5

The four largest are Waterside at Lakewood Ranch (Rex Jensen), Hi Hat (Turner), LT Ranch (Turner) and Grand Lakes (Pat Neal). Stretching from University down to 681 near Venice in East Sarasota, these ambitious projects will replace East Sarasota's rural ranchlands and open space with huge tracts of housing.

And more gated housing projects are coming, including Lindvest, Lakepark Estates, Worthington, Palmer Place, Sylvan Lea, Hidden Creek, Rivo Lakes and more.

While quickly granting concessions to private developers, Sarasota County's elected Board displays no evident awareness of its civic responsibility to gauge cumulative impacts, nor, as the public steward of the land, to integrate these impacts within a larger vision of intrinsic tradition and commitment to public uses. One looks in vain for a discussion of bringing greenways or waterways into alignment to create walking paths, wildlife corridors, kayakable sloughs and riding trails that could offer the people of Sarasota public recreation North to South, and East to West.

During a public discussion of a County proposal to reduce open space requirements for developers, one resident put it this way: "If we make changes like this, it changes the character of Sarasota County that was the reason many of us came here."

Here's a brief overview of the four largest developments that are either underway or whose plans have received approval:

Rex Jensen's Waterside at Lakewood Ranch

It’s the first project coming to fruition in Schroeder-Manatee Ranch’s Waterside at Lakewood Ranch, a 5,144-home, 5,500-acre development in Sarasota County set around a series of seven large lakes left over from SMR’s aggregate mining operations. 

The Waterside project generally runs from Interstate 75 to east of Lorraine Road and between University Parkway and Fruitville Road. It is located south of the Sarasota Polo Club and the Lakewood Ranch Corporate Park.

"Waterside"

"Waterside" will add 5,144 units, 5,500 acres

=

Turner Family: Hi Hat Ranch 

Stretching from Fruitville Road to Clark Road, this 10,000-acre mega-development of a former ranch will add an estimated 12,000 homes. 

Hearing July 11, 9 a.m. County Commission Chambers.

UPDATE: Board Action: Hi Hat Petition Approved July 11.

Add: 12,000-13,000 units, 10,000 acres

==

Turner Family: LT Ranch

This former ranch is approved and underway. It will start with 3,450 units.

LT Ranch

". . . the 1,725-acre property owned by the Turner family will break ground in the “2050 South Village” mixed-use development plan for the largely rural stretch leading out to the Myakka River State Park. 

"The massive project includes up to 3,450 residential units throughout the neighborhoods, up to 300,000 square feet of commercial space at the corner of Clark Road and Bee Ridge Extension, and a host of environmental and road improvements throughout the area, according to the plans." Herald Tribune 11.9.2016

UPDATE: Apparently this wasn't "massive" enough, because the Sarasota County Board in 2014 deviated from the Comp Plan to allow a more ambitious development:

Property owners planning to add a village on 4,672 acres near Clark Road and Interstate 75 got a lot more leeway Wednesday on how and when they build. 

County commissioners decided to amend the county’s 2050 growth plan to allow the owners, 3H Ranch LLC and LT Partners LLLP, to create 9,344 homes on the land, roughly 5,500 to 6,300 more than the guidelines permit. Herald Tribune 3.5.2014

        Update June 2024: Pat Neal's 3H Ranch proposal plans to construct 6,576 units. 

Skye Ranch + 3H Ranch together will add some 10,026 units on 4,672 acres.

==

West of LT Ranch, Pat Neal's "Grand Lakes" proposes to put 1,000 homes on 533 acres south of Clark Road at Ibis. The number of Pat Neal dwellings all told in Sarasota County will soon approach 10,000 units.

Hearing continued to July 11, 1:30 pm at Commission Chambers.

UPDATE: Board Action: Neal's Grand Lakes approved despite one-road access* was approved. The action raised a potential public safety issue for this giant cul de sac -- an issue acknowledged, but not addressed, by the Commissioners. Neighbors are considering options for an appeal, and say the Board ruling could open the way to sprawl across East Sarasota County.

See also the Letter to the Editor titled "Something is suspicious in Neal project approval":

All of the 300 current homeowners on Ibis were confined to their property earlier this year when a fire closed the road for hours. Now the county approves 1,100 additional homes, nearly a 400 percent increase, without fixing the egress issue on a dead-end street.

Grand Lakes

Add: 1,000 units, 533 acres

==

If all these tracts are approved as planned, they'll add more than 27,600 units to 20,705 acres of a rural area sparsely connected by two-lane country roads, which has no commercial, park or recreational areas. More are on the drawing boards -- including the 450-acre Lindvest tract at Fruitville and Dog Kennel Road, with 900 units. Changes to the 2050 Comprehensive Plan have helped Lindvest progress. Is Sarasota County going to answer these private developments with a balancing vision of public uses -- open spaces, trails, adequate roads and and recreational areas available to all? 

Here's a December 2017 Sarasota County map of developments between Fruitville Road and University Parkway:

Developments in NE Sarasota County: Source: Sarasota County

======

It's time to ask our elected officials: What are you thinking? Are you even thinking? What is this Board, as our representative, doing in response to this appetite for rampant growth? 

Here, for example, is a map of East County, with athletic fields open to the public. For those living east of the highway, one must drive 9-10 miles to the west or south.

Will our elected commissioners address the need for public planning and adjust impact fees to prepare for the coming demand for roads, trails, amenities, commerce, arts and recreation, or will they abdicate responsible governance, do nothing, and have us all go hang?

*Sarasota News Leader story made available through kind permission of the publisher.

The future of Lido Pavilion

Lido Casino, designed by Ralph Twitchell, became Lido Pavilion.

What will Lido Pavilion in turn become? Cathy Antunes offers a penetrating look at what the city of Sarasota has planned, and asks what will happen to public beach access with the plan for a new, larger restaurant and tiki bar.

Two planning stories from the News Leader

Sarasota News Leader -

Draft of county’s Unified Development Code available on county webpage so public can offer comments

Goal is to combine Sarasota County’s zoning and land-use regulations in a much more user-friendly documentFile photo

The Fort Lauderdale consulting firm working with Sarasota County staff to update the county’s zoning and land use regulations into a Unified Development Code (UDC) has produced its first draft, the county has announced.

That document is available on the UDC Project webpage, a news release says. Anyone may provide comments directly on the UDC Project webpage or by submitting them to the Planning and Development Services Department at planner@scgov.net, the release points out. Those comments will be addressed by the consultant as the project moves forward, the release notes.

More . . .

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Those concerned with the Quad parcels near the Celery Fields wonder why Sarasota County is in such a rush to sell them (after 20 years of doing nothing). Meanwhile, in Englewood, parcels once purchased by the County for use as a park are now for sale at a deep discount:

Sarasota News Leader - snippets:

County to lose more than $2.3 million on two Englewood parcels it bought years ago for a park — if it can sell both at board-approved prices

The first parcel, located at 50 Southwind Drive, was purchased by the Sarasota County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Department for $1,250,000 in 2007, “with the intention of creating a neighborhood waterfront park in conjunction with an adjacent site purchased separately by the Englewood CRA [Community Redevelopment Area],” a staff memo said.

That adjacent property was the land at 800 W. Perry St., for which the Englewood CRA paid $2,203,656, a separate staff memo explained.

...

“I think the lesson to be learned here is we don’t purchase property as a park without consulting with the neighbors on the other side to see if they want a park,” Commissioner Nancy Detert added. “That’s what I’ve found, historically has been the situation with this. It’s really hard to imagine that we’ve had [the land] this long, years, and years and years,” she continued, “and it hasn’t appreciated.”

Is Sarasota County violating its code, or is its code just Fake?

from Sarasota County's MuniCode:

• ARTICLE III. - NEIGHBORHOOD PARKLANDS

  
  
• 
  

  Sec. 90-60. - Findings of fact.

  (a)

  The history of Sarasota County is marked by efforts to preserve the County's important natural and cultural places, and to provide parklands and recreational opportunities.

  (b)

  It will remain the goal of Sarasota County to conserve, maintain, and where necessary, restore the natural and cultural environment of Sarasota County.

  (c)

  Sarasota County seeks to optimize the opportunities to more efficiently acquire parklands and other open space for an increasing population.

  (d)

  During the Comprehensive Plan evaluation and appraisal process various members of the community came forward to seek protection of quality open space within urbanized areas. The Board of County Commissioners directed staff to pursue opportunities for an urban green space initiative.

  (e)

  A stated goal in Apoxsee: The Revised and Updated Comprehensive Plan, includes providing and protecting a high-quality, environmentally sensitive, accessible, economically efficient system of parks and open space that serves all Sarasota County residents and visitors.

  (f)

  Objective 1.1 of the Recreation and Open Space chapter is to acquire, develop, maintain, and protect parks and recreation facilities consistent with the needs of Sarasota County's population and Objective 1.3 seeks to improve public access to those sites. Further, Policy 1.1.6 states that the County shall continue to expand beach and waterfront acquisition efforts.

  (g)

  Sarasota County has recognized that parklands and recreational opportunities are an integral part of promoting a high quality of life, and has developed a Parks and Recreation Master Plan with the stated mission of planning and funding exceptional parks, which showcase Sarasota County's natural environment and cultural heritage with world class facilities, diverse programs, and accessibility for all, in order to meet the needs of residents and visitors, young and old, while growing with Sarasota County's communities.

  (h)

  The Parks and Recreation Master Plan's recommendations include that Sarasota County should aggressively pursue parkland acquisition to meet existing and long term demands, and strive to increase access to coastal/beach and inland water resources for appropriate recreational opportunities, and increase bicycle and pedestrian access to parks.

  (i)

  Florida's Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, Outdoor Recreation in Florida 2000 (Florida Department of Environmental Protection) recognizes that the most essential element of an outdoor recreation program is land upon which to recreate, and that the acquisition of an adequate land base to meet future needs should be a priority.

  (j)

  Pursuant to Resolution No. 2005-155, adopted on July 5, 2005, the Board of County Commissioners established Neighborhood Parkland guidelines and directed staff to develop criteria to identify and rank Neighborhood Parkland.

  (k)

  It is in the best interests of the community that a protocol be established for acquiring Neighborhood Parkland with the intent to balance the private property and development rights of citizens within Sarasota County.

  (l)

  This article is not intended to create additional regulatory encumbrances upon property; and landowners who choose not to participate in this program will remain free to develop or otherwise use their property in accordance with existing regulatory criteria.

  (m)

  It is in the best interests of the citizens of Sarasota County that all properties protected pursuant to this article meet the criteria established herein.

  (n)

  In those cases where it is necessary for the Board to acquire portions of properties which do not meet the criteria set forth herein in order to acquire portions of the same property which do meet these criteria, it is necessary for the Board to retain the flexibility to use for some other public purpose those portions of properties which do not meet the criteria herein, or to declare such lands surplus and offer them for sale.

  (o)

  Pursuant to Ordinance No. 2005-049, the Board called for a referendum to be held on November 8, 2005, to determine if an ad valorem tax of no more than 0.25 mill should continue to be levied for an additional ten-year period to December 31, 2029, to finance the acquisition, protection and management of environmentally sensitive lands and Neighborhood Parkland and to authorize the issuance of general obligation bonds, not exceeding $250,000,000.00, payable from the ad valorem tax.

  (p)

  Contingent upon passage of the referendum, it is in the best interest of the citizens of Sarasota County that a committee be established to serve as an advisory committee to the Board on issues involving the acquisition, management, and appropriate public use of Neighborhood Parkland.

  (Ord. No. 2005-062, § 2, 10-25-2005)
• 
  
• How will those noble goals be advanced by approving this:

Next to this?

More here.

"We expect better from you"

A letter from Adrien Lucas to the Sarasota County Commission:

To: al maio <amaio@scgov.net>, Commissioner Hines <chines@scgov.net>, Mike Moran <mmoran@scgov.net>, Nancy Detert <ncdetert@scgov.net>, Paul Caragiulo <pcaragiulo@scgov.net>, countyadministrator@scgov.net

Hello Commissioners and County Administrator Harmer,

I find this op-ed an interesting read considering what the county is trying to introduce into the "view" of Celery Field visitors and homeowners who live near Our Celery Field.

There is no way that the county is meeting Sarasota's Zoning mission statement which is "Zoning's Fundamental Purpose is to Protect a Community's Health, Safety and Welfare.

To have additional "ugly" folded into the view from Celery Mountain like Gabbert's proposed dump or maybe a Restaurant Depot is absolutely heart breaking.  Where is the vision for our county?  Are we that small in our thinking that green space is an affront to county government planning?

We expect better from you.

Remaining hopeful you will all follow the zoning mission statement and support your voters demands (that are growing) to cease all sales of surplus lands surrounding Our Celery Field, it's yours too, why not join us?

Respectfully,

Adrien Lucas  

 

Chris Anderson: Benderson Park misses the mark, Herald Trib, March 14, 2017 Source Click HERE

"I tried watching the rowers from the west side of the lake looking east. It lasted about 10 seconds because my eyes were immediately drawn to all of the traffic constantly rushing past on I-75. C'mon, who doesn't love watching big semis at a public park? Extending a buffer wall between the interstate and the park does not make it any better, either.

I watched from the south side looking north and it was the same thing: About 10 seconds and then my eyes were drawn to the unavoidable backdrop of the UTC mall and the skeleton of the unfinished finishing tower that was supposed to be completed in September at a cost of $5 million.

I moved to the east side looking west, and again, ick, more distractions. All I could notice were the concrete power line towers, though on this side at least there was the added bonus of the whooshing car noise coming from I-75 and North Cattlemen Road...

It's a place where power lines, interstate traffic and views of the mall — the last things anyone wants to see at a park and precisely what everyone wants to escape — dominate the landscape."

cc: Celery Field Advocates, Social Media Contacts and Interested Friends

A simple suggestion

This coming Tuesday, Oct. 25 -- two years after the Sarasota County Commission voted to decimate the 2050 Plan -- that august body is expected to vote to approve a new Comprehensive Plan that will set the rules of the game county-wide for 10 years. It's an enormous document covering planning, future land use, parks, economic development and much more.

It's a troubling behemoth.

For example, certain key principles no longer "govern" -- now they "guide" -- a meaningful difference. The new Comp Plan opens our future to questionable possibilities, including the potential sale of preserve lands, and to development unburdened by rigorous regulation, adding stress to our already failing roads and burdened services. (For an extensive analysis of the plan's impacts, see this detailed critique by Dan Lobeck.)

Developers and builders will profit -- and use those profits to install new County Commissioners to approve future developer-friendly plan amendments. 

Here's the suggestion:

-- The final hearing on the Comp Plan is set for this Tuesday at 1:30 pm at the Admin Building on Ringling.

-- Come, fill out a speaker's card, and when called upon, have your say.

-- When you finish, add one more sentence:

"For the above reasons, I wish to go on record with a citizen's vote of no confidence in this Board's action on the 2016 Comprehensive Plan."

If you do not wish to say anything else, you can simply step up and say:

"I wish to go on record with a citizen's vote of no confidence in this Board's action on the 2016 Comprehensive Plan."

That's it. 

Please come on Tuesday, and give your "vote of confidence" to this simple intervention. Your words and solidarity will echo in this commission's memory - especially the next time they ask for your vote.

Citizens for Sarasota County (CSC) is a new coalition to promote ethical, responsive government that preserves and enhances Sarasota's unique natural environment and cultural heritage while building a sound local economy based on effective stewardship and innovation. 

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Going Stupid

Anyone who has spent half a day in S. Florida knows that the folks over there blew it. Growth created hell, and it extends even to public lands. Here's an advisory from a public parks site near Avvventura:

* ALERT: PARK CAPACITY 

Once the park reaches capacity no one will be allowed to enter until space becomes available. If you have rented a pavilion, hosting an event or have been invited to an event please plan accordingly because you will not be allowed to re-enter until space is available. 

This is, simply put, stupid growth. For years, Sarasota County has tried to rein in cupidity and stupidity -- to allow for a slower, more organic, thoughtful pace of development.

Dan Lobeck's analyses of the new Comp Plan heading for State review convincingly show that smart growth is over:

Neighborhoods, Mobility under Attack

Nature at Risk

And Jono Miller notes a change that could make hunting in parks not the exception, but the norm:

On Friday the tenth of June 2016, the County Commission may consider amending PARKS Policy 1.1.5 to allow recreational hunting in areas voters were promised would not experience consumptive uses or activities that were not ecologically benign.

Jono's complete post is here.

What's behind all this?  

Start with Cathy Antunes on the dark money propelling these changes. 

And listen to Cathy's new show Friday at 2 pm on SRQ.

Is this the year Sarasota County officially goes Stupid?

A letter of concern about Florida parks

The following email from a three-decade veteran of DNR/DEP explores three of the threats posed to Myakka River State Park. The committee meeting he refers to (tomorrow) is taking place today NOV 18.

-----------------

Dear Chairman Dean and other Committee Members:

I am unable to attend tomorrow's committee meeting because of an important medical appointment, and am resorting to emailing you as a group.  I hope that you will give some consideration to what I am writing.  I am a little over one month retired from the Florida Park Service where I served for 29+ years, mostly in the central office.  In my positions, including supervision of the management of the park's natural and cultural resource management programs, I participated to some degree in all the discussions and decisions of the upper management team.

I regret to inform you that by all evidence at hand, the current and immediate past DEP leadership intends to change the basic mission of the Florida State Parks for the worse.  Over the last few years, DEP has already removed from the state parks' own division much of the central office oversight of the day-to-day responsibilities of managing the state park system.  These responsibilities include finance and accounting, planning interpretive services for the public, managing park concessionaires, design and construction of park facilities, and even managing the day-to-day operations of parks.  I can tell you that the state park staff saw all this transfer of responsibility no less than a deliberate dismantling of the state park system.  The actions were especially confusing because Florida State Parks were arguably the nation's best state park system and no accusations of impropriety or dysfunction were ever made.  The changes were only said to be made for "efficiency" and all happened completely under the state legislature's radar.  The state park staff are quite disheartened at the recent manipulations by DEP leadership, although no current employee will be able to say so, because loyalty to top DEP administrators is strictly required and enforced with aggressive firing practices.

Your committee will consider three important proposals tomorrow.

The first issue of concern is the confirmation of Secretary Steverson.  Before my retirement, we in the central office of the Florida Park Service followed his every request to arrange policies and contracts for more aggressive timbering, cattle grazing in natural communities (not just improved pastures), to allow hunting for the first time in state parks, and to open all state parks to multiple uses for private profit for the first time.  No current staff are able to speak out against these new policies, but you probably have noticed an outcry from all the former state park directors and a multitude of former staff.  There are also citizen petitions and action groups that have formed to oppose these radical changes to the state parks as we have always known them.  All these new policies are counter to the clear intention for the state parks in both statute and rule.  I urge you to review this statutory guidance and determine for yourselves that the current direction proposed by Secretary Steverson is contrary to the longstanding legislative intent.  I am not a vindictive person, but I have no hesitancy in predicting that Secretary Steverson will do great harm to the Florida State Parks if confirmed, and I recommend that you find a way with the power vested in your committee to not confirm him.

The second issue is the proposal by DEP to manage its own divisions more autonomously (SB 400).  The bill currently assures the continuity of the Division of State Lands.  I urge you to amend the bill to also assure the continuity of the Division of Recreation and Parks.  The division has a long and honored tradition within Florida government as the administrator of Florida State Parks and is specifically listed as a partner agency with the Department of State's Division of Historic Resources in managing the state's most important archaeological and historic sites.  I am very worried that DEP leadership has plans (certainly secret so far) to further manipulate the state park system with authority provided with this bill.  If no such plans are afoot, there should be no objection by DEP to ensuring the continuity of the Division of Recreation and Parks in an amendment to this bill.

The third issue of concern is the free day admission to the state parks (SB 570).  Over my entire career within the leadership of the state park system, we discussed park fees countless times.  There are a couple of "take-aways" that I would like to share with you.  The first is that private recreational businesses near state parks always resented that our fees were so low that they could not compete on a level playing field. Consequently, they always wanted us to raise our fees to be closer to market value.  Independently, we also wanted to raise fees a little bit at a time over the years, because we wanted to achieve more financial self-sufficiency and also because it was very clear that we were under-valued. Unfortunately, we were usually denied by the Governor's Office or DEP, including again recently.  So be forewarned that even though free admission might seem as though it would increase attendance and benefit the financially disadvantaged, in reality what it will do is to further compromise private recreational providers.  Also importantly, it would also leave a gaping hole in the state parks' budget.  Replacing the budget from another source opens the door to those who would further change the financial structure of the state park system.  You probably will also hear that this would be a problem for many parks that are already at capacity.  This is absolutely true.  I recommend that you not approve this bill as it will do far more harm than good.

Thank you for your consideration of these points.  I will close by testifying that our state park system is being undermined on many fronts without justification.  I have seen it happen over the last few years and the current threats are the worst so far.  Your committee is faced with an important opportunity to preserve America's best state park system and honor the legislatures before you that thoughtfully declared what it should be.   

Mr. Dana C. Bryan

Tallahassee, FL

------------------------------------------------

COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

Chair: Senator Charles S. "Charlie" Dean, Sr.
850-487-5005 dean.charles.web@flsenate.gov

Vice Chair: Senator Wilton Simpson
850-487-5018 simpson.wilton.web@flsenate.gov

Other Committee Members:
Senator Thad Altman
850-487-5016 altman.thad.web@flsenate.gov

Senator Greg Evers
850-487-5002 evers.greg.web@flsenate.gov

Senator Alan Hays
850-487-5011 hays.alan.web@flsenate.gov

Senator Travis Hutson
850-487-5006 hutson.travis.web@flsenate.gov

Senator David Simmons
850-487-5010 simmons.david.web@flsenate.gov

Senator Christopher L. Smith
850-487-5031 smith.chris.web@flsenate.gov

Senator Darren Soto
850-487-5014 soto.darren.web@flsenate.gov

Towering fiasco?

From the Herald-Tribune

SARASOTA - County officials still haven't approved final building permits for the Nathan Benderson Park finish tower as tweaks to an agreement about how it will be paid for continued through October, Suncoast Aquatic Nature Center Associates' president told board members Wednesday.

Paul Blackketter said SANCA, the nonprofit that operates the 600-acre county park and lake, is also still collecting detailed cost and construction information at the county's request and he hopes officials will grant final approval by mid-November. His team submitted a draft of this information Tuesday, he said, and still needs to deliver a few additional items.

That draft shows that the county wants park staff, among other things, to submit an accurate cost estimate, proof of a contingency reserve and a pledge agreement that the park's foundation will cover the project in full.

Construction on the park finish tower, an important element to the 2016 Olympic Trials and 2017 World Rowing Championships scheduled at the venue, was supposed to have started in August . . . 

More . . .