County scores high in survey

Most Sarasota County residents say their quality of life is excellent, according to results from the 2011 Sarasota County Citizen Survey. See how else the county scored in spending, property taxes and crime.

Public Input Sought

From Sarasota Patch:

Two meetings will seek comment from residents about key county issues:

The county is actively searching for a new county administrator. Because of a tighter budget, SCAT bus fares are slated to increase by $0.75.

Today the county wants to hear from you on both of these topics at two separate meetings.

Thursday, Sept. 8

• 10:30 a.m., Selby Library, 1331 First Street, Sarasota
• 2 p.m., Phillippi Estate Park in the Edison Keith Mansion, 5500 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota
• 6 p.m., Venice Community Center, 326 S. Nokomis Ave., Venice

Friday, Sept. 9

• 10:30 a.m., North Port Library, 13800 S. Tamiami Trail, North Port
• 2:30 p.m., North Sarasota Library, 2801 Newtown Blvd., Sarasota

SCAT Fares

A public meeting on proposed increases in Sarasota County Area Transit (SCAT) fares will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. tonight, in Room 112 at Sarasota City Hall, 1565 1st Street. Three public meetings were held in August and an additional meeting was requested to gather more public feedback, the release said.

An older civics conversation in Sarasota

Jeff LaHurd has a terrific piece about how Sarasota County owes its independence to a split from Manatee County in 1921, to form its own more perfect union. It's not an entirely unfamiliar ring to it:

In September, Edwards, Sarasota's first mayor, who was in charge of gathering relevant data, reported: "The territory comprising the proposed new county is paying considerably more into the county treasury in the way of taxes than it is receiving back; the area which comprises one-half of the present county is represented by one commissioner, while the other half is represented by four." More...

A terrific photo of the temporary old courthouse accompanies the text -- they had angle parking downtown even then - who knew?

Civic reflection

As Sarasota County finalizes the terms of Jim Ley's departure, one might ask whether, and how, a more open civic dialog might have helped shape a clear, mutual understanding of what is happening.

Not a final overview -- it will be quite some time before a balanced assessment of Mr. Ley's role as county administrator will be possible. Rather, an interim understanding that recognizes his achievements while holding him and all our public officials accountable for actions that are still under investigation.

What seems missing as these details are put in place is, well, the civic voice. The sense that before sending this long-term public official out the door, what he and the County Commission have agreed upon does justice to the people whom they serve.

Under Mr. Ley's governance, the County has kept a tight lid on public spaces for discussion, input, review, and general conversation. The county by policy appears to eschew social media of all forms.

Maybe it's time to take a fresh approach to communicating with ourselves.

Barbara Ford-Coates' Presentation

Sarasota County Tax Collector Barbara Ford-Coates's presentation on taxation and government history is one of the most popular and frequently requested. Here's her bio, and her presentation can be downloaded here.

Sarasota Clerk of the Court in Image and Text

Karen E. Rushing wears several hats, as members of the Civics 101 come to learn.

Here is her Annual Report as Sarasota County's Clerk of the Court. Here's a link to an attractive online presentation of the report.

The Clerk's Web site is here.

An update from Alicia Accardi of the Clerk's Office:

"Since it’s Sunshine Week: Here is a link to the Clerks in the Sunshine section of our website.

Here is a link to the Performance Measures area, which lists fiscal management reports, timeliness reporting, out Annual Report and the Balanced Scorecard that we use to keep on task throughout the year."

~~~~~~~

The History of the Courthouse - (click to enlarge):

(Images and report courtesy of the Clerk of the Court).

County systems will be down this weekend

Thanks to Lynda Seidl for sending along this notice:

Hello All,

Please be aware that County email, the main County website, and other computer-based programs including Volunteer Sarasota will be down this coming weekend for all or part of the weekend. The County is moving its servers to a secure central location and so functionality will be affected. Systems should be up and running by Monday or Tuesday at the latest. County phones will be functioning, but the Call Center will not have access to information at the same level they normally have.

Please forward to volunteer groups and other County information customers.

Thank you,

Lynda Eppinger, Parks Naturalist

Sarasota County Parks and Recreation

ph. 941-650-2487

Respect for Nature:

It Starts in Parks!

Calling all Volunteers for Friends of Parks Event

Please consider this opportunity to volunteer for the well being of our parks:



The March 12th event, sponsored by Friends of Sarasota County Parks, will be at Snook Haven. Volunteers are needed, and there are opportunities for vendors. Contact Marianne with FOSCP to get involved.

More here.

Civic Planning: An Example

I take the liberty of sharing John Krotec's invitation to Tuesday's meeting of the Fruitville 210 Alliance. The Alliance comprises several neighborhoods in the vicinity of the Fruitville exit of I-75. It's a vibrant community group that has been a constructive participant in several ongoing planning initiatives, including Benderson Park and the Fruitville Initiative. For those interested in civics might find this group's interaction with County Planners interesting and instructive:

Happy New Year!!!

Despite the current economy, there are a lot of positive things taking place in the Fruitville 210 area:

• Improvements continue on Honore Avenue, Fruitville Road, & the Celery Fields.

• Groundbreaking will start soon at the Nathan Benderson Park & North Cattlemen Road.

• Future plans are in the works for the Fruitville Initiative & University Town Center.

Please join us this Tuesday evening, Jan. 11th, from 6:30-7:45 pm at the Sabal Palm Bank, 5101 Fruitville Road. The Sarasota County Planning Department will update us about the projects mentioned and will answer any of your important questions. ALL of these projects will have an effect on our quality-of-life.

Upscale Express Buses to Connect Sarasota Cities

A Transportation Update:

Beginning in March, Sarasota County Area Transit (SCAT) will offer a new express bus service running from North Port and Venice to Sarasota. New vehicles will include high-back seats, WI-FI, bicycle racks and more -- click on image for larger view:

Public Art Intersections Installation Completed

Sarasota, FL: The twelfth and final piece of the ‘Intersections’ public art project will be installed Friday, December 17, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. at Selby Five Points Park. Eleven other pieces are now strategically placed at prominent locations throughout the downtown to encourage people to visit downtown as a destination and take a walking tour of the art pieces included in “Intersections”. The Public Art Committee is collaborating with the Sarasota County Arts Council and the Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau to market “Intersections” as another interesting attraction in downtown Sarasota.

Twelve artists were selected by the Public Art Committee to display their work at high profile locations throughout downtown. The installations began in October and the pieces will be on display until November 2011. At that time, the City Commission with input from the Public Art Committee and the community, will choose one sculpture to become part of the City’s permanent art collection.

For more information about "Intersections" contact Dr. Clifford Smith, public art staff liaison: 941-954-4195.

City of Sarasota on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/cityofsarasota

Weather alerts - the newsletter

Here's a weather update from Scott Montgomery of Sarasota Emergency Services, who spoke with Civics 101 about hurricanes and other emergencies. Scott mentioned that he sends out alerts via email. If you wish to be added to his email list, just drop him a note at smontgo@scgov.net

Latest Severe Weather Alert For: Sarasota County Emergency Management -- Sarasota County, FL

Condition Yellow

Freeze Issued: 12:25 PM EST Wed, Dec 15, 2010. Valid: 06:00 AM EST Thu to 09:15 AM EST Thu

Temperatures	30 - 32F
Discussion: For tonight, areas near the coast will stay above freezing early Thursday morning, but inland areas could see a light freeze. A low of right near or just below the freezing mark is anticipated inland of the coast.

Wilson House Open for Free Tours

Guided tours of historic Wilson House available in December

The historic home of one of Sarasota County’s first practicing physicians, Dr. C.B. Wilson, is open for free guided tours every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:30-11:30 a.m. in the month of December. Located at Urfer Family Park, 4000 Honore Ave., Sarasota, the home built in 1906 was recently reopened after a yearlong remodeling.

Staff and volunteers from the Sarasota County History Center will conduct the tours and talk about the exhibits that chronicle the life of Dr. Wilson and the early history of Sarasota County.

Sandhill Dance

From an Audubon posting on Facebook:

Sarasota Audubon Society

So, you know how we're going to be building a nature center at the Celery Fields? The sandhill cranes are dancing for us! Check out this recent video by Darryl Saffer. Sooo cool.

Sandhill Dance

www.youtube.com

This "performance" of sandhill cranes was filmed at the Audubon Celery Fields in Sarasota County. Video and music by Darryl Saffer.www.studiorayproductions.com

New Blog for the SO

The Sheriff has a new blog:

Following the May launch of the agency's new web site, we wanted another communication tool that will allow us to further connect with citizens. We will be providing news and notes that don't necessarily warrant a press release but are still informative and interesting!

We also hope it will be a place for good, honest discussion about hot topics here and beyond Sarasota County, so your comments and questions will always be welcome!

The Sheriff's Office blog is here - additional press info here.

McCarthy to focus on recreational tourism

We heard John McCarthy talk about the potential synergies of intelligent park stewardship and the ways and means of green, smart economic development - a prime example was the developing rowing resource at Benderson Park. Now, from the Friends of Sarasota County Parks newsletter comes this news:

John McCarthy, General Manager of Parks has been appointed to focus full-time on product development linked to recreation tourism. "As Jim (Ley) shared with the board, this is a natural evolution for me, and builds upon the success that many of you have helped to develop. Rowing, eco-tourism, volleyball, swimming (and recreational opportunities we have not yet discovered) all have the potential to grow our local economy." Congratulations to John and FOSCP stands by to help in any way possible.

Nature Walks and Talks in December

To see this in a larger frame, do a right click and hit "open link in new window":

Class 10: Community Gardens

Gail Harvey and fellow gardener Barbara (didn't get last name, sorry) offered a wealth of information as well as a tour of the Nokomis Community Garden. There are actually four community gardens in Sarasota County, with more on the way. Besides the one in Nokomis (234 Nippino Trail East), there are the Orange Blossom at 18th and Orange, Bayou Oaks Community Garden at Old Bradenton Rd. and 35th Street, and Laurel Community Garden in Laurel Park, 509 Collins Rd, Laurel. See this page for more about them.

The gardens ask a $30 registration, and $20 a year to be a member. Many other communities have their own gardens: churches, schools, neighborhoods. Land has been donated for a public garden near the Mall in Turtle Rock.

For more about green initiatives in the county see this page; for more about the Extension Service's support for community gardens, click here.

Typically, plots in community gardens here are 10' X 20', are fenced, and have water, mulch and some tools readily available. A certain amount of trading of produce goes on as each gardener might have an abundance of one thing and less of another.

The American Community Garden Association has a website rich in resources and info. Gail and Barbara recommended its clear explanation of how to start a community garden.

Update: A link to another local source for growers: The Sarasota Fruit & Nut Society.

Spring 2011 Civics 101 applications now being accepted

If you're interested in signing up for Civics 101, the contact person at the County is Vickie French. She does a great job coordinating a ambitious, highly varied program. This info comes from the County's site:

The spring session for 2011 starts March 10, 2011. Applications are now being accepted.
Civics 101 is a class designed to provide a toolbox of resources on Sarasota County operations and services. This class provides an in-depth and behind the scenes introduction to operations in Community Services, Emergency Services, Financial Planning, Health and Human Services, Planning and Development, Public Communications, Public Works and much more.

Civics 101 has two sessions - Spring and Fall - both of which are held on Thursday night each week for 10 weeks. You must also select one of the three tours scheduled. Twenty-five residents are accepted each session on a first-come, first-served basis.

Civics participants will graduate at a Sarasota County Commission meeting upon completion of the requirements outlined in the schedule. The new schedule for 2011 has not been finalized but the program will be very similar to the one posted for fall 2010.

	Civics 101 Application
	Civics 101 Fall 2010 Schedule

Tales of Sarasota Online

Lynda Seidl suggested a site for our sidebar - and it's a good one: Sarasota History Alive. Lots of excellent material, photos, journals, stories from the county archives, plus info on upcoming tours, and a blog entitled Tales of Sarasota by Pete and Diane Esthus.