Newsletter 75

NEWS FROM THE SUNCOAST:

LA NINA MEAN ANOTHER WARM, DRY WINTER

Florida has had six warmer-than-usual winters in a row, and in all likelihood, it’s about to get its seventh. That’s because La Nina conditions have developed, the National Weater Service’s Climate Prediction Center announced last week. La Nina is a weather pattern in which cold water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean cause the jet stream to shift north and calmer, dryer air to sit in the South during the winter. The conditions have a 65-75% chance of remaining in place at least through the winter, according to the weather service, bringing the northern part of the country more storms and cold weather, but not the South. What that means for Florida: half as much rainfall as normal between now and March and temperatures 2 to 4 degrees warmer. To read more on this story, courtesy of the Tampa Bay Times, please click here: La Nina

FORMER FEMA CHIEF WILL LEAD IRMA REVIEW

The former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Florida’s Division of Emergency Management will lead a review of Sarasota County’s response to Hurricane Irma. Craig Fugate served as top administrator of FEMA under President Barack Obama, and before that served as Florida’s top emergency management official under Governor Jeb Bush from 2001 to 2009. Now he will lead an independent review of how the county, school district, cities and first responders prepared for Irma and reacted following the hurricane’s damaging trek up the peninsula. The so-called “After Action Report” is expected to be completed within about 90 days and will include a detailed critique of the emergency response, shelter system and other issues to identify lessons from the experience. Please click here for more, courtesy of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Former FEMA Director to Lead Irma Review.

FPL SEEKS $1.3 BILLION

Florida Power & Light – the primary power provider in Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte counties – will seek an estimated $1.3 billion from customers to recover the costs of restoring electricity after Hurricane Irma barreled through the state in September, the utility said recently. The costs would start showing up in customers’ bills in March – just as they get done paying off costs from Hurricane Matthew in 2016. If the new plan is approved by the state Public Service Commission, FPL customers would continue paying Irma costs through 2020. “FPL’s storm reserve fund was fully depleted by hurricanes Hermine and Matthew last year, and as with most states across the U.S., the costs of responding to major natural disasters are not covered by the regular rates paid by electric customers in Florida”, FPL spokesperson David McDermitt said. There’s more on this story here: FPL Seeks $1.3 billion

LBK LEADERS AIM FOR SARASOTA ADDRESS

While Longboat Key leaders consider whether to pursue moving the town limits completely into Sarasota County, they’re working hard to bring the county into the town. Over the past six months, Longboat Key has hired three of the county’s top officials to take over the same jobs with the town – a source of pride for town leaders and jokes for county commissioners at the two governments’ annual joint meeting recently. Property tax rates are considerably higher for the roughly one-third of town residents north of the Sarasota County Line, so leaders have made overtures about shifting the boundary so the town falls entirely within Sarasota. “When you bottom line this, our Manatee County residents pay over $2.5 million in property taxes to Manatee County that they would not pay if they were in Sarasota County,” says Dave Bullock, former town manager. Please follow the jump for more on this story: LBK to be 100% Sarasota County?

FERRY COULD LAUNCH IN 2018

The Sarasota Bradenton Ferry Company is soliciting feedback from the community and future riders as it develops plans for the service to connect downtown Sarasota to Bradenton Beach by water. Although there is no exact launch date for the planned 149-person ferry, the company is eyeing early next year to roll out the first modern service of its kind in Sarasota Bay. The 2018 launch is later than the November goal that had been reported previously but it is necessary as the company continues to work out the details. There’s more on this story here: Ferry Delayed.

NO ONE SOLUTION TO TRAFFIC GRIDLOCK

Solutions to the Sarasota area’s traffic congestion will not necessarily be more or bigger anything, from the roads themselves to traffic studies to dreams like a new urban rail system. The most practical answer is, instead, a suite of smaller ideas that revolve around producing options. That was the conclusion drawn from recommendations presented during the final lecture in the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce’s “Grid Un-Locked” series exploring mobility, or lack thereof, throughout Sarasota. Please click here for more: Traffic Gridlock Solutions.

LEGACY TRAIL FUNDING A STEP CLOSER

The northern extension of the Legacy Trail could get another funding boost in the Florida Department of Transportation’s next work plan. The department has slated $7.5 million for the construction of the first stretch of the northern end of the trail, which is planned to extend the route from its current end at the Culverhouse Nature Park to Palmer Ranch to downtown Sarasota. Converting the old rail corridor into an extension of the popular trail has been a priority for Sarasota County leaders this year. If you’d like to read more, click here: Legacy Trail Expansion.