Newsletter 79

NEWS FROM THE SUNCOAST:

CREATING MORE WATERFRONT PROPERTY

The first Crystal Lagoon in the U.S. has had its 7.5 acres filled with 16 million gallons of tap water. The artificial lake with swimming pool clarity is at a development called Epperson near Pasco County’s Wesley Chapel. The project by the Metro Development Group will be the centerpiece of a 2,000-home development. Metro plans two more housing developments around lagoons created and maintained using technology developed by a company in Chile. An April 28 opening of the Epperson lagoon will be attended by Michael Phelps, the Olympic swimmer with 23 gold medals. To read more on this story, courtesy of the Tampa Bay Times, please click here: Crystal Lagoon

COST IS CHIEF BAYFRONT CONCERN

The new vision for the city-owned bayfront in the heart of downtown Sarasota has to be open, accessible and affordable to the residents of the area. That has been the feedback so far to the Sarasota Bayfront Planning Organization and Sasaki, the groups spearheading the project. A recent digital town hall forum followed a series of open houses during which planners took input on the project. The Bayfront group and Sasaki are also taking input online through February 20, and representatives of the groups said that they are beginning to understand what residents want. While the project is light on specifics about those plans and the financing, it will build heavily on the work already accomplished by a preceding effort called Bayfront: 20:20. Please click here to read more, courtesy of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Bayfront Plans

MOTE LOOKS EAST

Sarasota’s world-class marine research institution and aquarium, Mote Marine Laboratory, plans to relocate to a new aquarium at Nathan Benderson Park by late 2021, Mote’s president announced recently. The planned 110,000-square-foot Mote Science Aquarium will emphasize education-related initiatives, including learning laboratories that Michael Crosby, Mote’s president, said will host students from kindergarten through 12th grade. The building will be on a strip of land between the Nathan Benderson rowing facility Finish Tower and the University Town Center mall. Construction costs are estimated at $130 million, said Crosby, who added that 20% of that amount has already been donated by anonymous parties. There’s more on this story here: New Mote Aquarium

TOURISM IMPACT A RECORD

In 2016, out-of-state visitor spending in Florida reached a record $112 billion, an increase of 2.7% over the previous year, the state’s tourism promotion arm, Visit Florida, said recently. Visitors contributed $88 billion, or roughly 10%, of Florida’s total gross domestic product, up 4.2% over 2015, and they generated $11.6 billion in state and local taxes, up 3.3%. Visitor spending directly supported 875,722 jobs in 2016 that earned Florida jobholders $27.9 billion in corresponding wages. The number of jobs supported by out-of-state visitor spending for Florida workers has grown by more than 140,000 since 2011 – growth of nearly 20%. The figures are the latest available and are based on a study dated last month by Oxford Economics, a commercial unit affiliated with Oxford University. Please follow the jump for more on this story: Tourism Impact

A FRESH START ON HOMELESSNESS

For years in Sarasota, the same beleaguered people have followed a worn path from the sidewalk to the hospital to jail, as stubborn shortages of public funds, political will and even tempers hindered efforts to help them overcome issues that kept them from finding decent shelter. Now, after more than a year of quiet, brokered negotiations between the city of Sarasota and Sarasota County – while at the same time collaboration has tightened up among dozens of agencies in Sarasota and Manatee counties – it appears that the important players have hammered out a workable system to manage the community-wide distress of homelessness. A large vote of confidence in the fresh approach, in the form of generous private funding, was announced recently at a quarterly meeting of the Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness. There’s more on this story here: Homelessness Fresh Start

CITY GREEN-LIGHTS CAMERAS

Red light cameras have generated an abundance of controversy and revenue since their inception and they will continue to keep a close eye on 10 Sarasota intersections, city commissioners recently voted. By a 3-2 margin, the commissioners have agreed to enter into a new contract with a company called Automated Redspeed Florida LLC for use of cameras, although they were not in favor of utilizing a technology the company has made available known as License Plate Recognition, which captures plate numbers via camera and stores them in a database. Known as LPR, the technology can be useful in Amber Alerts, Silver Alerts and investigations, Sarasota Police Department Detective John Lake said. Longboat Key currently uses the technology that would have been used wth six cameras in Sarasota had the commissioners voted in favor of adding it. If you’d like to read more, click here: Red Light Cameras

BAN ON DISPENSARIES LIFTED

After a unanimous vote of support by the Sarasota City Commission, medical marijuana dispensaries will now be operational in the city and those with prescriptions will be able to utilize them immediately. State legislation had preempted the city’s ability to regulate the dispensaries, which led commissioners to place a temporary ban on them until a solution could be found. That solution happened last month when commissioners approved a plan to change zoning codes, paving the way for those prescribed the drug for various medical ailments to obtain it locally. The 20 dispensaries already in existence can now operate and there is the potential more will be added. If you’re interested in reading more, please click here: Dispensaries Approved