Sarasota Livin'

I sent the following to the City Commission and City Manager tonite.
It is a response to Bob Ardren's "City wants assurances that
environmental funds will be spent in urban areas too" article.
______

Ken

So far all I have seen is Bob Ardren's article, and without casting
aspersions on Bob, I know (since it is a newspaper) it may not
accurately reflect the discussion. Let me respond generally, without
understanding all the context of your discussion.

I was intimately involved in the 1999 campaign and we (the PAC) made
it clear that because the county program was focused on
Environmentally Sensitive Lands, it was quite possible that no lands
within the City would qualify. That did not stop the City Commission
from endorsing both referenda at that time. I think it is obvious that
because of the urban nature if the city, it is less likely to have
significant environmental lands (with willing sellers) than the
unincorporated county.

Having said that, it is not for lack of trying that we haven't spent
one penny in the City. We have been negotiating on what we call the
"Old Oaks" site north of the north bridge to Siesta. Ed Freeman can
provide the current status on that one, but the simple story is that
the owners have not decided what they want to do. That is just a
reality of dealing with willing sellers.

The Circus Hammock is a site ESLOC very much wanted but, even though
it had a "For Sale" sign on it, for months the owner (or their agent)
refused to negotiate with us. Go figure. Ed tells me there is a new
agent and that may be moving forward. The Circus Hammock site is very
exciting with native vegetation usually only seen much further north
in the state. If the referenda pass, there will be money for this
site.

So there IS hope for strictly environmental sites inside the City.

But if the county is limited to just environmental sites, there will
never be very much available in the City of Sarasota. The public and
county commission both have identified the need for a comparable
program to protect special sites that don't meet the environmental
criteria.

That's precisely why the County Commission has put an expanded
"neighborhood parkland" program on the ballot. This new parallel
program will protect "urban greenspace" by providing funding for
parcels within our neighborhoods and more urban areas. Currently there
is no dedicated funding source for such projects. The best candidates
will capture some significant part of our heritage. This could be
historical, cultural, or archaeological, and will stress recreational
opportunities such as trail access, kayak launches, fishing and picnic
facilities. The Nature Conservancy study mentioned in Bob's article
did not identify environmentally sensitive sites so much as potential
park sites that should make good candidates for this new complementary
program.

As a City of Sarasota resident and 13 year veteran of the County's
efforts to protect land, I can assure you that the ESLOC committee has
been very interested not only in trying to find willing seller sites
in the City but broadening the scope of the program as well. I can
tell you there are voices at both ends of the spectrum arguing that
any new money should JUST be for environmental lands, but anyone who
knows me will tell you I have been steadfast in arguing for the
complementary "neighborhood parkland" component.

In fact, it was the "Price" property that first crystallized for ESLOC
the need for a program to complement our environmental lands program.
Even though we could see the value to the public, we feared it would
score so poorly on the strict environmental criteria that we declined
to even rate it, for fear of casting a cloud over the nomination when
it would be found not to qualify.

I'm a volunteer with no defined power in these matters. I don't set
policy and I am not in a position to make promises about what will or
won't happen. But passage of these referenda will give the county
money to be at the table when some of these vanishing bits of Sarasota
are at risk. That, to me, is crucial.

In short, ESLOC has noticed the challenges of protecting special
places in our urban areas and responded with an approach, affirmed by
county staff and the County Commission, that I trust addresses the
concerns we share. I'd be happy to meet with you or staff to further
explore the implications of the ballot questions as it relates to the
City of Sarasota.

Jono Miller