Siesta Key Association Board Meeting Minutes

February 1, 2007
St. Boniface Meeting Room “F”

CALL TO ORDER AND DETERMINATION OF QUORUM:

President Ramirez called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. A quorum was present: John Davidson, Joyce Dolan, Ron Flynn, Russ James, Deet Jonker, Joyce Kouba, Lourdes Ramirez, Mark Smith, Peter van Roekens, Bob Waechter, Gayle Wardner. Excused: Matthew Burnett, Ann Kaplan, Richard Martin, Bob Tripp, Paul van Deventer. Absent: Daniel Bechtold.

MINUTES - Joyce Kouba
The January minutes were accepted.

TREASURER'S REPORT - Bob Tripp No report.

SHERIFF'S REPORT - Chad McDonald

No major problems have occurred. The Sheriff-s Department is preparing for spring break. Chad reviewed calls regarding the Turtle Beach RV Park since 2005. They were minimal. Noise appears to come from Turtle Beach parking lot. Patrol has been increased.

BEACH RENOURISHMENT - Curtis Smith

Project is 40% complete. 400,000 yards of sand has been deposited from Sanderling Road to north of the Turtle Beach. Current phase is Turtle Beach. Final phase will be south from Turtle Beach. Renourished beach is 200 ft. wide; this will adjust to 150 ft. Sand is medium gray and will lighten. Trawling for turtles occurs in advance of dredging. Nine turtles have been relocated. Project will add 2000 sq. ft. of nesting beach. Sea oats and other dune vegetation will be planted with a post and rope fence. Private residences will have a path through dune. For safety, be sure to say out of the construction zone.

PUBLIC ACCESS TO NATURAL AREAS - Brie Ondercin

17,000 acres of public land will be opened to public access. A draft Conceptual Plan for Public Access to Natural areas was provided along with a schedule of Public input workshops, beginning February 5, and a survey form. The public can take nature walks to view the public land. An article on www.scgov.net has information and survey form. April 15 is the deadline for public input. The final plan will be presented in June.

PUBLIC/AUDIENCE COMMENT - 18 guests

Joe Vegliante would like to have Beach Access 12 closed at 8 p.m due to late night noise. Chad explained several of the issues involved. SKA will pursue clarification of the problems at this access. In answer to Marlene Berwanger's inquiry, Bob Waechter reported that the Coast Guard has sent the new Stickney Point Bridge openings to Washington. A notice will be sent to mariners and new opening should be implemented this month.

AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORTS:

March 13th Referendum - Bob Waechter: The County Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with North Port and Venice requires cities to conform to the County's more stringent density requirements. The County's concern is that North Port's growth through annexation is primarily to benefit large developers who receive a concurrent density upgrade with annexation. This is important to Siesta Key because North Port is one annexation away from Clark Road. This would make Clark Road an entryway to North Port with resultant increased traffic. North Port's agreement allows them to opt out, so the County is asking the public to give them a standby referendum which would go into effect in such a scenario.

The County-initiated land use referendum will appear on the March 13th ballot. This will be a low turnout election. City residents will have more incentive to vote than County residents. Organized opposition will likely be formed by the development community. As a follow up to its previous support for ballot, the Board authorized President Ramirez to solicit support for the referendum from SKA members, to place advertisements in the SK Pelican and Observer, and to donate up to $1000 to organized efforts to inform the electorate of the issue and SKA's position on it.

Adopt-A-Road/South - Russ James: There have been 2 pickups this month. Russ will research crosswalk light options and report to the Board. Deet will pursue obtaining funding from the County Traffic Department. Mark Smith recommended lowering the speed limit on Ocean Blvd.

Midnight Pass Bob Waechter: No report.

Turtle Beach - Ron Flynn: Presentation by Curtis Smith.

Inlet Management Peter van Roekens: No report.

Adopt-A-Road/Village - Mark Smith: Next trash pickup will be February 17. Meet at the Village Café at 9 a.m.

STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Nominating/Board Development Paul van Deventer: No report.

Zoning - Lourdes Ramirez: Codes being updated this year include: 1) Coastal Code (addresses Dogs on the beach); 2) Zoning code (to include new language for duplexes, partial lots of record, impervious surfaces, accessory structures, and cluster housing); 3) Land Development Regulations (address sidewalks); 4) SKOD (signs, rooftop ladders) SKA will recommend a newspaper box ordinance.

Membership - Deet Jonker: Summary handout. A second membership mailing will be sent to approximately 800 members who did not renew. This is a larger number of non-renewals than normal. Peter van Roekens recommended surveying why people do not renew. Deet would like to consider changing the membership mailing date. Deet will pursue condominium associations.

OLD/NEW BUSINESS:

The annual breakfast will be March 24. Ann needs volunteers. Gayle Wardner suggested that SKA plant a tree for Arbor Day. Sky Wallen asked SKA's position regarding impact fees. Since these fees raise the cost of building new medical facilities, they could impact the quality of health care. SKA does not have a position on this issue. Directors should provide input to Joyce Kouba regarding County fertilizer management. A stakeholder groups workshop summary is available at www.scgov.net, Environmental Issues, Topics.

ADJOURN: President Ramirez adjourned the meeting at 6:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Joyce Kouba
Secretary, Siesta Key Association

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Previous Board Minutes (January 2007)
Next Board Minutes (March 2007)

For more information, please contact us
phone 941/364-4880
email info@siestakeyassociation.com