Siesta Key Association Board Meeting Minutes

February 7, 2008
St. Boniface Meeting Room “F”

CALL TO ORDER AND DETERMINATION OF QUORUM:

President Ramirez called the meeting to order.

MINUTES – Joyce Kouba (Lourdes Ramirez): December and January minutes were approved as corrected.

TREASURER'S REPORT – Bob Tripp: The treasurer's report was accepted.

SHERIFF'S REPORT – Sgt. Scott Osborne: Indian bones were found at a development site at 7500 block of Midnight Pass Rd. Since this could be an ancient Native American burial ground, excavation was stopped at the grave site. Turtle Beach - People are sleeping at the beach. The Sheriff's have addressed the issue and expect it to cease. 700,000 spring break vacationers are expected in Sarasota County between March 1 and April 30. Siesta Fiesta- deputies wrote over 100 parking tickets. They received complaints from all sides about the traffic and parking situation. Homeless are sleeping under the Stickney Point Bridge. The concessionaire at the Siesta Beach pavilion complained about break-ins at his shops and vending machines (20 last year and 40 since 1990). He also reported a large increase in graffiti around beach areas. Pavilion bathrooms are open all night and homeless are sleeping in them. Beaches are also open all night, which is when vandalism occurs even though parking lots are closed. He asked SKA for support with the Sheriff’s office/County to get some assistance. Board discussion ensued and it was agreed that SKA would work with the County to get bathrooms and beaches closed from midnight to 6:00 a.m., which is common in most places and has been requested by the Sheriff's office.

PUBLIC/AUDIENCE COMMENT (Guests):

Nancy Wilson said that the pedestrian crossing just north of the Stickney Point/Midnight Pass intersection is perilous. She requested that SKA communicate with the Florida DOT regarding the issue.

Joe Vegliante, resident near beach access 12, said there is a lot of noise at the beach as late as 2 a.m.

AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Adopt-A-Road/South – Russ James:

Midnight Pass – Bob Waechter: The Midnight Pass consultant went to Tallahassee in January to meet with the Dept. of the Environment and Corps of Engineers. Resolution of pass opening is anticipated in the summer.

Turtle Beach – Ron Flynn:

Inlet Management – Peter van Roekens: Markers BP1 and BP7 have been missing in Big Pass since December. They are on order by the County and will be installed when they come in as soon as the weather permits. Inlet Management Peer Review contracts will go before the BCC for their approval on Feb. 19. Peer review will proceed from there (3 to 6 months timeline). Following the peer review process, will be a final report to the BCC with recommendations based on the findings along with estimated costs for all the alternatives.

Code Enforcement – Gayle Wardner:: The County started a new program in January for illegal construction. They issue a NOTICE TO OBTAIN PERMIT to homeowners and contractors with a quadruple fee attached. It is normally $200 per permit, now $800. Also, an unlicensed contractor gets an additional $250 citation and the homeowner gets the quadruple fees. Code enforcement officer, John Lally has six of these cases.

January cases: 18 real property (vehicle, overgrowth, debris); 13 zoning (signage banners); 7 notice to obtain permit.

John notified a Siesta resident that she had to remove her recently-installed chain link fence due to no permit and unlicensed contractor. There are 100 pages of the proposed zoning ordinance updates going before the BCC soon. Public hearings for these should be in March. Street vendors may become a reality on the beach. SKA will be looking into this. A guest asked whether Banana Bay Club on Midnight Pass Road can put a $99 special sign on the road, even if it is on their property. The guest thought this was inappropriate.

Adopt-A-Road/Village – Mark Smith:

STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Nominating/Board Development – Paul van Deventer:

Zoning – Lourdes Ramirez: Zoning Code Update coming soon. Proposed language for hearing will be available on March 10. Parking and news racks are postponed (not included in this hearing). Tenacity Lane variance for building 2 residences on beach - hearing on Tuesday, Feb 12th at 6:00 p.m., at Ringling BCC chambers. Board unanimously authorized Lourdes to bring in attorneys from Shoemaker, Loop and Kendrick to argue against the variance at the hearing. Many audience members asked for SKA’s help in opposing the variance. Mr. Conway was the main speaker.

Membership – Deet Jonker: A Board workshop is scheduled for next Wednesday at 4:30 at St. Boniface Library to compile 2008 memberships. All directors (and spouses) are requested to attend.

OLD/NEW BUSINESS:

The Annual Breakfast scheduled for Saturday, April 5 at 9:30 at the Community Center at St. Boniface. All Directors are URGED to attend. Guest speakers will be Commissioners Nora Patterson and Jon Thaxton.

ADJOURN: – President Ramirez adjourned the meeting.

Respectfully submitted,
Joyce Kouba
Secretary, Siesta Key Association

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Previous Board Minutes (January 2008)
Next Board Minutes (March 2008)

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