Siesta Key Association Board Meeting Minutes

January 3, 2008
St. Boniface Meeting Room “F”

CALL TO ORDER AND DETERMINATION OF QUORUM:

President Ramirez called the meeting to order. Present: Matthew Burnett, Russ James, Ann Kaplan, Joyce Kouba, Lourdes Ramirez, Robert Schennum, Mark Smith, Paul van Deventer, Peter van Roekens, Bob Waechter. Excused: Ron Flynn, Deet Jonker, Bob Tripp, Gayle Wardner. Absent: Daniel Bechtold.

MINUTES – Joyce Kouba: The November minutes were approved. December minutes will be reviewed at the February meeting.

TREASURER'S REPORT – Bob Tripp (Lourdes Ramirez): SKA assets at end of year were $91,817. The size of deficit was questioned and will be investigated. The November and December financial reports were approved.

SHERIFF'S REPORT – Sgt. Scott Osborne: No report.

GUEST SPEAKER – John McCarthy, Director Sarasota County Parks &=& Recreation:

John McCarthy, with the aid of Jessica Ritter and Larry Arnold, reviewed the three concept plans for Turtle Beach Park renovations that will be presented to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) on January 9th, beginning at 9 a.m. Public comment will not be permitted. The only opportunity for public comment would be at the January 8th BOCC meeting during the Public Comment portion of the meeting or through personal correspondence. The plans had little to distinguish them except that: Plan 1 retains part of the campground; Plan 2 eliminates the campground; Plan 3 moves the boat launch to the Midnight Pass side of the lagoon. All plans reduced parking for cars from existing parking and added paved surfaces. Funding is anticipated from the recently passed surtax extension and possibly grants. Ed Sherman would like to see more parking spaces. Mike Cosentino and Ed Schmidt disagreed with SKA's opposition to the campground and felt that members should have been polled on the issue. Lourdes advised that SKA sends out a bi-annual survey to poll members. Sending surveys for every issue handled by SKA is not possible. Mike stated that the majority of people at the workshops favored the campground. Ed Sherman and Peggyann Strmel responded that these people were people who utilize the campground, not Sarasota residents. Questions raised regarding a possible easement at the north end of the Park remain to be resolved. Michael Quicken suggested that if the campground is retained, that the County should provide 24-hour on-site supervision. Russ James suggested that retaining some camping and moving it to the south along Midnight Pass Rd. might be a compromise. Commenting on another Parks & Recreation topic, Peter van Roekens suggested that charging for parking based on time of departure could improve traffic congestion at the bridge as well as providing revenue to the County.

PUBLIC/AUDIENCE COMMENT (12 Guests): Peggyann Strmel suggested swimming bouys for Turtle Beach.

AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Adopt-A-Road/South – Russ James: Russ picks up trash about once a month. Russ will purchase bags for dog stations.

Midnight Pass – Bob Waechter: The December Midnight Pass public forum was an excellent meeting. Permitting to open Midnight Pass will be resolved this year. Bob distributed the December "Midnight Pass News."

Turtle Beach – Ron Flynn: No report.

Inlet Management – Peter van Roekens: Due to the recent heavy weather, marks BP1 and BP7 are missing. Mike Solum of the County will be replacing them once the conditions settle down, probably next week. Everything else appears to be in good shape.

Code Enforcement – Gayle Wardner (Lourdes Ramirez): Calls were received regarding signs for Clayton's Grill and traffic noise on the north bridge.

Adopt-A-Road/Village – Mark Smith: 15 bags of trash were picked up on December 15. The new maintenance company is doing a great job keeping the Village clean. Village improvements are still on target. A survey of Village parking spaces should be completed in January.

STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Nominating/Board Development – Paul van Deventer: No report.

Zoning – Lourdes Ramirez:: The Gulf Beach Setback ordinance will be reviewed. Manasota and Casey Keys have different preferences regarding additional structures than Siesta Key. The County will be reviewing a property where duplexes were permitted, however, in 1996 the property appraiser changed the assessment to be listed as 4-plexes. The current owner may have subdivided a conforming lot into a non-conforming lot.

Membership – Deet Jonker (Lourdes Ramirez): The membership package has been mailed.

OLD/NEW BUSINESS:

Glebe Park grand opening is January 14. The reception with breakfast starts at 10 am. All Directors are invited to attend. Paul van Deventer will meet with Parks and Recreation to discuss how County raking and trash pickup could be modified to encourage spread of dune grass. The kickoff meeting for Siesta Beach improvements is February 5th. Robert Schennum suggested a campground for boaters at the Neville Marine Preserve. Ann Kaplan advised County Public works formerly mowed medians and right of way at a cost of $530/acre. After outsourcing, the cost is $1000/acre for original land contracted and $5,000 to $7,000/acre for any new land added.

ADJOURN: President Ramirez adjourned the meeting at 6:40 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Joyce Kouba
Secretary, Siesta Key Association

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Previous Board Minutes (December 2007)
Next Board Minutes (February 2008)

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