At a city-county meeting, the city floats a plan to fund its parks.
By Noah Bookstein
Original Air Date: September 22 2026
Host: Sarasota city and county commissioners met Friday for their first joint meeting inside the county’s new administration building. Noah Bookstein reports about a pitch by the City of Sarasota to create an independent parks district.
Noah Bookstein: The agenda ranged across stormwater parks, transit and Amendment 3, with the shadow of potential funding cuts looming over nearly every discussion item at the meeting.
City of Sarasota park locations
The City of Sarasota informed the county it is in the early stages of exploring an independent parks district to fund, protect and eventually expand the city’s open spaces, including parks and beaches.
The idea of a district is to ensure parks receive adequate funding amidst development pressure and concerns about state preemptions that could shrink local tax revenue. City Manager Karie Friling, over 100 days into the job, told both commissions it’s an issue she hears about often from residents.
Karie Friling: The policy objective that the city is looking at is, “How do we create a district that protects, maintains, approves and expands our parks, recreational assets, beaches and open space for future generations and also allows us to have a financially sustainable funding strategy long-term?” It cannot be a one-year plan. It has to be a today plan, a 20-, 30-, 50-year plan, and that’s what we plan on doing next year.
NB: Parks and Recreation is already the second largest department funded out of the city’s general fund. Neither a funding mechanism or a legal structure have been decided, and the city says it will continue public outreach through next year before anything is confirmed.
Ted Sperling Park | Photo courtesy Sarasota County Parks
The joint meeting also included discussion of Ted Sperling Park on South Lido, which is within city limits but has been operated by the county. Earlier this year, the county’s own strategic plan called for transferring Ted Sperling, along with the much smaller Nora Patterson Bay Island Park, over to the city.
The reasoning was mostly practical: Both parks sit inside city limits, and city ownership could make law enforcement and code enforcement more consistent. But in March, city staff sent the county a memo recommending against the transfer.
Under new management, the city commission has since directed staff to reopen those talks, and at least one meeting between the two administrations has already happened. City Commissioner Liz Alpert pressed for a timeline on the transfer, but Friling made it clear this is not moving fast.
KF: It’s all tied up in everything we’re talking about today. It’s tied up in our plans for a special parks district; it’s tied up in the impacts of Amendment 3. We’re going to continue to work together collaboratively, but I don’t anticipate this is anything that’s going to happen relatively quickly.
NB: The broader parks agreement between the city and county expires in 2028, and neither government wants to commit to new obligations before knowing what Amendment 3 does to their revenue. Friling said any transfer of the parks would likely have to be considered together with the Parks District, so that the city can understand how it would have the funding to continue maintaining the parks.
As one of only a couple public beach access points with a parking lot on Lido, Ted Sperling’s South Lido Beach can get quite busy. The county has added a recurring security expense of over $60,000, including off-duty sheriff’s details on busy weekends and holidays and nightly gate closures.
The Bay Park | Photo courtesy City of Sarasota
County Commissioner Mark Smith asked about a different tool the county has been pursuing a proposed slow-speed boating zone near the park. That effort was stalled by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, according to Sarasota County Director of Parks and Recreation Shawn Yeager.
Shawn Yeager: The no-speed item was not supported by the FWC, so we’re bringing other options to you for consideration.
NB: Even so, County Commissioner Tom Knight said the increased law enforcement presence on the water has visibly changed things.
Tom Knight: I boat a lot, and I go up in there, and certainly a change of behavior and the boating patterns of those folks up in there now since it’s been enhanced. Thanks for doing that. Thanks to the City of Sarasota. I see your boats out there a lot when I go up in there. It’s amazing. It seems like the bad actors aren’t there anymore. Maybe they’ve gone back to Orlando or wherever they were coming from.
NB: Breeze’s Bay Runner trolley connects downtown Sarasota across the Ringling Bridge to the Barrier Islands, including a stop at Ted Sperling. Breeze Transit Director Jane Grogg noted “nice growth” of Bay Runner ridership since last year, but its financial footing is uncertain with the state’s committed funding running out after next year, and the service is in its final contract extension with rates still being negotiated. Here’s Grogg.
Jane Grogg: As both the city and the county know, FDOT has a set grant amount that they are offering, and in the past they’ve said that state fiscal year 27 is their last committed year. That won’t prohibit us from asking again, and we will likely do that jointly with city staff as well to see if we can continue some kind of contribution from FDOT.
Bayfront Park | Photo courtesy City of Sarasota
NB: City Vice Mayor Kathy Kelley Ohlrich asked whether the two commissions could do anything to strengthen the ask and raised the possibility of charging Bay Runner riders a nominal fare for the service, which is currently free. Grogg said that would require both commissions to act. County Commissioner Mark Smith floated another option: revisiting the county’s standing ban on advertising on transit vehicles.
Mark Smith: Maybe advertising on the trolleys to help pay for the service. I know I’ve been approached by folks that would like to do that and didn’t know, if this FDOT funding fades away, that that may not be an option for us to help offset the cost.
NB: One thing that caught commissioners’ attention: ridership across the Breeze system is up, but the money coming in from fares is down. Mayor Debbie Trice asked about the gap directly.
BayRunner
Debbie Trice: I was excited to see that your ridership overall has increased, and I noticed that last year’s ridership is equal to 10 months of this year, which is great, but I was wondering why the revenue from 10 months of this year was less than last year’s revenue.
NB: Grogg said staff noticed the same thing and offered a leading theory: a fare-free arrangement on Route 99, the system’s busiest corridor.
JG: It is the most voluminous, highest ridership route in the entire system that we have. We operate about 55%, 60% of of the trips, and Manatee is about 40% to 45% of those trips. We agreed to match their fare-free policy on that particular corridor.
NB: Grogg said staff still needs to review the data before drawing conclusions.
Reporting for WSLR News, Noah Bookstein.
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