The commissioners discussed the county’s long-term goals. Cost-of-living struggles, flooding or climate change did not come up.
By Johannes Werner
Original Air Date: December 13, 2024
Host: Before the start of every year, the Sarasota County commissioners sit down at a strategic retreat to figure out their long-term goals. This year, the county administrator decided to host the meeting on Friday the 13th, in a building named in honor of the biggest commercial developer in this area. The priority-setting exercise comes on the heels of a historic storm season. It also happens as the number of residents struggling financially is at a historic high. Our news team spent part of the morning on the fifth floor of the Benderson Finish Tower to understand what issues will be driving the County Commission’s agenda next year.
Johannes Werner: The sunlit top floor of the county-owned glass-and-steel tower offers a bird’s eye view of the regatta lake. It also looms above the sprawling, Benderson-developed University Town Center retail district, and on the horizon is the crane-surrounded shell of the future Mote Marine Aquarium. With the balcony doors open to let in the cool morning air, the rush of Interstate 75, just a block away, was a constant presence during the meeting.
Seated around the table in the meeting room were the county’s four top staffers, including County Administrator Jonathan Lewis, the county attorney, and — obviously — the five commissioners. They included the newly elected Teresa Mast and Tom Knight.
Here is how the county administrator described what he expected to get out of the all-day retreat.
Jonathan Lewis: The meat and potatoes of this is really you all setting the direction for the organization in your policy agenda this next year. So, we’re here to facilitate and listen to what you guys tell us, and then after that, we’ll figure out how to make it happen all together.
JW: So what guidance did Jonathan Lewis get from his bosses?
For one, the commissioners did NOT change any of the goals of the county’s strategic plan. Hurricanes, flooding and economic struggles of Sarasota residents notwithstanding, the priorities remained the same.
The county wants to offer its residents and visitors world-class amenities; to be a safe place to live, work and play; and to offer growing business opportunities.
While WSLR staff were present, none of the commissioners discussed affordable housing. There was no mention of cost of living or social services. No discourse about alternatives to the automobile. No talk of transit.
There was no discussion of overdevelopment. There was no conversation about flooding. The words “sea-level rise” did pop up twice in the printed documents — and even the no-no words “climate changes” (in plural) surfaced once in the staff reports. But none of the commissioners uttered the words, or brought up any issues related to intensifying storms and flooding.
So what DID they discuss? Here’s the list of the first hour and a half:
Teresa Mast wants the county to hire a grants expert to identify federal and state grants left on the wayside. That’s hundreds of millions of dollars, if she’s right.
Teresa Mast: From the perspective of grants, I feel that there is an opportunity that either we contractually find someone who does grants for us, or if we look at in house, I know that we have an incredible grants department, but I would like to be a little bit more robust in that area in the sense of saying, I think there are hundreds of millions of dollars that we are missing out on on the state and federal level.
JW: Tom Knight, the former Sarasota County Sheriff, expressed concern about the delayed county jail expansion project. He also wanted the county to send the Sarasota County Fair board a clear signal that it overreached by discussing the best use of the land under Robarts Arena and the fairgrounds.
Commissioner Mark Smith had questions to staff about beach renourishment.
When the issue of water quality came up, Commissioner Joe Neunder expressed concern about state funding allocated to studying the reopening of Midnight Pass. Now that water is again flowing between the Gulf and Sarasota Bay just south of Siesta Key, as a result of the recent hurricanes, Neunder wanted to know what would happen to that money.
Commissioner Ron Cutsinger expressed his excitement about the use of drones in mosquito control and wants the county to press the state for permission to spray pesticides in state forests.
And all commissioners engaged in a lively discussion about outreach. Knight wants the county to show the good things it does and offer kids bulldozer rides.
Mast, Neunder, Cutsinger and Smith suggested expanding outreach programs to children, offering more tours of county facilities, and organizing land-use exercises using Lego, along with budget-planning exercises.
At that point, WSLR reporter Johannes Werner had to leave and run back to the station.
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