Following hours of testimony, Sarasota County Commissioners late Wednesday approved a change in fiscal neutrality that loosens requirements on developers. The board voted 4-1 in favor of the change, the most prominent of amendments to the Sarasita County 2050 Plan approved last night.

Developers have complained that the fiscal neitrality requirements as written make financing of projects impossible. Fiscal neutrality rules in the 2050 plan require developments east of Interstate-75 in designated areas to show that infrastructure costs associated with a development are covered by the developer instead of shifting the burden to taxpayers. As originally written requires neutrality standards be met by phase. The change approved Wednesday night would allow a development in early phases not to be neutral in cost if the plan over the duration of all phases is neutral.

"To use fiscal neutrality to stop a project after it has been approved prevents any large-scale development from getting financing," said Commission Chairman Charles Hines.

But Commissioner Nora Patterson, the lone dissenting vote, fears the change doesn't provide enough accountability. She said the original language probably needed some update to allow projects to get financing, but said the change is premature because a new proven methodology for calculating neutrality has yet to be completed. "I'm not going to be able to look at this transparent methodology," Patterson said, noting any process will be developed after she retires from the board in November. 

Rick Piccolo doesn't feel like it's very likely Ebola will surface from international travel to Sarasota, but that doesn't mean the airport isn't ready. Piccolo, president and CEO of the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, says security teams at the facility are prepared for the worst-case scenario. "We've held drills already on what to do if anyone shows any symptoms of the disease," he said. "We already have a plan in place."

The topic came up at the most recent installment of SRQ Media Group's SB2 series, which on Wednesday convened a discussion on "Connecting to the World." Piccolo and Dave Sanford, deputy executive director for Port Manatee, spoke at the SB2 panel and both men said that the possibility of an infectious disease being passed through a local port, while remote, was something officials were prepared to handle.

"We take safety just as seriously," said Sanford, who noted Port Manatee is governed by the U.S. Coast Guard, which has its own protocols for dealing with such a problem. A number of ships that dock at Port Manatee are flagged as West Africa vessels, even though the ships may not have ever been to that part of the world, but the more stringent measures come through a close examination of ship itineraries. If one of the last five ship calls for vessel was in a part of the world where Ebola has become widespread, appropriate inspection and isolation protocols will be followed. "We're buttoned up pretty tight."

Piccolo mentioned he had just visited South Africa last week, which caused a number of people in advance of the trip to question the wisdom of such a sojourn. But he noted South Africa is further from West Africa than London is.

He also noted that federal air travel restrictions put in place just last week will funnel any travelers coming from Liberia, Ghana or Sierra Leone to just five prepared airports in the United States; Sarasota of course is not among those airports. Piccolo also stated that as of today, there are no direct flights connecting West Africa to anywhere in the United States. Sanford continued, adding there are no direct cargo shipments coming to Port Manatee that originate in that part of the world.

The rest of the panel discussion discussed everything from the significance in international commerce coming to Port Manatee from Mexico, Central America and South America, with more activities expected once the Panama Canal renovation is completed next year. The airport remains focused on boosting the number of routes to and from the airport, and while a healthy 12 percent of passengers coming to SRQ Airport originate from international destinations, the airport continues to pursue direct flights to destinations in Germany and the United Kingdom, among other possibilities.

The next SB2 event is scheduled for Nov. 20 at The Francis on "International Tourism and Business." 

WSLR brought contra dance to Sarasota this past weekend with the launch of a new monthly dance series at the Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center. The band Shwadevee performed for the debut show, setting the rhythm for caller Joey Norton. Fogartyville’s newly refurbished dance floor played host to over 60 of Sarasota’s residents, young and old, clapping hands and twirling partners long into the night.

Contra dancing is a paired folk-style dance, highly rhythmic and communal in nature. Similar to square-dancing, participants organize in boxes or lines and follow a series of loosely prescribed steps and direction from the caller.

Contra dance groups have long organized in Venice and St. Petersburg, but flagging numbers led to a search for greener pastures and Sarasota looked just the right hue. WSLR station manager David Beaton thinks last weekend’s turnout is a good sign and hopes to see the audience grow as word spreads through the community.

“We have more people than they had in Venice and we have a lot of new people,” said Beaton, who also reported at least a third of the audience to be newcomers, signifying interest for contra dance in Sarasota.

But while he’s more than supportive of just having a fun time, Beaton believes that contra dances can do much more. Regularly held open events such as these can act as catalysts to building community, they can transform a collection of houses into a neighborhood.

“In today’s society, it’s very important to break the barriers that we set up. Not many people even know the names of their neighbors,” said Beaton. “When I shake your hand, I break a barrier, and with contra dancing, everybody dances with everybody.”

And there’s no need to worry about not knowing the steps. Experienced dancers are eager to show beginners the ropes and there’s even a beginner’s session held at 7:30pm, just prior to the dance proper, getting everybody up to speed and ready for a good time.

"People are free and more open to talk to each other and have a communal experience together dancing," said Beaton, who looks forward to seeing the series grow and bring even more people out of their shells. And at a dance where you switch partners not just every song, but multiple times during a song, it's pretty hard to keep to yourself.

"If you're shy, someone's eventually going to ask you to dance."

The next contra dance will be held on Sat., Nov. 15, with the band Terns at Tide. Tickets are $8 and go to support the publication of WSLR’s Eat Local Guide, filled with tips on local sourcing for those concerned with their food’s journey from nature to plate. 

Rebecca Roberts has been selected to serve as the chief financial officer for the School District of Manatee County pending School Board approval. Roberts, who has served as the Manatee District’s finance director since April 2014, will replace Michael Boyer, who resigned in June 2014. Following Boyer’s resignation, former St. John’s County School District CFO Conley Weiss served as interim CFO in Manatee County. Roberts worked closely with Weiss in closing out the district’s 2013-2014 budget, which resulted in a positive fund balance of $14.4 million and met the state of Florida’s fund balance requirement for the first time since 2009.  

Manatee County School District

Gulf Coast Community Foundation received the 2014 Secretaries’ Award for Public-Philanthropic Partnerships. The Secretaries’ Award recognizes the collective impact of Gulf Coast’s partnership with All Faiths Food Bank, Sarasota County Schools and others to develop and launch the 2014 Campaign Against Summer Hunger. The Campaign raised awareness, food and funds to expand and improve summer-feeding programs for children and their families in Sarasota and DeSoto counties while strengthening the regional hunger-relief system overall. 

Gulf Coast Community Foundation

Center for Architecture Sarasota’s mission is to play a leadership role in creating an informed and engaged community by providing education and facilitating dialogue regarding our built environment. The Center, which takes no position on community issues, strives to encourage smart planning for our cities, developments and land use and acts as a catalyst for positive change. The organization is in a unique position to achieve this objective through its close partnership with the University of Florida’s School of Design, Construction and Planning. Among the many benefits of this partnership is UF’s ability to bring scholars and renowned design professionals to participate in community projects. In addition, the school brings its visiting lecturers to Sarasota to participate in The Center’s own Lecture Series program.  By showcasing the work of these internationally-known, award-winning individuals, The Center can provide a community forum to discuss how successful solutions put in place in other communities and countries can be used as examples for our own.

Since its inception just one year ago, The Center has presented five public lectures aimed at stimulating open dialogue on important and timely issues. These lectures are not attended by architects alone, but by a broad range of interested, engaged residents and students who are concerned about the health and viability of our area. These lecturers are experts on urban planning, affordable and workforce housing, density, development, architecture and landscape architecture. These five lecturers have made a significant impact with their public and private projects around the world including the US, the UK, Europe, Scandinavia, Colombia, Japan, Korea, China, Saudi Arabia and New Zealand. In addition, most of them are or have been professors/lecturers at prestigious universities, including Columbia University, Harvard University and Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, University of Pennsylvania, University of Washington and Seoul National University. Their contributions to Sarasota’s knowledge base can be powerfully meaningful to the future of our region.

This month we share ideas, insights and stories from the Center for Architecture Sarasota, an SRQ Story Project partner. 

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