As administrators with Sarasota County and the City of Sarasota discuss a dispute over the final payment for an expired redevelopment agreement, city officials have suggested leaving that argument behind and having the governments instead partner to tackle blight in the Newtown area.

Sarasota City Manager Tom Barwin on Monday suggested, among a list of “painless win-win city county partnerships,” that the city reset the base year for raising tax increment financing within the Newtown Community Redevelopment Area (CRA), and that the county agree to fund the CRA for 30 years. “The Newtown CRA will be a slow-growing economic development district due to its small size and low-density zoning, and symbolize a new era in Sarasota County,” Barwin wrote in prepared notes, “with both major governments in the county addressing the historical challenges the 100-year-old neighborhood known as Newtown continues to strive to overcome.”

The suggestion was part of a list of possible partnerships proposed by the city to resolve a dispute over the sunsetted Downtown Sarasota CRA. That was allowed to sunset by county commissioners last year, but city officials then noted that despite a 30-year agreement with the county over funding the redevelopment effort, payments were only made for 29 years, and the city says it should be paid one more installment of $4.7 million. County officials have maintained that no money was paid the first year, and no discussion of a 30th payment ever arose before the final payment from the county was authorized. At a joint meeting of city and county commissioners, elected officials on both boards encouraged administration to come together and reach a resolution outside of litigation. 

County Commissioners will likely discuss the issue at a meeting today, but County Commissioner Nancy Detert suggested another 30-year agreement may not be the best resolution. “Then we are just dragging it out for 60 years,” she says. “I’d like some resolution, but a resolution that is proposed soon and is over soon. If that worked out well, then we could move to other projects and see if we want to partner again long-term.”

Barwin said he had been encouraged in conversations with county officials to suggest solutions based not on hitting a dollar amount but in finding reasonable partnerships and projects. The city leader also suggested solutions such as joint support of the city-owned Robert L. Taylor Community Complex, where a majority of users live outside city limits, or with extending an agreement regarding the Marion Anderson Brownfield and potentially establishing workforce training onsite. In return, the city would drop threats of litigation over the funding, and could also move forward on a park and parking facility on Ringling Boulevard. 

Mayor Shelli Freeland Eddie says it makes sense for a resolution to direct funding toward Newtown. “We need to make sure funds, if there are any, go to the area that needs it the most,” she said at a meeting Monday. Officials also suggested that area would benefit not just from brick-and-mortar investment but in better marketing and economic development.  

Detert stressed that the county had a solid defense that no money was owed at all. She still hopes for a resolution. “If we can’t come up with something reasonable, then I’m sure they will do what that always do and just sue us,” she says, “and we’ll see how much that costs.” 

The folks hawking furniture at McCormack & Company are newcomers with old souls. Collecting art and furniture for 30 years, on his 75th birthday, Tony McCormack’s storage units were filled to the brim, so he opened a store with his business partner, John Farr, opening on April Fool’s Day of 2017. McCormack & Company boasts vintage furniture from the ‘50s and works from famous artists such as architect and designer Ettore Sottsass of the Memphis Design Group, who made chairs for Disneyland, and pottery from ceramicist Frederick Rhead. The shop also features works from local artists, such as sculptor Dorothy Gillespie. This brutalism-inspired chandelier created in collaboration by Jerry Fels and Curtis Freiler, under the compound nom de artiste C. Jeré, stands out in the shop, its gold and cubic light fixture functional and modern, striking without being overbearing. An architectural movement typified by blockish and imposing constructions of raw concrete, brutalism was popular from the 1950s to the mid-1970s and recently seems to be staging a comeback. This piece of the comeback available for $5,800 dollars. 

Photo by Jasmine Respess.

McCormack & Company, 500 Pineapple Ave. S, Sarasota, 941-350-2785.

Nothing screams summer more than bright colors and cheeky prints. Arriving just in time, Hammitt’s Corey reversible leather crossbody bag is the perfect pop to complement a breezy sundress and beachy tan. A luxury accessories brand based in Los Angeles, CA, Hammitt’s handbags are at the heart of their collections. Fully equipped with a cellphone pocket for those of us who need a little organization in our life, the bag is reversible, giving you the option to switch up your style with an alternate design in mere seconds. Shown above, Frankie/Brushed Gold ($558). Not into patterns? You can choose from an array of tones and solid colors.

Photo Credit: Wyatt Kostygan 

L. Boutique, 556 S Pineapple Ave., Sarasota, FL 34236

L. Boutique

The Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe recently received a $10,000 Arts Work award from the National Endowment for the Arts to help underwrite its 2018 production of The Mountaintop, a fictional account of the last night of Dr. Martin Luther King’s life. The funds will also be used to underwrite costs of community outreach activities related to the play. WBTT will take a four-pronged approach to the community outreach activities. First, there will be two free performances of The Mountaintop for low-income residents, one specifically for school-aged children. Next, WBTT will hold a free “Voices” community discussion about the play and Dr. King’s leadership in the civil rights movement. Third, WBTT will incorporate readings from The Mountaintop in a new Jazzlinks curriculum for area high school students that will focus on the civil rights movement. Finally, the show and Dr. King’s legacy will be tied into WBTT’s 2018 summer musical intensive theatre program, "Stage of Discovery.” 

West Coast Black Theatre

Sarasota County's Comprehensive Plan has received the 2017 Award of Merit from the Florida Planning and Zoning Association (FPZA). The FPZA is a professional planning organization consisting of planners, zoning officers, property owners, developers, engineers, private and public lawyers, landscape architects, appointed and elected officials, lay persons, businesses and administrators. The organization's awards committee noted it was impressed with the streamlined, user-friendly plan, which guides the county's decision-making related to the physical development of the county. Last year, the county's Planning and Development Services staff, as well as more than 50 subject matter experts from each county department, completed an 18-month update to this important, overarching plan in order to reflect changes to community characteristics and demographics. Staff received the Award of Merit during the 2017 FPZA Awards Luncheon at the Ritz Carlton Golf Resort in Naples. 

Sarasota County Government

Sarasota Memorial Health Care System (SMHCS) opens its newest facility today with the grand opening of the Sarasota Memorial Internal Medicine Practice – Newtown. Located at 1825 Dr. Marin Luther King Jr., Way, the group physician practice will offer comprehensive, coordinated care and accessible services to patients over 18, staffed by resident physicians training under the direct supervision of board-certified Internal Medicine physicians from the faculty of the Florida State University College of Medicine’s Internal Medicine Residency at Sarasota Memorial. The new facility will offer a full range of primary and preventative care. The facility opens today with a ribbon cutting at 1pm. 

SMH Internal Medicine - Newtown

Lykes Insurance has recognized Beth Joseph, private risk consultant at Fiducia Insurance, LLC, as one of its sales leaders during its annual Leaders Club Sales Incentive Trip. Fiducia Insurance, a premier insurance services and risk management solutions company, was created under the umbrella of Neal Communities and Lykes Insurance. Leaders are selected on the basis of meeting and exceeding goals for the year. The event recognizes sales leadership and encourages camaraderie among its leaders. Joseph has a degree in computer science and holds Florida licenses in property and casualty and life and health.Joseph began her insurance career in 2001. As a private risk consultant with Fiducia Insurance, she works with her clients and educates on the coverage that best fits their insurance needs.  

Neal Communities

Gold Coast Eagle Distributing has announced that it is adding Naughty Monk Brewery to its portfolio of craft beers. Gold Coast Eagle will start distribution in late June with Naughty Monk’s Naughty Monk Blonde, a 6% ABV Belgian Blonde Ale. Initial distribution will be a draft only offering available in half and sixth bottles. Naughty Monk Brewery is a 9,000-sq. ft. facility in Lakewood Ranch with 6,000 square feet of production brewery space and a 3,000-sq. ft. tasting room. Gold Coast Eagle Distributing is located in Lakewood Ranch, employs more than 160 associates, services more than 1,800 retail locations per week and is involved in more than 900 charity events in Sarasota and Manatee counties each year. 

Naughty Monk Brewery

Women In Business