The Argus Foundation is a non-profit, nonpartisan, business membership-based organization in Sarasota County. We have members from the southern border of the county to the northern border, from the barrier islands to east of the interstate. We provide business leadership to important community issues within Sarasota County, that includes our southern municipalities, like North Port.

Personally, North Port has always held a special place in my heart having represented the city on the County Commission. I especially fell in love with its residents and business owners, they are good people who love their community. My Argus Board of Directors has been steadfast in my continued involvement in North Port, I still spend a lot of time volunteering in many forms in North Port.

Last Spring, the city of North Port proposed steep fee increases to some of its fees. The fee changes came in a package of about 29 pages with some fees going up 100% and some brand new fees. There was no backup provided in the public meetings for some of these fees, other than a few sentences of explanation. Many had listed “Analysis and comparison to local market fee rates.”

The Argus Foundation sought to get information and backup on these fees including the analysis and comparisons. We asked verbally and were told to do a formal records request with the City Clerk. In order to get the backup, which should have been readily available to the public free of charge, we received a bill for around $800.

The City Commission passed these fees knowing several members of the public had requested the information and were unable to obtain it. 

We spent some time contemplating paying this bill, even after the commission passed the fees, to get the information until recently when the City Commission had a workshop on fees.

At that workshop, the City Manager used brand new terminology to talk about the work done that led to increased fees. The conversation went from “Analysis and comparison to local market fee rates,” as originally listed, to what the City Manager now called “Unorganized Analysis.” The City Manager, to his credit, proposed an independent third-party analysis of the fees in the future. This was informally agreed to by the City Commission.

The Argus Foundation commends the City Manager and the City Commission for recognizing the flaws in its transparency on this issue. It is an excellent step to repairing trust with the community. However, a true dedication to transparency would be demonstrated by the City Commission, whose job it is to hold staff accountable for recommendations, to go back and re-examine the data in a public way. 

Everyone should have access to the “Unorganized Analysis” that caused staff to make the fee increase recommendations and the Commission to vote for it. They should have access to it without having to pay for it, and the City Commission should understand what “Unorganized Analysis” means themselves in a public setting so they can create any necessary policy to safeguard the public in the future.

We congratulate the Commission on their initial steps, but they have more work to do on this issue.

Christine Robinson is executive director of The Argus Foundation. 

Image courtesy Pixabay by Kevin Schneider.

Black History Month is a time to reflect, honor and celebrate the achievements, contributions, rich culture and history of Black people in the United States. Gulf Coast Community Foundation is actively investing in the Black history makers of tomorrow. 

The theme of this year’s Black History Month is African Americans and the Arts, exploring the major influence Black people have had in the fields of visual and performing arts, literature, fashion, film, music and more. 

This inspired me to share with you about a work of art on loan to Gulf Coast called Faces of Valor. The painting was commissioned by Gulf Coast Board member Frank Martucci and his wife Katherine. The Martuccis were in search of a piece that celebrates the contributions African Americans have made to the creation and preservation of our country. The painting, completed in 2023 by artist Bob Crofut, features a Black Union soldier on the battlefield. We are thrilled to display this painting at our Philanthropy Center until it can be permanently hung in the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition’s Arts, Culture & History Center. Phase 1 of the center, the Leonard Reid Family Home, will open to the public soon. We thank Vickie Oldham, SAACC president and CEO, for all the wonderful work she and her team are doing to educate our community about the incredible contributions made by Sarasota’s earliest Black leaders. 

As part of the Overtown Mural Initiative, Gulf Coast sponsored a mural featuring Reverend Lewis and Irene Colson. Rev. Lewis Colson came to Sarasota in 1885 and drove the stake at Five Points and helped in platting the city of Sarasota, according to Newtown Alive’s history of the community. The mural is centrally located on the Planned Parenthood building, in what we now know as the Rosemary District, and adjacent to the Rosemary Cemetery where Lewis and Irene were laid to rest. Notably, they are the only two Black community members buried in the cemetery. This made the building an ideal location to carry on their legacy.

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe receives annual support through Gulf Coast’s Arts Appreciation Grants which offer unrestricted funding to cornerstone arts organizations. WBTT plays a vital and dynamic role in our arts community, debuting moving world premieres and incredible musical experiences, plus world-class education and mentoring programs for future stars. 

Art Center Sarasota will be presenting an exhibition by local photographer Michael Kinsey from the Listening to Black Voices series. The photographs portray local, national, and international leaders in Sarasota and Manatee’s Black community. These powerful portraits have highlighted a civil rights leader, legendary journalist, educators, artists, and more who share their resilient experiences, obstacles, and triumphs. The exhibit will be on display at Art Center Sarasota, a free art gallery open to the public, March 14 – April 20. We are honored to support this series and Kinsey’s work since its inception in 2020.

The impactful contributions of these people and organizations create the vibrant community we all value and appreciate today.  

Phillip P. Lanham is President and CEO of Gulf Coast Community Foundation. 

Photo courtesy Harry Sayer. Headshot courtesy Michael Price.