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Sarasota County launched its Resilient SRQ Multifamily Affordable Housing program.
The program’s goal is to provide more affordable housing options in the county.
“There will be an application cycle for any non-profits, private developers, and housing authorities who want to submit proposals for housing projects who want to fund affordable housing units,” program manager Laurel Varnell said.
Varnell said affordable housing has become more of an issue ever since Hurricane Ian.
“I love being part of this program. I think we will have an impact here in the next six years,” Varnell said.
Sarasota County will be hosting informational sessions on March 25 and March 29. To learn if you qualify for the program, you can go to the county’s website:
Amidst National Women’s History Month, Sarasota Memorial is recognized as one of America’s greatest workplaces for women.
The SMH Health Care System earned a five-star rating on Newsweek’s 2024 list of “America’s Greatest Workplaces for Women.” It’s the only hospital on the Suncoast on the list.
SMH is now Sarasota County’s largest employer with more than 10,000 employees.
“Despite our rapid growth and a multitude of challenges our staff has faced in recent years, our employees remain the heart of our organization and continue to show their care and commitment to our patients and community every day,” said Sarasota Memorial Health Care System CEO David Verinder. “They deserve our gratitude and ongoing support.”
Sarasota County Public Hospital Board Chair Sarah Lodge expressed her gratitude to SMH leaders for creating a workplace that prioritizes work-life balance and equips employees with good support and resources.
“As a public institution, and the largest employer in the area, SMH can help set a high standard for organizational success and show what is possible when you focus on your greatest asset – your people.”
Newsweek surveyed more than 142,000 women, received more than 848,000 company reviews in 2022 and 2023, and collected data on women in the workplace, and women in leadership positions to come up with the rankings.
The Chair of a U.S. Senate committee is putting Florida’s insurer of last resort on blast for not responding to its questions about its financial footing, amid concerns that the state may lean on the federal government to bail out the insurance market after a major hurricane.
In the wake of Gov. Ron DeSantis claiming Citizens Property Insurance is “not solvent,” U.S. Senate Budget Committee Chair Sheldon Whitehouse is “renewing all requests for information and documents set out in the Committee’s November letter related to the company’s plans to address increased underwriting losses from climate-related extreme weather events and other disasters.”
Last year, Whitehouse wrote the Governor, Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky and Citizens CEO Tim Cerio with concerns about how climate risk could push Florida’s insurer of last resort into insolvency.
Months later, the Rhode Island Democrat is frustrated.
“Citizens has not adequately addressed the Committee’s questions and has ignored repeated attempts at follow up. In a non-responsive letter dated December 15, (Cerio) referred to a Florida law enabling the company to levy special assessments on all policyholders as a basis for its solvency,” reads a press release from the committee that notes the question of whether the insurer would need a federal bailout is still unanswered to date.
“Citizens has failed to cooperate with our investigation,” said Whitehouse on Tuesday.
“Governor DeSantis’s repeated statements that Citizens is not solvent and the company’s own public comments about their ability to shift their financial losses to Florida policyholders have done nothing to assuage the Committee’s concerns about possible future requests for a federal bailout. Floridians are grappling with already astronomical insurance rates and one future storm could make things far, far worse. I look forward to Citizens’ full compliance with our investigation.”
The latest letter takes issue with a recurrent DeSantis claim that private companies are taking risk off the backs of taxpayers through absorbing some Citizens policies. It notes that the “offloading” consists of “often its least risky policies.”
Whitehouse also suggests the company isn’t complying with state law.
“As a public entity in Florida, Citizens is generally subject to the Florida Sunshine Law, which broadly states that ‘all state, county, and municipal records are open for personal inspection and copying by any person” and that “(p)roviding access to public records is a duty of each agency.’ Citizens’ own website makes clear that it was ‘created by the Florida Legislature in August 2002 as a not-for-profit, tax-exempt, government entity.’ The statute governing Citizens equally makes clear that Citizens is subject to the record retention provisions of the Sunshine Law, with limited exceptions.”
FL property insurance crisis: US Senate demands answers
The cost of auto insurance is getting out of sight, with nothing but excuses from auto insurers.
I propose a safety inspection for cars two years and older before anyone gets a new license. Applicants would also be required to take a one-hour driving safety course to ensure they know the current rules of the road.
Also, people renewing their licenses should be made aware of new rules of the road, especially how to navigate a roundabout.
As Easter approaches and the snowbirds begin their migration back North (and elsewhere), the season is starting to wind down. But this week marks the opening of one of the biggest musicals to hit the Sarasota area in recent memory. It is the national tour of “Hamilton,” which opens a two-week run at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall on Tuesday.
The long-running tour recently had a change of leading actors, and I got to speak with two of them about the unique perspectives they bring to their roles after playing other characters. Blaine Alden Krauss, who recently took over the title role after some time as his rival, Aaron Burr, grew up in the Tampa area. Kendyl Sayuri Yokoyama is the new Eliza Schuyler (Alexander’s wife) after playing her younger sister, Peggy, and just about every other female role in the show. They have some interesting thoughts to share about their roles and the show itself.
Speaking of the Van Wezel, the hall has announced its 2024-25 Broadway subscription series (along with some dance and classical programs). One of the highlights is the Tony Award-winning best musical “Moulin Rouge,” which will be coming in the spring. It is part of a lineup that also includes “Funny Girl,” “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Tina – The Tina Turner Musical,” “Beetlejuice” and the return of “Les Miserables.” Subscription sales are available now.
Reviews and more coming this week
This week, you can expect to find reviews of several shows and more news. One of them is Urbanite Theatre’s world premiere of “Westminster” by Brenda Withers, who won last year’s Modern Works Festival. Withers co-wrote an earlier Urbanite play “Northside Hollow,” with Jonathan Fielding, who is part of the cast of this new play about two couples and a dog that comes between them.
The Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open returns next month.
The tennis tournament, which started nearly two decades ago at the old El Conquistador Racquet Club in Bradenton, features a bevy of potential future stars.
Previous winners of the ATP Challenger Tour event include Tommy Paul, Francis Tiafoe, Nick Kyrgios, Kei Nishikori and James Blake.
Paul, who captured the 2019 title, is currently ranked 14th in the PIF ATP men's rankings. Tiafoe ranks 22nd and won the tournament's title in 2017.
That same year, Tiafoe was on the court when "loud sex noises," coming from a nearby condominium went viral. The tournament was held at the United Tennis Academy and Tiafoe's quote, "It can't be that good," during the match interruption led to organizers cashing in with T-shirts commemorating the moment.
This year's tournament, though, is at Payne Park in Sarasota from April 7 through April 14. The annual Challenger circuit event has moved around over the years, from Bradenton to Longboat Key and Lakewood Ranch before heading back to its roots and now in Sarasota at Payne Park.
Here's a look at some of the players scheduled to compete in the tournament that kicks off the clay court season:
Location: Sarasota/ Bradenton - University Pkwy area
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Reminder for all Landlords: Expansion of Vacation Rental Regulations in the City of Sarasota
On February 4, 2024, the City Commission Adopted Ordinance 24-5506, which expanded the prior Ordinance so that the requirements apply to all properties within the city limits that are operating as vacation rentals.
All properties operating as vacation rentals within the City of Sarasota must obtain a Certificate of Registration and comply with all requirements. The city will start accepting applications for vacation rentals on the mainland on July 1, 2024.
Vacation rentals within the city limits operating without a valid Certificate of Registration after January 1, 2025, will violate the City Code and face penalties. The city commission estimates that the ordinance will impact approximately 700 additional vacation rental properties.
Finally, the new ordinance increased the registration fees for new applications to $500.00 and increased the fee for renewals to $350.00.
Members of public plead for county to purchase Smith Properties next to Celery Fields, but county’s Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources director says pending development deal forbids any intervention at this point
Residents stress opposition to D.R. Horton project during March 7 Parks Advisory and Recreation Council meeting
During the March 7 meeting of the Sarasota County Parks Advisory and Recreation Council (PARC) meeting, a number of residents urged the members to encourage county leaders to make an effort to acquire the approximately 49-acre Smith Properties site near the Celery Fields, to preserve it from a proposed D.R. Horton residential project.
The residents were focused on the county’s potential use of funds raised through the Environmentally Sensitive Lands Protection Program (ESLPP) to purchase the land, so the property could be preserved in perpetuity.
Each year, county property owners pay a 0.25-mill assessment that goes into a fund for transactions involving not only environmentally sensitive lands but also neighborhood parkland.
As the county’s website explains, “The ESLPP is a voter-approved and taxpayer-funded program that began in 1999. Since its inception, the ESLPP has protected and preserved more than 40,540 acres of natural habitat, with more than 21,000 of those acres placed under a conservation easement. Conservation easements remove the land’s development rights and require the landowner, current and future, to protect the land for greenways, water quality, habitat, and wildlife protection in perpetuity.”
Yet, during the March 7 PARC meeting, the chair, Michelle Stanley, read a letter that she had received from the family that owns the property, protesting the residents’ efforts.
The family members had learned of the residents’ initiative through social media, the letter said. “We do not agree that our property is environmentally sensitive,” the letter continued. In fact, the Smith family members pointed out, the land has been used for agricultural purposes for 50 years, and it contains no wetlands or other protected spaces.
Then the family members contended that residents of the nearby Sylvan Lea community simply wanted to prevent the construction of new homes close to their development.
Moreover, the letter pointed out, no one proposing the county’s purchase of the land had spoken with the Smith family members about that idea, which led to their being “greatly surprised” by it.
Finally, the letter characterized any attempt to interfere with the family’s pending contract for sale of the property to D.R. Horton as “tortious interference,” indicating that legal action could result.
In light of that letter, Nicole Rissler, director of the county’s Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Department (PRNR), explained during the meeting that the ESLPP and Neighborhood Parklands Program require “a willing seller.” Staff does “not move forward” with any offer of purchase, Rissler added, unless the owner of property wishes to engage in negotiations with county staff; that is a facet of the program’s guidelines.
Further, she explained, the guidelines prevent staff from engaging in any offers for property through the ESLPP or Neighborhood Parkland programs if an “entitlement process” is underway. She was referring to D.R. Horton’s plans to buy the Smith Properties, provided the company can win approval from the County Commission for its residential development.
Nonetheless, Rissler added, “We, as staff, don’t disagree with … many of the speakers today [in regard to the] wonderful possibilities” of the land, given its proximity to the Celery Fields.
Last year, as The Sarasota News Leader has reported, a vice president of the Kimley-Horn consulting firm in Sarasota filed a formal application with the county’s Planning and Development Services Department for project with up to 170 homes on the site, which comprises seven parcels. The Smith Properties afford vistas of the county’s regional stormwater initiative known as the Celery Fields.
Come see the #SRQCounty History Center’s latest exhibit on the ground floor of the County Administration Building at 1660 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota!
The new exhibit is titled “Branching Out: Volunteers Help Sarasota County Grow,” and it celebrates the many local citizens who assist county staff through the Volunteer Sarasota County program.
The exhibit will be on display through the end of May 2024. Stop by to learn more about the history of Volunteer Sarasota County!
Not only does the 2024 Florida Legislature’s appropriations bill contain $500,000 for the restoration of the tidal flow between Little Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, but it also includes $3.5 million for planned improvements to the intersection of McIntosh and Clark roads in Sarasota, along with $1 million for Sarasota County’s plans to widen North Honore Avenue from Fruitville Road to 17th Street, Rob Lewis, director of governmental relations for the county, told the county commissioners this week.
As The Sarasota News Leader has reported, Rep. Fiona McFarland, R-Sarasota, sought $1 million for the tidal restoration initiative this year, on behalf of the county. She requested $2 million for the Honore Avenue initiative and $7 million for the Clark/McIntosh roads project.
The question is whether all of the county funding that the Legislature ended up approving this year will win the support of Gov. Ron DeSantis, Lewis pointed out.
On March 20, during the commission’s first workshop on the proposed county budget for the 2025 fiscal year — which will begin on Oct. 1 — Commissioner Joe Neunder asked about the timeline for the governor’s decisions on the 2024 appropriations bill. Neunder voiced particular interest in the Little Sarasota Bay support, as he has championed the reopening of Midnight Pass on south Siesta Key.
Given the fact that DeSantis last year vetoed funding for that tidal flow restoration, Neunder told Lewis, “I’m not holding my breath.” In fact, Neunder added, “Last year, I felt a little burned on the whole process.”
(Like DeSantis, all of the commissioners are Republicans.)
Lewis explained that the start of the state’s fiscal year is July 1. Thus, no rush is necessary in terms of legislative staff transmitting the appropriations bill to DeSantis.
“My belief is that [members of the governor’s staff] are probably going through that very carefully,” Lewis added of the bill, as they try to determine what DeSantis might want to veto.
As for when the transmission of the bill from the Legislature will take place, Lewis continued, “I always hesitate to hazard a guess.” Nonetheless, he said, he expects that action within the next 30 days, though it is likely within the next two weeks.
Typically, Lewis added, DeSantis holds a press conference to announce a number of projects he has chosen to support, with the legislative sponsors present, as he prepares to sign the bill after vetoes.
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