Sarasota News Leader

04/05/2013

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Sarasota News Leader April 5, 2013 ty — cannot balance their budgets. They have been tapping into reserves to make ends meet. But the real end of the road is in sight. For the city, the coming fiscal year may drain the savings account. For the county, the timing is not much further away. Unmet capital needs? For decades the City of Sarasota poured resources into downtown and Newtown. Call it the "two-towns" strategy. Every other area of the city has starved. A St. Armands parking garage to serve the city's toniest shopping district? Sorry. Sidewalks, curbs and gutters for the southern half of the city? Sorry. A Lido Beach pavilion to serve the city's primo beach? Sorry. Lido Pool? Sorry. Anything outside the "two towns" is off the capital-improvement charts. Page 34 County unsure? Will the county stick with the 2050 plan or let developer interests gut it? Do the county commissioners believe the urban core of the City of Sarasota has any importance to the county's future? Can they, will they devote any resources to keeping the core alive? That 11-member committee? Stay with me. ALL IN THE NUMBERS At this point, 95 percent of readers will go elsewhere, even though the future of the downtown, Newtown and the remainder of the city teeter in the balance, because numbers are hard to understand. Thought is required. But if you are willing to put your brain to work, follow along. The Sarasota City Commission in session. Photo by Norman Schimmel

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