Sarasota News Leader
December 27, 2013
Page 101
Siesta Seen
The house was rented regularly through a
website called Vacation Rentals By Owner.
It was still listed on the site even after a
renter notified county staff in November 2012
that she feared it violated Fire Department
codes. County Code Enforcement staff
members, who investigated it along with a
Fire Department representative, called it a
"firetrap."
bridge was "stuck in the open position …
causing major traffic delays."
At 11:41 a.m., the following notice came from
the Police Department: "The North Bridge
malfunction on Siesta Drive has been resolved
and the bridge is reopened. However, there is
still heavy traffic in the area."
Although I tried twice to contact Florida
Department of Transportation public relaPearce had expected the hearing to be can- tions staff to find out exactly what caused the
celled, as it appeared in early December the problem, I heard no response.
parties comprising Siesta Resorts were working to obtain the last bit of paperwork they STORMWATER PROJECT UPDATE
needed to show they had brought the property
The last update I had on the Siesta stormwater
back into compliance with both the county
project adjacent to the public beach — with
and FEMA rules.
its misnomer of Beach Road Drainage Project
I hope to learn more after the first of the year (it will do little to alleviate flooding on Beach
about the resolution of the liens Siesta Resorts Road) — came on Dec. 18. At that point,
owed as a result of Special Magistrate action the one-acre retention pond was 30-percent
at the behest of the county Code Enforcement complete.
staff.
The report from Isaac Brownman, director of
capital projects in the county's Public Works
AGAIN???
Department, added, "Work in the next 2 weeks
I expect a number of motorists were surprised is expected to consist of the excavation and
to see the north Siesta drawbridge stuck open removal of buried debris (concrete, pavement
for more than an hour on Dec. 19. After all, and tree limbs) from the site, clearing work,
the bridge went through a major rehab in the continued pond excavation and continued
summer of 2012.
installation of a 60-inch pipeline.
At 10:41 a.m. on Dec. 19, the Sarasota Police The drier weather obviously has benefitted
Department alerted the news media that the the contractor. %
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