Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/243343
TAKING A STAND I think we need to take a stand and … oppose this dredging. Peter van Roekens Secretary Siesta Key Association The view across Big Pass to Lido Key is a popular one at the county right of way on Ocean Boulevard near Siesta Village. Photo by Rachel Hackney THE SIESTA KEY ASSOCIATION BOARD UNANIMOUSLY AGREES TO STATE ITS OPPOSITION TO ANY DREDGING OF BIG SARASOTA PASS OR ITS CHANNEL BASED ON CURRENT DATA By Rachel Brown Hackney Editor It took about 30 minutes of discussion and one amendment to a motion, but the Siesta Key Association last week formally stated opposition to any U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' effort to dredge the shoal or channel in Big Sarasota Pass — based on the documentation currently available — in an effort to renourish Lido Beach. The unanimous action was the first the board had taken on the project since Aug. 1, when it also voted unanimously to pay up to $2,000 for an independent review of the Corps' latest modeling after the work is completed. The action last week did not address a related Corps proposal to construct three groins on the southern end of Lido Key to help stabilize the renourished beach and prevent sand from continuing to drift toward Big Pass — and Siesta Key — at the same volume observed over the years. Studies have shown the natural downdrift of sand flows from north to south on Florida's west coast. Although a number of audience members — and several SKA board members — voiced agreement with a motion by Secretary Peter van Roekens to oppose the dredging of Big