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local dollars," Commissioner Nora Patterson — who lives on the island — told about 70 members of the Siesta Key Condominium Council during their Jan. 21 meeting. She did express concern that the permit- ting process with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) could delay the start of the work, reminding the audience that it took almost three years to get DEP approval for the first restoration of the south- ern Siesta beach. Wreford explained that "there has been an active conscious effort at least on the part of the state … to make things quicker, eas- ier, more streamlined" in terms of permitting since the first Turtle Beach project was under- taken in 2006-07. One other facet in the county's favor this time, he added, is the fact that staff is "not really proposing drastic changes" from that first effort. "We are adopting this hopeful optimism," he said of the permit process. The work cannot be undertaken during tur- tle nesting season, Patterson pointed out, which runs May 1 to Nov. 1 each year. Even if the project was delayed until February 2015, Wreford said, it could be completed before May 1. And while the sand source has been the crux of controversy surrounding the City of Sarasota's plans to renourish Lido Beach (see the related story in this issue), that is not a Helen Clifford, secretary of the Siesta Key Condominium Council, and Frank Jurenka, the organization's vice president, listen to Commissioner Nora Patterson speak on Jan. 21. Photo by Rachel Hackney Sarasota News Leader February 7, 2014 Page 70