Sarasota News Leader

06/27/2014

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"Bricking the sidewalk along Main, extending the streetscape to the South Lemon Avenue mall, that would also require increasing our financial resources," he pointed out. Talk then turned to expanding the DID, a self-financed taxing district encompassing downtown property. "One option is going east out to U.S. 301," said Moran. "That would bring an additional $283,000." Expanding south to Charles Ringling Boulevard would be another option, he added. "What we have left now is $90,000." EYES AND STOMACHS Because it uses special property tax revenue, the DID has access to the municipal bond market. The board has used that option once in the past, to get the money upfront for a host of downtown beautification efforts. Now its budget is devoted to bond paybacks, main- tenance and ongoing operating expenses. The latest project was re-sodding Five Points Park, work that must be done every two years because the park is a high foot-traffic area. Two additional non-capital items now con- front the organization as well. One is enhanced pressure-washing of sidewalks. The city has hired a contractor to clean the sidewalks of the city's business districts. The first area to see the work done was St. Armands Circle. Moran reported the cleaning was unsatisfac- tory. "The contractor agreed the work was not done as well as [at] the test site," Moran told the DID board. The contractor will start on downtown sidewalks immediately after the July Fourth festivities, he said. But if A map shows the area of the Downtown Improvement District in Sarasota. Image courtesy City of Sarasota Sarasota News Leader June 27, 2014 Page 56

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