Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/92622
Sarasota News Leader November 9, 2012 A day after Sarasota County commissioners questioned whether a public meeting on the proposed Siesta Beach Park improvements would be held on Nov. 13 as announced earli- er, county officials issued a press release say- ing the open house still was on the schedule. Commissioner Joe Barbetta raised the matter during the board's Nov. 7 meeting in Sarasota. A day earlier, county Chief Engineer James K. Harriott Jr. told the commissioners the open house might have to be postponed because of continuing staff work on the design, which is at the 60 percent mark. A county news release sent out on Nov. 8 says the public meeting will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 13, at St. Michael the Archangel Church, 5394 Midnight Pass Road on Siesta Key. No formal presentation will be provided, the re- lease notes. Members of the public are invited to come at any time during the event, which will run from 5 to 7 p.m., the release adds. County staff and representatives of Kim- ley-Horn and Associates Inc., the design and engineering firm working as a consultant to the county on the project, will answer ques- tions about the design plan, "which includes The latest beach water samples — collected on Nov. 5 by the Sarasota County Health De- partment and analyzed by Mote Marine Labo- ratory for the micro-algae that causes Florida red tide (Karenia brevis) — shows a marked increase at Bird Key Park, just west of the Ringling Causeway, says a county news re- lease issued on Nov. 7. Page 55 SIESTA BEACH PARK DESIGN TO BE SUBJECT OF NOV. 13 MEETING new and enhanced amenities at the world- class Siesta Beach, designated by Dr. Beach as the No. 1 Beach in America in 2011," the news release says. The project has been designed to increase and improve parking and pedestrian access, up- grade and expand recreational opportunities and facilities and rehabilitate the historic pa- vilion built in the 1950s. Among the possible amenities and improve- ments the commission will consider for the beach park are the following, according to the release: • A pedestrian esplanade connecting the park from east to west • An expanded and renovated parking lot • Improved Beach Road access • Modern and expanded restrooms • Two new concession areas, including an el- evated one • New multiuse shelters For more information, contact the Sarasota County Call Center at 861-5000. INCREASED RED TIDE LEVELS DETECTED AT BIRD KEY PARK Local health officials have placed signage in the area advising the public that red tide is present, the release adds. "We are fortunate that red tide has remained at low levels at other area Gulf beaches," Sara- sota County Health Department Environmen- tal Administrator Tom Higginbotham says in the release. "People with asthma or chron-