Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/101651
Sarasota News Leader January 4, 2013 Barwin: No, not at all. I feel very fortunate to be here in Sarasota, It is a marvelous and magnificent community. I was quite fortunate to have a mini-sabbatical between [city manager] jobs. For the first time in more than 10 years, I had more than two weeks off. Arriving here in what is a stimulating community and environment, I feel I���m at the peak of my ability to contribute to community building. It���s not my third choice at all. I had four communities recruiting me when Sarasota offered me the job. They were all really nice communities. Sarasota was my first choice and my family���s first choice. The statement you referred to was at the end of a long night following a commission meeting, at the end of nearly six years of effort throughout the Great Recession that required a lot of heavy lifting and tough decisions. I was a little burnt out there and had a lot of success in the environmental world and the energy world, and there were some opportunities to go into the private sector at that time. For a couple of minutes I was entertaining those options. Page 21 chise fee. Personally to me ��� and I work for the City Commission and the people of Sarasota, and we do have a strategic plan ��� I am hopeful environmental/sustainability/energy issues will work their way into the commission���s strategic plan in a little stronger fashion. Me personally, I think the threat of climate change is the issue of this generation ��� not that other important challenges aren���t still out there to work on, including civil rights and economic justice. I believe climate change is happening, and I believe it is vital we work as diligently at all levels of the public and private sector as possible to address it. In my realm, we will be moving the environmental advisor from the [Department of Public Works] to an office here at City Hall, so I can have daily or weekly contact with her [Allison Albee]. We are collaborating with Sarasota County to ��� try to land our fair share of the restore-the-Gulf dollars that will be covered through [BP] fines. I���ve been out at Mote [Marine Laboratory] and talked to some of their people and with some SNL: You led Oak Park to become the first of our utilities people about what we can reamunicipality in the sonably do further to Midwest, and maybe prevent or clean or the nation, to have What I���ve tried to do and practice deal with stormwa100 percent renewthroughout my 30-year city management ter that runs into the able energy sources. career begins with personnel. On day one Gulf. The mayor and Do you have a green since I began this career ��� and I���m I are trying to expand initiative in mind for biased because I���ve had pretty good [those efforts] to a Sarasota? success wherever I���ve been ��� it all begins regional effort. Make buildings more enerBarwin: I am aware of with who you hire. gy efficient, and the the negotiations with Tom Barwin Manager savings help cover the [Florida Power and City of Sarasota capital costs. Light] over the fran-