Sarasota News Leader

03/08/2013

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Sarasota News Leader March 8, 2013 Page 94 Siesta Seen continued, that staff was going to propose the county purchase bollards and install them on its own. However, a memo to that effect had not been completed for the County Commission as of his March 4 conversation with Montague, van Roekens added. Montague had written the memo on Feb. 22 and passed it along to higher-level staff for approval, van Roekens indicated. His own discussions with staff had led him to believe "that memo will be [in front of the commissioners] in a day or two," van Roekens added. Regarding the whole process, van Roekens continued, "It's gone on and on and on … we'll see what happens now." In mid-February, after the single bid came in, I contacted Mark Smith, the immediate past chairman of the Siesta Chamber, who had worked with van Roekens, Matthes, Montague and other county employees to set up bollard demonstrations in the Village last summer. As of early this week, county staff had not completed a memo to the County Commission regarding a new recommendation for providing bollard lighting at Siesta Village crosswalks. Image courtesy Sarasota County Smith had not heard the bid amount; when I told him, he replied, "It's absolutely unbelievable." He added, "I guess the economy's bit higher than she had anticipated. "I can't picking up," if a contractor felt he could put be sure the commission would back doing" in that amount. the project for that amount, she added. "I sold Tom Maroney, general manager of business [the effort] on the premise that it would cost operations in the Public Works Department — about $30,000." who also has been working on the project — When I spoke with Montague on Feb. 15, told me, "Absolutely, we have no idea where he told me, "Originally, the goal was to get that bid came from." [the bollards] in before season started, and Commissioner Patterson, who lives on Sies- now we're in the midst of season. … It is a ta Key, concurred that the bid was a quite a time-sensitive project."

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