Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/121369
Sarasota News Leader April 12, 2013 Page 30 Hines concurred with her, adding, "This is an important event for our community." On March 19, Nicandri presented the board with an economic impact study, commissioned by Suncoast Charities, showing the 2012 festival brought $14,306,173 into the county, up 12.1 percent from the 2011 amount of $12.7 million. Lucy Nicandri of Suncoast Charities for Children addresses the County Commission on March 19. File photo said they would not come back to us again, and they did come back to us … with a significantly higher amount this year." On March 19, there seemed to be "no end in sight" for such action, Robinson pointed out. Nonetheless, Patterson told her fellow board members, "We are going to get other requests based on this. … These dollars are coming out of promotional dollars that were leftover from last year," according to information she had received from Steve Botelho, the county's chief financial planning officer, and Virginia Haley, president of Visit Sarasota County, the county's tourism office. "It's not totally clear that [Visit Sarasota County is] going to have additional reserves" in future years beyond the reserve amount it is required by state law to maintain, Patterson pointed out. "I think in our heads we're going to have to figure out some way to draw a clear distinction between this event and many other pretty neat events that take place in the community," she continued, "especially those that are produced in order to produce a charitable end." The request for the 2013 sanctioning fee should have come to the commission last year during preparation of its current fiscal year budget, she noted. "I don't want to be put into a position where we got our backs pressed to The profit from the Suncoast Grand Prix Festhe wall because of the timing in which they tival is used to cover expenses for maintaining facilities Suncoast Charities has built over come to us," she said. the decades for special needs children in the Moreover, "This is not a precedent for any county, its website says. other festival to come to us out of the budget cycle," Robinson pointed out. "This is going to Patterson added that she would support Barbe a special exception. This will certainly not betta's motion, "because I did feel kind of badbe the rule for this commissioner." ly for leaving [Suncoast Charities' board and