Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/124273
Sarasota News Leader April 26, 2013 Page 17 as a result of the Walmart's opening. Twen- According to material accompanying the agenty-nine of those trips were predicted to be da item, the average wage for those workers during the peak travel time. will be $12.64 per hour. The analysis noted Moreover, Neu said, that the store is exthe store would add pected to have an imI'm really struggling with the approximately $1.75 pact on Bee Ridge neighbors saying there'll be increased million a year to Road from Lockwood new traffic from people out of the area. the county's coffers Ridge Road to Beneva through sales and Charles Hines Road as well as an improperty taxes. Commissioner pact on Beneva from Sarasota County Referencing residents' Wilkinson Avenue to remarks from the pubBee Ridge. It adds, "The impacted Bee Ridge Road and Beneva lic hearing, Patterson chided Neu that if the Road segments are built to their ultimate con- store does draw customers away other nearby grocery stores, then his estimate might be too figurations." high in terms of sales tax revenue. It also says, "The project's traffic triggers the need for a southbound to westbound right Still, Neu pointed out, "This is a non-performing parcel here." turn lane." Scott Gilner of Kimley-Horn and Associates, acting as the project engineer for Walmart, told the commissioners the expectation is that most of the Walmart's customers would live roughly within a 1.5-mile radius of the new store. Regarding the landscaping on the site, Neu said that one live oak on the property designated a "Grand Tree" because of its 47-inch diameter will not be cut down. However, "Not necessarily all trees will be saved," he added. Don Neu, the agent representing Beneva Land Trust/River's Edge Community Church Inc., told the commissioners during his presentation that the project would employ about 100 construction workers on a temporary basis. Once open, the store would have 80 to 100 full-time employees. PROTESTS The developer of the project — Jim Bridges Agreeing with Patterson, Hines continued, of Jebco Management — told participants at "What is absolutely clear is we have a traffic a Jan. 30 neighborhood meeting that once the problem on those two roads that I think our project "gets through the pre-development stage it should take approximately one year county needs to look at …" to complete," according to the agenda mateTHE BACKGROUND rial for the commissioners. Among the speakers who addressed the County Commission during the public hearing, Lourdes Ramirez, president of the Sarasota County Council of Neighborhood Associations (CONA), voiced concerns about the de-