Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/140592
Sarasota News Leader June 28, 2013 Page 84 Siesta Seen Varro wrote, "In 2006, Sunsets on the Key, and surrounding businesses, were told that it had become mandatory to conceal trash containers: trash containers were no longer allowed to be seen from the street." At an expense of nearly $3,000, she added, she made sure the inn's "relatively small trash receptacles" were enclosed. "All of our neighbors up and down Avenida Navarra" did the same, she continued. "During the last many, many months, in fact for almost a year now, the large dumpsters at the corner of [Avenida] Navarra and [Avenida] Messina are not only out in the open … 24/7 … usually and literally partially in the street. They are filled and overfilled with trash strewn about on the ground, the majority being food refuse from the 3 restaurant vendors at Key Corners. It is a disgusting sight and smell." Varro added, "Even more outrageous, the lids are never closed," which had been "creating a haven for maggots, rodents, [crows] and disease." The dumpsters, she pointed out, "are never out-of-sight; always create an eyesore; are a pedestrian and vehicular hazard … not to mention the STENCH!! It permeates the entire area." Regardless of whether someone is just walking down the street while trying to get to the Village businesses or lying out at the Sunsets by the Key pool, which is about 175 feet away from the dumpsters," she noted, "the smell is horrendous." Varro reported that Key Corners had enclosed areas where the dumpsters used to be kept, but those spaces are "just filled with junk and debris." The 5-foot by 6-foot gates to those enclosures are left wide open, she pointed out, obstructing the sidewalk and leaving pedestrians no choice but to walk in the street to get to the Village, "all the while having to dodge the traffic in the street at this busy, congested area." Varro continued, "Another offender is The Arches property, whose dumpsters sit directly next to our pool area ... literally 10 feet from our guests trying to enjoy our pool and hot tub. … The lids of the dumpster at the back of the property alongside our pool are never closed, nor are they ever washed out." She even included an email from a recent guest, who had written, "I want to say again how much we enjoyed our time in Siesta Key, and particularly how much we enjoyed staying at your property. … As we discussed, there is one main issue that is preventing us from booking a trip for Spring Break and Summer of 2014, and that's the smell from the next door garbage dumpster that really interrupts a nice relaxing time at the pool. The smell is so off-putting, that we couldn't spend much time in that area at all, and that's a deal breaker for all of us. Sadly, that means that not only is your business with us jeopardized, but the surrounding businesses in Siesta Key (restaurants, shops, etc.) might not have the benefit of the money that our group of 10 spends while we're there."