Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/175080
DIGGING IN Longboat Town Mayor Jim Brown and Commission Chairwoman Carolyn Mason are side-by-side for the meeting. Photo by Norman Schimmel THE COUNTY COMMISSION AND LONGBOAT TOWN COMMISSION HEAR AN UPDATE ON THE U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS PLANS FOR RENOURISHING LIDO BEACH By Roger Drouin County Editor During a joint meeting of the Sarasota County and the Longboat Town commissions on Tuesday, Sept. 17, county staff provided an update on the planned renourishment of Lido Beach, a city project that has aroused concern among Siesta Key residents and boaters. The $22 million undertaking would rebuild the beach that has been eroding at a rate of about 20 feet per year, according to the state's Department of Environmental Protection. But one option for a sand source has revived intense political debate and opposition from the past. Under the plan, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is proposing the dredging of New Pass and, for the first time, Big Pass. The latter prospect is one that historically has worThe Corps has to address that the ried some Siesta resuse of sand from [Big Pass] will not be idents who are condetrimental at this time. cerned it could have an adverse impact on Laird Wreford Coastal Resources Manager the accretion of sand Sarasota County on Siesta Key Beach.