Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/198837
Sarasota News Leader October 25, 2013 Page 46 "I don't see how we can allow this to go unopened through a season," Hines said of the resort. "It is unfair to North Port and the people that come here to go to the Springs." Hines and Barbetta both made points about the fact that the majority of the North Port Commission has a desire for no development at Warm Mineral Springs. "They want a park with a swimming hole," Barbetta said of Mayor Linda Yates and Commissioners Cheryl Cook and Rhonda DiFranco. "That's all they want. That's all they ever wanted. … It's most unfortunate that [Warm Mineral Springs] is closed, [but] it's on the backs of the three commissioners in North Port who changed all the circumstances of a 10-0 vote in July of 2012." Barbetta was referencing the unanimous votes of the County Commission and the North Port Commission in a joint meeting more than a year ago, when the boards agreed to pursue an Invitation to Negotiate that they hoped would result in a number of proposals for developing the resort. The city and county bought the property together in December 2010 for $5.5 million. After Cook and DiFranco were elected to the North Port Commission in November 2012, they joined Yates in opposing development of the site. THE FRUSTRATIONS Hines and Barbetta also were most vocal on Oct. 22 in their reservations about whether the two boards ever would be able to reach agreement on the long-term operation of Warm Mineral Springs. Commissioner Christine Robinson drafted the County Commission's latest response to the North Port Commission. Photo by Norman Schimmel