Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/207831
Sarasota News Leader November 8, 2013 Page 58 your drinks. OK, you buy your drinks. Then two months later you get a bill saying, "By the way, you owe the cost of two concert tickets." That's illegal! Whether you're a business or a corporation, you just can't do that. They should not charge for public records. Printing, yes. If there's excessive staff time, yes. They should do what they do for the development community to try to reduce the burden. You had staff more than once sit with developers, and the developers asked for it. Did you charge the developers for their time, lisLourdes Ramirez makes public comments at tening to their concerns to make changes to a County Commission meeting on behalf of Sarasota 2050? No. But I'm sitting in an office CONA. File photo by myself and you want to charge me. They News Leader: How would you make the com- don't mind burdening the citizen. mission and the county more transparent? Ramirez: I was one of those people who said that all emails from the County Commission News Leader: You don't support using tax dollars to subsidize development, but you and the administrator should be online. do support using taxpayer dollars for the I would do a dedicated computer in [the] Benderson Park rowing facility. How is that Board Records [office] on the second floor not a similar situation? in [the] Ringling [Boulevard Administration Center], and down at [the R.L.] Anderson Ramirez: Benderson Park is our park. I [Center in Venice] and maybe in every library, know it's called Benderson because they so people can go in there and search whatever paid $1 million for the naming rights, but it they want in the county database, read-only. is our park. And does it help the University They can print; they can access for as many Town Center? Sure it does. But in the long years as they want. Is it limited time? Yes. It's run that project has a clear set of new visitors not 24/7, but it at least gives them a lot more to Sarasota County, and the infrastructure exists. We have Cattlemen Road; we have access and they don't have to pay for it. Honore [Avenue]; we have I-75. The years of income coming in is going to generate a good benefit for Sarasota County. A lot of people News Leader: What about charging for public think of it as giving money to Benderson. No records? they didn't. They gave money to our park. Ramirez: Let's say you went to a free concert The reason why Benderson was good as part in the park and they told you you have to buy of it was because if Sarasota County wanted