Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/215277
Sarasota News Leader November 22, 2013 Deciding the how many city and county commissioners, and who would appoint the citizen members proved difficult. While there was general agreement the new governing board should consist of seven members, how would those be parsed? One for each commission and five citizens? Or the other extreme, three from each commission and a lone citizen? "I don't see how you're going to take politics out of it by adding one or two or three commissioners. How can you expect a local elected official to be anything less than political?" asked Fredd Atkins. He is the most political member of the board, a five-term city commissioner with multiple turns as Sarasota Page 46 mayor. In fact he is the only member of the committee who has won elected office. "If we're trying to do redevelopment without it being political, I do not think we can hit that mark," added Atkins. "Don't masquerade this as being apolitical. That isn't going to happen." Each suggestion of board composition scheme was dissected. "Could the five citizens have a different agenda and form a supermajority and public officials not be able to block it or stop it?" asked member Ernie DuBose. A proposal to compose a governing board of two county commissioners, two city A map shows the boundaries of the Downtown Sarasota Community Redevelopment Agency area. Image courtesy City of Sarasota