Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/233139
CAN THEY SELL THE PLAN? With no 'blight' or 'slums' visible in downtown Sarasota — even from a rooftop — the City and County commissions will have to decide whether to extend the life of the Downtown Sarasota Community Redevelopment Agency. Photo by Norman Schimmel ANALYSIS: DOWN TO THE WIRE, THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS WORKING ON RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE DOWNTOWN SARASOTA COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY PROVE LESS THAN AMBITIOUS By Stan Zimmerman City Editor It has been a bumpy ride for the "airplane" called the Downtown Sarasota Community Redevelopment Agency Extension Study Committee. In the cargo compartment is a delicate half-billion-dollar package of tightly interconnected public policies. When the pilot — Committee Chairman Andy Dorr — asked for volunteers to draft the final report, not a single member stepped forward to help finish the task. Instead, Deputy City Manager Marlon Brown rushed to the controls to keep the ship on the glide path. As the plane makes the final approach I don't think the ordinance to its destinations — [establishing the committee] called for a the Sarasota City and written report. County Commission daises — there has Chris Gallagher Member been a mutiny by the Downtown Sarasota crew and nobody wants CRA Extension Study Committee to do any more work. It is absolutely crucial to the city's future that the payload gets delivered and accepted by the two elected bodies. The failure of the committee members to show any willingness to complete their