Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/235968
Sarasota News Leader January 3, 2014 budget workshop. As part of a two-hour presentation during the commissioners' Jan. 29 meeting in Venice, Carter points out that of the 2,000 SCAT stops across the county, only 138 have shelters. She provides a breakdown of the estimated total cost of $30,000 to $40,000 involved in putting up a single shelter, including $6,000 for land acquisition and $15,000 to $25,000 for design, permits and construction. On Jan. 29, the County Commission offers the City of North Port $2 million to purchase Warm Mineral Springs. Commissioner Christine Robinson proposes an agreement with details on how the $2 million would be paid out over time, requirements that the city alter its boundaries so the springs sits on county land and thoughts on how the city and county might manage the property in the interim. The city and county jointly own the property. On Jan. 30, the County Commission votes to have staff schedule a series of public meetings over the next 90 days to present and discuss potential changes to Sarasota 2050, the detailed land-use plan adopted a decade ago to encourage New Urbanist neighborhoods, particularly east of Interstate 75. Developers have been pushing for the 2050 alterations, arguing that the regulations are too restrictive and present numerous obstacles to new construction. Supporters of 2050, meanwhile, have argued that the relatively small number of projects approved under the plan in recent years has more to do with the Page 14 calamitous real estate crash than excessive government regulation. A representative of the National Institute of Government Purchasing Inc. (NIGP) commends the County Commission on Jan. 30 for the progress Sarasota County government has made in implementing better standards and practices in its Procurement Department. Nonetheless, he says some of the county's self-imposed restrictions following a 2011 scandal in that department were excessive. Louis Moore, lead consultant for the NIGP's review of measures the county has taken to improve procurement practices in the wake of that scandal, adds that he and his team "see some definite productivity problems" with the restrictions on employees' use of county credit cards, or P-cards. After a month on the job, Sarasota's new police chief has figured out two major problems and is working to remedy them, she says. Chief Bernadette DiPino will be improving training for the force she leads, and she will work to restore trust between members of the public and officers. "We have to re-establish and gain trust in the community," she says. "I believe outreach and education is important." Within a few days, she adds, she hopes to announce the formation of a "Citizens Police Academy." It will start out as a once-a-year course for city residents through which they will take classes, go on tours, visit the gun range, mingle with special police teams and try their hands at simulated street confrontations. %