Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/235968
Sarasota News Leader January 3, 2014 On March 18, the City Commission scraps an earlier proposal for an ad hoc committee to work on problems in downtown Sarasota regarding the noise from live entertainment. The vote is 4-1, with Commissioner Terry Turner in the minority. In the meantime, pressure is mounting on the city administration and the Sarasota Police Department to enforce the Sound Control Ordinance. However, City Manager Tom Barwin has ordered the police not to enforce the section of the code banning amplified recorded music outdoors because of threats of legal action on First Amendment grounds. During their evaluation of Sarasota County Administrator Randall Reid on March 19, all the county commissioners voice a desire for better communication between staff members and themselves, though they acknowledge Reid had a number of challenges before him when he took the position in January 2012. Chairwoman Carolyn Mason leads off the comments, noting she gave Reid an overall rating of "Satisfactory." She points out, "I had a couple of issues. … The big one centers around communication and he and I have talked about that." Commissioner Joe Barbetta is more critical, though he notes he also rated Reid's performance "Satisfactory" for 2012. "I think things have gotten better," Barbetta says, adding, "but the 2,000 employees that are out there are supposed to be public servants and they are reflective of us. In the community, we're on the front line, hearing what's going on." Page 28 In November 2012, former Sarasota Police Chief John Lewis was asked to provide a comprehensive report in 30 days detailing changes that need to occur at the Sarasota Police Department to make it the best trained law enforcement agency in Florida and the southern United States, according to a press release issued at the time by City Manager Tom Barwin. It took Lewis about twice as long as expected, but his 24-page report, obtained by The Sarasota News Leader, indicates there is a lot of work to be done to meet the ambitious goal outlined by Barwin. Lewis was the SPD chief for more than a decade (1989-2000). Chief Bernadette DiPino started work on New Year's Day 2013. Lewis' primary focus was training, and he found it had declined over time. He says before 1997, officers received 64 hours of training per year. But after switching to a 12-hour patrol shift (from eight hours) in 2006, training per year was cut in half, to 32 hours. However, those on 12-hour shifts "were paid overtime to attend in-service training on their days off …." Nonetheless, because of budget cuts, "funding to pay patrol officers overtime to attend in-service training was virtually eliminated," wrote Lewis. "This resulted in minimal training for a number of areas" — among them, firearms training. The County Commission votes unanimously on March 19 to approve the stockpiling of excavated material from the Siesta Key stormwater project for use in the planned beach park improvements. However, the vote comes after Commissioner Joe Barbetta reiterates his ire at the fact that the lowest responsible bid for the stormwater project came in about