Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/235968
Sarasota News Leader January 3, 2014 about legal issues before they vote again on a moratorium. Fournier explains the board already has the power to control hours of operation of downtown establishments and that it can demand sound attenuation plans crafted by an engineer. The commission is set to take up the issue again on May 6. On April 23, the City Commission approves the new ordinance banning solicitation along roadways, and the Sarasota Police Department is training officers on how to enforce it. Nonetheless, a representative of the Sarasota chapter of the American Civil Page 40 Liberties Union says the city still could be vulnerable to lawsuits, even though City Attorney Robert Fournier tried to craft the ordinance to avoid free speech issues that saw the previous ordinance shot down in court. The County Commission votes unanimously on April 23 to award a bid of $4,550,683.28 to Forsberg Construction Inc. of Punta Gorda to construct the new stormwater project adjacent to Siesta Key Public Beach. The commissioners reiterate their ire over a consultant's mistake that led to a staff estimate the project would cost only about $1.5 County staff indicates a consultant under-estimated the expense of constructing a pipeline into the Gulf of Mexico because of the technical challenges of that facet of the new Siesta Key stormwater project. Image courtesy Sarasota County