Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/243343
Sarasota News Leader January 17, 2014 Page 61 Commission. If not we can advertise this week." Brown told the County Commission, "We thought [the extension language] would be a good safety valve" in the event the long-term operational agreement for the resort was not finalized by Sept. 1. "The facility would have to close again [otherwise]," she pointed out, as DiFranco had the previous day. "Let's avoid that," County Commissioner Nora Patterson said. However, County Vice Chairwoman Christine Robinson reminded her colleagues, "[T]he purpose of adding the deadline language to [the December agreement] was to make sure that we had things done … We need to work together to accomplish this, and extending [the short-term contract] just completely erases that deadline …" Christine Robinson is vice chairwoman of the County Commission. Photo by Norman Schimmel Springs and then the city board agreed with "If we don't approve [the North Port lan- the short-term manager to let the latter stay guage]," Chairman Hines replied, "then [the in place longer. "We are in this position then that we say, 'No, because you're not moving deal is] dead." fast enough,'" Robinson added. The worst-case scenario, Robinson explained, would be if North Port's board and staff took "Suppose you have a very short extension too long to complete the solicitation process period," Patterson replied. "I don't want [the for long-term operation of Warm Mineral Springs] all of a sudden closed again Sept. 1, and you don't, either." We [bought] this property four days before I took office [in December 2010]. It's time we put some deadline on ourselves and get this done. Christine Robinson Vice Chairwoman Sarasota County Commission "Then we should just turn this into a Dec. 31 deadline," Robinson told Patterson. "It has the same effect." Robinson added, "It's time to get this done. We [bought] this property four days before I took office," which was in December 2010. "It's time we put some deadline on ourselves and get this done."