Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/268408
"We recognize it's very ambitious," Lowery added, "but it's our goal to complete it on time." Giving the North Port Commission just one meeting during which to approve the ITN lan- guage, Robinson said, "is ambitious." Carolyn Brown, the county's director of parks and recreation, concurred then with Lowery. "[The schedule] was tight." In response to a question from Robinson, Brown clarified that the ITN would go first to the North Port board for approval and then to the County Commission for a vote. When Robinson asked how long the ITN would be advertised, Brown replied, "We talked about 60 days." In staff discussions with County Administrator Tom Harmer, Lowery added, the consensus was to "provide ample time for proposers to put together something. If you make the time- line too short, you discourage, sometimes, proposers." Robinson also noted that the County Commission might want to hear presentations from some of the firms offering proposals. "You're going to have a different [County] Commission by the time this is resolved," Commissioner Nora Patterson quipped. Patterson and Barbetta both will be stepping down from the board in the fall as a result of term limits. Robinson then asked Harmer to take "a close, close look" at the timeline for the ITN, add- ing, "I'm really, really concerned." The County Commission might need to call a special meeting, she pointed out, to make certain the timeline could be achieved. The board is scheduled to take a summer break after its July 9 meeting, not convening again until Aug. 20. Patterson said if a special meeting becomes necessary, it should be called. "We're not going to make this deadline unless we call special meetings," Robinson con- tinued, referring to the city and the county. "There's no margin for error in that [sched- ule] whatsoever." "I agree," Harmer responded. "There's no mar- gin for error." Harmer also reinforced Lowery's comment that the 60-day advertisement period for the ITN "is probably a minimum … to get really responsive bids." In the meantime, Robinson asked that he check with the North Port administration to ascer- tain whether the North Port City Commission would be willing to schedule special meetings as well, if those are necessary. On Feb. 25, Harmer notified the board by email that North Port Manager Lewis had advised him that the City Commission "is willing to consider scheduling a special meeting and … that the City will make the final determination on date after the draft solicitation documents are finalized." On Feb. 25, Parks and Recreation Director Brown provided the following draft timeline to Harmer and the County Commission: Sarasota News Leader February 28, 2014 Page 53