Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/277189
After trying out the County Commission chambers March 3 while work was under way at City Hall, the Sarasota city commissioners will return to their own seats on March 17 to face a relatively unambitious agenda. Should the city vie for a $10,000 state grant to exterminate exotic trees and plants from North Lido Beach? Should it extend the Lemon Avenue lease to Paul Mattison's outdoor restaurant? Will the commissioners continue to refuse funding for the legal defense of a fellow commissioner on a Sunshine viola- tion complaint? PAPER DOES NOT GROW ON TREES The $10,000 grant would normally fall below the radar, but the amount of work Todd Kucharski has put into getting it has changed the circumstances. The application with 16 attachments runs 68 pages in total. It is full of fascinating details, all in the name of ridding the city's North Lido Beach of much derided invasive species and planting native trees "to improve the condition of the City's tree can- opy," as the agenda item puts it. For one example, a tiebreaker in the award process could be whether one bidder has an City staff has been working on a $10,000 grant application for funds to eradicate invasive trees and plants from North Lido Beach. Photo by Norman Schimmel RIDDING NORTH LIDO BEACH OF INVASIVE SPECIES, THE MATTISON'S CITY GRILLE LEASE AND THE CHAPMAN LEGAL DEFENSE WILL BE FODDER FOR CITY COMMISSION ACTION MONDAY A LIGHT AGENDA By Stan Zimmerman City Editor