Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/281176
The deal is good for 30 years, meaning it will expire in 2016. Another committee is urging the funding scheme be continued. More on that later. One of the projects the CRA is financing is a new parking garage on State Street. However, the price has jumped $4.1 million since the first estimate was released in 2009. The Sarasota City Commission — as the CRA gov- erning body — simply dipped into the CRA's reserves and pushed off other projects to cover the anticipated shortfall. "We lose that money because it's all going to the garage?" asked CRA Advisory Board member Paul Thorpe on March 13. In fact, the loss could be higher, as member Drayton Saunders pointed out, "If there are further cost overruns on the garage, we will see a further shift of funds from future projects or other discretionary funds." The CRA is in straits similar to those of two other boards. The Downtown Improvement District (DID) levies a property tax surcharge in a smaller area than the CRA; and after A map shows the boundaries of the Downtown Sarasota Community Redevelopment Agency. Image courtesy City of Sarasota Sarasota News Leader March 21, 2014 Page 66