Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/297477
during votes in March, staff members of the two local governments have been working on the most efficient way to get the contract exe- cuted and pay the $30,000 — split between the city and county — for the $50,000 project. The U.S. Department of the Interior will pick up the remaining portion of the expense, Harrison explained last month. Once the contract is executed, he added, it will take about a year for the USGS to com- plete the study. The County Commission voted unanimously on March 19 to proceed with the project; the North Port board also voted unanimously to support it after a brief discussion with Harrison on March 24. During the county meeting, Vice Chairwoman Christine Robinson pointed out that the boards originally agreed to the USGS study in July 2012. That was the same meeting during which the commissioners also voted unani- mously to pursue an Invitation to Negotiate regarding the long-term future of Warm Mineral Springs. Subsequent changes on the North Port Commission led to a months-long standoff over the 81-acre resort the city and county purchased together for $5.5 million in December 2010. Then, following an April 2013 facilitated meeting held under the guidelines A graph shows temperatures recorded in the Warm Mineral Springs discharge creek from 2012 through March 2014. Image courtesy Sarasota County Sarasota News Leader April 18, 2014 Page 28