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questions about the financial management of the rowing venue. The project has been fiercely criticized by a group of residents concerned the nonprofit is relying too heavily on Sarasota County and state funding instead of private monies the organization has promised to collect. Cathy Antunes, president of Sarasota Citizens for Responsible Government, has pointed to what she characterizes as the alarming lack of a competitive bidding process and other fiscal safeguards that could have kept the costs of the project in check. "The worst combination is to have a public-pri- vate project without any competitive bidding that is run by a private entity," Antunes said. "The county recently formally exempted row- ing center construction from procurement and bidding, which is unfortunate and fails to protect the public purse." A NEW PLAN Amid all the scrutiny and this week's setback, Blackketter is determined to see concepts for a boathouse and world-class racing cen- ter become reality at the park, which he and other supporters say will become a magnet for more sports tourism. SANCA will spend the next year fundraising, with the goal of raising $11 million in private donations for necessary equipment and struc- tures before the World Championships can be held. "The pendulum has swung to the private sector to fund-raise and get the park started," Blackketter told the News Leader. If that $11 million goal is met, representatives of the nonprofit will go back to Tallahassee in Participants in the FSRA Sweep Championships gather under a tent at Benderson Park on April 26. Photo by Norman Schimmel Sarasota News Leader May 2, 2014 Page 35