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construction area. Since the previous design engineer walked off the job in frustration, the site has been relatively inactive. Work is expected to start back up with new designs, including several options the com- missioners will see for the first time Monday. The new design engineer will discuss the advisability of putting some of the equipment aboveground; the old design put everything below ground and out of sight. However, the belowground equipment could prove vulnerable to hurricane-driven storm surges, so the commissioners at their last meeting asked about putting some of the gear aboveground. They and the neighbors will see what the enclosure and landscaping could look like. ON THE FIRE FRONT Following our report of open fires in two homeless camps near a fuel storage facility in the center of town, the city attorney was asked to report on "open burn" ordinances. His April 24 memo says, in part, "The city does not currently have an ordinance that makes it unlawful to have open campfires or open cooking fires on private or public property." While Sarasota County has a ban on open fires, the ordinance has several large loop- holes. It allows fires without a permit for "Girl or Boy Scout troops, church groups and orga- nized youth groups." Fournier's memo asks, "Couldn't a fire set by a church group become just as dangerous as a fire set by an atheist?" An alarm raised last month about homeless people's campfires getting out of control near Midco Petroleum on Sixth Street will have the city attorney discussing 'open burning' ordinances on May 5. Photo by Stan Zimmerman Sarasota News Leader May 2, 2014 Page 61