Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/309372
On Monday, May 5, the Sarasota City Commission put two new ordinances in place, learned of a new logo and PR campaign involving the city police and wondered if the city needs an ordinance to prevent it from burning down. After complaints about fires started by the homeless and vagrants near a gasoline and propane storage facility in the center of town, City Attorney Bob Fournier found the city did not have any way to regulate open fires within the city limits. A county ordinance regulates Boy Scout cookouts and burning off brush. "The city code bans open fires at parks and beaches," said Fournier. However, he ran into resistance Monday when he suggested maybe the city should imple- ment some regulation of open fires. "Can we handle this without writing an ordinance?" asked Mayor Shannon Snyder. "The county ordinance will not apply to our urban setting. We're getting ready to regulate far more than this individual problem." "There should be a differentiation between public and private property," Fournier replied. "We do have a problem out there; that's a substantial danger there," said Snyder. "But limiting neighbors from having smokers or a The City Commission listens to remarks on May 5. Photo by Norman Schimmel NO GO ON FIRE PROTECTION ORDINANCE CHANGES AND A NEW POLICE DEPARTMENT PR CAMPAIGN GET AN AIRING DURING THE MAY 5 CITY COMMISSION MEETING By Stan Zimmerman City Editor