Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/316941
The vote was unanimous to direct Fournier to work on the problem, but it offered no spe- cific direction. LIDO BEACH HELP URGED The first speaker at the meeting during the "open to the public" segment was the Lido Key resident most responsible for the "res- cue" of the pool on Lido Beach. At one point in the past, the county threatened to fill the beachfront pool with sand. Carl Shoffstall rallied the residents and lobbied the city and county; the pool remains open for business. He is still pushing for the pool, but in his remarks Monday, he turned to a larger issue regarding the city's only barrier island. "The beach is gone," he told the commissioners. "If you haven't been out there, you need to take a look at the beach. God forbid we have a major storm this summer, because there may not be anything out there." He urged any and all action possible to expe- dite a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers joint plan with the city to renourish Lido, using sand from Big Pass. (See the related story in this issue and the related item in News Briefs.) LIDO POOL PLAN APPROVED Shoffstall's plan to "rescue" Lido Pool kept it alive, but the facility now needs a $3 million rehab to stay alive. The residents developed a master plan, which was incorporated into the city's strategic plan. On Monday, the commis- sioners were asked to put that plan in motion. The City Commission has agreed to advertise an Invitation to Negotiate in seeking a new operator of the Lido Pool. Sarasota News Leader May 23, 2014 Page 56