Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/316941
broached the idea of the county using funds from its beach maintenance account "to get an outside consultant to review the Army Corps' analysis." Patterson pointed out that she had mentioned that idea to a number of groups and, "for the most part, that was a very well received sug- gestion …" Patterson noted that Virginia Haley, pres- ident of the county's tourism office, Visit Sarasota County, had suggested Dr. Stephen Leatherman might be a good choice for such a review. Leatherman, known nationally as Dr. Beach, posts an annual Top 10 list of beaches in the nation; Siesta Public Beach won the No. 1 ranking in 2011-12. Patterson added that Laird Wreford, the coun- ty's manager of coastal resources, had told her he had in mind a coastal engineering firm that he felt would be trusted by all sides to do the review. "I would love to have something from somebody independent of the Army Corps and who doesn't actually make a living from dredging," she told her colleagues. Robinson responded that she wanted to hear from county staff members, after their thorough review of the Corps of Engineers' material, before considering pursuing a peer review. Robinson also pointed out, as she had a couple of months ago, that she found it inappropriate for members of the public to take positions on the Corps of Engineers' plan before seeing the material. (Residents and organizations of Siesta Key and the nonprofit organization Save Our Siesta Sand 2 have announced oppo- sition to the proposed dredging of Big Pass, Milan A. Mora, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' project manager for the Lido Beach renourishment effort, discussed the proposal with the City and County commissions in late October 2013. Photo by Norman Schimmel Sarasota News Leader May 23, 2014 Page 62