Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/332945
that multi-million-dollar undertaking was completed in early 2009, the SKVMC has been charged with overseeing as well as paying for the upkeep of the district. The March 15 date was established to enable county financial staff to make any necessary calculations for the assessments of the prop- erty owners to cover new expenses, Harriott explained to the News Leader. The county budget process is finalized each summer, he pointed out. According to a timeline the county provided to the News Leader, staff members walked through the Village with Smith on Feb. 5 to inspect the level of maintenance. Two days later, staff "sent [a] courtesy reminder email" to Smith regarding the March 15 deadline. Although Smith says he spoke with county staff about adding recycling into the Village upkeep contract, he did not follow up with a formal request on SKVMC letterhead, which staff had asked him to do, the timeline shows. Smith began volunteering with the SKVA in 1999, he told the News Leader. He has held numerous leadership positions with that orga- nization and with the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce through the years. Just this spring, he again was elected an SKVA offi- cer. However, Smith explained, over the past months, "I've been blessed in having a great deal of work." He heads up his own architectural firm in the Village. He reiterated to the News Leader this week what he and other SKVA officers have noted numerous times during meetings. "You're dealing with an all-volunteer army" of people. Chief Sarasota County Engineer James K. Harriott Jr. oversees the staff responsible for handling Siesta Village upkeep issues. File photo Sarasota News Leader June 20, 2014 Page 58