Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/341318
candidates' forum on June 23. In an email he sent out afterward, he wrote that he asked her, "What is the plan to enforce the crowd from trampling the dunes and dune grass, since this is our last line of what little protection we have if there were a storm this summer? They need to be protected." In reality, the area is under county mainte- nance even though it is within the City of Sarasota. When the city and county recon- figured their decades-old park maintenance interlocal agreement several years ago, the county retained Lido Beach within its jurisdic- tion. However, law and order there remains the responsibility of the city police. The city's general manager for landscap- ing, parks and environmental services, Todd Kucharski, says the county will block off "strategic pathways" to keep people off the dunes. "This should be pretty routine for the county," he added. "It should be no different than last year." Meanwhile, the city police will be active in the area with officers on foot; in four-wheel- drive, all-terrain vehicles; and on bicycles. Kucharski says the police and Sarasota County Fire Department personnel will need to keep some pathways clear for emergency access as well. While temperatures in the lower 90s are predicted, the "heat index" will probably be in the low 100s, as it has been for much of the week. "When we know we're going to have a large number of people on the beach, The Lido Beach concession stand is a popular place, city staff says. Photo courtesy Sarasota County Sarasota News Leader July 4, 2014 Page 69