Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/356321
Siesta Seen After it ended, Polk called Shay and sent him an email. The latter noted that staff had agreed the following items will be addressed: • "Code Enforcement will be monitoring the [Blasé] parking lot situation to … ensure the parking space/s in question will be utilized by vehicles (as intended), not the band and accessories; and • "Mr. Brad Bailey, Zoning Administrator, will go [on-site] next week to review the parking lot in relation to the number of spaces and the ongoing activities at that location. It is my understanding … that the owners of the facility are preparing a design of the new parking plan. Although the County looks forward to receipt of this plan for review, Mr. Bailey will be looking at the current sit- uation with regard to consistency with the applicable regulations." Polk added, "I anticipate these actions will provide a better assessment, and moreover, monitoring of the situation." Following Polk's phone conversation with him, Shay sent a thank-you email to Polk that also expressed his appreciation to county staff "for the quick response in getting the [Blasé Café] parking spot put back to its orig- inal configuration. Too bad this couldn't have been done sooner and with less angst." In a brief interview on July 29, Shay told me, "I am very grateful that [county staff members] responded … and I am grateful that they are working on [the issues]." He added that he was looking forward to learning what Bailey discovered when he vis- ited the plaza where Blasé Café is located. Shay reiterated his concern about what then- SKVA Vice President Kay Kouvatsos pointed to last year after the SKVA-sponsored meet- ing on the SKOD: the need for "a level playing field." It is not fair to those who abide by the county code "that you have a couple of rogue businesses that thumb their noses at it," he said. TURTLE BEACH More email chatter among Commissioner Patterson and county staff has focused on the plans for improvements at Turtle Beach. Construction is set to begin late this year and take about four to six months. Among them will be a new parking lot with 35 additional spaces, a new playground, a new boardwalk with a dune walkover that will comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, a couple more two-pole picnic shelters, a gazebo, a kayak launch and a rain garden. In response to a question from Patterson, Parks and Recreation Department Director Carolyn Brown wrote on July 7, "The project does not include reconfiguring the boat ramp parking lot" because the necessary funding is not available. "The primary focus of the current scope was to increase beach parking and provide safe beach access via sidewalks and pedestrian crossings," Brown added. "What would be the approximate cost to Sarasota News Leader August 1, 2014 Page 76