Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/83745
Sarasota News Leader September 21, 2012 January, City Manager Bob Bartolotta re- signed, and City Police Chief Mikel Holla- way will step down next month. All five city commissioners are first- termers. SCOPE CONTINUES URBAN INSTITUTE TEAMWORK ty Openly Plans for Excellence decided to continue its two-year collaboration with the Urban Institute. After looking at four different funding models, the board of Sarasota Coun- The two organizations are teamed up with several local governmental offices to create an enormous database of community infor- mation. The website is up, live and running at http://nccsweb.urban.org/sarasota.php If you visit the site, don't be distressed if you don't immediately find a wealth of in- formation about your neighborhood. The site is a work in progress; it only recently was let out "into the wild" for public view- ing. The SCOPE board hopes neighborhoods will "populate" the site with stories, pic- tures and videos, to complement the gov- ernment data SCOPE staff members and consultants are feeding into the site. Allison Pinto, the architect of the effort, will be leaving the organization at the end of this month. Page 61 Tim Dutton, who led SCOPE for 11 years, is also stepping away from the organiza- tion. He was the founding director; now he will be assisting one of its spin-offs, the In- stitute for the Ages. PARKING FINE AND FEE MODIFICATIONS AIRED One week remains for people to pay old parking tickets and skip the $15 late fee. Not only will you save on the late fees, but you also will clear your record of unpaid tickets, just in time to breathe more easily as new – and expensive – fees kick in. City of Sarasota Parking Manager Mark Lyons briefed the city commissioners on Sept 17 on plans to change fines and late fees, as well as the cost of a "boot" for scoff- laws who refuse to pay. Lyons said the current $15 late fee is the same no matter how late the fine is paid. He'd like to add an additional $15 after the 14th day, and another $15 after 30 days. However, if somebody pays the ticket with- in 24 hours, he's willing to knock off $5 for good citizenship. In reviewing the parking ordinances, he said he found there is no penalty for re- moving, tampering with or attempting to remove a "vehicle immobilizing device," commonly call "the boot." Lyons would like to impose a $25 fine for messing with the device. He'd also like the city to be a bit more ag- gressive in using "the boot." "The threshold right now is one of the most restrictive I've seen," he said. "If somebody owes us $50