Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/90018
Sarasota News Leader October 26, 2012 Siesta Seen cided they need to put a leash on themselves and future legislators, like they don't trust themselves to make good fiscal decisions." Ever since she has been in office, Patterson said — this is her fourth County Commission term, and she served on the Sarasota City Commission prior to that — "the state has struggled to put enough dollars on the table for a really fast-growing state to take care of a lot of its infrastructure problems," especially roads and bridges. For example, she said, "The Venice bypass needs improvements. It took 20 years to amass the dollars" for that work. For another example, she said, Sarasota Coun- ty received notification two years ago that it FUTURE LIFEGUARDS Proposed constitutional amendments weren't the only topic of discussion at the Oct. 4 SKA meeting. Carolyn Brown, general manager of parks and recreation for Sarasota County, and George Tatge, a parks and recreation man- ager, also reported on a number of facets of their work. Brown noted that Luckner specifically had asked her to address the Junior Lifeguard Program, to which the SKA has contributed. This past summer, Brown said, the coun- ty expanded the program to two, two-week camps. The first had 21 students; the second, 25. What was really notable, Brown said, was the number of older campers who participat- ed — especially when one normally thinks of campers ranging from little children up to middle-school age. In the first session, Brown said, 19 of the par- ticipants were ages 13 to 17; in the second session, 21. "They're really, really interested in coming to work for us" as future lifeguards, she pointed out. During the program, the campers have the op- portunity not only to learn lifesaving skills but also to gain their CPR certification. had won a $6 million state grant to assist with the extension of Honore Avenue. However, be- cause the state could not come up with the full amount of that grant, Patterson said, it had cut the funding to $4 million. As a result, she said, "We don't have enough money to put sidewalks on [the roadside of Honore]." Amendment 3 also does not take into account how the state would pay for significant dam- age that could result from a hurricane, she added. "I just think it's really strange that the Legis- lature doesn't find itself competent enough to make the decision on an annual basis" about how to handle revenue, she said. Page 96