Letters to the editor

+ Longboat Key should explore sand alternatives
Dear Editor:
I strongly agree with your Dec. 2 editorial, “Is renourishment the way to go?”, in which you say “it appears that the circumstances beg for the Town Commission to seek a second or third opinion.”

I went to the Sandgrabber website and subsequently spoke with James Kohlenberg, of Sandgrabber.

The installed cost of one mile of Sandgrabber units filled with concrete would be $1.4 million. The installation would be the responsibility of Sandgrabber, which would use contractors to do the work.

That is perhaps 20% of the cost of dredging. If the system performs as stated, it would continue to protect the beach from erosion for many years at no additional cost if the devices were left in place. Further, that cost would be reduced if the work were done in stages and the Sandgrabbers were moved rather than left in place.

The company has agreed to supply and install at no cost to the town 100 feet of its product at a location that is most vulnerable to erosion to demonstrate how well it performs. I believe that it should be placed at the point of greatest erosion at the north end of Longboat. The company says it should take no more than a month to prove its effectiveness. 

The Army Corps of Engineers has approved the use of the latest improved Sandgrabber on Lake Michigan. This, together with the stated willingness of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to allow non-permanent structures to help stop erosion, should make it possible for the town to receive permission from the DEP for the trial placement of the Sandgrabber without much delay.

The company states that openings can be left at intervals to facilitate the nesting of turtles and access to the beach for handicapped people until the sand covers the entire structure.

I am taking an interest in this as a private citizen and have no connection with the town or with the Sandgrabber company. My sole interest is to help arrive at a less expensive and more permanent solution to the loss of sand at our beaches. 

I believe the Town Commission should authorize this trial and encourage it to begin as soon as possible. If successful, it would save the taxpayers a lot of money and be a more lasting solution than dredging.
Robert Bernhard
Longboat Key

+ Neptune Avenue property cleanup was done well
Dear Editor:
Commendations to Charles Drawdy for his careful cleanup of his property on Neptune Avenue. The area now resembles a park and could be considered a landmark for vacant property management and maintenance.

Also thanks to the Western Corp., the water supply installation contractors, for its super cleanup of its leased supply lot on the same area.

Its activity during the nearly year-long project was hardly noticeable while completing the huge water-line installation.

It’s great living on Longboat!
Jane and Cal Boehme
Longboat Key

+ Get your money’s worth for your medical care
Dear Editor:
 Very interesting and well-presented article on a Boca Grande foundation that provides valued medical care to local residents in this Charlotte County coastal jewel. If you’ve been there, you can easily understand the convenience of having expertise nearby versus a 17-mile trip to the Englewood medical community. 

Contrast this to Longboat Key, on average about one-half the distance to the Sarasota Memorial Hospital environs. But the same path one must take to get to the hospital area is well-paved with Longboat tax dollars. 

My relatively modest property tax statement shows I paid $451.18 to the hospital. This helped the hospital enjoy a $26 million profit for nine months of this fiscal year. Maybe we should expect a little more for our investment?

On the hospital’s website, besides the main campus, it lists 14 other facilities, including many local “feeder” medical centers from Heritage Harbor in Manatee County to North Port. This begs the question: Does the hospital view Longboat as not in need of a local facility or does it see Longboat as too close to Sarasota to warrant an investment here?

So, what path should Dr. Letts and others interested in increasing local medical services take? I suggest they contact a hospital in Manatee County to see if it would support a Longboat facility. Before that phone call would end, Sarasota Memorial would announce a first-class facility on Longboat that will be built expeditiously at no additional cost to Longboat taxpayers and be staffed by the excellent staff of the Sarasota Memorial-owned, 50-plus doctor First Physicians Group.

Why pay double, something of a pattern for Longboaters, when you can just ask for a return on what you pay now?
David E. Novak
Longboat Key
 
To send in your letters, please e-mail them to [email protected], or mail them to The Longboat Observer, 5570 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key, 34228. The Longboat Observer gives priority to letters of local interest and about local issues. The Observer will print all letters to the editor if it feels they are of general interest, but only if the letter is signed and the author’s street address and phone number are given. The editor reserves the right to condense letters.