Sailing Squadron lease deal lies on the horizon

The Sarasota Sailing Squadron could be less than two weeks away from securing a new 25-year lease on its City Island property.

Deputy City Manager Marlon Brown said Tuesday that he plans to meet with the organization’s secretary, David Jennings, to finalize the details of the lease, including certain “measurables,” or criteria in the lease, that would measure how the squadron benefits taxpayers. The lease could be presented to the City Commission at its Nov. 15 regular meeting.

Measurables became an issue of contention in the two weeks after the commission’s Oct. 18 meeting, during which the commission voted to move forward with a 25-year lease. But members of the squadron, which has approximately 800 members, protested the addition of measurables by city staff.

Speaking to the commission at its regular meeting Nov. 1, Jennings said that squadron members have been a strong presence at commission meetings for the past five months of lease negotiations.

“We would have hoped that the benefit that the squadron provides would be a little more obvious,” he said.

Jennings read from leases signed by city and squadron officials in 1958 and 1988 that stated the ways that the squadron benefits the community, including its role as a tourist draw and in teaching the public about sailing. He also said that the squadron had provided “measurables,” such as member counts, rate sheets and tax statements, along with a mission statement that includes public education and regattas, which attract thousands of visitors each year.

“Other than items of this nature, we don’t know how to provide measurables,” he said.

Jennings said that the squadron would add four open houses per year to the agreement to introduce the public to sailing.

At Monday’s meeting, Mayor Kelly Kirschner stressed the need for city staff and squadron leaders to reach an agreement.

“I think there is consensus by the majority of this commission that this needs to get done,” he said.

Brown said Tuesday that city staff is pushing to get the squadron on the commission’s Nov. 15 agenda.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected].