News Briefs

+ Deputies get noise tech lesson
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office held a training session Thursday, June 7 for technology used to measure sound levels.

There were 22 deputies and three code-enforcement officers, including Siesta Key code-enforcement officer John Lally, at the workshop.

“There is a learning curve, and it was mostly for the people who haven’t had any training,” Lally said. “It was to keep people up to par on how to operate the equipment.”

The session comes after several months of noise complaints and informal negotiations between Siesta residents, merchants, deputies and Sarasota County officials about how to mitigate sound levels in Siesta Key Village.

“They’ve got to do business,” Lally said of Village merchants, “but they’ve got to do business in a fashion that meets everyone’s approval.”

+ Lighting demo scheduled
Beacon Lighting, a lighting company based in Sarasota, will hold a product demonstration in Siesta Key Village 8 p.m. Thursday, June 14, as part of the preliminary stages of the installation of crosswalk lighting.

EvoLucia Lighting, also headquartered in Sarasota, will demonstrate its products’ efficacy the following Monday, June 18, at the same time. A third firm, Winter Springs-based Jag Lighting Solutions Inc., expressed interest in doing a similar display but has yet to schedule a date, said Sarasota County Traffic Engineering and Operations Manager Ryan Montague.

Crosswalks are planned for Midnight Pass Road; construction should begin by the end of this year.

Meetings & Agendas
• Siesta Village crosswalk lighting demonstration — 8 p.m. Thursday, June 14, Siesta Key Village, 5200 Ocean Blvd., Siesta
• Sarasota County Commission budget workshop — 10 a.m. Friday, June 15, Administration Building, Think Tank, third floor, 1660 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota
• School Board monthly work session — 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 19, Landings Administrative Complex, 1960 Landings Blvd., Sarasota.
• Reprecincting Town Hall meeting — 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 19, Selby Library, 1331 First St., Sarasota
• Planning Commission public meeting — 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 21, Administration Building, Commission chambers, 1660 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota