Gans wants to keep serving in a new seat

When At-large Commissioner Terry Gans switched races in November, he made it known he would rather run against challenger Ray Rajewski in the District 3 race than against challenger Armando Linde.

On Nov. 13, Gans said he was preparing to seek re-election to his at-large seat when he read the e-edition of the Nov. 14 Longboat Observer.

In a Nov. 14 story titled “ULI study: worth $133,816.35?”, Rajewski said there were two ways to answer the above question.

“It was worth it, because we now understand we have almost a perfect island,” Rajewski said. “The recommendations they came up with for the most part are so farfetched I don’t know how you implement anything.”

When Gans read those comments, he said he knew he wanted to run against Rajewski instead of Linde.
“We need to have open eyes, preserve what we have here and realize that some changes need to be made to stay a competitive premier community,” Gans said. “That’s why I switched races.”

A Grand Bay resident since 2005, Gans said Longboat Key is the only place that “truly fits” for him and his wife.

Gans said he wants to be re-elected to continue what he and his fellow commissioners are working on, including changes to the codes and Comprehensive Plan.

“The only way we go downhill as an island is if we let ourselves go downhill,” Gans said. “Whether we want to be or not, we are in competition with other communities. The good get better and the bad get worse. We will be attractive only as long as we deserve to be.”

Terry Gans
Age: 67

Former occupation: Retired grocery store chain executive

Family: Wife, Diane; two sons; and three grandsons.

Hometown: Washington, D.C.

Hobbies: Music, reading, movies, golf

Interesting Fact: Gans wrote his master’s thesis on Bob Dylan. The thesis was published in 1982, making Gans a published author. He was paid for 200 copies.

QUESTION AND ANSWER WITH TERRY GANS
Was the ULI study worth $125,000? What has it accomplished so far?
Whether it was $40 or $125,000 or $400,000, it is worth it if we take the important things they have shown light on and act on them. I don’t think they have told us anything we didn’t know already. You can have a Cadillac or the finest car in the world, but you still need a push if you’re stuck. I sense an excitement about the concept and the town because of the study.

Do you support a town center concept for the Bay Isles area? How much of a player does the town need to be to make it happen?
Yes. The ULI study has jumpstarted this town center idea. Whether it’s used for theater or music, I see a place for a small auditorium for people to congregate. The town can’t rule out buying property to create one or a town center concept. If the desire and necessity is there to accomplish this, it’s an avenue to consider if that’s the direction we want to go without levying extra charges on the taxpayers.

What amenities should Bayfront Park Recreation Center offer? Do we need something better than the current recreation center?
The town has a plan. The initial plan is to redo the recreation center. The town manager is working diligently with Sarasota County to continue and expand the park. I’m hopeful we will get working on that. It’s a good piece of land to make more enjoyable.

Should the town pursue an offer from Sarasota County to take over emergency dispatch services?
We are in our due diligence portion of that process. I want it to play out. We know how we want our needs addressed. Can we be assured the county will address our need for the snake-in-the-toilet calls and if our dispatch jobs will be protected and incorporated into the county? We’ll have to wait and see.

The commission voted in December to extend the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort’s grandfathered tourism use for the third time. If you don’t see signs of progress before the current April 30 deadline, would you vote to extend the deadline again?
It’s the cart-before-the-horse question. We have done a good job of yelling at attorneys and threatening the loss of tourism density. It served a purpose to some extent. Is there any more we can do as a town? I would like to see a tourism use on that property. If we know that’s what it is, why not say that’s what it is to attract investment and density? I think the ultimate thing we need to do is consider an overlay district there, which states what we want there.

Is the town overstepping its boundaries by holding a hearing next month to consider tearing some of the buildings down?
No. The question is if there’s a true public nuisance there. It’s a silly argument to say there’s no issue with those buildings. Neighboring properties are potentially threatened. We would be irresponsible if we didn’t address this.

Do you support eliminating the Zoning Board of Adjustment? If so, how would you reassign the board’s duties?
I’m not sure the history of why it was established. If we can get dedicated people to handle matters expeditiously, we wouldn’t have a problem. If we can’t get applicants and board members to show up, then there’s got to be another way.

Now that all three town pension plans are frozen, how should the town address the plans’ unfunded liabilities?
We have a good finance committee now that’s productive. One of the things that’s come out of that is we missed the bus on the bond market and it might be unpleasant, but we have to dedicate earmarked amounts from our budget to pay this off. If the bond market improves, maybe we can have a mix of annual earmarked funds and issuing bonds for a portion of it.

Town employee benefits: Do you think they’re too high, too low or about right?
They are not as generous as they were in the past. That’s not unique. I would like to give my kids everything I want, but I can’t afford it and the town is in the same position with taxpayer money. If you’re a good employer, you constantly evaluate your costs and your employee costs.

Residents of the Longbeach Village and Country Club Shores disagreed strongly about the issue of boat and trailer parking. With that in mind, would you support the general concept of creating overlay districts so that restrictions could be made for certain communities without creating a town-wide ordinance?
Where does it stop? On the boat and trailer issue, I was convinced it was a problem for a small segment. Country Club Shores wanted the town to address the issue. We heard loudly and clearly the Village was OK with boats and trailers. Overlay districts have to serve a purpose. When you have power to legislate, you have to be careful. It was a potential overuse of town power in that instance that wasn’t needed.

What, if any role, should the town play in encouraging wireless carriers to improve their service on Longboat Key?
The town has already taken a role. The town manager is moving on this and having conversations with carriers.

What, if any role, should the town play in encouraging commercial development on the north end of the Key?
The town created the overlay district up there. But you don’t have a single owner. I’m not overly impressed with the development of Whitney Plaza. I wish the owner the best, and the property looks better, but I’m concerned that he may not be successful. A traditional strip center is not the way to go. Right now, the property is in the hands of a business owner who has the right to succeed or fail.

Is the town heading in the right direction with its beach management plan? What kind of beach project do we need?
I’m impatient and living in the real world. We were fully prepared to do a beach nourishment, but the cost to get a dredge got way too high. The idea of trucking sand may become more attractive. Protecting sand with sand that’s going to wash away won’t work.

What, if any, changes should the town make to its codes and Comprehensive Plan?
I’m in favor of making changes. People say the 1984 codes and Comp Plan served us well. I guess they did back then. But we have buildings that are 30 to 50 years old and are locked in to what they are today because they are nonconforming. We have to stop restricting uses just to the envelope of that property.

Is the town operating as efficiently as it should be?
If you’re doing the best you can, you’re kidding yourself. We have good leadership. We are down a lot of staff positions and things are going OK. We can always do better and re-examine what we’re doing constantly.

If you could change any one thing about Longboat Key, what would it be and why? What’s your vision for the Key?
I want Longboat Key to continue to be a premier balance of residential, tourism and just the proper amount of retail to serve those needs. We have to attract people. But we have to make sure we have what people want to buy our houses someday. That’s my ambition. To keep the things that make us great and attract new people while preserving a good balance for this island.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected]