Rajewski wants to preserve the Key and its codes

Bay Isles resident Ray Rajewski wants to attain a Longboat Key Town Commission seat to fight for what he believes.

What he believes is Longboat Key’s codes and Comprehensive Plan have served the town well since 1984 and continue to serve the town well.

Rajewski, though, says he’s not anti-development or anti-business.

He points to Harry’s Continental Kitchens and Lazy Lobster Longboat Key as examples of businesses that have managed to be successful by providing value.

He thinks the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort should have redeveloped years ago, although he’s not sure if the property needs to redevelop as a tourism property for the island to continue to be viable and support current businesses.

“There’s plenty of tourists on the island without the Colony being open,” Rajewski said.

Rajewski began visiting Longboat Key in 1983, at the invitation of a friend who had purchased a unit in Fairway Bay. He later purchased his home in the Bayou section of Bay Isles in 2004.

“This is a wonderful place to live, and it needs to be preserved,” Rajewski said. “We have to be careful with our actions and preserve codes that have served us well.”

Ray Rajewski
Age: 69
Former occupation: Chief operating officer of television stations
Family: Divorced with three children and seven grandchildren
Hometown: Boston
Hobbies: Golf, bicycling and traveling
Interesting Fact: Rajewski served as executive vice president of CBS.

QUESTION AND ANSWER WITH RAY RAJEWSKI
ULI study: Was it worth $125,000? What has it accomplished so far?

I thought the study was a good idea and I participated in it. But it didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know. My opponent thinks it was worth it. I don’t.

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?

The whole concept of a town center and 30,000 square feet of retail is ridiculous. We don’t own the property. Who is going to build it?

There’s a town center at Publix and it’s evolving. Publix built that plaza and is building a bank building across from it. We have banks, Town Hall, a library and Bicentennial Park. That’s our town center. The town shouldn’t play any role in a town center. We don’t own the land.

What amenities should Bayfront Park Recreation Center offer? Do we need something better than the current recreation center?

No. There’s a plan to explore cleaning up and preserving the rec center we have. It’s not high on my priority list to upgrade the park, but it’s on the list. The rec center building is fine the way it is.

Should the town pursue an offer from Sarasota County to take over emergency dispatch services?

Yes. They should consider it. Longboat Key residents are not willing to sacrifice the quality of dispatch services though. We need to get a consultant to develop the procedures we want to see in place if we outsource that service to Sarasota County.

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 in the court’s hands. I don’t think we can do anything to pre-empt that. Given the town’s history on lawsuits, I wouldn’t risk threatening to remove tourism uses there. I sympathize with the people next door. It’s a great piece of property there. Something good will happen there eventually. It doesn’t matter if it stays a tourism unit though…I think we have enough tourism units. The Colony closed, the Holiday Inn is closed and traffic is still as terrible as ever. People are staying some place on the Key, and businesses we have are thriving in season.

Is the town overstepping its boundaries by holding a hearing next month to consider tearing some of the buildings down?

I think so. If there are 232 units and you start tearing down units, people are going to start suing.

Do you support eliminating the Zoning Board of Adjustment? If so, how would you reassign the board’s duties?

I don’t know. They don’t seem to be able to meet. Give the duties to a board that can handle it.

Now that all three town pension plans are frozen, how should the town address the plans’ unfunded liabilities?

I don’t think you take out a bond. Take out what you need from your budget to pay off what you can. But not the whole lump sum.

Town employee benefits: Do you think they’re too high, too low or about right?
I don’t know the full benefit package. Free medical is pretty awesome. Salaries are good for a town this size, I know that.

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?

Country Club Shores let their deeds and covenants expire and should put them back in place. This isn’t a town issue.

What, if any role, should the town play in encouraging wireless carriers to improve their service on Longboat Key?

I have Verizon, and I have never had a problem on the island. We shouldn’t be in the business of cell service, and I don’t think the town should get involved.

What, if any role, should the town play in encouraging commercial development on the north end of the Key?

If property owners came to the town with a proposal for mixed use, the town should look at it. There’s too much commercial space on the island.

Is the town heading in the right direction with its beach management plan? What kind of beach project do we need?

They have to do something on the north end. I don’t think we can wait for groins. They have to do something now or people are going to start losing homes. Why can’t we get the counties to help?

What, if any, changes should the town make to its codes and Comprehensive Plan?

ULI said change the whole thing. But the codes and Comp Plan have worked for 30 years. What doesn’t work is when someone wants to do something different. If someone has a specific change, it should be discussed. But a blanket change of codes doesn’t work. They have worked for 30 years and why change them?

Is the town operating as efficiently as possible?

I think town is operating fairly efficiently. We have cut back a number of positions. My only issue with budget is less than 15% of my real estate taxes go back to the town. Why don’t we start digging into where the money goes? Who is looking at where the other 85% goes? It’s a lot of money, and we should fight for some of it to come back here.

If you could change any one thing about Longboat Key, what would it be and why? What’s your vision for the Key?

Nothing. The Key is perfect the way it is. We just need to work to maintain what we have.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected]