Pastor calls for 'sensible' redevelopment

Irwin Pastor
Age: 71

Former occupation: Retired chief executive officer

Family: Wife, Sylvia; a son; two daughters; four grandchildren; four great-grandchildren.

Hometown: Buffalo, N.Y.

Hobbies: Fishing in the Gulf behind L’Ambiance, ice hockey (played in college)

Interesting fact: Pastor’s family once owned the Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League, which is now the National Hockey League’s Buffalo Sabres team.

Irwin Pastor wants to put the past in the past and concentrate on Longboat Key’s future.

Pastor, a L’Ambiance resident since 2001, is the former vice president of the Islandside Property Owners Coalition (IPOC) that successfully challenged the Longboat Key Club’s former redevelopment and expansion project.

“We helped preserve the Key and push for appropriate change,” Pastor said. “But I’ve resigned from my post and am ready to move on and serve this town.”

Pastor was the man behind the scenes of the coalition the past few years and its unofficial mediator expert.

While IPOC’s mission was to preserve the codes and Comprehensive Plan during the Key Club project, Pastor said he’s a fan of changing the codes as long as it’s done sensibly.

“Change and redevelopment is good,” Pastor said. “But it has to be done correctly, responsibly and sensibly without violating the rights of property owners. It’s so important we do it right.”

Pastor, who lost to Terry Gans last year in his bid to be an at-large commissioner, wants to be a commissioner as the town works to revise its codes and bring a town center concept to the forefront.

Pastor, a businessman with roots in several companies including Pepsi-Cola Bottling Corp., said he has the experience needed to lead and help garner business support for a town center.

His business sense, Pastor said, will make him an asset on the commission.

“I listen first, get consensus, recognize how to go forward and help make things happen,” Pastor said.

QUESTION AND ANSWER WITH IRWIN PASTOR
Was the ULI study worth $125,000? What has it accomplished so far?
Yes. I think what’s it’s going to accomplish is bringing the community together. I’m optimistic about it.

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 town has to find a developer who is in the business and has assets and resources to see if it’s feasible as a private enterprise. That developer has to be local and willing to give back to community and can’t be looking for a normal rate of return. I would like to see the town center happen. It would be nice to have space for people on Longboat Key from all walks of life to get together. They could enjoy a gathering space and little offices where they conduct their business. I can see a cultural center and a library supported by the county. I see a need for a medical rehab facility. It has to be a private-public partnership though. The town has to have ownership in it, but investments must be private.
We need a gathering place we can support and enjoy.

What amenities should Bayfront Park Recreation Center offer? Do we need something better than the current rec center?
It’s a great opportunity. We are qualified for funding with the county. It makes a lot of sense to enhance the property. It should be recreational centered, not cultural. From my experience in foundation work and making proposals, I looked at projects in their entirety. My approach would be to go to the county and show them everything I want. I would take a look at all of it, even a new rec center building, and try and get funding for all of it.

Should the town pursue an offer from Sarasota County to take over emergency dispatch services?
I have reservations based on the opinion of a friend of mine that used to run ambulance services. He said it’s a big mistake. The reality is there are delays with moving forward, particularly if the dispatchers aren’t geographically familiar with the island. If there’s a great savings, we should look at it. But the staff we have now in those positions are impressive.

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 deadline of April 30, would you vote to extend the deadline again?
I would. Avoid additional litigation on this issue at all costs.

Is the town overstepping its boundaries by holding a hearing to consider tearing some of the buildings down?
No. The town has an obligation to protect the health, safety and welfare of its citizens. The only suggestion I would have is if I were the town, I would be more proactive in trying to take that property and prepare it for a developer to come in. If there’s one thing the whole island wants done, it’s to restore the Colony to what it was or something better. We should create economic value and prepare to build what the community wants built and rezone the property so it’s conforming. Prepare the landscape now to attract developers.

Do you support eliminating the Zoning Board of Adjustment? If so, how would you reassign the board’s duties?
It appears it’s a layer of bureaucracy we don’t need, mainly because we aren’t serving the needs of the people. Reducing the size of the board is a great suggestion.

Now that all three town pension plans are frozen, how should the town address the plans’ unfunded liabilities?
Set up a reserve fund and start paying it down. I’m not in favor of issuing a bond for this debt at this time. That could change if the market changes.

Town employee benefits: Do you think they’re too high, too low or about right?
As long as we are competitive, I’m okay with the benefits. We need to monitor them all the time though to make sure we are spending appropriate amounts for personnel 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?
The Key already has five districts. We shouldn’t be dictating what lifestyles should be in certain areas. The town shouldn’t have gotten involved.

What, if any role, should the town play in encouraging wireless carriers to improve their service on Longboat Key?
We should be a part of it. We might be able to help solve the problem. We have to look for small cell opportunities and attract carriers. But I would wait for private enterprise to come to the town and help us solve the issues.

What, if any role, should the town play in encouraging commercial development on the north end of Longboat Key?
The only thing the town should be involved with is land uses. They have created an overlay district for Whitney Beach Plaza to try and prepare for the future. It appears commercial has never been successful at Whitney Beach Plaza for a consistent period of time. We probably have too much commercial not clustered properly.

Is the town heading in the right direction with its beach management plan? What kind of beach project do we need?
They (commissioners) have nailed the beach management plan on the head. I’ve been impressed with the approach. But they should have put more sand down on the north end a long time ago to protect those homes while we wait for permitted groins.

What, if any, changes should the town make to its codes and Comprehensive Plan?
Absolutely we need to make changes. If we want to be competitive, you have to redo codes occasionally. As long as we do it sensibly, I’m okay with it. We should change and update the charter, too.

Is the town operating as efficiently as it should be?
Longboat Key has never had to worry fiscally about how the town was managed. I think the town is a pretty efficient operation right now that has good management.

If you could change any one thing about Longboat Key, what would it be and why? What’s your vision for the Key?
We have a wonderful community and I would like to see them enjoying themselves more. That’s where a town center would be very beneficial. I don’t think Longboat Key needs a vision. We know what we have. We should try to tweak it, and enhance it. Even a town center is not our vision. It goes back to Arvida’s vision when it built the south end of this town.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected]