County to discuss BMX updates

The Sarasota County Commission will discuss several capital projects during a special workshop Tuesday.

BMX facility improvements

Commissioners will review staff recommendations about updating and improving the BMX Facility at Tuttle Avenue and 17th Street.

In 2011, commissioners asked county administration to develop a plan to update the current facility to make it eligible for higher levels of competition.

County staff is recommending installing 5- and 8-meter ramps and new lighting elements at the park. The 8-meter ramp is required to make the facility Olympic-regulated and eligible for other international competitions. Funding would come from a budget amendment to the 2015 fiscal year to allocate $708,295 to the renovations.

Staff is also recommending taking out an $800,000 loan from the Tourist Development Tax fund for beach renourishment.

Commissioners discussed the updates at a May 7 meeting.

Commissioner Christine Robinson was skeptical about the budget for the project, which projected a $60,000 operating surplus for the first year.

“I want to make sure what they’re putting in this plan is achievable,” she said.

County staff has determined, “despite an aggressive effort at value engineering,” that the original $1.7 million projected cost will not cover the improvements. Two designs will be presented, one to update the current facility without making it Olympic regulation, with a budget or $2.1 million, and a second to include the necessary additions to open the facility to Olympic and international competitions, with a cost of $2.4 million.

Staff hopes to get the project in motion: if the commission approved of the project plan to make the facility open for international and Olympic competition and if the construction was completed in time, the facility could host the Strider World Championships and the Sunshine State BMX Florida Cup Qualifier in November 2015.

Fire Stations

Four fire stations have been a part of the fire department’s long-range master plan since the program was initiated in 2008. Due to the recession, however, the plan was put on indefinite hold in 2010, according to the staff memo. The commission picked the project back up in 2013.

Two of the four fire stations are replacements for old ones, Station 12 on Bee Ridge Road and Station 14 in Osprey. The others are new stations to accommodate growth since 2008: Station 16 at Twin Lakes and Station 17 at University Park.

Station 16 began construction in August. The 12,800 square foot station houses the department’s fire Marshall’s Office and is 20% complete. It is slated to be finished June 2015 with a budget of $6 million.

Commissioners will discuss the station at University Park. County staff identified a county-owned parcel on Desoto Road as a probable location. According to the memo, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office entered into negotiations after voicing its need for a presence in that area. The station will total 13,300 square feet with an additional 3,000 square feet for the Sheriff’s Office administration wing.

The project went out for bid in July and August. However, estimated costs exceeded the project’s $4.8 million budget by $970,420. After finding areas to cut spending, county staff found ways to reduced project costs from $5.8 million to $4.4 million; however, staff is not recommending the commission to approve this budget reduction because it would reduce the service capacity of the station. The cut would mean a reduction in truck bays, building size and parking, all of which would reduce the fire crew size staffed at the station.

Staff is recommending the commission increase the budgets of Stations 17, 12 and 14. Funding would come through the Capital Improvement Projects budget.

IF YOU GO

What: Sarasota County Commission workshop
When: 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14.
Where: Think Tank, 3rd Floor, Administration Building, 1660 Ringling Blvd.