Siesta Key Condo Council receives Big Pass dredge update

Save Our Siesta Sands 2, a nonprofit watchdog organization monitoring the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' plan to dredge Big Pass, has hired an expert to help their cause.

SOSS2 Chairman Peter van Roekens  spoke about the organization’s efforts at the Siesta Key Condo Council’s last meeting of the season.

Along with a partnership with the Florida Wildlife Association to provide legal muscle, SOSS2 has Dr. Robert Young on retainer, van Roekens said. Young is a coastal geologist, and the director of the program for the study of developed shorelines for a partnership between Duke University and Western Carolina University.

The corps is supposed to release an environmental assessment on the dredge within the next three weeks, van Roekens said, and when it does, Young will dig into the report to provide his expert and independent assessment.

“He’ll examine the (environmental assessment) to see if it makes sense,” he said.

Van Roekens asked members of the council to consider donating to SOSS2. The organization is preparing to take legal action, if necessary, against the city of Sarasota if the Big Pass dredge is detrimental to Siesta Key, and hopes to raise between $50,000 and $100,000 to pay for the case.

The council also invited Paul Blackketter, president of Suncoast Aquatic Nature Center Associates, to give members an overview of the Nathan Benderson rowing park and potential effects on Siesta Key.

Blackketter gave a brief history of the property and updated the organization on the upcoming events being held there. Although the park is located about 15 miles from Siesta, he said the condos and rental properties on the Key could see an uptick in clientele for the larger events.