What's left to reopen in Longboat Key?

The town of Longboat Key is slowly starting to reopen, but over the last week or so both Manatee and Sarasota counties have reported increases in the number of positive COVID-19 cases by day.

“We're seeing numbers increase that we are concerned about,” Town Manager Tom Harmer said. “So we don't want to completely go back to what it used to be back in January and February.”

Town facilities, including Town Hall, remain closed to the public. Anyone who needs to contact the town can call (941) 316-1999, send an email to staff or schedule an appointment if necessary.

“If a member of the public needs to meet with the staff for any reason, they can set up an appointment and we’ll set up a safe way to do that with social distancing,” Harmer said. “I really have not received any complaints about service level since we started doing that.”

The town commission’s last meeting on June 30 before the summer recess will likely be held virtually. The commission has not met in person since March 23, opting to meet using the teleconferencing service Zoom.

“We are not back into a normal state or a pre-pandemic state, even though certain amenities have been opened all over the state and all over the country,” Harmer said. “We’re still under a national pandemic emergency, a state emergency and local emergency.”

However, data from the Florida Department of Health shows Longboat Key’s 34228 ZIP code has five confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Manatee County and fewer than five confirmed cases in Sarasota County. This data has remained the same since April.

The age demographics in Longboat Key are also something to consider. About 69% of the town's 7,000 full-time residents are older than the age of 65. People who are older than 65 or have underlying medical conditions tend to be at a higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

“I really just want to continue to evaluate the environment and the testing and the positives and the data and make sure we’re careful about that,” Hamer said. “The good thing is our services haven’t been eliminated.”


Harmer said town staff is also still reviewing plans, issuing permits, accepting payments for water bills and providing public records.

While the Bayfront Park Recreation Center is still closed, Harmer’s latest executive order allowed for the park’s pickleball courts, tennis courts, basketball courts and playgrounds to partially reopen on Monday.

Harmer’s prior executive orders allowed for loosening of restrictions at the Public Tennis Center, which initially reopened on May 8 after it had been closed since March 22. On April 13, the town also reopened the public boat ramp on Linley Street after closing it for a few weeks.

While it’s up to individual condo associations and private clubs to decide on their amenity restrictions, Fire Chief Paul Dezzi has provided guidance in weekly conference calls with town stakeholders.

“We’ve encouraged them to make sure they’re following the CDC regulations, but they also make their own decisions on how restrictive they want to be,” Harmer said. “We’ll serve in kind of a consulting role there.”

A re-evaluation of Harmer’s latest executive order is expected on June 29.

“Now is the time to still protect yourselves and your fellow residents and the public that comes out here and also enjoys Longboat Key,” Harmer said.