Bayfront sites top Unconditional Surrender poll

The results are in: More than half of the respondents to a poll on the city’s website want Unconditional Surrender to remain near its current location on Sarsaota’s bayfront.

On Oct. 2, City Manager Tom Barwin’s weekly email newsletter published the findings of the survey, which was active from Sept. 18-25. The city received 10,410 responses, with 5,860 — or 56.3% — favoring sites between Marina Jack and Oleary's Tiki Bar and Grill near Bayfront Park.

The sites under consideration that earned the most votes were:

1. On the bayfront, between Oleary’s and Marina Jack — 4,133 votes
2. Ken Thompson Park, between Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium and the Sarasota Sailing Squadron — 2,187 votes
3. On the bayfront, near the entrance to Bayfront Park — 1,727 votes
4. At the Sahib Shriners property at 600 N. Beneva Road — 1,048 votes

All other sites got 308 votes or fewer.

Barwin’s newsletter noted the online survey was unscientific and was intended to serve as one of several pieces of information available to commissioners as they consider the future placement of Unconditional Surrender. The artwork must be relocated at least temporarily to accommodate the construction of a roundabout at Gulfstrem Avenue and U.S. 41.

The city has not yet set a date for the commission’s conversation on the location of Unconditional Surrender.