Debate ensues over when St. Armands Circle holiday tree can be lighted

When the Sarasota City Commission on Aug. 1 approved a grant of $286,000 to the St. Armands Merchants Association for a new 60-foot tree for the holiday season, they were clear about two things: The tree is a “holiday” tree — not specifically a Christmas tree — to be enjoyed by all citizens and visitors alike, and it would ideally be installed and the ceremonial lighting take place before Thanksgiving.

During last week’s meeting of the St. Armands Circle Business Improvement District Board of Directors, Chair Tom Leonard and Merchants Association Executive Director Rachel Burns — who together advocated for the tree before the commissioners — engaged in a sometimes contentious exchange over the timing of the tree lighting.

Leonard pressed Burns on the commission's urging for an earlier-than-usual lighting date while Burns pushed back that a number of factors outside the organization’s control could interfere with that timeline. Chief among them is the delivery date of the new tree, which commissioners approved to replace the 20-year-old artificial tree that had so fallen into disrepair that it was no longer viable.

In prior years, Burns told the board, the lighting occurred on the first Friday in December.

“The tree goes up typically the third week of November. It's a matter of the company being able to install it early,” Burns said. “Once the tree is installed, the tree lighting event is what I am working on now because it is a permitted event and there are permit ordinances in the area, so there’s a little more to it.”

In addition to the city, permitting must be secured from the Florida Department of Transportation as the event requires some interference with traffic on a state-maintained road. Additionally, there are other events scheduled for the park in the center of the circle on weekends in November that pose logistical challenges.

“Let's be very clear here,” Leonard said. “The commission was very clear that they want to see that tree lit in November, before the Thanksgiving weekend. … We want that tree up earlier than later. We want to market that tree earlier than later. It's a lot of money. It’s going to get a lot of great public input, and why not use that to our city's advantage.”

A date certain, Burns insisted, cannot yet be set.

“There are more factors to it than just lighting the tree. It’s not just simply cut-and-dried. It's something that we're working on,” Burns said. “I have to first get approval of the city to then submit my right of way permit from the city to the state, and then work with them. It's more than just saying, ‘tomorrow we're going to do this.’”

The BID board suggested Burns survey the shopping district's merchants to ask when they would like the tree to be lighted. She responded that she will do so, but not until she knows when the tree will be delivered by the vendor. Leonard said he is pushing for that to happen by early November, but no date has been promised.

Burns said she’s not saying no to lighting the new tree earlier than in years past — only that, at this time, she can’t say yes, either. The grant agreement was working its way through the city’s legal department last week, and Business District Manager Julie Ryan said she expects that to be completed by the end of August.

“Just to be clear,” said Ryan, “the grant is contingent upon everything that the commission had stated.”

What the commission did not state in its motion, however, was that the tree must be installed and lit prior to Thanksgiving, but as a city tree — not only a St. Armands tree — it sure would be nice. No scheduling progress can be made until the grant agreement is executed and the tree's delivery date known. Then, Burns said, she can begin seeking permits, which are date specific, from the city and state.

“I'm not telling you no, I'm just saying let me get through steps A, B and C first,” she said.