Sarasota city manager drops in on the Newsies

Marlon Brown paid a visit to a newsroom on Thursday evening, so it was only fitting that he delivered some news while sharing his views with Observer Media Group's Newsies on how city government works.

Speaking for about an hour in front of the reader group, Brown spelled out the organization of City Hall, reflected on his first year on the job and talked about the timelines of city projects.

He even traded quips with Deputy City Manager Pat Robinson.

"I did not know there was a group called the 'Newsies,' of which you allowed Mr. Robinson to be part,'' Brown said, jokingly confirming with the former deputy chief of police that he used his own credit card to join, not the city's.

Read more: Entertainment execs chat in front of the Newsies

Brown, with the city since 2009, was advanced to interim city manager in December 2020 and formally assumed the city manager about a month later. He said while serving the interim role, he said values dear to him directed him to emphasize responsiveness and accessibility as the city's top administrator.

Part of that thinking involved Robinson, whom he first named interim deputy city manager.

"We seem to have similar sort of approaches to how we do our job,'' Brown said, explaining that Robinson's expertise in public safety made him a natural to work closely with the city's police department, emergency management, office of homeless response and more.

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In discussing the city's main goals, Brown told the group about the city's recent decisions advancing its Bobby Jones Strategic Initiative, a plan to restore the municipal golf course while also creating a nature park and adjacent county-run destination playground. The idea is to develop a critical site to improve stormwater runoff from thousands of acres of watershed while also forming a recreational site that appeals to all generations. 

Brown said the formal groundbreaking on the golf course site is March 4. 

He also told the Newsies group that the city's new bicycle and scooter rental contractor is gearing up for a March launch and that proposed first phase of the Ringling Trail, linking the soon-to-open Legacy Trail extension with the bayfront through downtown, is likely to be ready by the fall. 

In the project's first phase, painted stripes and plastic bollards will create room for cycling down the boulevard. A second phase proposes more permanent changes in years to come. 

Brown also spent some time talking about the vision for replacing Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. He said the building, nearly 50 years old, lacks facilities to attract the biggest shows and its location in a flood plain makes the choice to replace versus renovate obvious. 

He said the city envisions a 2,250-seat venue to open as early as 2025. Brown said the city is looking at other sites around the world to promote basic design concepts. 

"Here's my direction to the Van Wezel Foundation: when individuals drive by, I want them to see this building and have a curiosity about it,'' Brown said. "Be really curious about it. It has to be really iconic.''