Town provides updates on extended bus service, new library

Projects, public transit and pumps. Key topics relevant to both Longboat Key and Sarasota County and discussed at an Oct. 18 joint meeting between Longboat Key commissioners and Sarasota County officials.

Town Center and library

Longboat Key began the joint meeting with an update on the Town Center.

The main update was the grand opening of Phase 2 at 3 p.m. Nov. 11. This phase of the project includes the Karon Family Pavilion, an addition to the envisioned community park and gathering space.

The Karon Family Pavilion was privately funded, costing a total of $800,000. Construction costs for Phase 2 totaled $2.3 million.

Director of Public Works Isaac Brownman also shared the latest updates on Phase 3, a public county library in collaboration with Sarasota County.

Sarasota County funded the $1 million necessary for the design of Phase 3.

Brownman also said the firm Borrelli + Partners was selected as the architect for the library, and Jon F. Swift Construction will take the lead for construction management. The latter has worked on other Longboat Key projects like Bayfront Park, Fire Station 92 and the Town Center outdoor venue and pavilion.

At that point, Sarasota County Director of Library and Historical Resources Renee DiPilato presented the latest on the Sarasota County Library system and how those updates pertain to Longboat Key.

DiPilato mentioned that the library system recently updated its strategic plan. Some of the points, she said, can be emphasized through the new library on Longboat Key, including: community convener, lifelong learning, arts and cultural life, active older adults and career journeys.

The goal is to find ways of implementing those core principles into the services offered at the new library.

Among those core library services, the county sees this as an opportunity to enhance services such as library collections, event areas, meeting space and technology access.

DiPilato also talked about the county’s pop-up library, which brings library services to communities. Starting Nov. 7, the pop-up library will be visiting Longboat Key the first and third Tuesdays of every month from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Town Hall. It will also be at the Town Center grand opening on Nov. 11.

Representatives from the county and Longboat Key meet monthly and are in the process of finalizing contracts with the architect and construction firms.

Community input sessions are planned for January 2024 with the library anticipated to open in late 2026.

St. Regis Longboat Key

Longboat Key Director of Planning, Zoning and Building Allen Parsons updated Sarasota County commissioners on the St. Regis Longboat Key, set to complete construction in March 2024 and open in July 2024.

One of the main topics of conversation was the recent issues with the parking garage proposal, which ultimately became an increase in surface parking.

Sarasota County District 2 Commissioner Mark Smith shared how impressed he was with the development so far, and how reminiscent it felt of The Colony.

The sentiment was shared by Longboat Key Commissioner-at-Large BJ Bishop, who said it’s been an overall good experience, even while working through the parking issues.

“We’re excited,” Bishop said. “And you all should be excited because you’ll be seeing some significant tax money out of this next year.”

County Chair and District 5 Commissioner Ron Cutsinger and Longboat Key Town Manager Howard Tipton joked that perhaps a future joint meeting should be held at the St. Regis, taking in the views.

Breeze Transit System

Jane Grogg, director of transit for Sarasota County, presented a thorough review of the county’s transit system, including new updates to the system.

Perhaps the biggest change is the brand itself, transitioning from SCAT to Breeze.

One of the aspects relating to Longboat Key specifically is the OnDemand service.

As of right now, the service only extends to the Sarasota County line, about halfway up the island. But Grogg said a draft service agreement was sent to Manatee County that would extend the service all the way up to Coquina Beach.

Grogg shared that the OnDemand service has been a major success, and grew from 12 vehicles in the fleet to now 39. The right partnerships and a unique business model allowed the program to grow faster than expected, Grogg said.

Another update from the Breeze system is a trolley coming in December. The trolley will run from SRQ Airport to downtown Sarasota in a 30-minute frequency.

The county is also looking into a water taxi service. Though there weren’t concrete steps to update commissioners on just yet, Grogg said the transit department is researching the viability of bringing the service to Sarasota County, with collaboration with Longboat Key.

St. Armands Stormwater System 

Going through St. Armands into downtown Sarasota is a common evacuation route for Longboat Key residents.

That’s why Longboat Key commissioners were especially interested to hear the details behind why the pumps on St. Armands failed during Hurricane Idalia.

All in all, it was an unprecedented storm and a few background errors.

The main source of the issue was that the electrical panels that fuel the pumps were too low to the ground. Hurricane Idalia’s storm surge mixed with the king tide to create unanticipated flooding. This caused many of the electrical panels to shut off.

Only one of the pumps functioned throughout the storm, according to the Sarasota County Director of Public Works Spencer Anderson.

Since then, the county implemented mobile pump stations and repaired one that was damaged by a vehicle accident a day before Idalia.

Anderson said new pumps and control panels are expected by November 2023. This time, the panels will be installed higher off the ground.