Vision for new Longboat library changes shape

The ball seems to be rolling a little smoother with Sarasota County’s public library project on Longboat Key. 

County and project staff led a second public input session for Longboat Key community members at 1:30 p.m. March 18 in town hall. The meeting drew a good crowd, about half the size of the standing room-only crowd at the last public input session. 

Sarasota County is working with the town to design and construct a public library to be built on the Town Center Green. The core library space will be about 8,000 square feet and will be funded and operated by the county’s library system. 

There is also the option to enhance the library, adding more space to the building and potentially other services. Construction for the enhancements will not be funded by the county, though. The town of Longboat Key will need to organize a private funding effort to make the enhancements a reality. 

The March 18 meeting began with Longboat Key Town Manager Howard Tipton reintroducing everyone to the project, while also updating the community on another, similar project. 

On the north end, Manatee County is working on a community center in Whitney Beach Plaza, which will be funded by the county and operated by the county’s school district. The main goal there is to provide for community meeting space, as well as adult education opportunities. 

Tipton said the project is progressing well. 

“I share the Whitney Plaza Community Center development as I believe it can take pressure off trying to put too much into the library space,” Tipton said. “Both projects compliment one another in space and uses provided, and don’t compete with our existing service providers like the Education Center and Paradise Center.”

Tipton also said that there are other spaces that hold future opportunities for community spaces, like the Bayfront Park Recreation Center and the existing Longboat Key Library. 

Next, Director of Libraries and Historical Resources Renee Di Pilato reviewed the core principles of Sarasota County’s libraries, including their newly revised strategic plan. 

In the plan, there are some core elements that Di Pilato said would be emphasized in the Longboat Key library, such as: library as a community convener, lifelong learning, vibrant cultural life, active older adults and healthy living. 

The new strategic plan also has an emphasis on programming, she said, which would be a large part of the Longboat Key project. 

Di Pilato also ran through some of the most common suggestions received from the last workshop, as well as the county’s online survey. 

Among the suggestions were more community meeting space, outdoor space and space available for a makerspace. 

Representatives with the architect, Borrelli + Partners, walked the audience through the new floor plans and concept art. After the first public meeting, the architects worked to implement some of the community’s suggestions into the new plan.

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The core library space would be about 8,000 square feet, said architect Sonny Fornoles. The lobby could also be sectioned off and locked after hours, keeping people out of collections while maintaining access to the public meeting space. 

Fornoles also said it was important for them to incorporate a good height to the building so that it doesn’t feel cramped or too low. The architects also plan on utilizing natural light as much as possible in the plans. 

If the funding is raised and the town wants to proceed with the enhancements, the building would be increased to about 9,700 square feet, not including the outdoor space, Fornoles said.

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The enhancements to the building include a larger community meeting room as well as an exterior deck, which could be covered. 

Fornoles said these designs are still preliminary. Another round of revision will be necessary before bringing more finalized plans back to the commission on April 1, so these numbers may change slightly. 

Positive feedback

After the project team’s presentation, the floor was open for community members to comment and ask questions. 

The response was generally positive. 

Planning and Zoning Board Chair David Green expressed his satisfaction with the project and partnership with the county. He also added that the board worked to update the planned unit development for the town, allowing for more flexible projects like this. 

“This project is consistent and compatible with the types of things we want to have on the island to enhance the quality of life here in the next 20 years,” Green said. “I think this is a unique opportunity we have now to collaborate with Sarasota county.”

Throughout the Q&A portion, the topic of the meeting room was brought up numerous times. 

It was determined that the core meeting room, without enhancements, would seat about 50 people in row seating. With the enhanced version, that would increase to about 200 people. 

Vice Mayor Mike Haycock questioned how those numbers would change if it wasn’t row seating, like in a configuration with large tables and chairs. 

The architect didn’t have those numbers on hand, but Haycock encouraged them to look into it. 

Elise Kidd Slansky said she came to the meeting representing several hundred young families that live on the island. 

“This population is changing, and it’s only going to change more over time,” she said. “I think there have been a lot of great comments, I think there’s been a lot of work, a lot of meetings.” 

She expressed interest in the town pursuing the enhanced version, but asked what the timeline would be for funding. 

The next step will be to bring the design options for both the core library and enhanced option to the Longboat Key Town Commission on April 1 for redirection and confirmation, said Tipton. 

After that, a fundraising period will be from May to August. The county is anticipating the library will open its doors in 2026.