Lido residents concerned about increased activity at Ted Sperling Park

Some residents of South Lido Key are at their wits’ end about what they believe is an increase in criminal activity over the years in Ted Sperling Park.

David Rayner and Jim Musel, who both live about three building lots away from Ted Sperling Park, believe there needs to be more enforcement at the park, which has become a crowded party spot according to their accounts. 

“If I had to suspect what’s going on, is that this is just the place to party, and it’s gotten out there,” Musel said. “It just has to stop. It can stop within a few weekends if they would start to enforce the rules.”

Noise disturbances, dogs on the beach and traffic have been going on for a while, he said. 

Musel has lived on Lido Key for about 10 years, and he said the issues increased after the COVID-19 pandemic. 

That’s when the spot became more popular, especially with personal watercraft users, said Rayner. 

“There’s becoming a rough element that goes out there, maybe because they know they can get away with this stuff,” Musel said. 

Groups of personal watercraft users frequent the park, often bringing professional DJs and loud music played from boomboxes out of car trunks, Rayner said. 

He said the complaints from residents have grown over the years. 

Courtesy image

“They’re both of a nuisance nature, stemming from noise,” Rayner said about the complaints. “And they’re also of an environmental nature because all this noise has an impact on animal life.”

According to Rayner — who acquired police records from the Sarasota Police Department — the nature of these calls included armed kidnapping, drowning, sexual crime, reckless boating, suspicious vehicles and noise complaints.

The Sarasota Police Department addressed the residents’ concerns by clarifying the nature of calls for service in South Lido and Ted Sperling Park. 

There were 381 calls for service at South Lido Park in 2022 and 250 calls in 2023. 

In 2022, there were 50 calls for service at Ted Sperling Park and 64 calls in 2023. 

For the calls in 2023, 22 calls were when officers signed out as busy, and six were illegal parking complaints. An officer signing out as “busy” could mean things like going out on foot patrol, checking restrooms or going on a lunch break.

So far in 2024, there have been 64 calls for service in Ted Sperling Park and 63 calls at South Lido Park.

“As far as recent discussions, I can assure you that the Sarasota Police Department actively patrols both locations for criminal and illegal behavior as well as for the safety of beachgoers, residents and visitors as you can see by the number of times officers sign out, walk, bike, or ride ATVs in the area,” said SPD Officer Jason Frank in an email. 

Rayner and Musel said they’ve tried talking to the county Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Department and commissioners at both the city and county levels to try to raise awareness of the resident’s concerns. 

“I don’t think they feel our pain,” Rayner said. “I think that if that car with the speakers was parked outside their house, they’d figure out how to get rid of it. But that car is parked outside our house.”

What can be done?

Adding park rangers or a similar level of enforcement in Ted Sperling Park would be one ideal and effective solution, according to Rayner and Musel. 

“We’re kind of at our wits' end at trying to figure out how to communicate this and how to get a couple of park rangers in there to enforce the rules,” Rayner said. “If they enforce the rules, a lot of this goes away.”

Members of the Sarasota County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Department met with the Lido Key Residents Association on April 20 at the request of the residents. 

“We are aware of the concerns presented by the neighbors,” said Scott Moranda, division manager for beaches and water access. 

Photo by Felix Mizioznikov

Moranda said the park, like most other Sarasota County beaches, is a tourist hotspot, which gets busier during weekends and holidays. 

There is a staff of about six people dedicated to Lido Key with one supervisor on duty at least five days a week, according to Moranda. The shifts for staff runs from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. or later, depending on the day. 

“We as parks and rec don’t have the ability to write citations, but we do educate and escalate as needed,” Moranda said. 

Moranda explained that when staff see violations in progress, they approach the violator and have a conversation. Then, depending on the conversation, staff may call the police department, which has the authority to enforce the regulations. 

The department also contracts for evening security services seven days a week, which typically starts right after the park closes at 10 p.m., according to Moranda. The security detail advises park staff if cars are parked there after hours, makes sure all doors are locked and that no one is sleeping around the facility. 

During busy weekends and holidays, Moranda said that security services could be hired, and the department can request a special detail from the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office would primarily help with managing traffic, Moranda said. 

As for adding more enforcement, like a park ranger program, Moranda said it’s not entirely out of the question, but it’s something that would require approval of more staff members and resources. 

“Parks and rec has done research on a park ranger program — that would be staff that has enforcement capabilities,” said Moranda. “But we have not moved forward with implementation,” he said.