- October 16, 2024
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Sarasota City Commission meetings canceled because of back-to-back hurricanes has put city business behind schedule.
By the end of the day on Monday, though, the commission will be back on track.
Among the matters suspended because commissioners could not gather to perform official business was a workshop to discuss the pending implementation agreement between the city and Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation for development of a new performing arts center and making official the planned Oct. 15 retirement of City Attorney Marlon Brown.
Brown’s tenure was extended six days, through the Monday, Oct. 21 City Commission meeting
The commission will begin making up for lost time on Friday, Oct. 18, when it holds the meeting originally scheduled for Oct. 5. Among the agenda items is Brown’s separation agreement authorization and a discussion on whether to authorize the mayor and city auditor and clerk to execute a lease agreement between the city The Players Inc. for the Payne Park Auditorium building.
On July 15, commissioners voted unanimously to direct staff and the City Attorney's Office to prepare a lease agreement with The Players that eliminated a claw-back provision in favor of a 30-year lease, and which does not allow for any additional improvements within Payne Park beyond the footprint of the auditorium. At that meeting, an option of The Players building a new theater complex on city-owned land at the northwest corner of South Washington Boulevard and Laurel Street in lieu of expanding the existing Payne Park Auditorium. Instead, the city-owned building could serve auxiliary purposes.
The lease agreement includes a rent of $100 per year and $1 per ticket sold for each event. Any improvements made, with the exception of Hurricane Ian-related roof repairs required of the city, shall be considered city property.
Bookending the weekend, the City Commission will hold its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, Oct. 21, which will be Brown’s finale as city manager.
The agenda highlight is a discussion, and perhaps a vote, on executing an implementation agreement between the city and the Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation for construction of the proposed Sarasota Performing Arts Center. This will be the commission’s first official discussion of the proposal outside of a Sept. 30 workshop.
A second workshop had been scheduled for Oct. 14 to allow the Foundation to supply further information based on commissioners’ questions and remarks, but that, too, was cancelled.
Commissioners will receive a presentation of architect Renzo Piano Building Workshop’s initial concept design, business plan and construction cost estimate.
In April 2022 the city and foundation entered into an agreement to outline the process by which the new SPAC will be planned, co-funded, designed and constructed. An amendment to the agreement was executed in April 2023 to extend the deadline for the implementation agreement to be submitted no later than Nov. 30, 2024.
Placed on the agenda by City Commission request are discussions about the appointment of an interim city manager and city attorney.
At its Sept. 30 workshop, commissioners were told a senior staff member has expressed interest in filling the city manager post on a temporary basis while a national search for a permanent replacement for Brown is executed, a process Human Resources Director Stacie Mason estimated would take four to six months.
Also added to Monday’s agenda by commissioners is a discussion, and perhaps also a vote, on replacing City Attorney Robert Fournier and Deputy City Attorney Michael Connolly, both of whom are retiring.
The leading contenders to date are the remaining partners at the firm of Fournier, Connolly, Shamsey, Mladanich & Polzak. The three have told commissioners that, if selected, Joseph Polzak would serve as city attorney and John Shamsey and Joseph Mladanich as deputies.
Four of the five commissioners were prepared to make that decision at their Sept. 16 meeting, but tabled the matter in lieu of a non-unanimous vote until Commissioner Debbie Trice had an opportunity to vet the three.
One significant rezoning request on the Monday agenda involves 1.01 acres on the north side of Fruitville Road and the south side of Fourth Street east of their intersections with Tamiami Trail with street addresses of 1240, 1250, 1258 and 1266 Fourth St., and 1233 and 1241 Fruitville Road.
The rezoning from Downtown Edge to Downtown Core would permit construction of residential towers up to 10 stories. The as-yet designed project would partially wrap around the Encore condominiums and proffers significant streetscape improvements around the entire block from U.S. 41 to Cocoanut Avenue.
