- October 24, 2024
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Multiple Sarasota County beaches, including Siesta Key Beach, are set to reopen Saturday, Oct. 26.
During an Oct. 24 press conference, Nicole Rissler, director of parks, recreation and natural resources with Sarasota County, said more than half of the county's 160 parks are open in some way, either partially or fully.
"We made significant improvements over the last 10 days or so to clear sand, and here, I think, is a perfect image of Siesta and Sarasota County," she said. "We took some hits, but like our lifeguard stands, we stood right back up, and we're excited to welcome people back."
On Saturday at Siesta Key Beach, lifeguards will return to their stands and the concessionaire will open.
Rissler said while it is not possible for the county to prevent access to beaches, the closures mean the amenities at beach parks are closed.
She said the closures take place because they county does not believe these sites are safe and accessible, and also does not want the public to be present during the cleanup operations.
She said the effort to reopen beaches such as Siesta Key involved replacing and leveling sand, using sand that Milton had washed off the beach site.
"In most cases, that sand was not mixed with a whole lot of debris," she said. "In some cases it had to be separated a little bit, but in a lot of cases, it was able to be put back on the beach under the guidelines of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection."
Other beaches in Sarasota County that will be reactivated Saturday include Nokomis Beach and some Venice Island beaches including North Brohard and South Brohard parks, and Maxine Barritt Park.
Some beaches that have seen more substantial damage include South Side Beach, Turtle Beach and North Jetty Beach. Rissler said these sites will require more work before they are determined to be safe and accessible.
She said the situation is different for all of those beaches, with South Lido beach, for instance, having seen more vegetation debris than other sites, as well as debris from condominiums.
Rissler said there are no concerns around bacteria in the waters at any of the beaches that are reopening.
"All of the beaches that we are reactivating and reopening were clear and fine," she said.
She said as always, the county urges caution in waterways.
"There's going to be debris, probably for a long time, that might wash up. That's the reason you didn't see beaches open two days after the storm. It was very important to us that as we reactivate or reopen, we've done everything that we can to make it safe and accessible."
In regard to debris, the county's waterways are being evaluated, including public waterways, private canals, creeks and streams.
On Saturday, the county will also be officially reactivating some boat ramps including Nokomis, Blackburn Point, Manasota and Venice Marina.
Earlier this week, it was able to reactivate many of its athletic fields.
"Our staff worked very hard over the last week and a half, almost two weeks now, running magnets over those athletic fields, testing lights to make sure that the fields that we are opening are safe for our participants," Rissler said.
