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Coffee Talk (Sara/Mana edition)
Conference center location: Sarasota Garden Club
On Monday, Dec. 13, about 250 people, mostly Sarasotais familiar business and political leaders, gathered at the Hyatt for another dose of Conference Center Kool-Aid.
The Chamber brought four conference center experts from out of town to tell everyone in the room what they already knew: a conference center would be good for Sarasotais economy. You know, preaching to the choir.
What was the point?
Chamber insiders, both staff and members of the chamber board, told Coffee Talk it was important to outline the financial implications of a conference center, i.e., public money will be needed to build it and operate it, and the center probably wonit be profitable o ever. But if itis done correctly, those losses will be counterbalanced by the millions of dollars it will infuse into the local economy.
But Manatee Community College President Sarah Pappas hit the proverbial nail when she asked moderator and conference center point man, Tim Clarke: Isnit the window closing fast on where to put such a center?
You bet, said Clarke, noting that his committee is about to request a joint meeting of the city and county commissions at which conference center proponents would present a proposal regarding location and other specifics.
Insiders say the proposal will locate the conference center at the northwest corner of Sixth Street (Boulevard of the Arts) and North Tamiami Trail, where the Garden Club is currently sited.
The center is likely to be a two-story building with an elevated public park on the roof. The chamber committee is working hard to persuade Quay owners Irish American to build a hotel on the northeast corner of its property, to help service the conference center o maybe with a skyway pedestrian bridge over the street to the center.
Funding sources include the two-cent tax and revenue bonds. Parking is still an issue for discussion, but it may be built into the cultural district planning.
In-fighting at the Farmeris Market
The war between some Sarasota Farmeris Market vendors and the Downtown Partnership has been ongoing for nearly a year now.
It has become ugly.
On Dec. 13, the Downtown Partnership sent a letter to city commissioners, who heard issues related to expanding and changing the Farmeris Market space after it moves back to Lemon Avenue. Here is an excerpt of that letter:
i7. It is time to put a stop to attempts to poison the atmosphere at the Market. While we are proud of each individual vendoris offerings in the Market, the reality is that the Market mainly offers only one product: a great time downtown on Saturday mornings. This is particularly important as we move back to Lemon Avenue, to deal with the inevitable customer confusion that a move creates, plus the challenges and opportunities arising from the arrival of Whole Foods.
iOver the last year, a small group of people have spent a good deal of effort disparaging the Partnership at the Market. The flyer for which the MSMA President apologized was by no means the only flyer distributed that has been cavalier with the facts. There have been on-going efforts to spread misinformation in the market and to pit vendors against one another. For example, just two days ago, a erumori was spread that a different group was going to take over the market and that all the vendors who have recently joined the market would be expelled. Petitions are frequently circulated that some vendors are allowed to see, but others are not.
iEnough already. This is no way to create a successful downtown event.i
Not just talk
Sarasota car dealer Vern Buchanan, chairman of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, means business when he says the state must move forward on tort reform.
In a Dec. 13 letter to Gov. Jeb Bush, Buchanan announced the creation of the Florida Justice Reform Institute o an iunprecedented, long-term, united, CEO-led entity focused on a single goal: fixing Floridais ailing civil justice system by returning stability, personal responsibility, predictability and fairness to the system.i
Buchanan says the chamber has recruited some of Floridais top CEOS, won endorsement from the CEO leadership of the Florida Council of 100 and raised more than a $1 million for lobbying purposes.
Action must be taken, Buchanan says, because a recent institute survey claims Floridais legal system ranks 38th in the nation. He wants to mold Floridais legal system after changes made in states such as Michigan, Illinois, Mississippi, Texas and Alabama.
iTo this end, (the institute) has already built a state and national network of fundraising, resources, lobbyists, attorneys and experience to make this low-governance, high-impact program successful in the next (legislative) session and the next decade,i Buchanan wrote.
Pricey inspections
Eric Collin, operations manager for Saravista Hotel Development, expects to see the Homewood Suites by Hilton Hotel, on 3470 Fruitville Road, Sarasota, completed next month. But the developeris interaction with Sarasota City building department wasnit all positive.
The groupis dealings with the city has cost the developer an additional $600,000 in construction changes, plus another seven months of construction.
French developer Enzo Gagliardiis Merca Real Estate spearheaded the renovations of the derelict, half-built The Gardens assisted-living facility that was supposed to be completed by last June.
The inspectors igave us a very hard time,i Collin says. iWe ended up having to do a lot of changes.i The problem: none of the problems were brought up in the permitting or site plan process.
iThe city was willing to work with us,i Collin says. iOn the commission side everyone has been very supportive with the rezone, and even on the building department O at almost every stage along the way there was an understanding of what we were doing.i
Not so for the inspection process.
Does this mean the issue is headed for litigation? No, Collin says, the developer will eat the costs.
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