Candidates sound off at debate

Candidates for the Longboat Key Town Commission met Feb. 9, at Bayfront Park Recreation Center for a debate hosted by the Longboat Observer and moderated by Observer Media Group Editor/CEO Matt Walsh. Approximately 60 people attended the event. The town’s general municipal election takes place March 10.

The ballot has two contested races: Jack Daly and Larry Grossman are running for the District 4 seat, and Gene Jaleski is challenging incumbent Commissioner Phill Younger for his at-large seat.

Read on to see what candidates said about Key issues.

Future of police dispatch
Grossman: “My preference is that they consolidate with Sarasota County to get reliable service. We’ve seen this service, and it’s very efficient.”

Daly: “My comeaway would be to be very influenced by the police chief and his reactions. I would not look only at cost, but I would also look at the significance of local dispatchers, and at all costs, I would maintain that.”

Jaleski: “Our property values are enhanced by being a premier, exclusive community with people who live here feeling safe…In this case, I think we can afford to spend the extra nickel or extra dime for that unique quality of service.”

Younger: “Time is of the essence, and unfortunately, the way the current system is set up, there are multiple delays going on, even on the fire side….What I see thus far, Sarasota (County) is offering the best, the fastest and the most reliable service.”

Key Club referendum
Daly: “I would vote yes on that, keeping in mind that that property is to convert residential units to tourism units. You’re not adding any additional units if you vote ‘yes’ on the referendum. We’re still very shy in terms of our tourism units. The Holiday Inn has not been replaced, the Colony is shut down and the (former) Hilton is shut down temporarily while construction is going on.”

Jaleski: “Where I differ from the commissioners and many people is that we need to go to the taxpayers and not just the voters. We need to go out to all of them and say, ‘How do you feel about this?” We need to have an inclusive discussion about this because the people who are going to be suffering are not just the voters.”

Younger: (Responding to Jaleski’s comments) “In Chicago, everybody gets to vote, and they get to vote several times. The American way is, you register and you vote in a community.

“We have put this to you. You the voters will get to decide. Do you want to convert the 300 units or do you not want to convert the 300 units?”

Grossman: “I was in favor of the Key Club proposal when it first came out, and I’m in favor of the referendum. There was a referendum to add 250 units…But this is an additional 300 units. There will be more folks on the island, and there will be more visitors. The one thing I bring is that I’ve negotiated on development applications, and I have to say that I’m a lot more demanding when I try to add things for the public good.”

The town’s role in alleviating traffic
Younger: “The traffic backup on both sides is not so much a function of the island itself, but it’s a function of St. Armands and Anna Maria with its world’s smallest traffic circle….We get pushback. We’re a little bit captive to both ends of the island.”

Grossman: “I’ve always advised that we need to talk to FDOT. The ULI (Urban Land Institute) committee recommended we transform Gulf of Mexico Drive into this boulevard. We’re doing it all in pieces. We don’t have a grand plan. It has to go beyond Longboat Key to address the dysfunction.”

Daly: “Most of the traffic issues are caused outside of Longboat Key. It would make sense for the commission and the police chief to meet with their counterparts from Bradenton Beach and in Sarasota, focusing on St. Armands, with the thought to see if there’s a better monitor through the use of foot cops that could aid in a more orderly flow and just to search for simple and, perhaps, more effective ways.”

Jaleski: “There are simple solutions. There is no foot traffic control on St. Armands. You need to control when pedestrians are allowed to cross the street…We can certainly work on the back road that goes along the Circle and work to widen that.”

Underground utilities
Grossman: “I’d like to see it not only on Gulf of Mexico Drive but on the entire island….There was a lot of controversy as to who pays for it. You don’t get a second chance to do it right the first time. The entire island should be undergrounded.”

Daly: “Clearly, the reliability and safety and aesthetic benefits along GMD makes sense…I haven’t seen any hard facts with respect to the so-called neighborhoods. I think it’s premature to come to any conclusions without concrete facts.”

Jaleski: “To have half the community kept safe will probably get us to court…If we let the rest of the island try to mobilize itself, it’s too expensive, and nobody’s going to do the work. The best, utilitarian way is to keep everyone safe.”

Younger: “I want a vote. This will go on a referendum and each of the people on the island will get their say.”