Chamber Chair pares beach project cost

Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce Chair Mark Smith thinks Sarasota County can cut $8 million from current contractor estimates for the Siesta Key public beach improvement project.

The architect met with Kimley-Horn and Associates and Sweet Sparkman Architects, the design team, and forecasted the project’s cost at $14.3 million after updating materials costs and deleting features.

After removing plans to renovate beach road, a pavilion, and a multipurpose building, Smith estimated the project cost, which he thinks he can further shrink by $1 million after he “sharpens his pencil,” he said in a Nov. 27 phone interview.

Smith, in a letter to Sarasota County commissioners with the project review, also criticized $835,621 earmarked to pay county staff for construction management.

For more, pick up a copy of the Nov. 29 issue of the Pelican Press.