City commissioners will discuss Chalk Festival, computer investigation

City commissioners will discuss Monday a proposal to close Pineapple Avenue for the 5th annual Sarasota Chalk Festival.

Organizers of the event want to close a section of Pineapple Avenue through Burns Square for the annual arts event, which brings international artists and draws thousands of event-goers.

Merchants who object to the length of the 10-day street closure have said they will attend the meeting to try to convince commissioners to approve a shorter timeframe for the festival. The city is currently reviewing the permit for the festival and the request for the 10-day road closure.

Festival organizers are also seeking city permission to leave the chalk artwork on the street after the event ends so that people can continue to view the artwork.

In other business:
â–º Commissioners will discuss an update report on a report by the consultant group The Sylint Group Inc. investigating whether city emails were deleted and if sensitive information was accessed illegally. An anonymous claim was made that city of Sarasota emails may have been deleted from the city’s email system.

Representatives from the Sylint Group Inc. will make a presentation to the City Commission.

â–º Commissioners will review a purchase agreement with Floridays Development Co. for a hotel project planned for Palm Avenue, adjacent to the city’s parking garage. The 160-plus room boutique hotel planned for the vacant parcel of city-owned land would include a second-floor pedestrian bridge connecting the hotel to the adjacent recently constructed public parking garage on Palm Avenue. A draft of a development agreement shows a hotel complete with luxury rooms, a destination restaurant, pool deck and business meeting rooms.

Contact Roger Drouin at [email protected].