Commission approves town's beach pitch

The Longboat Key Town Commission gave Town Manager Bruce St. Denis approval to move forward with beach presentations island-wide at its Thursday, Jan. 20 regular workshop. He will speak to condominium associations and homeowner associations around the Key.

St. Denis made his first presentation at the Saturday, Jan. 22 Federation of Longboat Key Condominium Association meeting (see story this page).

The goal is to inform residents about how the town’s beach program works and inform them of the $16 million north end sand-and-structure project that voters must approve on the March 15 ballot.
St. Denis, who said he supports the project, will not include in his presentation an island-wide beach project that is not expected to occur until 2014 at the earliest.

MEETING NOTES
Also at its regular workshop at Town Hall, 501 Bay Isles Road, the commission:

Authorized:
• The Planning and Zoning Board to review commercial site-plan criteria.

Forwarded to its Monday, Feb. 7 regular meeting for first reading:
• An ordinance that allows for the firefighters pension plan to comply with Internal Revenue Service compliance regulations.

Forwarded to its Monday, Feb. 7 regular meeting for public hearing and formal action:
• A resolution that make proposed changes to the town’s Comprehensive Plan.

Adopted:
• The town’s revised Vision Plan.

Reviewed:
• The findings and recommendations proposed by the town’s Organizational Review Subcommittee.
• How other local island municipalities deal with nuisance wildlife and animal control.
• The purchase and implementation of a license-plate recognition camera system to reduce crime island-wide and allowed the police chief to investigate the system further.
• An amended sea-turtle ordinance that would prohibit beach furniture being left on the beach overnight during sea-turtle nesting season. The commission decided not to amend the current ordinance.

Denied
• A request by Dr. Lawrence Kassouf for a public wayfinding sign along Gulf of Mexico Drive for his dental practice after hearing that the wayfinding signs placed on public property cannot be moved onto private property without jeopardizing the grant that paid for the signs.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected]