Observer Updates

+ Laurel Park OKs city logo on neighborhood sign

The Laurel Park Neighborhood Association met March 14 and unanimously agreed to send a letter to the city thanking it for improving the Osprey Avenue median by adding a city of Sarasota logo to a Laurel Park neighborhood-identification sign.

A former neighborhood association president was frustrated last month when the logo appeared.

City rules prohibit any covering on the backside of a neighborhood sign, but a city employee ordered the logo be put on the sign, because he thought it would deter graffiti.

The association board members wanted to show the city its appreciation for taking the initiative to add the logo.

+ Alta Vista traffic circle undergoes modification

Seven months after it promised to change the configuration of the traffic circle at Shade Avenue and Novus Street, the city has completed the project.

Alta Vista residents mostly complained about the small concrete dividers, or “pork chops,” on Novus Street just before the traffic circle.

The pork chops steer drivers to turn right, but because the circle is so small, drivers found it difficult to make a left turn onto Shade without running over the pork chops.

The neighborhood has asked the city to remove the pork chops. That work was completed last week.

+ Village on the Trail receives a five-year extension

The largest proposed mixed-use community in Sarasota County will get more time to begin construction.

County commissioners agreed to give the Henry Rodriguez-developed Village on the Trail an extra five years.

The 221-acre development at U.S. 41 and State Road 681, in Nokomis, had planned to feature 1,800 single-family homes, townhouses and condos and 220,000 square feet of commercial and office space.

Construction was originally expected to begin in 2008, but the downturn in the economy made building unfeasible.

+ County makes new offer in struggle over city parks

In the ongoing negotiations between the city and county over which government will pay to operate city parks, county commissioners have made a new offer.

The county agreed to contribute $1.6 million over five years for the Robert L. Taylor Center, if the city takes over full funding after five years; contribute $1 million for neighborhood parks for three years; and hand over operation and maintenance of the Lido Pool to the city.

The city has yet to weigh in on the offer.