Sunshine group scrutinizes emails of BID directors

Add the St. Armands Circle Business Improvement District (BID) to a growing list of Sarasota city commissioners and city-affiliated groups scrutinized for Sunshine Law violations at Sarasota City Hall.

At the BID’s monthly meeting Tuesday, Nov. 12, at City Hall, BID organizer and Chairman Marty Rappaport announced that he and his directors are now being “targeted” as part of a public records request.

The matter has frustrated Rappaport to the point of considering resigning from the BID.

Rappaport noted he’s worked for the BID since its inception in 2003 without pay and he’s considering stepping down concerning this matter.

“I’ve spent years volunteering and dedicating my time to the city and now find myself in the position of having someone trying to extort money while looking through my personal computer,” Rappaport said. “If you volunteer for this city, you’re at risk. If need be, I’ll resign because my time is too valuable and the exposure is too great.”

Citizens for Sunshine attorney Andrea Mogensen, through a letter from paralegal Michael Barfield, is seeking any email on private or personal email accounts from BID directors containing the words “restaurant,” “retail,” “Business Improvement District” or “Bob Gibbs.” Barfield also wants any email BID directors sent to St. Armands Circle Association Executive Director Diana Corrigan. Corrigan, though, is not subject to the Sunshine Law through her affiliation with the BID.

The records request, which will involve rifling through Rappaport’s personal computer and most likely the computers of other BID directors, was prompted when BID and the Downtown Improvement District (DID) met to revisit the possibility of limiting the space restaurants occupy on the Circle and in downtown Sarasota.

At that meeting, Rappaport mentioned the BID had hired urban retail planner Robert Gibbs to study St. Armands Circle in 2005, noting that Gibbs praised the Circle as a shopping destination but warned restaurants were overshadowing retail.

Rappaport estimates that 55% of retail space on the Circle is used for food purposes, up 10% since 2005.
Although city attorneys warned there were a host of legal issues involved with restricting land use, Rappaport said it was a cause worth pursuing.

Rappaport and others expressed frustration with the public records request.

“I’m not concerned about being out of the Sunshine in any way,” Rappaport said.

At a special Sarasota City Commission meeting Nov. 7, the City Commission approved a second settlement offer in response to an ongoing lawsuit that will acknowledge the city violated the state’s Government in the Sunshine Law for an undisclosed amount.

“Unless something is done and the city takes a stand, the city is putting themselves open for lawsuit after lawsuit,” Rappaport said. “These minor claims can cost thousands of dollars, and they’re driving volunteers like me from wanting to participate in the process any longer.”

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected]