WHAT'S HAPPENING | Week of June 4, 2015

Sarasota County pulled into Benderson lawsuit

Sarasota County has been named as a defendant in a lawsuit between Benderson Development Co. and a dredging contractor that claims it was never paid for more than $529,000 of work at Nathan Benderson Park.

Dredge America filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida against the county and Benderson, seeking compensation for the unpaid work and an additional $500,000. 

The firm’s counsel has accused the two parties of breach of contract, violation of the Florida Local Government Prompt Pay Act and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and requests a jury trial in the $1 million case.

The action comes two weeks after Benderson won a motion to dismiss a similar lawsuit Dredge America filed in Jackson County, Mo.

Dredge America alleges that the county, which owns the park and funded improvements to turn the former borrow pit into a world-class rowing venue, paid Benderson for work that it performed, but the developer “wrongfully withheld” the payment.

“Now that Dredge America has retained local counsel it seems more likely that we will be able to have a productive discussion and resolve that dispute,” Benderson Director of Development Todd Mathes said in an email to the Sarasota Observer. “Regardless, Benderson Development will absolutely ensure that the county is held harmless.”

What’s the buzz?

As the Sarasota Farmers Market has established itself as a popular institution downtown — drawing in more than 10,000 people on peak Saturdays — the organizers behind the event are planning for the future.

With the amount of construction going on downtown, some of it in the shadow of the market’s footprint, that future could include more events per week and a permanent structure for the market. Although plans are conceptual, market leaders want to begin a discussion.

We asked readers about the market’s potential. Here’s what you said on Facebook:

By the numbers

• 90: Hours students at the Sarasota Youth Opera Camp will spend learning about the art form this month
• 400: Residential units entrepreneur Harvey Vengroff hopes to include in a proposed housing development, down from an earlier plan of 800 units
• 45: Doctoral scientists Mote Marine Aquarium and Laboratory hopes to have once it expands, up from a current total of 35

MEETINGS

• County Planning Commission meeting: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 4, Commission Chambers, Administration Building, 1660 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota.
• Special City Commission meeting —  6 p.m. Monday, June 8, Commission Chambers, City Hall, 1565 First St., Sarasota.

Social stats

• Likes: 34 
• Shares: 3
• Comments: 9

“I would like a day with afternoon hours so I could stop by after work.” — Patrice Pedrick Karabatsos

 

“The novelty and uniqueness of the market is that it is only 1 day a week. To give it a permanent place to run on multiple days, in my opinion, would take away from it. It was never intended to be a ‘full time’ business.” — Bob Gorevan

“Fabulous idea. It gives local farmers and merchants a place to sell full time, and it gives our community the chance to buy from the locals more than just on that one day with limited hours.” — Nancy Bibo Cole