City commission approves downtown projects

The Sarasota City Commission unanimously approved a $4.7 million Main Street streetscape project for downtown Sarasota Monday with one stipulation: Commissioners must sign off on projects before they start to monitor construction timelines and make sure they don’t coincide with season.

The project includes wider sidewalks, improved lighting and brick accents in certain parts of Main Street, with brick sidewalks planned from the Five Points roundabout to Gulfstream Avenue.

Also Monday, the commission approved changes to a city code that establishes a process for the issuance of trespass warnings on public property.

The town’s current code, according to city attorney Robert Fournier, doesn’t comply with a recent federal appeals court ruling in a case that challenged the constitutionality of the city of St. Petersburg’s trespass warning ordinance.

The city’s revised code now allows the person receiving a warning to contest the trespass warning if he or she doesn’t believe they actually committed a violation.

Also at the commission meeting, the commission:

Directed:
• City staff to bid out a project for the replacement of existing sewer force mains at Gulfstream Avenue and the corner of Hudson Avenue and Alderman Street.

Reimbursed:
• A Sarasota resident more than $4,000 for a uniform order he made for the Sarasota Gators football organization.

For more information about Monday’s meeting, pick up a copy of Thursday’s May 24 Sarasota Observer.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].