Siesta Key Association members meet for annual breakfast

About 130 Siesta Key Association members, joined by Sarasota County staff and county commissioners, ate breakfast together at St. Boniface Espiscopal Church on Siesta Key today.

Michael Shay, president of the Siesta Key Association, introduced County Commissioner Alan Maio and County Administrator Tom Harmer, who both spoke to the organization. Sheriff's Office Captain John Walsh also spoke about the office's efforts on Siesta Key. 

Maio spoke to members about some ongoing and upcoming projects, such as the Siesta Key Beach Improvement Project, which he said was about two-thirds finished and will add 143 more parking spaces at the beach than before. 

"It's going to be a beautiful thing, we should all be proud of," Maio said.

The project cost $17.5 million total, but Maio told the audience that Clearwater had also undergone a similar project for a beach that is less attended than Siesta, and its estimate was $40 million.

The Turtle Beach rennovations project will be awarded this spring, and the South Siesta Beach Renourishment project is projected to begin in November.

Maio ended his speech with a joke: "If you're unhappy, blame Tom Harmer."

Harmer also spoke, and complimented SKA on its endeavor to take a non-adversarial role in communicating and working with the county. 

"We can't please everyone, but we can get together and discuss," he said. "When you have your association focus (on issues) with staff, it helps us too, and helps us get the word out."

When asked what the two greatest challenges facing the county in the coming years, Harmer had an answer. The first was, deferred maintenance on infrastructure. During the recession, the county had to put off attending some aging infrastructure, and now there are some unfunded capital needs, he said. 

The second was the aging of the county workforce. Within the next few years, 30% of the county's employees will be eligible to retire—about 600 people. The private sector is competitive, with enticing pay: Harmer said that because of the recession, the county hadn't been able to give raises for the last five years. Harmer also told the audience, however, that the county wasn't necessarily trying to restore itself completely to pre-recession condition; the recession had taught the county how to manage more efficiently with a lower staff size and still maintain excellent service, he said. 

"We're being very careful," he said.